1 Kings 20
1 And Ben-Hadad king of Aram has gathered all his force, and thirty-two kings [are] with him, and horse and chariot, and he goes up and lays siege against Samaria, and fights with it,
And Ben-hadad the king of Syria gathered all his host together: and [there were] thirty and two kings with him, and horses, and chariots: and he went up and besieged Samaria, and warred against it.
2 and sends messengers to Ahab king of Israel, to the city,
And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel into the city, and said unto him, Thus saith Ben-hadad,
3 and says to him, “Thus said Ben-Hadad: Your silver and your gold are mine, and your wives and your sons—the best—are mine.”
Thy silver and thy gold [is] mine; thy wives also and thy children, [even] the goodliest, [are] mine.
4 And the king of Israel answers and says, “According to your word, my lord, O king: I [am] yours, and all that I have.”
And the king of Israel answered and said, My lord, O king, according to thy saying, I [am] thine, and all that I have.
5 And the messengers turn back and say, “Thus spoke Ben-Hadad, saying, Surely I sent to you, saying, Your silver, and your gold, and your wives, and your sons, you give to me;
And the messengers came again, and said, Thus speaketh Ben-hadad, saying, Although I have sent unto thee, saying, Thou shalt deliver me thy silver, and thy gold, and thy wives, and thy children;
6 for if, at this time tomorrow, I send my servants to you, then they have searched your house, and the houses of your servants, and it has been [that] every desirable thing of your eyes they place in their hand, and have taken [them] away.”
Yet I will send my servants unto thee to morrow about this time, and they shall search thine house, and the houses of thy servants; and it shall be, [that] whatsoever is pleasant in thine eyes, they shall put [it] in their hand, and take [it] away.
7 And the king of Israel calls to all [the] elderly of the land and says, “Please know and see that this [one] is seeking evil, for he sent to me for my wives, and for my sons, and for my silver, and for my gold, and I did not withhold from him.”
Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land, and said, Mark, I pray you, and see how this [man] seeketh mischief: for he sent unto me for my wives, and for my children, and for my silver, and for my gold; and I denied him not.
8 And all the elderly and all the people say to him, “Do not listen, nor consent.”
And all the elders and all the people said unto him, Hearken not [unto him], nor consent.
9 And he says to the messengers of Ben-Hadad, “Say to my lord the king, All that you sent to your servant for at the first I do, and this thing I am not able to do”; and the messengers go and take him back word.
Wherefore he said unto the messengers of Ben-hadad, Tell my lord the king, All that thou didst send for to thy servant at the first I will do: but this thing I may not do. And the messengers departed, and brought him word again.
10 And Ben-Hadad sends to him and says, “Thus the gods do to me, and thus do they add, if the dust of Samaria suffice for handfuls for all the people who [are] at my feet.”
And Ben-hadad sent unto him, and said, The gods do so unto me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me.
11 And the king of Israel answers and says, “Speak: Do not let him who is girding on boast himself as him who is loosing [his armor].”
And the king of Israel answered and said, Tell [him], Let not him that girdeth on [his harness] boast himself as he that putteth it off.
12 And it comes to pass at the hearing of this word—and he is drinking, he and the kings, in the shelters—that he says to his servants, “Set yourselves”; and they set themselves against the city.
And it came to pass, when [Ben-hadad] heard this message, as he [was] drinking, he and the kings in the pavilions, that he said unto his servants, Set [yourselves in array]. And they set [themselves in array] against the city.
13 And behold, a certain prophet has come near to Ahab king of Israel and says, “Thus said YHWH: Have you seen all this great multitude? Behold, I am giving it into your hand today, and you have known that I [am] YHWH.”
And, behold, there came a prophet unto Ahab king of Israel, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Hast thou seen all this great multitude? behold, I will deliver it into thine hand this day; and thou shalt know that I [am] the LORD.
14 And Ahab says, “By whom?” And he says, “Thus said YHWH: By the young men of the heads of the provinces”; and he says, “Who directs the battle?” And he says, “You.”
And Ahab said, By whom? And he said, Thus saith the LORD, [Even] by the young men of the princes of the provinces. Then he said, Who shall order the battle? And he answered, Thou.
15 And he inspects the young men of the heads of the provinces, and they are two hundred and thirty-two, and after them he has mustered all the people, all the sons of Israel—seven thousand,
Then he 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, [even] all the children of Israel, [being] seven thousand.
16 and they go out at noon, and Ben-Hadad is drinking—drunk in the shelters, he and the kings, the thirty-two kings helping him.
And they went out at noon. But 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 men of the heads of the provinces go out at the first, and Ben-Hadad sends, and they declare to him, saying, “Men have come out of Samaria.”
And the young men of the princes of the provinces went out first; and Ben-hadad sent out, and they told him, saying, There are men come out of Samaria.
18 And he says, “If they have come out for peace, catch them alive; and if they have come out for battle, catch them alive.”
And he said, Whether they be come out for peace, take them alive; or whether they be come out for war, take them alive.
19 And these have gone out of the city—the young men of the heads of the provinces—and the force that [is] after them,
So these young men of the princes of the provinces came out of the city, and the army which followed them.
20 and each strikes his man, and Aram flees, and Israel pursues them, and Ben-Hadad king of Aram escapes on a horse—and the horsemen;
And they slew every one his man: and the Syrians fled; and Israel pursued them: and Ben-hadad the king of Syria escaped on an horse with the horsemen.
21 and the king of Israel goes out, and strikes the horses, and the charioteers, and has struck among the Arameans a great striking.
And the king of Israel went out, and smote the horses and chariots, and slew the Syrians with a great slaughter.
22 And the prophet comes near to the king of Israel and says to him, “Go, strengthen yourself, and know and see that which you do, for at the turn of the year the king of Aram is coming up against you.”
And the prophet came to the king of Israel, and said unto him, Go, strengthen thyself, and mark, and see what thou doest: for at the return of the year the king of Syria will come up against thee.
23 And the servants of the king of Aram said to him, “Their gods [are] gods of hills, therefore they were stronger than us; and yet, we fight with them in the plain—are we not stronger than they?
And the servants of the king of Syria said unto him, Their gods [are] gods of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.
24 And this thing you do: turn aside each of the kings out of his place, and set captains in their stead;
And do this thing, Take the kings away, every man out of his place, and put captains in their rooms:
25 and you, number for yourself a force as the force that is fallen from you, and horse for horse, and chariot for chariot, and we fight with them in the plain; are we not stronger than they?” And he listens to their voice, and does so.
And number thee 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] surely we shall be stronger than they. And he hearkened unto their voice, and did so.
26 And it comes to pass at the turn of the year, that Ben-Hadad inspects the Arameans, and goes up to Aphek, to battle with Israel,
And it came to pass at the return of the year, that Ben-hadad numbered the Syrians, and went up to Aphek, to fight against Israel.
27 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 Arameans have filled the land.
And the children of Israel were numbered, and were all present, and went against them: and the children of Israel pitched before them like two little flocks of kids; but the Syrians filled the country.
28 And a man of God comes near, and speaks to the king of Israel and says, “Thus said YHWH: Because that the Arameans have said, YHWH [is] God of [the] hills, but He [is] not God of [the] valleys—I have given the whole of this great multitude into your hand, and you have known that I [am] YHWH.”
And there came a man of God, and spake unto the king of Israel, and said, Thus saith the LORD, Because the Syrians have said, The LORD [is] God of the hills, but he [is] not God of the valleys, therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thine hand, and ye shall know that I [am] the LORD.
29 And they encamp opposite one another [for] seven days, and it comes to pass on the seventh day, that the battle draws near, and the sons of Israel strike one hundred thousand footmen of Aram in one day.
And they pitched one over against the other seven days. And [so] it was, that in the seventh day the battle was joined: and the children of Israel slew of the Syrians an hundred thousand footmen in one day.
30 And those left flee to Aphek, into the city, and the wall falls on twenty-seven chief men who are left, and Ben-Hadad has fled, and comes into the city, into the innermost part.
But the rest fled to Aphek, into the city; and [there] a wall fell upon twenty and seven thousand of the men [that were] left. And Ben-hadad fled, and came into the city, into an inner chamber.
31 And his servants say to him, “Now behold, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel—that they are kind kings; please let us put sackcloth on our loins and ropes on our heads, and we go out to the king of Israel; it may be he keeps you alive.”
And his servants said unto him, Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel [are] merciful kings: let us, I pray thee, put sackcloth on our loins, and ropes upon our heads, and go out to the king of Israel: peradventure he will save thy life.
32 And they gird sackcloth on their loins, and ropes [are] on their heads, and they come to the king of Israel, and say, “Your servant Ben-Hadad has said, Please let me live”; and he says, “Is he still 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, Thy servant Ben-hadad saith, I pray thee, let me live. And he said, [Is] he yet alive? he [is] my brother.
33 And the men observe diligently, and hurry, and catch [the word] from him, and say, “Your brother Ben-Hadad”; and he says, “Go in, bring him”; and Ben-Hadad comes out to him, and he causes him to come up on the chariot.
Now the men did diligently observe whether [any thing would come] from him, and did hastily catch [it: ] and they said, Thy brother Ben-hadad. Then he said, Go ye, bring him. Then Ben-hadad came forth to him; and he caused him to come up into the chariot.
34 And he says to him, “The cities that my father took from your father, I give back, and you make streets for yourself in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria; and I, with a covenant, send you away”; and he makes a covenant with him, and sends him away.
And [Ben-hadad] said unto him, The cities, which my father took from thy father, I will restore; and thou shalt make streets for thee in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria. Then [said Ahab], I will send thee away with this covenant. So he made a covenant with him, and sent him away.
35 And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his neighbor by the word of YHWH, “Please strike me”; and the man refuses to strike him,
And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said unto his neighbour in the word of the LORD, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man refused to smite him.
36 and he says to him, “Because that you have not listened to the voice of YHWH, behold, you are going from me, and the lion has struck you”; and he goes from him, and the lion finds him, and strikes him.
Then said he unto him, Because thou hast not obeyed the voice of the LORD, behold, as soon as thou art departed from me, a lion shall slay thee. And as soon as he was departed from him, a lion found him, and slew him.
37 And he finds another man and says, “Please strike me”; and the man strikes him, striking and wounding,
Then he found another man, and said, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man smote him, so that in smiting he wounded [him].
38 and the prophet goes and stands for the king on the way, and disguises himself with ashes on his eyes.
So the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with ashes upon his face.
39 And it comes to pass—the king is passing by—that he has cried to the king and says, “Your servant went out into the midst of the battle, and behold, a man has turned aside and brings a man to me, and says, Keep this man; if he is at all missing, then your life has been for his life, or you weigh out a talent of silver;
And as the king passed by, he cried unto the king: and he said, Thy servant went out into the midst of the battle; and, behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man unto me, and said, Keep this man: if by any means he be missing, then shall thy life be for his life, or else thou shalt pay a talent of silver.
40 and it comes to pass, your servant is working here and there, and he is not!” And the king of Israel says to him, “Your judgment [is] right; you have determined [it].”
And as thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone. And the king of Israel said unto him, So [shall] thy judgment [be; ] thyself hast decided [it].
41 And he hurries and turns aside the ashes from off his eyes, and the king of Israel discerns him, that he [is] of the prophets,
And he hasted, and took the ashes away from his face; and the king of Israel discerned him that he [was] of the prophets.
42 and he says to him, “Thus said YHWH: Because you have sent away the man I devoted, out of [your] hand, even your life has been for his life, and your people for his people”;
And he said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Because thou hast let go out of [thy] hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people.
43 and the king of Israel goes to his house, sulky and angry, and comes to Samaria.
And the king of Israel went to his house heavy and displeased, and came to Samaria.
