I Kings 20

¹Now Ben-hadad, king of Aram, got all his army together, and thirty-two kings with him, and horses and carriages of war; he went up and made war on Samaria, shutting it in.

²And he sent representatives into the town to Ahab, king of Israel;

³And they said to him, Ben-hadad says, Your silver and your gold are mine; and your wives and children are mine.

⁴And the king of Israel sent him an answer saying, As you say, my lord king, I am yours with all I have.

⁵Then the representatives came back again, and said, These are the words of Ben-hadad: I sent to you saying, Give up to me your silver and your gold, your wives and your children;

⁶But I will send my servants to you tomorrow about this time, to make a search through your house and the houses of your people, and everything which is pleasing in your eyes they will take away in their hands.

⁷Then the king of Israel sent for all the responsible men of the land, and said, Now will you take note and see the evil purpose of this man: he sent for my wives and my children, my silver and my gold, and I did not keep them back.

⁸And all the responsible men and the people said to him, Do not give attention to him or do what he says.

⁹So he said to the representatives of Ben-hadad, Say to my lord the king, All the orders you sent the first time I will do; but this thing I may not do. And the representatives went back with this answer.

¹⁰Then Ben-hadad sent to him, saying, May the gods' punishment be on me if there is enough of the dust of Samaria for all the people at my feet to take some in their hands.

¹¹And the king of Israel said in answer, Say to him, The time for loud talk is not when a man is putting on his arms, but when he is taking them off.

¹²Now when this answer was given to Ben-hadad, he was drinking with the kings in the tents, and he said to his men, Take up your positions. So they put themselves in position for attacking the town.

¹³Then a prophet came up to Ahab, king of Israel, and said, The Lord says, Have you seen all this great army? See, I will give it into your hands today, and you will see that I am the Lord.

¹⁴And Ahab said, By whom? And he said, The Lord says, By the servants of the chiefs who are over the divisions of the land. Then he said, By whom is the fighting to be started? And he made answer, By you.

¹⁵Then he got together the servants of all the chiefs who were over the divisions of the land, two hundred and thirty-two of them; and after them, he got together all the people, all the children of Israel, seven thousand.

¹⁶And in the middle of the day they went out. But Ben-hadad was drinking in the tents with the thirty-two kings who were helping him.

¹⁷And the servants of the chiefs who were over the divisions of the land went forward first; and when Ben-hadad sent out, they gave him the news, saying, Men have come out from Samaria.

¹⁸And he said, If they have come out for peace, take them living, and if they have come out for war, take them living.

¹⁹So the servants of the chiefs of the divisions of the land went out of the town, with the army coming after them.

²⁰And every one of them put his man to death, and the Aramaeans went in flight with Israel after them; and Ben-hadad, king of Aram, got away safely on a horse with his horsemen.

²¹And the king of Israel went out and took the horses and the war-carriages, and made great destruction among the Aramaeans.

²²Then the prophet came up to the king of Israel, and said to him, Now make yourself strong, and take care what you do, or a year from now the king of Aram will come up against you again.

²³Then the king of Aram's servants said to him, Their god is a god of the hills; that is why they were stronger than we: but if we make an attack on them in the lowlands, we will certainly be stronger than they.

²⁴This is what you have to do: take away the kings from their positions, and put captains in their places;

²⁵And get together another army like the one which came to destruction, horse for horse, and carriage for carriage; and let us make war on them in the lowlands, and certainly we will be stronger than they. And he gave ear to what they said, and did so.

²⁶So, a year later, Ben-hadad got the Aramaeans together and went up to Aphek to make war on Israel.

²⁷And the children of Israel got themselves together, and food was made ready and they went against them; the tents of the children of Israel were like two little flocks of goats before them, but all the country was full of the Aramaeans.

²⁸And a man of God came up and said to the king of Israel, The Lord says, Because the Aramaeans have said, The Lord is a god of the hills and not of the valleys; I will give all this great army into your hands, and you will see that I am the Lord.

²⁹Now the two armies kept their positions facing one another for seven days. And on the seventh day the fight was started; and the children of Israel put to the sword a hundred thousand Aramaean footmen in one day.

³⁰But the rest went in flight to Aphek, into the town, where a wall came down on the twenty-seven thousand who were still living. And Ben-hadad went in flight into the town, into an inner room.

³¹Then his servants said to him, It is said that the kings of Israel are full of mercy: let us then put on haircloth, and cords on our heads, and go to the king of Israel; it may be that he will give you your life.

³²So they put on haircloth, and cords on their heads, and came to the king of Israel and said, Your servant Ben-hadad says, Let me now keep my life. And he said, Is he still living? he is my brother.

³³Now the men took it as a sign, and quickly took up his words; and they said, Ben-hadad is your brother. Then he said, Go and get him. So Ben-hadad came out to him and he made him get up into his carriage.

³⁴And Ben-hadad said to him, The towns my father took from your father I will give back; and you may make streets for yourself in Damascus as my father did in Samaria. And as for me, at the price of this agreement you will let me go. So he made an agreement with him and let him go.

³⁵And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his neighbour by the word of the Lord, Give me a wound. But the man would not.

³⁶Then he said to him, Because you have not given ear to the voice of the Lord, straight away when you have gone from me a lion will put you to death. And when he had gone, straight away a lion came rushing at him and put him to death.

³⁷Then he came across another man, and said, Give me a wound. And the man gave him a blow wounding him.

³⁸So the prophet went away, and pulling his head-band over his eyes to keep his face covered, took his place by the road waiting for the king.

³⁹And when the king went by, crying out to him he said, Your servant went out into the fight; and a man came out to me with another man and said, Keep this man: if by any chance he gets away, your life will be the price of his life, or you will have to give a talent of silver in payment.

⁴⁰But while your servant was turning this way and that, he was gone. Then the king of Israel said to him, You are responsible; you have given the decision against yourself.

⁴¹Then he quickly took the head-band from his eyes; and the king of Israel saw that he was one of the prophets.

⁴²And he said to him, These are the words of the Lord: Because you have let go from your hands the man whom I had put to the curse, your life will be taken for his life, and your people for his people.

⁴³Then the king of Israel went back to his house, bitter and angry, and came to Samaria.

I Kings 20

¹Ben Hadad the king of Syria gathered all his army together; and there were thirty-two kings with him, and horses and chariots: and he went up and besieged Samaria, and fought against it.

²He sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel, into the city, and said to him, "Thus says Ben Hadad,

³'Your silver and your gold is mine. Your wives also and your children, even the best, are mine.'"

⁴The king of Israel answered, "It is according to your saying, my lord, O king. I am yours, and all that I have."

⁵The messengers came again, and said, "Ben Hadad says, 'I sent indeed to you, saying, "You shall deliver me your silver, and your gold, and your wives, and your children;

⁶but I will send my servants to you tomorrow about this time, and they shall search your house, and the houses of your servants; and it shall be, that whatever is pleasant in your eyes, they shall put it in their hand, and take it away."'"

⁷Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land, and said, "Please notice how this man seeks mischief; for he sent to me for my wives, and for my children, and for my silver, and for my gold; and I did not deny him."

⁸All the elders and all the people said to him, "Do not listen, neither consent."

⁹Therefore he said to the messengers of Ben Hadad, "Tell my lord the king, 'All that you sent for to your servant at the first I will do; but this thing I cannot do.'" The messengers departed, and brought him back the message.

¹⁰Ben Hadad sent to him, and said, "The gods do so to me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people who follow me."

¹¹The king of Israel answered, "Tell him, 'Do not let him who puts on his armor brag like he who takes it off.'"

¹²It happened, when Ben Hadad heard this message, as he was drinking, he and the kings, in the pavilions, that he said to his servants, "Prepare to attack!" They prepared to attack the city.

¹³Behold, a prophet came near to Ahab king of Israel, and said, "Thus says the Lord, 'Have you seen all this great multitude? Behold, I will deliver it into your hand this day; and you shall know that I am the Lord.'"

¹⁴Ahab said, "By whom?" He said, "Thus says the Lord, 'By the young men of the princes of the provinces.'" Then he said, "Who shall begin the battle?" He answered, "You."

¹⁵Then he mustered the young men of the princes of the provinces, and they were two hundred and thirty-two. After them, he mustered all the people, even all the children of Israel, being seven thousand.

¹⁶They went out at noon. But Ben Hadad was drinking himself drunk in the pavilions, he and the kings, the thirty-two kings who helped him.

¹⁷The young men of the princes of the provinces went out first; and Ben Hadad sent out, and they told him, saying, "Men are coming out from Samaria."

¹⁸He said, "If they have come out for peace, take them alive; or if they have come out for war, take them alive."

¹⁹So these went out of the city, the young men of the princes of the provinces, and the army which followed them.

²⁰They each killed his man. The Syrians fled, and Israel pursued them. Ben Hadad the king of Syria escaped on a horse with horsemen.

²¹The king of Israel went out, and struck the horses and chariots, and killed the Syrians with a great slaughter.

²²The prophet came near to the king of Israel, and said to him, "Go, strengthen yourself, and mark, and see what you do; for at the return of the year the king of Syria will come up against you."

²³The servants of the king of Syria said to him, "Their god is a god of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we. But let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.

²⁴Do this thing: take the kings away, every man out of his place, and put captains in their place.

²⁵Muster an army, like the army that you have lost, horse for horse, and chariot for chariot. We will fight against them in the plain, and surely we will be stronger than them." He listened to their voice, and did so.

²⁶It happened at the return of the year, that Ben Hadad mustered the Syrians, and went up to Aphek, to fight against Israel.

²⁷The children of Israel were mustered, and were provisioned, and went against them. The children of Israel encamped before them like two little flocks of young goats; but the Syrians filled the country.

²⁸A man of God came near and spoke to the king of Israel, and said, "Thus says the Lord, 'Because the Syrians have said, "The Lord is a god of the hills, but he is not a god of the valleys"; therefore I will deliver all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord.'"

²⁹They encamped one over against the other seven days. So it was, that in the seventh day the battle was joined; and the children of Israel killed one hundred thousand footmen of the Syrians in one day.

³⁰But the rest fled to Aphek, into the city; and the wall fell on twenty-seven thousand men who were left. Ben Hadad fled, and came into the city, into an inner room.

³¹His servants said to him, "See now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings. Please let us put sackcloth on our bodies, and ropes on our heads, and go out to the king of Israel. Maybe he will save your life."

³²So they put sackcloth on their bodies and ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said, "Your servant Ben Hadad says, 'Please let me live.'" He said, "Is he still alive? He is my brother."

³³Now the men observed diligently, and hurried to take this phrase; and they said, "Your brother Ben Hadad." Then he said, "Go, bring him." Then Ben Hadad came out to him; and he caused him to come up into the chariot.

³⁴Ben Hadad said to him, "The cities which my father took from your father I will restore. You shall make streets for yourself in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria." "I," said Ahab, "will let you go with this covenant." So he made a covenant with him, and let him go.

³⁵A certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his fellow by the word of the Lord, "Please strike me!" The man refused to strike him.

³⁶Then he said to him, "Because you have not obeyed the voice of the Lord, behold, as soon as you are departed from me, a lion shall kill you." As soon as he was departed from him, a lion found him, and killed him.

³⁷Then he found another man, and said, "Please strike me." The man struck him, smiting and wounding him.

³⁸So the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with his headband over his eyes.

³⁹As the king passed by, he cried to the king; and he said, "Your servant went out into the midst of the battle; and behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man to me, and said, 'Guard this man! If by any means he be missing, then your life shall be for his life, or else you shall pay a talent of silver.'

⁴⁰As your servant was busy here and there, he was gone." The king of Israel said to him, "So your judgment shall be; you yourself have decided it."

⁴¹He hurried, and took the headband away from his eyes; and the king of Israel recognized that he was of the prophets.

⁴²He said to him, "Thus says the Lord, 'Because you have let go out of your hand the man whom I had devoted to destruction, therefore your life shall go for his life, and your people for his people.'"

⁴³The king of Israel went to his house sullen and angry, and came to Samaria.