1 Kings 20
1 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.
And Nabuthai the Jezraelite had a vineyard, near the threshing floor of Achaab king of Samaria.
2 And he sent messengers to Achab the king of Israel into the city;
And Achaab spoke to Nabuthai, saying, Give me your vineyard, and I will have it for a garden of herbs, for it [is] near my house: and I will give you another vineyard better than it; or if it please you, I will give you money, the price of this your vineyard, and I will have it for a garden of herbs.
3 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.
And Nabuthai said to Achaab, My God forbid me that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers.
4 And the king of Israel answered and said, According to thy word, my Lord, O king, thine am I, 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 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;
And Jezabel his wife went in to him, and spoke to him, [saying], Why [is] your spirit troubled, and [why] do you eat no bread?
6 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.
And he said to her, Because I spoke to Nabuthai the Jezraelite, saying, Give me your vineyard for money; or if you will, I will give you another vineyard for it: and he said, I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.
7 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.
And Jezabel his wife said to him, Do you now thus act the king over Israel? arise, and eat bread, and be your own [master], and I will give you the vineyard of Nabuthai the Jezraelite.
8 And all the elders and all the people said unto him, Thou must 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 lived with Nabuthai.
9 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.
And it was written in the letters, saying, Keep a fast, and set Naboth in a chief place amongst the people.
10 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.
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, Speak, Let him that girdeth on the armor not boast himself as he that putteth it off.
And the men of his city, the elders, and the nobles who lived 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 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.
And they proclaimed a fast, and set Nebuthai in a chief place amongst the people.
13 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.
And two men, sons of transgressors, came in, and sat opposite him, and bore witness against him, saying, You have blessed God and the king. And they led him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, and he died.
14 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.
And they sent to Jezabel, saying, Nabuthai is stoned, and is dead.
15 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.
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 you: for Nebuthai is not alive, for he is dead.
16 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.
And it came to pass, when Achaab heard that Nabuthai the Jezraelite was dead, that he tore 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 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.
And the Lord spoke to Eliu the Thesbite, saying,
18 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.
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 there to take possession of it.
19 So these, the young men of the princes of the provinces, came out of the city, with the army which followed them.
And you shall speak to him, saying, Thus says the Lord, Forasmuch as you have slain and taken possession, therefore thus says the Lord, In every place where the swine and the dogs have licked the blood of Nabuthai, there shall the dogs lick your blood; and the harlots shall wash themselves in your blood.
20 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.
And Achaab said to Eliu, Hast you found me, mine enemy? and he said, I have found [you]: because you have wickedly sold yourself 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 inflicted on the Syrians a great defeat.
behold, I bring evil upon you: and I will kindle a fire after you, 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 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.
And I will make your house as the house of Jeroboam the son of Nabat, and as the house of Baasa son of Achia, because of the provocations wherewith you have provoked [me], and caused Israel to sin.
23 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.
And the Lord spoke of Jezabel, saying, The dogs shall devour her within the fortification of Jezrael.
24 But do this thing, Remove the kings, every one from his place, and appoint governors in their rooms;
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 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.
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 numbered the Syrians, and went up to Aphek, to the war with 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 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.
And because of the word, Achaab was pierced with sorrow before the Lord, and he both went weeping, and tore his garment, and girded sackcloth upon his body, and fasted; he put on sackcloth also in the day that he struck Nabuthai the Jezraelite, and went his way.
28 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.
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 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.
Hast you 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 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.
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 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.
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 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.
Your silver and your gold are mine, and your wives and your children are mine.
33 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.
And the king of Israel answered and said, As you have said, my lord, O king, I am your, and all mine [also].
34 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.
And the messengers came again, and said, Thus says the son of Ader, I sent to you, saying, You shall give me your silver and your gold, and your wives and your children.
35 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.
For at this time to-morrow I will send my servants to you, and they shall search your house, and the houses of your 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 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.
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 met with 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, Listen not, and consent not.
38 And the prophet then went, and placed himself before the king on the way, and 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 you have sent to your 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 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.
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 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.
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 removed the bandage from his eyes; and the king of Israel recognized him that 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 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.
And, behold, a prophet came to Achaab king of Israel, and said, Thus says the Lord, Hast you seen this great multitude? behold, I give it this day into your hands; and you shall know that I [am] the Lord.
43 And the king of Israel went to his house low-spirited and displeased, and he came to Samaria.
And Achaab said, Whereby? And he said, Thus says the Lord, by the young men of the heads of the districts. And Achaab said, Who shall begin the battle? and he said, You.
