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.
Then Benhadad, the king of Syria, gathered together his entire army. And there were thirty-two kings with him, with horses and chariots. And ascending, he fought against Samaria, and he besieged it.
2 And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel, into the city, and said to him, Thus says Ben-hadad,
And sending messengers into the city, to Ahab, the king of Israel,
3 Thy silver and thy gold is mine, thy wives also and thy sons, even the best, are mine.
he said: “Thus says Benhadad: Your silver and your gold is mine. And your wives and your best sons are mine.”
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 king of Israel responded, “In agreement with your word, my lord the king, I am yours, with all that is mine.”
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 the messengers, returning, said: “Thus says Benhadad, who sent us to you: Your silver and your gold, and your wives and your sons, you shall give to me.
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.
Therefore, tomorrow, at this same hour, I will send my servants to you, and they will search your house and the houses of your servants. And all that pleases them, they will put in their hands and take away.”
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.
Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land, and he said: “Let your souls take heed, and see that he commits treachery against us. For he sent to me for my wives and sons, and for silver and gold. And I did not refuse.”
8 And all the elders and all the people said to him, Do thou not hearken, nor consent.
And all those greater by birth, with all the people, said to him, “You should neither listen, nor acquiesce to him.”
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 so, he responded to the messengers of Benhadad: “Tell my lord the king: Everything about which you sent to me in the beginning, I your servant will do. But this thing, I am not able to do.”
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 returning, the messengers took this to him, and he sent again and said, “May the gods do these things to me, and may they add these other things, if the dust of Samaria is enough to fill the hands of all the people who follow me.”
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 responding, the king of Israel said, “Tell him that one who is girded should not boast the same as one who is ungirded.”
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.
Then it happened that, when Benhadad had heard this word, he and the kings were drinking in a pavilion. And he said to his servants, “Encircle the city.” And they encircled it.
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 behold, one prophet, drawing near to Ahab, the king of Israel, said to him: “Thus says the Lord: Certainly, you have seen this entire exceedingly great multitude? Behold, I will deliver them into your hand today, so that you may know that I am the Lord.”
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 Ahab said, “By whom?” And he said to him: “Thus says the Lord: By the footmen of the leaders of the provinces.” And he said, “Who should begin to do battle?” And he said, “You should.”
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.
Therefore, he took a count of the servants of the leaders of the provinces. And he found the number to be two hundred thirty-two. And he set them in order after the people, all the sons of Israel, who were seven thousand.
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 they went out at midday. But Benhadad was drinking; he was inebriated in his pavilion, and the thirty-two kings with him, who had arrived in order to assist him.
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.
Then the servants of the leaders of the provinces went out to the first place, at the front. And so, Benhadad sent, and they reported to him, saying: “Men have gone out from Samaria.”
18 And he said, Whether they come out for peace, take them alive, or whether they come out for war, take them alive.
And he said: “If they have arrived for peace, apprehend them alive; if to do battle, capture them alive.”
19 So these went out of the city, the young men of the rulers of the provinces, and the army which followed them.
Therefore, the servants of the leaders of the provinces went out, and the remainder of the army was following.
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 each one struck down the man who came against him. And the Syrians fled, and Israel pursued them. Also, Benhadad, the king of Syria, fled on a horse, with his horsemen.
21 And the king of Israel went out, and smote the horses and chariots, and killed the Syrians with a great slaughter.
But the king of Israel, going out, struck the horses and the chariots, and he struck the Syrians with a great slaughter.
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.
Then a prophet, drawing near to the king of Israel, said to him: “Go and be strengthened. And know and see what you are doing. For in the following year, the king of Syria will rise up against you.”
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.
Then truly, the servants of the king of Syria said to him: “Their gods are the gods of the mountains; because of this, they have overwhelmed us. But it is better that we fight against them in the plains, and then we will prevail over them.
24 And do this thing: Take the kings away, every man out of his place, and put captains in their place.
Therefore, you should do this word: Remove each of the kings from your army, and set commanders in their place.
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.
And replace the number of soldiers who have been cut down of yours, and the horses, in accord with the earlier number of horses, and the chariots, in accord with the number of chariots that you had before. And we will fight against them in the plains, and you will see that we will prevail over them.” And he trusted in their counsel, and he did so.
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.
Therefore, after the passing of the year, Benhadad took a count of the Syrians, and he ascended to Aphek, so that he might fight against 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.
Then the sons of Israel were numbered, and taking provisions, they set out to the opposite side. And they stretched out the camp facing them, like two little flocks of goats. But the Syrians filled the land.
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 one man of God, drawing near, said to the king of Israel: “Thus says the Lord: Because the Syrians have said, ‘The Lord is the God of the mountains, but he is not the God of the valleys,’ I will deliver this entire great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”
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.
And for seven days, both sides arranged each of their battle lines. Then, on the seventh day, the war was undertaken. And the sons of Israel struck down, from the Syrians, one hundred thousand foot soldiers in one day.
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.
Then those who had remained fled to Aphek, into the city. And the wall fell upon twenty-seven thousand men of those who had remained. Then Benhadad, fleeing, entered the city, into a room that was inside another room.
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 his servants said to him: “Behold, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel show clemency. And so, let us put sackcloth around our waists, and ropes on our heads, and let us go out to the king of Israel. Perhaps he will save our lives.”
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.
So they wrapped sackcloth around their waists, and they placed ropes on their heads. And they went to the king of Israel, and they said to him: “Your servant, Benhadad, says: ‘I beg you to let my soul live.’” And he replied, “If he is still alive, he is my brother.”
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.
The men accepted this as a good sign. And hastily, they took up the word from his mouth, and they said, “Benhadad is your brother.” And he said to them, “Go, and bring him to me.” Therefore, Benhadad went out to him, and he lifted him onto his chariot.
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 he said to him: “The cities that my father took from your father, I will return. And you may make streets for yourself in Damascus, just as my father made in Samaria. And after we have made a pact, I will withdraw from you.” Therefore, he formed a pact with him, and he released him.
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.
Then a certain man from the sons of the prophets said to his associate, by the word of the Lord, “Strike me.” But he was not willing to strike.
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 he said to him: “Because you were not willing to heed the voice of the Lord, behold, you will depart from me, and a lion will slay you. And when he had departed a short distance from him, a lion found him, and slew him.
37 Then he found another man, and said, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man smote him, smiting and wounding him.
But upon finding another man, he said to him, “Strike me.” And he struck him, and wounded him.
38 So the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with his headband over his eyes.
Then the prophet departed. And he met the king along the way, and he changed his appearance by sprinkling dust around his mouth and eyes.
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 when the king had passed by, he cried out to the king, and he said: “Your servant went out to do battle in close quarters. And when one man had fled, a certain person brought him to me, and he said: ‘Guard this man. For if he slips away, your life will take the place of his life, or you will weigh out one talent of silver.’
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 while I was distracted, turning one way and another, suddenly, he was not to be seen.” And the king of Israel said to him, “This is your judgment, that which you yourself have decreed.”
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.
Then immediately, he wiped away the dust from his face, and the king of Israel recognized him, that he was one of the prophets.
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 he said to him: “Thus says the Lord: Because you have released from your hand a man worthy of death, your life will take the place of his life, and your people will take the place of his people.”
43 And the king of Israel went to his house heavy and displeased, and came to Samaria.
And so the king of Israel returned to his house, unwilling to listen, and a fury entered into Samaria.
