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 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.
2 and sends messengers to Ahab king of Israel, to the city,
And he sent messengers to Achab the king of Israel into the city;
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.”
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.
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, According to thy word, my Lord, O king, thine am I, 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 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;
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.”
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.
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 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.
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, Thou must not hearken, 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, 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.
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 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.
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, Speak, Let him that girdeth on the armor not 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 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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,
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.
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 midday; while 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 at first; and Ben-hadad sent out, and they told him, saying, Some men are 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, If they be come out for peace, catch them alive; and if they be come out for war, alive must ye catch them.
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, the young men of the princes of the provinces, came out of the city, with 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 a 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 inflicted on the Syrians a great defeat.
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 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.
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, 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.
24 And this thing you do: turn aside each of the kings out of his place, and set captains in their stead;
But do this thing, Remove the kings, every one from his place, and appoint governors 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 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.
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 the war with 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 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 companion, By the word of the Lord, smite me, I pray thee. But 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, 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.
37 And he finds another man and says, “Please strike me”; and the man strikes him, striking and wounding,
Then he met with another man, and said, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man smote him, smiting and wounding [him].
38 and the prophet goes and stands for the king on the way, and disguises himself with ashes on his eyes.
And the prophet then went, and placed himself before the king on the way, and disguised himself with a bandage over his eyes.
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 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.
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].”
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.
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 hastened, and removed the bandage from his eyes; and the king of Israel recognized him that he was one 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 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.
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 low-spirited and displeased, and he came to Samaria.
