Discovery Box1 Kings 20:10-11 
Context20:10 Ben Hadad sent another message to him, “May the gods judge me severely 1 if there is enough dirt left in Samaria for my soldiers to scoop up in their hands.” 2 20:11 The king of Israel replied, “Tell him the one who puts on his battle gear should not boast like one who is taking it off.” 3
1 Kings 20:18
Context20:18 He ordered, “Whether they come in peace or to do battle, take them alive.” 4
1 tn Heb “So may the gods do to me, and so may they add.”
2 tn Heb “if the dirt of Samaria suffices for the handfuls of all the people who are at my feet.”
3 sn The point of the saying is that someone who is still preparing for a battle should not boast as if he has already won the battle. A modern parallel would be, “Don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched.”
4 tn Heb “if they come in peace, take them alive; if they come for battle, take them alive.”
