1 Kings 20
1 And Ben-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.
And Nabuthai the Jezraelite had a vineyard, near the threshingfloor of Achaab king of Samaria.
2 And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel, into the city, and said to him, Thus says Ben-hadad,
And Achaab spoke to Nabuthai, saying, Give me thy vineyard, and I will have it for a garden of herbs, for it [is] near my house: and I will give thee another vineyard better than it; or if it please thee, I will give thee money, the price of this thy vineyard, and I will have it for a garden of herbs.
3 Thy silver and thy gold is mine, thy wives also and thy sons, even the best, are mine.
And Nabuthai said to Achaab, My God forbid me that I should give thee the inheritance of my fathers.
4 And the king of Israel answered and said, It is according to thy saying, my lord, O king, I am thine, and all that I have.
And the spirit of Achaab was troubled, and he lay down upon his bed, and covered his face, and ate no bread.
5 And the messengers came again, and said, Thus speaks Ben-hadad, saying, I indeed sent to thee, saying, Thou shall deliver to me thy silver, and thy gold, and thy wives, and thy sons.
And Jezabel his wife went in to him, and spoke to him, [saying], Why [is] thy spirit troubled, and [why] dost thou eat no bread?
6 But I will send my servants to thee tomorrow about this time, and they shall search thy house, and the houses of thy servants. And it shall be, that whatever is pleasant in thine eyes, they shall put it in their hand, and take it away.
And he said to her, Because I spoke to Nabuthai the Jezraelite, saying, Give me thy vineyard for money; or if thou wilt, I will give thee another vineyard for it: and he said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers.
7 Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land, and said, Mark, I pray you, and see how this man seeks mischief, for he sent to me for my wives, and for my sons, and for my silver, and for my gold, and I did not deny him.
And Jezabel his wife said to him, Dost thou now thus act the king over Israel? arise, and eat bread, and be thine own [master], and I will give thee the vineyard of Nabuthai the Jezraelite.
8 And all the elders and all the people said to him, Do thou not hearken, nor consent.
And she wrote a letter in the name of Achaab, and sealed it with his seal, and sent the letter to the elders, and to the freemen who dwelt with Nabuthai.
9 Therefore he said to the messengers of Ben-hadad, Tell my lord the king, All that thou sent for to thy servant at the first I will do, but this thing I may not do. And the messengers departed, and brought him word again.
And it was written in the letters, saying, Keep a fast, and set Naboth in a chief place among the people.
10 And Ben-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 that follow me.
And set two men, sons of transgressors, before him, and let them testify against him, saying, He blessed God and the king: and let them lead him forth, and stone him, and let them die.
11 And the king of Israel answered and said, Tell him, Let not him who girds on his armor boast himself as he who puts it off.
And the men of his city, the elders, and the nobles who dwelt in his city, did as Jezabel sent to them, and as it had been written in the letters which she sent to them.
12 And it came to pass, when Ben-hadad heard this message as he was drinking, he and the kings, in the pavilions, that he said to his servants, Set yourselves in array. And they set themselves in array against the city.
And they proclaimed a fast, and set Nebuthai in a chief place among the people.
13 And, behold, a prophet came near to Ahab king of Israel, and said, Thus says Jehovah, Have thou seen all this great multitude? Behold, I will deliver it into thy hand this day, and thou shall know that I am Jehovah.
And two men, sons of transgressors, came in, and sat opposite him, and bore witness against him, saying, Thou hast blessed God and the king. And they led him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, and he died.
14 And Ahab said, By whom? And he said, Thus says Jehovah, By the young men of the rulers of the provinces. Then he said, Who shall begin the battle? And he answered, Thou.
And they sent to Jezabel, saying, Nabuthai is stoned, and is dead.
15 Then he mustered the young men of the rulers of the provinces, and they were two hundred and thirty-two. And after them he mustered all the people, even all the sons of Israel, being seven thousand.
And it came to pass, when Jezabel heard [it], that she said to Achaab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Nabuthai the Jezraelite, who would not sell it to thee: for Nebuthai is not alive, for he is dead.
16 And they 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.
And it came to pass, when Achaab heard that Nabuthai the Jezraelite was dead, that he rent his garments, and put on sackcloth. And it came to pass afterward, that Achaab arose and went down to the vineyard of Nabuthai the Jezraelite, to take possession of it.
17 And the young men of the rulers of the provinces went out first. And Ben-hadad sent out, and they told him, saying, There are men come out from Samaria.
And the Lord spoke to Eliu the Thesbite, saying,
18 And he said, Whether they come out for peace, take them alive, or whether they come out for war, take them alive.
Arise, and go down to meet Achaab king of Israel, who is in Samaria, for he [is] in the vineyard of Nabuthai, for he has gone down thither to take possession of it.
19 So these went out of the city, the young men of the rulers of the provinces, and the army which followed them.
And thou shalt speak to him, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Forasmuch as thou hast slain and taken possession, therefore thus saith the Lord, In every place where the swine and the dogs have licked the blood of Nabuthai, there shall the dogs lick thy blood; and the harlots shall wash themselves in thy blood.
20 And they killed everyone his man. And the Syrians fled, and Israel pursued them. And Ben-hadad the king of Syria escaped on a horse with horsemen.
And Achaab said to Eliu, Hast thou found me, mine enemy? and he said, I have found [thee]: because thou hast wickedly sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger;
21 And the king of Israel went out, and smote the horses and chariots, and killed the Syrians with a great slaughter.
behold, I bring evil upon thee: and I will kindle a fire after thee, and I will utterly destroy every male of Achaab, and him that is shut up and him that is left in Israel.
22 And the prophet came near to the king of Israel, and said to him, Go, strengthen thyself. And mark, and see what thou do, for at the return of the year the king of Syria will come up against thee.
And I will make thy house as the house of Jeroboam the son of Nabat, and as the house of Baasa son of Achia, because of the provocations wherewith thou hast provoked [me], and caused Israel to sin.
23 And the 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.
And the Lord spoke of Jezabel, saying, The dogs shall devour her within the fortification of Jezrael.
24 And do this thing: Take the kings away, every man out of his place, and put captains in their place.
Him that is dead of Achaab in the city shall the dogs eat, and him that is dead of him in the field shall the birds of the sky eat.
25 And number thee an army, like the army that thou have lost, horse for horse, and chariot for chariot. And we will fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. And he hearkened to their voice, and did so.
But Achaab [did] wickedly, in that he sold himself to do that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, as his wife Jezabel led him astray.
26 And it came to pass at the return of the year, that Ben-hadad mustered the Syrians, and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel.
And he did very abominably in following after the abominations, according to all that the Amorite did, whom the Lord utterly destroyed from before the children of Israel.
27 And the sons of Israel were mustered, and were supported, and went against them. And the sons of Israel encamped before them like two little flocks of kids, but the Syrians filled the country.
And because of the word, Achaab was pierced with sorrow before the Lord, and he both went weeping, and rent his garment, and girt sackcloth upon his body, and fasted; he put on sackcloth also in the day that he smote Nabuthai the Jezraelite, and went his way.
28 And a man of God came near and spoke to the king of Israel, and said, Thus says Jehovah, Because the Syrians have said, Jehovah is a god of the hills, but he is not a god of the valleys, therefore I will deliver all this great multitude into thy hand, and ye shall know that I am Jehovah.
And the word of the Lord came by the hand of his servant Eliu concerning Achaab, and the Lord said,
29 And they encamped one opposite the other seven days. And so it was, that in the seventh day the battle was joined. And the sons of Israel killed of the Syrians a hundred thousand footmen in one day.
Hast thou seen how Achaab has been pricked [to the heart] before me? I will not bring on the evil in his days, but in his son's days will I bring on the evil.
30 But the rest fled to Aphek, into the city, and the wall fell upon twenty-seven thousand men who were left. And Ben-hadad fled, and came into the city, into an inner chamber.
And the son of Ader gathered all his forces, and went up and besieged Samaria, [he] and thirty-two kings with him, and all [his] horse and chariots: and they went up and besieged Samaria, and fought against it.
31 And his servants said to him, Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings. Let us, we pray thee, put sackcloth on our loins, and ropes upon our heads, and go out to the king of Israel. Perhaps he will save thy life.
And he sent into the city to Achaab king of Israel, and said to him, Thus says the son of Ader,
32 So they girded sackcloth on their loins, and put ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said, Thy servant Ben-hadad says, I pray thee, let me live. And he said, Is he yet alive? He is my brother.
Thy silver and thy gold are mine, and thy wives and thy children are mine.
33 Now the men observed diligently whether anything would come from him. And they quickly caught it, and they said, Thy brother Ben-hadad. Then he said, Go ye, bring him. Then Ben-hadad came forth to him, and he caused him to come up into the chariot.
And the king of Israel answered and said, As thou hast said, my lord, O king, I am thine, and all mine [also].
34 And Ben-hadad said to him, The cities which my father took from thy father I will restore, and thou shall make streets for thee in Damascus as my father made in Samaria. And I, said Ahab, will let thee go with this covenant. So he made a covenant with him, and let him go.
And the messengers came again, and said, Thus says the son of Ader, I sent to thee, saying, Thou shalt give me thy silver and thy gold, and thy wives and thy children.
35 And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said by the word of Jehovah to his fellow, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man refused to smite him.
For at this time to-morrow I will send my servants to thee, and they shall search thy house, and the houses of thy servants, and it shall be that all the desirable objects of their eyes on which they shall lay their hands, they shall even take [them].
36 Then said he to him, Because thou have not obeyed the voice of Jehovah, behold, as soon as thou are departed from me, a lion shall kill thee. And as soon as he was departed from him, a lion found him, and killed him.
And the king of Israel called all the elders of the land, and said, Take notice now and consider, that this man seeks mischief: for he has sent to me concerning my wives, and concerning my sons, an concerning my daughters: I have not kept back from him my silver and my gold.
37 Then he found another man, and said, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man smote him, smiting and wounding him.
And the elders and all the people said to him, Hearken not, and consent not.
38 So the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with his headband over his eyes.
And he said to the messengers of the son of Ader, Say to your master, All things that thou hast sent to thy servant about at first I will do; but this thing I shall not be able to do. And the men departed, and carried back the answer to him.
39 And as the king passed by, he cried out to the king, and he said, Thy servant went out into the midst of the battle, and, behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man to me, and said, Keep this man. If by any means he is missing, then shall thy life be for his life, or else thou shall pay a talent of silver.
And the son of Ader sent to him, saying, So do God to me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for foxes to all the people, even my infantry.
40 And as thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone. And the king of Israel said to him, So shall thy judgment be, thyself have decided it.
And the king of Israel answered and said, Let it be sufficient; let not the humpbacked boast as he that is upright.
41 And he hastened, and took the headband away from his eyes, and the king of Israel discerned him that he was of the prophets.
And it came to pass when he returned him this answer, he and all the kings with him were drinking in tents: and he said to his servants, Form a trench. And they made a trench against the city.
42 And he said to him, Thus says Jehovah, Because thou have let go out of thy hand the man whom I had devoted to destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people.
And, behold, a prophet came to Achaab king of Israel, and said, Thus saith the Lord, Hast thou seen this great multitude? behold, I give it this day into thine hands; and thou shalt know that I [am] the Lord.
43 And the king of Israel went to his house heavy and displeased, and came to Samaria.
And Achaab said, Whereby? And he said, Thus saith the Lord, by the young men of the heads of the districts. And Achaab said, Who shall begin the battle? and he said, Thou.
