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,
Forsothe Benadab, kyng of Sirye, gaderide al his oost, and two and thritti kyngis with hym, and horsis, and charis; and he stiede ayens Samarie, and fauyt, and bisegide it.
2 and sends messengers to Ahab king of Israel, to the city,
And he sente messangeris to Achab, kyng of Israel, in to the citee,
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 seide, Benadab seith these thingis, Thi siluer and thi gold is myn, and thi wyues, and thi beste sones ben myn.
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 kyng of Israel answeride, Bi thi word, my lord the kyng, Y am thin, and alle my thingis `ben thine.
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 messangeris turneden ayen, and seiden, Benadab, that sente vs to thee, seith these thingis, Thou schalt yyue to me thi siluer, and thi gold, and thi wyues, and thi sones.
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.”
Therfor to morewe, in this same our, Y schal sende my seruauntis to thee, and thei schulen seke thin hows, and the hows of thi seruauntis; and thei schulen putte in her hondis, and take awey al thing that schal plese hem.
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.”
Forsothe the kyng of Israel clepide alle the eldere men of the lond, and seide, Perseyue ye, and se, that he settith tresoun to vs; for he sente to me for my wyues, and sones, and for siluer, and gold, and Y forsook not.
8 And all the elderly and all the people say to him, “Do not listen, nor consent.”
And alle the gretter men in birthe, and al the puple seiden to hym, Here thou not, nether assente thou to hym.
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.
And he answeride to the messangeris of Benadab, Seie ye to my lord the kyng, Y schal do alle thingis, for whiche thou sentist in the bigynnyng to me, thi seruaunt; forsothe Y may not do this thing.
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 the messangeris turneden ayen, and telden alle thingis to hym. Which sente ayen, and seide, Goddis do these thingis to me, and adde these thingis, if the dust of Samarie schal suffice to the fistis of al the puple that sueth 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 kyng of Israel answeride, and seide, Seie ye to hym, A gird man, `that is, he that goith to batel, haue not glorie euenli as a man vngird.
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.
Forsothe it was doon, whanne Benadab hadde herd this word, he drank, and the kyngis, in schadewyng places; and he seide to hise seruauntis, Cumpasse ye the citee.
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 thei cumpassiden it. And lo! o prophete neiyede to Acab, kyng of Israel, and seide to hym, The Lord God seith these thingis, Certis thou hast seyn al this multitude ful greet; lo! Y schal bitake it in to thin hond to dai, that thou wite that Y 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 seide, Bi whom? And he seide to Achab, The Lord seith these thingis, Bi the squyeris of the princes of prouynces. And Achab seide, Who schal bigynne to fiyte? And the prophete seide, 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,
Therfor he noumbryde the children of the princes of prouynces, and he foond the noumbre of twei hundrid and two and thretti; and aftir hem he noumbride the puple, alle the sones of Israel, seuene thousynde.
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 thei yeden out in myddai. Forsothe Benadab drank, and was drunkun in his schadewyng place, and two and thretti kyngis with hym, that camen to the help of hym.
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.”
Sotheli the children of princes of prouynces yeden out in the firste frount. Therfor Benadab sente men, whiche telden to hym, and seide, Men yeden out of Samarie.
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 seide, Whether thei comen for pees, take ye hem quyke; whether to fiyte, take ye hem quyke.
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,
Therfor the children of prynces of prouynces yeden out,
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 the residue oost suede; and ech smoot the man that cam ayens hym. And men of Sirie fledden, and Israel pursuede hem; also Benadab, kyng of Sirie, fledde on an hors with his kniytis.
21 and the king of Israel goes out, and strikes the horses, and the charioteers, and has struck among the Arameans a great striking.
Also the king of Israel yede out, and smoot horsis and charis, and he smoot Sirie with a ful greet veniaunce.
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.”
Forsothe a prophete neiyede to the kyng of Israel, and seide, Go thou, and be coumfortid, and wyte, and se, what thou schalt do; for the kyng of Sirie schal stie ayens thee in the yeer suynge.
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?
Sotheli the seruauntis of the kyng of Sirie seiden to hym, The Goddis of hillis ben the Goddis of the sones of Israel, therfor thei ouercamen vs; but it is betere that we fiyte ayens hem in feeldi placis, and we schulen geet hem.
24 And this thing you do: turn aside each of the kings out of his place, and set captains in their stead;
Therfor do thou this word; remoue thou alle kyngis fro thin oost, and sette thou princis for hem;
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 restore thou the noumbre of knyytis, that felden of thine, and horsis bi the formere horsis, and restore thou charis, bi the charis whiche thou haddist bifore; and we schulen fiyte ayens hem in feeldy places, and thou schalt se, that we schulen gete hem. He bileuyde to the counsel of hem, and dide 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,
Therfor after that the yeer hadde passid, Benadab noumbride men of Sirie, and he stiede in to Affech, to fiyte ayens 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.
Forsothe the sones of Israel weren noumbrid; and whanne meetis weren takun, thei yeden forth euene ayens, and thei, as twey litle flockis of geet, settiden tentis ayens men of Sirie. Forsothe men of Sirie filliden the erthe.
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 o prophete of God neiyede, and seide to the kyng of Israel, The Lord God seith these thingis, For men of Sirie seiden, God of hillis is the Lord of hem, and he is not God of valeis, Y schal yyue al this greet multitude in thin hond, and ye schulen wite that Y 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.
In seuene daies these and thei dressiden scheltruns euene ayens; forsothe in the seuenthe dai the batel was joyned togidere, and the sones of Israel smytiden of men of Syrie an hundrid thousynde of foot men in o dai.
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.
Forsothe thei that leften fledden in to the citee of Affech, and the wal felde doun on seuene and twenti thousynde of men that leften. Forsothe Benadab fledde, and entride in to the citee, in to a closet that was with ynne a closet;
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 hise seruauntis seiden to him, We herden that the kyngis of the hows of Israel ben merciful, therfor putte we sackis in oure leendis, and cordis in oure heedis, and go we out to the kyng of Israel; in hap he schal saue oure lyues.
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.”
Thei girdiden her leendis with sackis, and puttiden coordis in her heedis, and thei camen to the kyng of Israel, and seiden to hym, Thi seruaunt Benadab seith, Y preye thee, lete `my soule lyue. And he seide, If Benadab lyueth yit, 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.
Which thing the men of Sirie token for a graciouse word, and rauyschiden hastily the word of his mouth, and seiden, Thi brother Benadab lyueth. And Achab seide to hem, Go ye, and brynge ye hym to me. Therfor Benadab yede out to hym, and he reiside Benadab in to his chare.
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.
`Which Benadab seide to hym, Y schal yelde the citees whiche my fadir took fro thi fadir, and make thou stretis to thee in Damask, as my fadir made in Samarie; and Y schal be boundun to pees, and Y schal departe fro thee. Therfor he made boond of pees, and delyuerede hym.
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,
Thanne sum man of the sones of prophetis seide to his felowe, in the word of the Lord, Smyte thou me. And he nolde smyte.
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.
To `whiche felowe he seide, For thou noldist here the vois of the Lord, lo! thou schalt go fro me, and a lioun schal smyte thee. And whanne he hadde go a litil fro hym, a lioun foond hym, and slowy hym.
37 And he finds another man and says, “Please strike me”; and the man strikes him, striking and wounding,
But also the prophete foond another man, and he seide to that man, Smyte thou me. Which smoot him, and woundide him.
38 and the prophet goes and stands for the king on the way, and disguises himself with ashes on his eyes.
Therfor the prophete yede, and mette the kyng in the weie; and he chaungide his mouth and iyen, by sprynging of dust.
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 whanne the kyng hadde passid, he criede to the kyng, and seide, Thi seruaunt yede out to fiyte anoon, and whanne o man hadde fledde, sum man brouyte hym to me, and seide, Kepe thou this man; and if he aschapith, thi lijf schal be for his lijf, ether thou schalt paye a talent of siluere.
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].”
Sotheli while Y was troblid, and turnede me hidur and thidur, sodeynly he apperide not. And the kyng of Israel seide to hym, This is thi doom which thou hast demed.
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 anoon he wipide awey the dust fro his face, and the kyng of Israel knew him, that he was of the prophetis.
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”;
Which seide to the kyng, The Lord seith these thingis, For thou deliueridist fro thin hond a man worthi the deeth, thi lijf schal be for his lijf, and thi puple `schal be for his puple.
43 and the king of Israel goes to his house, sulky and angry, and comes to Samaria.
Therfor the kyng of Israel turnede ayen in to his hows, and dispiside to here, and cam wod in to Samarie.
