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,
Ben-Hadad, the king of Syria, gathered all his army, and he persuaded 32 other kings to join him with their armies and horses and chariots. They marched to Samaria [city, the capital of Israel], and surrounded it, and [prepared to] attack it.
2 and sends messengers to Ahab king of Israel, to the city,
Ben-Hadad sent messengers into the city to King Ahab, to say this to him: “This is what King Ben-Hadad says:
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.”
‘[You must give to] me all your silver and gold, your (good-looking/most beautiful) wives/women and strongest children.’”
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.”
The king of Israel replied to them, “Tell this to King Ben-Hadad: ‘I agree to do what you requested. You can have me and everything that I own.’”
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;
[The messengers told that to] Ben-Hadad, and he [sent them back with] another message: “I sent a message to you saying that you must give me all your silver and gold and your wives and your 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.”
But [in addition to that], about this time tomorrow, I will send some of my officials to search your palace and the houses of your officials, and to bring to me everything that pleases them.”
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.”
King Ahab summoned all the leaders of Israel, and said to them, “You can see/realize for yourselves that this man is trying to cause much trouble. He sent me a message insisting that I must give him my wives and my children, my silver and my gold, and I agreed to do that.”
8 And all the elderly and all the people say to him, “Do not listen, nor consent.”
The leaders and all the other people said to him, “Do not pay any attention to him! Do not do what he is requesting!”
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.
So Ahab said to Ben-Hadad’s messengers, “Tell the king that I agree to give him the things that he first requested, but I do not agree to allow his officials to take anything that they want from my palace and from the houses of my officials.” So the messengers [reported that to King Ben-Hadad, and they] returned with another message from Ben-Hadad.
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.”
In that message he said, “[We will destroy] your city [completely, with the result that] there will not be enough dust and rubble left for each of my soldiers to have one handful! I hope/wish that the gods will strike me dead if we do not do that!”
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].”
King Ahab replied [to the messengers], “Tell King Ben-Hadad that a soldier who is putting on his armor [preparing to fight a battle] [MTY] should not boast at that time; he [should wait until] after he wins the battle.”
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.
Ben-Hadad heard that message while he and the other rulers were drinking [wine] in their temporary shelters. He told his men to prepare to attack [MTY] the city. So his men did that.
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.”
At that moment, a prophet came to King Ahab and said to him, “This is what Yahweh says: ‘[Do not be at all afraid of] [RHQ] the large enemy army that you see! I will enable your army to defeat them today, and you will know that it is I, Yahweh, [who have the power to do what I say that I will do].’”
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.”
Ahab asked, “What group [of our army] will defeat them?” The prophet replied, “The young soldiers who are commanded by the district governors will do it.” The king asked, “Who should lead the attack?” The prophet replied, “You should!”
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,
So Ahab gathered the young soldiers who were commanded by the district governors. There were 232 of those men. Then he also summoned all the Israeli army. There were [only] 7,000 soldiers.
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.
They started to attack at noon, while Ben-Hadad and the other rulers were getting drunk in their temporary shelters.
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.”
The young soldiers advanced first. Some scouts who had been sent out by Ben-Hadad reported to him, “There are men coming out of Samaria [city]”!
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.”
He said, “It does not matter whether they are coming to fight against us or to ask for peace. Capture them, but do not kill 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,
The young Israeli soldiers went out of the city to attack [the Syrian army], and the other soldiers in the Israeli army 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;
Each [Israeli soldier] killed a [Syrian] soldier. The rest of the Syrian army then ran away, and the Israeli soldiers pursued them. But King Ben-Hadad escaped riding his horse, along with some other men riding horses.
21 and the king of Israel goes out, and strikes the horses, and the charioteers, and has struck among the Arameans a great striking.
Then the king of Israel went out [of the city], and he and his soldiers captured [all] the [other Syrian] horses and chariots, and also killed a large number of Syrian soldiers.
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.”
Then that same prophet went to King Ahab and said to him, “Go back and prepare your soldiers, and think carefully about what will be necessary for you to do, because the king of Syria with attack with his army again in the springtime of next year.”
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?
[After the Syrian army was defeated, ] Ben-Hadad’s officials said to him, “The gods that the Israelis [worship] are gods [who live] in the hills. [Samaria is built on a hill, and] that is why their soldiers were able to defeat us. But if we fight against them in the plains/lowlands, we certainly will be able to defeat them.
24 And this thing you do: turn aside each of the kings out of his place, and set captains in their stead;
So, this is what you should do: You must remove the 32 kings [who are leading your troops] and replace them with army commanders.
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.
Then gather an army like the army that was defeated. Gather an army that has as many horses and chariots as the first army had. Then we will fight the Israelis in the plains/lowlands, and we will surely defeat them.” Ben-Hadad agreed with them, and he did what they suggested.
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,
In the spring of the following year, he gathered his soldiers and marched [with them] to Aphek [city east of Galilee Lake], to fight against the Israeli army.
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.
The Israeli army was also gathered together, and they were equipped with the things that they needed [for the battle]. Then they marched out and formed two groups facing the Syrian army. Their army was very small; they resembled two small flocks of goats, whereas the Syrian army [was very large and] spread all over the countryside.
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.”
A prophet came to King Ahab and said to him, “This is what Yahweh says: ‘The Syrians say that I am a god who lives in the hills, and that I am not a god who lives in the valleys. So I will [show that they are wrong by] enabling your men to defeat this huge army [IDM] [in the valley], and you will know that I, Yahweh, [have done it].’”
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.
The two armies stayed in their tents for seven days, in groups that faced each other. Then, on the seventh day, they started fighting. The Israeli army killed 100,000 Syrian soldiers.
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.
The other Syrian soldiers ran away into Aphek City. Then the wall of the city collapsed and killed 27,000 more Syrian soldiers. Ben-Hadad also escaped into the city, and hid in the back room of a house.
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.”
His officials went to him and said, “We have heard a report that the Israelis act mercifully. So allow us to go to the king of Israel, wearing coarse sacks around our waists and ropes on our heads/necks [to indicate that we will be his slaves]. Perhaps [if we do that, ] he will allow you to remain alive.”
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.”
[The king permitted them to do that, ] so they wrapped coarse sacks around their waists and put ropes on their heads/necks, and they went to the king of Israel and said to him, “Ben-Hadad, who greatly respects you, says, ‘Please do not kill me.’” Ahab replied, “Is he still alive? He is like a brother to me!”
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.
Ben-Hadad’s officials were trying to find out if Ahab would act mercifully, and when Ahab said “brother,” they (were optimistic/thought that Ahab would be merciful). So they replied, “Yes, he is like your brother!” Ahab said, “Go and bring him to me.” So they [went and] brought Ben-Hadad to him. [When Ben-Hadad arrived, ] Ahab told him to get in his chariot [and sit with him].
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.
Ben-Hadad said to him, “I will give back to you the towns that my father’s army took from your father. And I will allow you to set up market areas for your merchants in Damascus [my capital], just as my father did in Samaria [your capital].” Ahab replied, “Because you agree to do that, I will not execute you.” So Ahab made an agreement with Ben-Hadad, and allowed him to go home.
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,
Then Yahweh spoke to a member of a group of prophets and said to him, “Ask one of your fellow prophets to strike and wound you.” [So he did what Yahweh told him to do]. [He said to one of his fellow prophets, ‘Strike me and wound me].’ But that man refused to do it.
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.
So the prophet said to him, “Because you refused to obey what Yahweh told you to do, a lion will kill you as soon as you leave me.” And as soon as he left that prophet, a lion suddenly pounced on him and killed him.
37 And he finds another man and says, “Please strike me”; and the man strikes him, striking and wounding,
Then the prophet found another prophet, and said to him, “Strike me!” So that man hit him [very hard] and injured him.
38 and the prophet goes and stands for the king on the way, and disguises himself with ashes on his eyes.
Then the prophet put a large bandage/cloth over his face so that no one would recognize him. Then he went and stood alongside the road, waiting for the king to come by.
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;
When the king passed by, the prophet cried out to him, saying “Your majesty, [after I was wounded] while I was fighting in a battle, a soldier brought to me one of our enemies that he had captured, and said to me, ‘Guard this man! If he escapes, you must pay me 3,000 pieces of silver, and if you do not pay that, you will be executed!’
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 while I was busy doing other things, the man escaped!” The king of Israel said to him, “That is your problem! You yourself have said that you deserve to be punished.”
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,
The prophet immediately took off the bandage, and the king of Israel recognized 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 the prophet said to him, “This is what Yahweh says: ‘You have allowed that man [Ben-Hadad] to escape after I commanded you to be sure to execute him! Since you did not do that, you will be killed instead. And your army will be destroyed because you allowed [some of] his army to escape!’”
43 and the king of Israel goes to his house, sulky and angry, and comes to Samaria.
The king went back home to Samaria, very angry and depressed/dejected.
