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 Benadad, king of Syria, gathered together all his host, and there were two and thirty kings with him, and horses, and chariots: and going up, he fought against Samaria, and besieged it.
2 And he sent messengers to Achab the king of Israel into the city;
And, sending messengers to Achab king of Israel into the city,
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.
He said: Thus saith Benadad: Thy silver, and thy gold is mine: and thy wives, and thy goodliest children are mine.
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 king of Israel answered: According to thy word, my lord O king, I am thine, and all that I have.
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 the messengers came again, and said: Thus saith Benadad, who sent us unto thee: Thy silver, and thy gold, and thy wives, and thy children thou shalt deliver up to me.
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.
Tomorrow therefore at this same hour I will send my servants to thee, and they shall search thy house, and the houses of thy servants: and all that pleaseth them, they shall put in their hands, and take away.
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 the king of Israel called all the ancients of the land, and said: Mark, and see that he layeth snares for us. For he sent to me for my wives, and for my children, and for my silver and gold: and I said not nay.
8 And all the elders and all the people said unto him, Thou must not hearken, nor consent.
And all the ancients, and all the people said to him: Hearken not to him, nor consent to him.
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.
Wherefore he answered the messengers of Benadad: Tell my lord the king: All that thou didst send for to me thy servant at first, I will do: but this thing I cannot do.
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 the messengers returning brought him word. And he sent again and said: Such and such things may the gods do to me, and more may they add, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me.
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 king of Israel answering, said: Tell him: Let not the girded boast himself as the ungirded.
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 it came to pass, when Benadad heard this word, that he and the kings were drinking in pavilions, and he said to his servants: Beset the city. And they beset it.
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 behold a prophet coming to Achab king of Israel, said to him: Thus saith the Lord: Hast thou seen all this exceeding great multitude, behold I will deliver them into thy hand this day: that thou mayest know that I am the Lord.
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 Achab said: By whom? And he said to him: Thus saith the Lord: By the servants of the princes of the provinces. And he said: Who shall begin to fight? And he said: Thou.
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.
So he mustered the servants of the princes of the provinces, and he found the number of two hundred and thirty-two: and he mustered after them the people, all the children of Israel, seven thousand:
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 they went out at noon. But Benadad was drinking himself drunk in his pavilion, and the two and thirty kings with him, who were come to help him.
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 servants of the princes of the provinces went out first. And Benadad sent. And they told him, saying: There are men come out of Samaria.
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.
And he said: Whether they come for peace, take them alive: or whether they come to fight, take them alive.
19 So these, the young men of the princes of the provinces, came out of the city, with the army which followed them.
So the servants of the princes of the provinces went out, and the rest of the army followed:
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 every one slew the man that came against him: and the Syrians fled, and Israel pursued after them. And Benadad king of Syria fled away on horseback with his horsemen.
21 And the king of Israel went out, and smote the horses and chariots, and inflicted on the Syrians a great defeat.
But the king of Israel going out overthrew the horses and chariots, and slew the Syrians with a great slaughter.
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 a prophet coming to the king of Israel, said to him: Go, and strengthen thyself, and know, and see what thou dost: for the next year the king of Syria will come up against thee.)
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.
But the servants of the king of Syria said to him: Their gods are gods of the hills, therefore they have overcome us: but it is better that we should fight against them in the plains, and we shall overcome them.
24 But do this thing, Remove the kings, every one from his place, and appoint governors in their rooms;
Do thou therefore this thing: Remove all the kings from thy army, and put captains in their stead:
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.
And make up the number of soldiers that have been slain of thine, and horses according to the former horses, and chariots according to the chariots which thou hadst before: and we will fight against them in the plains, and thou shalt see that we shall overcome them. He believed their counsel and did so.
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.
Wherefore at the return of the year, Benadad mustered the Syrians, ancient up to Aphec, to fight against 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 the children of Israel were mustered, and taking victuals went out on the other side, and camped over against them, like two little hocks of goats: but the Syrians filled the land.
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 a man of God coming, said to the king of Israel: Thus saith the Lord: Because the Syrians have said: The Lord is God of the hills, but is not God of the valleys: I will deliver all this great multitude into thy hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord.)
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.
And both sides set their armies in array one against the other seven days, and on the seventh day the battle was fought: and the children of Israel slew of the Syrians a hundred thousand footmen in one day.
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 they that remained fled to Aphec, into the city: and the wall fell upon seven and twenty thousand men, that were left. And Benadad fleeing went into the city, into a chamber that was within a chamber.
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 his servants said to him: Behold, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful: so let us put sackcloth on our loins, and ropes on our heads, and go out to the king of Israel: perhaps he will save our lives.
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.
So they girded sackcloth on their loins, and put ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said to him: Thy servant Benadad saith: I beseech thee let me have my life. And he said: If he be yet alive he is my brother.
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.
The men took this for a sign: and in haste caught the word out of his mouth, and said: Thy brother Benadad. And he said to them: Go, and bring him to me. Then Benadad came out to him, and he lifted him up into his chariot.
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 he said to him: The cities which my father took from thy father, I will restore: and do thou make thee streets in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria, and having made a league I will depart from thee. So he made a league with him, and let him go.
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.
Then a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his companion in the word of the Lord: Strike me. But he would not strike.
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.
Then he said to him: Because thou wouldst not hearken to the word of the Lord, behold then shalt depart from me, and a lion shall slay thee. And when he was gone a little from him, a lion found him, and slew him.
37 Then he met with another man, and said, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man smote him, smiting and wounding [him].
Then he found another man, and said to him: Strike me. And he struck him, and wounded him.
38 And the prophet then went, and placed himself before the king on the way, and disguised himself with a bandage over his eyes.
So the prophet went, and met the king in the way, and disguised himself by sprinkling dust on his face and his eyes.
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 as the king passed by, he cried to the king, and said: Thy servant went out to fight hand to hand: and when a certain man was run away, one brought him to me, and said: Keep this man: and if he shall slip away, thy life shall be for his life, or thou shalt pay a talent of silver.
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 whilst I in a hurry turned this way and that, on a sudden he was not to be seen. And the king of Israel said to him: This is thy judgment, which thyself hast decreed.
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.
But he forthwith wiped off the dust from his face, and the king of Israel knew him, that he was one of the prophets.
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 he said to him: Thus saith the Lord: Because thou hast let go out of thy hand a mall worthy of death, thy life shall be for his life, and thy people for his people.
43 And the king of Israel went to his house low-spirited and displeased, and he came to Samaria.
And the king of Israel returned to his house, slighting to hear, and raging came into Samaria.
