< 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 king of Aram hath gathered all his force, and thirty and two kings [are] with him, and horse and chariot, and he goeth up and layeth siege against Samaria, and fighteth with it,
2 Then he sent messengers into the city to Ahab king of Israel,
and sendeth messengers unto Ahab king of Israel, to 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 saith to him, 'Thus said Ben-Hadad, 'Thy silver and thy gold are mine, and thy wives and thy sons — 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 answereth and saith, 'According to thy word, my lord, O king: I [am] thine, 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 turn back and say, 'Thus spake Ben-Hadad, saying, Surely I sent unto thee, saying, Thy silver, and thy gold, and thy wives, and thy sons, to me thou dost give;
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.’”
for if, at this time to-morrow, I send my servants unto thee then they have searched thy house, and the houses of thy servants, and it hath been, every desirable thing of thine eyes they place in their hand, and have taken 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.”
And the king of Israel calleth to all the elders of the land, and saith, 'Know, I pray you, and see that evil this [one] is seeking, for he sent unto me for my wives, and for my sons, and for my silver, and for my gold, and I withheld not from 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 say unto him, 'Do 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.
And he saith to the messengers of Ben-Hadad, 'Say to my lord the king, All that thou didst send for unto thy servant at the first I do, and this thing I am not able to do;' and the messengers go and take him back word.
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 sendeth unto him, and saith, 'Thus do the gods to me, and thus do they add, if the dust of Samaria suffice for handfuls for all the people who [are] at my feet.'
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 answereth and saith, 'Speak ye: let not him who is girding on boast himself as him who is loosing [his armour].'
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 cometh to pass at the hearing of this word — and he is drinking, he and the kings, in the booths — that he saith unto his servants, 'Set yourselves;' and they set themselves 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 lo, a certain prophet hath come nigh unto Ahab king of Israel, and saith, 'Thus said Jehovah, 'Hast thou seen all this great multitude? lo, I am giving it into thy hand to-day, and thou hast known that I [am] Jehovah.'
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 Ahab saith, 'By whom?' and he saith, 'Thus said Jehovah, By the young men of the heads of the provinces;' and he saith, 'Who doth direct the battle?' and he saith, '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.
And he inspecteth the young men of the heads of the provinces, and they are two hundred, two and thirty, and after them he hath inspecteth the whole of the people, all the sons of Israel, seven thousand,
16 They marched out at noon while Ben-hadad and the 32 kings allied with him were in their tents getting drunk.
and they go out at noon, and Ben-Hadad is drinking — drunk in the booths, he and the kings, the thirty and two kings, helping 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 heads of the provinces go out at the first, and Ben-Hadad sendeth, and they declare to him, saying, 'Men have 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 saith, 'If for peace they have come out — catch them alive; and if for battle they have come out — alive catch them.'
19 Meanwhile, these young officers of the district governors marched out of the city, with the army behind them,
And these have gone out of the city — the young men of the heads of the provinces — and the force that [is] after 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 smite each his man, and Aram fleeth, and Israel pursueth them, and Ben-Hadad king of Aram escapeth on a horse, and 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 goeth out, and smiteth the horses, and the charioteers, and hath smitten among the Aramaeans a great smiting.
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 cometh nigh unto the king of Israel, and saith to him, 'Go, strengthen thyself, and know and see that which thou dost, for at the turn of the year the king of Aram is coming 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 Aram said unto him, 'Gods of hills [are] their gods, therefore they were stronger than we; and yet, we fight with them in the plain — are we not stronger than they?
24 So do this: Dismiss all the kings from their positions and replace them with other officers.
'And this thing do thou: turn aside the kings each out of his place, and set captains in their stead;
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 to thee a force as the force that is fallen from thee, and horse for horse, and chariot for chariot, and we fight with them in the plain; are we not stronger than they?' and he hearkeneth to their voice, and doth so.
26 In the spring, Ben-hadad mobilized the Arameans and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel.
And it cometh to pass at the turn of the year, that Ben-Hadad inspecteth the Aramaeans, and goeth up to Aphek, to battle 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 sons of Israel have been inspected, and supported, and go to meet them, and the sons of Israel encamp before them, like two flocks of goats, and the Aramaeans have filled the land.
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 cometh nigh a man of God, and speaketh unto the king of Israel, and saith, 'Thus said Jehovah, Because that the Aramaeans have said, God of hills [is] Jehovah, and He [is] not God of valleys — I have given the whole of this great multitude into thy hand, and ye have known that I [am] Jehovah.'
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 encamp one over-against another seven days, and it cometh to pass on the seventh day, that the battle draweth near, and the sons of Israel smite Aram — a hundred thousand footmen 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.
And those left flee to Aphek, unto the city, and the wall falleth on twenty and seven chief men who are left, and Ben-Hadad hath fled, and cometh in unto the city, into the innermost part.
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 say unto him, 'Lo, we pray thee, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel — that they are kind kings; let us put, we pray thee, sackcloth on our loins, and ropes on our heads, and we go out unto the king of Israel; it may be he doth keep thee alive.'
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.”
And they gird sackcloth on their loins, and ropes [are] on their heads, and they come in unto the king of Israel, and say, 'Thy servant Ben-Hadad hath said, Let me live, I pray thee;' and he saith, '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.
And the men observe diligently, and hasten, and catch it from him, and say, 'Thy brother Ben-Hadad;' and he saith, 'Go ye in, bring him;' and Ben-Hadad cometh out unto him, and he causeth him to come up on 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 saith unto him, 'The cities that my father took from thy father, I give back, and streets thou dost make for thee in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria;' — 'and I, with a covenant, send thee away;' and he maketh with him a covenant, and sendeth 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 neighbour by the word of Jehovah, 'Smite me, I pray thee;' and the man refuseth 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.
and he saith to him, 'Because that thou hast not hearkened to the voice of Jehovah, lo, thou art going from me, and the lion hath smitten thee;' and he goeth from him, and the lion findeth him, and smiteth him.
37 Then the prophet found another man and said, “Strike me, please!” So the man struck him and wounded him,
And he findeth another man, and saith, 'Smite me, I pray thee;' and the man smiteth him, smiting and wounding,
38 and the prophet went and waited on the road for the king, disguising himself with a bandage over his eyes.
and the prophet goeth and standeth for the king on the way, and disguiseth himself with ashes on 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 it cometh to pass — the king is passing by — that he hath cried unto the king, and saith, 'Thy servant went out into the midst of the battle, and lo, a man hath turned aside and bringeth in unto me a man, and saith, Keep this man; if he be at all missing, then hath thy life been for his life, or a talent of silver thou dost weigh out;
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.”
and it cometh to pass, thy servant is working hither and thither, and he is not!' and the king of Israel saith unto him, Right [is] thy judgment; thou hast determined [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 hasteth and turneth aside the ashes from off his eyes, and the king of Israel discerneth him, that he [is] 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 saith unto him, 'Thus said Jehovah, Because thou hast sent away the man I devoted, out of [thy] hand, even thy life hath been 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 goeth unto his house, sulky and wroth, and cometh in to Samaria.

< 1 Kings 20 >