1 Kings 20
1 Ben-hadad, king of Aram, called up his entire army. Together with thirty-two kings and their assembled horses and chariots, he marched to besiege Samaria, to fight against it.
And Nabuthai the Jezraelite had a vineyard, near the threshingfloor of Achaab king of Samaria.
2 He sent messengers to Ahab, king of Israel, in the city to tell him, “This is what Ben-hadad says:
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 Your silver and gold belong to me now, and your best wives and children also belong to me!”
And Nabuthai said to Achaab, My God forbid me that I should give thee the inheritance of my fathers.
4 “It's as you say, my lord the king,” the king of Israel replied. “I am yours, as well as everything that belongs to me.”
And the spirit of Achaab was troubled, and he lay down upon his bed, and covered his face, and ate no bread.
5 The messengers returned and said, “This is what Ben-hadad says: I have sent you a message demanding you give me your silver, your gold, your wives, and your children.
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 around this time tomorrow I'm going to send my men to search your palace and the homes of your officials. They will take and carry away everything you see as valuable.”
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 The king of Israel called all the elders of the land and told them, “Look how this man is trying to cause trouble! When he demanded my wives and my children, my silver and my gold, I didn't say no.”
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 All the elders and all the people present responded, “Don't listen to him. Don't agree to his demands.”
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 So the king told Ben-hadad's messengers, “Tell my lord the king: Everything you demanded at first your servant will do, but I cannot agree to this latest demand.” The messengers took the reply back to him.
And it was written in the letters, saying, Keep a fast, and set Naboth in a chief place among the people.
10 Ben-hadad responded to him, “May the gods do as much to me and more if there remains enough dust in Samaria to give my subjects a handful each!”
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 The king of Israel replied, “Tell him this: A man putting on his armor should not brag like one who is taking 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 Ben-hadad received this message while he and the kings were drinking in their tents. He immediately gave the order to his officers, “Get ready to attack!” So they prepared to attack the city.
And they proclaimed a fast, and set Nebuthai in a chief place among the people.
13 At the same time a prophet came up to Ahab, king of Israel, and told him, “This is what the Lord says: You see this massive army? Just watch, because I will make you victorious today, and you will be convinced that I am the Lord.”
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 “But who's going to do this?” Ahab asked. The prophet answered, “This is what the Lord says: It will be the young officers under the district commanders.” “And who's going to start the battle?” he asked. The prophet replied, “You are!”
And they sent to Jezabel, saying, Nabuthai is stoned, and is dead.
15 So Ahab called up the 232 young officers of the district commanders, and assembled the 7,000 soldiers that made up Israel's army.
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 They left at noon while Ben-hadad and the thirty-two kings with him were busy getting drunk in their tents.
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 The young officers of the district commanders took the lead. The scouts Ben-hadad had sent out came and reported to him, “Enemy soldiers are advancing from Samaria.”
And the Lord spoke to Eliu the Thesbite, saying,
18 “If they're coming in peace, take them alive,” he ordered. “If they're coming to attack, 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 The young officers of the district commanders advanced from the city, followed by the army.
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 Each man killed his opponent, and the Arameans ran away. The Israelites chased them, but Ben-hadad, king of Aram, escaped on horseback with his cavalry.
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 Then the king of Israel came out and attacked the horses and chariots. He inflicted a great defeat on the Arameans.
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 Later on the prophet came to the king of Israel and told him, “Go and reinforce your defenses, and check what you need to do, because in the spring the king of Aram will come and attack you again.”
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 In the meantime the king of Aram's officers told him, “Their gods are gods of the mountains. That's why they could defeat us. But if we fight them in the lowlands, we can beat them.
And the Lord spoke of Jezabel, saying, The dogs shall devour her within the fortification of Jezrael.
24 You should do this: remove each of the kings from their positions and replace them with commanders.
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 You also have to raise another army to replace the one you lost—horse for horse, chariot for chariot. Then we can fight them in the lowlands and we will definitely beat them.” Ben-hadad listened to their advice and did as they said.
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 When spring came Ben-hadad called up the Aramean army and went to attack Israel at Aphek.
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 The Israelite army was also called up and provided with supplies. They went to confront the Arameans. But when the Israelites set up their camp opposite the enemy they looked like couple of flocks of goats in comparison with the Aramean army that filled the whole land.
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 Then the man of God came to the king of Israel and said, “This is what the Lord says: Because the Arameans have said, ‘The Lord is only a god of the mountains and not of the valleys,’ I will make you victorious over the whole of this massive army. Then you will be convinced that I am the Lord.”
And the word of the Lord came by the hand of his servant Eliu concerning Achaab, and the Lord said,
29 The armies camped opposite each other for seven days. On the seventh day the battle took place. The Israelites killed 100,000 of the Aramean infantry 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 The rest ran away to the town of Aphek, where a wall collapsed on 27,000 of those that remained. Ben-hadad also ran to the town and hid in an inside room.
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 Ben-hadad's officers said to him, “Look, we've heard that the Israelite kings are merciful. Let's surrender to the king of Israel, wearing sackcloth around our waists and ropes on our heads. Maybe he will let you live.”
And he sent into the city to Achaab king of Israel, and said to him, Thus says the son of Ader,
32 So wearing sackcloth around their waists and ropes on their heads, they went and surrendered to the king of Israel, and told him, “Your servant Ben-hadad asks, ‘Please let me live.’” The king replied “Is he still alive? I think of him as my brother.”
Thy silver and thy gold are mine, and thy wives and thy children are mine.
33 The men thought this was a good sign and they immediately took the king at his word, saying, “Yes, Ben-hahad is your brother.” “Go and fetch him!” said the king. So Ben-hadad came out of hiding and surrendered to Ahab, who pulled him up into his 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 Ben-hadad said to him, “I will return the towns my father took from your father, and you can organize your own places for trade in Damascus, like my father did in Samaria.” “By making this agreement I set you free,” Ahab replied. He made a treaty with Ben-hadad 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 Following a message he received from the Lord, one of the sons of the prophets said to his colleague, “Please hit me.” But the man refused to hit 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 So the prophet told him, “Since you have not done what the Lord said, once you leave me a lion is going to kill you.” When the man left, a lion came 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 The prophet found another man and said, “Please hit me!” So the man hit him, wounding him.
And the elders and all the people said to him, Hearken not, and consent not.
38 Then the prophet went and stood beside the road, waiting for the king. He had disguised himself with a bandage 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 As the king was passing by, he shouted out to the king: “Your servant had gone out fighting right in the middle of the battle, when all of a sudden a man came over with a prisoner and told me, ‘Guard this man! If for any reason he escapes, you will pay for his life with your life, or you will be fined 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 But while your servant was busy with other things, the man got away.” “So that will be your punishment then,” the king of Israel told him. “You have sentenced yourself.”
And the king of Israel answered and said, Let it be sufficient; let not the humpbacked boast as he that is upright.
41 Then the prophet quickly took off the bandage from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized he was one 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 He told the king, “This is what the Lord says: You have let go a man I had decided should die. Therefore you will pay for his life with your life, your 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 The king of Israel went home to Samaria, sulking and infuriated.
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.
