Verse 23. - Then [promptly, without hesitation] said the king, The one saith [Heb. "this is saying," i.e., keeps saying] This is my son that liveth, and thy son is the dead; and the other saith, Nay, but thy son is the dead and my son is the living.

3:16-28 An instance of Solomon's wisdom is given. Notice the difficulty of the case. To find out the true mother, he could not try which the child loved best, and therefore tried which loved the child best: the mother's sincerity will be tried, when the child is in danger. Let parents show their love to their children, especially by taking care of their souls, and snatching them as brands out of the burning. By this and other instances of the wisdom with which God endued him, Solomon had great reputation among his people. This was better to him than weapons of war; for this he was both feared and loved.Then said the king,.... As judge, summing up what had been said on both sides, which were only bare assertions without proof; the one affirming what the other denied, and the other denying what the other affirmed:

the one saith, this is my son that liveth, and thy son is the dead;

and the other saith nay; but thy son is the dead, and my son is the living; this he repeated to show to all present that no determination could be made by what had been said on each side, and that some other method must be taken.