1 Kings 20
1 Now Ben-hadad king of Aram assembled his entire army. Accompanied by thirty-two kings with their horses and chariots, he marched up, besieged Samaria, and waged war against it.
And Ben-hadad the king of Syria assembled all his host together: and thirty and two kings were with him, and horses, and chariots; and he went up and besieged Samaria, and made war against it.
2 Then he sent messengers into the city to Ahab king of Israel,
And he sent messengers to Achab the king of Israel into the city;
3 saying, “This is what Ben-hadad says: ‘Your silver and gold are mine, and your best wives and children are mine!’”
And he said unto him, Thus hath said Ben-hadad, Thy silver and thy gold are mine; thy wives also and thy children, even the best, are mine.
4 And the king of Israel replied, “Just as you say, my lord the king: I am yours, along with all that I have.”
And the king of Israel answered and said, According to thy word, my Lord, O king, thine am I, and all that I have.
5 The messengers came back and said, “This is what Ben-hadad says: ‘I have sent to you to demand your silver, your gold, your wives, and your children.
And the messengers returned, and said, Thus hath said Ben-hadad, to say [to thee], I have indeed sent unto thee, saying, Thou shalt give unto me thy silver, and thy gold, and thy wives, and thy children;
6 But about this time tomorrow I will send my servants to search your palace and the houses of your servants. They will seize and carry away all that is precious to you.’”
Nevertheless, about this time tomorrow will I send my servants unto thee, and they shall search through thy house, and the houses of thy servants; and it shall be, that whatsoever is pleasant in thy eyes, they shall place it in their hand, and take it away.
7 Then the king of Israel summoned all the elders of the land and said, “Please take note and see that this man is looking for trouble, for when he demanded my wives, my children, my silver, and my gold, I did not deny him.”
Then did the king of Israel call for all the elders of the land, and said, Mark, I pray you, and see that this man seeketh mischief; for he hath sent unto me for my wives, and for my children, and for my silver, and for my gold, and I have not refused them to him.
8 And the elders and the people all said, “Do not listen to him or consent to his terms.”
And all the elders and all the people said unto him, Thou must not hearken, nor consent.
9 So Ahab answered the messengers of Ben-hadad, “Tell my lord the king, ‘All that you demanded of your servant the first time I will do, but this thing I cannot do.’” So the messengers departed and relayed the message to Ben-hadad.
Wherefore he said unto the messengers of Ben-hadad, Say to my lord the king, all that thou didst send for to thy servant at the first will I do; but this thing I am not able to do. And the messengers went away, and brought him word again.
10 Then Ben-hadad sent another message to Ahab: “May the gods deal with me, and ever so severely, if enough dust remains of Samaria for each of my men to have a handful.”
And Ben-hadad then sent unto him, and said, May the gods do so unto me, and continue to do so, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that are in my train.
11 And the king of Israel replied, “Tell him: ‘The one putting on his armor should not boast like one taking it off.’”
And the king of Israel answered and said, Speak, Let him that girdeth on the armor not boast himself as he that putteth it off.
12 Ben-hadad received this message while he and the kings were drinking in their tents, and he said to his servants, “Take your positions.” So they stationed themselves against the city.
And it came to pass, when he heard this message, as he was drinking, he and the kings in the pavilions, that he said unto his servants, Get ready for the attack. And they got ready for the attack against the city.
13 Meanwhile a prophet approached Ahab king of Israel and declared, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Do you see this entire great army? Behold, I will deliver it into your hand this very day, and you will know that I am the LORD.’”
And, behold, there approached a certain prophet unto Achab the king of Israel, and said, Thus hath said the Lord, Hast thou seen all this great multitude? behold, I will deliver it into thy hand this day; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord.
14 “By whom?” Ahab asked. And the prophet replied, “This is what the LORD says: ‘By the young officers of the district governors.’” “Who will start the battle?” asked Ahab. “You will,” answered the prophet.
And Achab said, By whom? And he said, Thus hath said the Lord, By means of the young men of the princes of the provinces. Then said he, Who shall order the battle? And he said, Thou.
15 So Ahab assembled the young officers of the district governors, and there were 232 men. And after them, he assembled the rest of the Israelite troops, 7,000 in all.
He then numbered the young men of the princes of the provinces, and they were two hundred and thirty-two: and after them he numbered all the people, all the children of Israel, seven thousand strong.
16 They marched out at noon while Ben-hadad and the 32 kings allied with him were in their tents getting drunk.
And they went out at midday; while Ben-hadad was drinking himself drunk in the pavilions, he and the kings, the thirty and two kings that helped him.
17 And the young officers of the district governors marched out first. Now Ben-hadad had sent out scouts, who reported to him, “Men are marching out of Samaria.”
And the young men of the princes of the provinces went out at first; and Ben-hadad sent out, and they told him, saying, Some men are come out of Samaria.
18 “If they have marched out in peace,” he said, “take them alive. Even if they have marched out for war, take them alive.”
And he said, If they be come out for peace, catch them alive; and if they be come out for war, alive must ye catch them.
19 Meanwhile, these young officers of the district governors marched out of the city, with the army behind them,
So these, the young men of the princes of the provinces, came out of the city, with the army which followed them.
20 and each one struck down his opponent. So the Arameans fled, with the Israelites in pursuit. But Ben-hadad king of Aram escaped on horseback with the cavalry.
And they slew every one his man; and the Syrians fled, and Israel pursued them: and Ben-hadad the king of Syria escaped on a horse with the horsemen.
21 Then the king of Israel marched out and attacked the horses and chariots, inflicting a great slaughter on the Arameans.
And the king of Israel went out, and smote the horses and chariots, and inflicted on the Syrians a great defeat.
22 Afterward, the prophet approached the king of Israel and said, “Go and strengthen your position, and take note what you must do, for in the spring the king of Aram will come up against you.”
And the prophet approached unto the king of Israel, and said unto him, Go, strengthen thyself, and mark, and see what thou hast to do; for at the return of the year the king of Syria will come up against thee.
23 Meanwhile, the servants of the king of Aram said to him, “Their gods are gods of the hills. That is why they prevailed over us. Instead, we should fight them on the plains; surely then we will prevail.
And the servants of the king of Syria said unto him, Gods of the mountains are their gods; therefore they prevailed over us; but let us fight against them in the plain, [and see] whether we shall not prevail over them.
24 So do this: Dismiss all the kings from their positions and replace them with other officers.
But do this thing, Remove the kings, every one from his place, and appoint governors in their rooms;
25 And you must raise an army like the one you have lost—horse for horse and chariot for chariot—so we can fight the Israelites on the plain, where we will surely prevail.” And the king approved their plan and acted accordingly.
And thou, number for thyself an army, like the army that thou hast lost, horse for horse, and chariot for chariot: and we will fight against them in the plain, [and see] whether we shall prevail over them. And he hearkened unto their voice, and did so.
26 In the spring, Ben-hadad mobilized the Arameans and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel.
And it came to pass at the return of the year, that Ben-hadad numbered the Syrians, and went up to Aphek, to the war with Israel.
27 The Israelites also mobilized, gathered supplies, and marched out to meet them. The Israelites camped before them like two small flocks of goats, while the Arameans covered the countryside.
And the children of Israel were numbered, and provisioned, and went [out] against them: and the children of Israel encamped opposite to them like two little flocks of goats; but the Syrians filled the country.
28 Then the man of God approached the king of Israel and said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Because the Arameans think the LORD is a god of the hills and not of the valleys, I will deliver all this great army into your hand. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’”
And there approached the man of God, and spoke unto the king of Israel, and said, Thus hath said the Lord, Forasmuch as the Syrians have said, “A God of the hills is the Lord, but he is not God of the valleys”: will I deliver all this great multitude into thy hand; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.
29 For seven days the armies camped opposite each other, and on the seventh day the battle ensued, and the Israelites struck down the Arameans—a hundred thousand foot soldiers in one day.
And they encamped one opposite the other for seven days. And it happened, that on the seventh day the battle took place: and the children of Israel smote the Syrians a hundred thousand men on foot in one day.
30 The rest of them fled into the city of Aphek, where the wall fell on twenty-seven thousand of the remaining men. Ben-hadad also fled to the city and hid in an inner room.
But those that were left fled to Aphek, into the city; but the city-wall fell upon the twenty and seven thousand men that had been left. And Ben-hadad fled, and came into the city, into an innermost chamber.
31 Then the servants of Ben-hadad said to him, “Look now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful. Let us go out to the king of Israel with sackcloth around our waists and ropes around our heads. Perhaps he will spare your life.”
And his servants said unto him, Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are kindly kings; let us, we pray thee, put sackcloth on our loins, and ropes upon our heads, and go out to the king of Israel; peradventure he may save thy life.
32 So with sackcloth around their waists and ropes around their heads, they went to the king of Israel and said, “Your servant Ben-hadad says, ‘Please spare my life.’” And the king answered, “Is he still alive? He is my brother.”
So they girded sackcloth on their loins, and ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said, Thy servant Ben-hadad hath said, I pray thee, let me live. And he said, Is he yet alive? he is my brother.
33 Now the men were looking for a sign of hope, and they quickly grasped at this word and replied, “Yes, your brother Ben-hadad.” “Go and get him!” said the king. Then Ben-hadad came out, and Ahab had him come up into his chariot.
Now the men took it for a good sign, and hastened and caught at his word, whether it was his earnest; and they said, Thy brother Ben-hadad! But he said, Go ye, bring him. Then came Ben-hadad forth to him; and he caused him to come up into the chariot.
34 Ben-hadad said to him, “I will restore the cities my father took from your father; you may set up your own marketplaces in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria.” “By this treaty I release you,” Ahab replied. So he made a treaty with him and sent him away.
And he said unto him, The cities, which my father took from thy father, will I restore; and thou canst lay out for thyself streets in Damascus, as my father laid out in Samaria. “And I for my part will send thee away with this covenant.” So he made a covenant with him, and sent him away.
35 Meanwhile, by the word of the LORD, one of the sons of the prophets said to his companion, “Strike me, please!” But the man refused to strike him.
And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said unto his companion, By the word of the Lord, smite me, I pray thee. But the man refused to smite him.
36 Then the prophet said to him, “Because you have not obeyed the voice of the LORD, as soon as you depart from me a lion will kill you.” And when he left, a lion found him and killed him.
Then said he unto him, Forasmuch as thou hast not obeyed the voice of the Lord, behold, when thou goest away from me, a lion shall slay thee. And he went away from him, when a lion found him, and slew him.
37 Then the prophet found another man and said, “Strike me, please!” So the man struck him and wounded him,
Then he met with another man, and said, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man smote him, smiting and wounding [him].
38 and the prophet went and waited on the road for the king, disguising himself with a bandage over his eyes.
And the prophet then went, and placed himself before the king on the way, and disguised himself with a bandage over his eyes.
39 As the king passed by, he cried out to the king: “Your servant had marched out into the middle of the battle, when suddenly a man came over with a captive and told me, ‘Guard this man! If he goes missing for any reason, your life will be exchanged for his life, or you will weigh out a talent of silver.’
And as the king passed by, he cried unto the king, and said, Thy servant went out into the midst of the battle; and, behold, a man turned aside, and brought unto me a man, and said, Guard this man; if by any means he be missing, then shall thy life be [forfeit] for his life, or else thou shalt weigh me down a talent of silver.
40 But while your servant was busy here and there, the man disappeared.” And the king of Israel said to him, “So shall your judgment be; you have pronounced it on yourself.”
But it happened as thy servant was Busy here and there, that he was gone. And the king of Israel said unto him, So is thy sentence: thou thyself hast decided it.
41 Then the prophet quickly removed the bandage from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets.
And he hastened, and removed the bandage from his eyes; and the king of Israel recognized him that he was one of the prophets.
42 And the prophet said to the king, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Because you have let slip from your hand the man I had devoted to destruction, your life will be exchanged for his life, and your people for his people.’”
And he said unto him, Thus hath said the Lord, Because thou hast let go out of thy hand the man whom I had caught in my net, therefore shall thy life be the forfeit for his life, and thy people for his people.
43 Sullen and angry, the king of Israel went home to Samaria.
And the king of Israel went to his house low-spirited and displeased, and he came to Samaria.
