1 Kings 20
1 Now, Ben-hadad, king of Syria, had gathered together all his forces, and, thirty-two kings, were with him, and horses and chariots, —then came he up, and laid siege to Samaria, and made war against it.
Now Ben-hadad king of Aram assembled his entire army. Accompanied by thirty-two kings with their horses and chariots, he marched up, besieged Samaria, and waged war against it.
2 And he sent messengers unto Ahab king of Israel, into the city, and said to him, —Thus, saith Ben-hadad,
Then he sent messengers into the city to Ahab king of Israel,
3 Thy silver and thy gold, are, mine, and, thy wives and thy sons, the goodliest, are, mine.
saying, “This is what Ben-hadad says: ‘Your silver and gold are mine, and your best wives and children are mine!’”
4 Then responded the king of Israel, and said, According to thy word, my lord O king! thine, am I, and all that I have.
And the king of Israel replied, “Just as you say, my lord the king: I am yours, along with all that I have.”
5 And the messengers came back again, and said, Thus, speaketh Ben-hadad, saying, —Because I sent unto thee, saying, Thy silver and thy gold and thy wives and thy sons, to me, shalt thou give,
The messengers came back and said, “This is what Ben-hadad says: ‘I have sent to you to demand your silver, your gold, your wives, and your children.
6 Therefore, about this time to-morrow, will I send my servants unto thee, and they shall search thy house, and the houses of thy servants, —and it shall be, that, all the delight of thine eyes, shall they put in their hand, and take away.
But about this time tomorrow I will send my servants to search your palace and the houses of your servants. They will seize and carry away all that is precious to you.’”
7 Then called the king of Israel, for all the elders of the land, and said—Mark, I pray you, and see, how this man is seeking, mischief, —for he had sent unto me, for my wives, and for my sons, and for my silver, and for my gold, and I refused him not.
Then the king of Israel summoned all the elders of the land and said, “Please take note and see that this man is looking for trouble, for when he demanded my wives, my children, my silver, and my gold, I did not deny him.”
8 And all the elders and all the people said unto him, —Do not thou hearken, neither do thou consent.
And the elders and the people all said, “Do not listen to him or consent to his terms.”
9 So he said unto the messengers of Ben-hadad—Say ye to my lord the king, —All that thou didst send for, to thy servant at the first, will I do, but, this thing, I cannot do. And the messengers departed, and took him back word.
So Ahab answered the messengers of Ben-hadad, “Tell my lord the king, ‘All that you demanded of your servant the first time I will do, but this thing I cannot do.’” So the messengers departed and relayed the message to Ben-hadad.
10 Then Ben-hadad sent unto him and said, —So, let the gods do to me, and, so, let them add, —if the dust of Samaria suffice by handfuls, for all the people who are at my feet.
Then Ben-hadad sent another message to Ahab: “May the gods deal with me, and ever so severely, if enough dust remains of Samaria for each of my men to have a handful.”
11 And the king of Israel responded and said: Tell him, —Let not, him that girdeth, boast himself like him, that looseneth.
And the king of Israel replied, “Tell him: ‘The one putting on his armor should not boast like one taking it off.’”
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—Make ready! So they made ready, against the city.
Ben-hadad received this message while he and the kings were drinking in their tents, and he said to his servants, “Take your positions.” So they stationed themselves against the city.
13 And lo! a certain prophet, drew near unto Ahab king of Israel, and said, —Thus, saith Yahweh, Hast thou seen all this great multitude? Behold me! delivering it into thy hand, to-day, so shalt thou know that, I, am, Yahweh.
Meanwhile a prophet approached Ahab king of Israel and declared, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Do you see this entire great army? Behold, I will deliver it into your hand this very day, and you will know that I am the LORD.’”
14 And Ahab said—By whom? And he said—Thus, saith Yahweh, By the young men of the princes of the provinces. Then said he—Who shall begin the war? And he said—Thou!
“By whom?” Ahab asked. And the prophet replied, “This is what the LORD says: ‘By the young officers of the district governors.’” “Who will start the battle?” asked Ahab. “You will,” answered the prophet.
15 Then numbered he the young men of the princes of the provinces, and they were found to be, two hundred and thirty-two, —and, after them, he numbered all the people all the sons of Israel, seven thousand.
So Ahab assembled the young officers of the district governors, and there were 232 men. And after them, he assembled the rest of the Israelite troops, 7,000 in all.
16 And they went forth at noon. Now, Ben-hadad, was drinking himself drunk, in the pavilions, he and the thirty-two kings helping him.
They marched out at noon while Ben-hadad and the 32 kings allied with him were in their tents getting drunk.
17 Then went forth the young men of the princes of the provinces, first, —and, when Ben-hadad sent, they told him, saying—Men, have come forth, out of Samaria.
And the young officers of the district governors marched out first. Now Ben-hadad had sent out scouts, who reported to him, “Men are marching out of Samaria.”
18 And he said—If, peaceably, they have come, take them alive, —or, if, fighting, they have come, alive, take ye them.
“If they have marched out in peace,” he said, “take them alive. Even if they have marched out for war, take them alive.”
19 Now, when, these, had come forth out of the city, even the young men of the princes of the provinces, —with the force which was following them,
Meanwhile, these young officers of the district governors marched out of the city, with the army behind them,
20 then smote they every one his man, and the Syrians fled, and Israel pursued them, —but Ben-hadad king of Syria escaped on horse, with horsemen.
and each one struck down his opponent. So the Arameans fled, with the Israelites in pursuit. But Ben-hadad king of Aram escaped on horseback with the cavalry.
21 And the king of Israel went forth, and took the horses and the chariots, —and he went on smiting the Syrians, with a great smiting.
Then the king of Israel marched out and attacked the horses and chariots, inflicting a great slaughter on the Arameans.
22 Then drew near the prophet, unto the king of Israel, and said unto him—Go strengthen thyself, and mark and see, what thou wilt do, —for, at the return of the year, is, the king of Syria, coming up against thee.
Afterward, the prophet approached the king of Israel and said, “Go and strengthen your position, and take note what you must do, for in the spring the king of Aram will come up against you.”
23 And, the servants of the king of Syria, said unto him, —Gods of the mountains, are their gods, for this cause, prevailed they against us, —but, only let us fight with them in the plain, and verily we shall prevail against them.
Meanwhile, the servants of the king of Aram said to him, “Their gods are gods of the hills. That is why they prevailed over us. Instead, we should fight them on the plains; surely then we will prevail.
24 But, this thing, do, —set aside the kings, every man out of his place, and put governors in their stead;
So do this: Dismiss all the kings from their positions and replace them with other officers.
25 and, thou, must number thee a force, like the force which thou hast lost, both horse for horse and chariot for chariot, and, if we fight with them in the plain, verily we shall prevail against them. And he hearkened unto their voice, and did so.
And you must raise an army like the one you have lost—horse for horse and chariot for chariot—so we can fight the Israelites on the plain, where we will surely prevail.” And the king approved their plan and acted accordingly.
26 And so it came to pass at the return of the year, that Ben-hadad numbered the Syrians, —and came up to Aphek, to fight with Israel;
In the spring, Ben-hadad mobilized the Arameans and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel.
27 and, the sons of Israel, were numbered, and provisioned, and went to meet them, —and the sons of Israel encamped before them like two little flocks of goats, whereas, the Syrians, filled the land.
The Israelites also mobilized, gathered supplies, and marched out to meet them. The Israelites camped before them like two small flocks of goats, while the Arameans covered the countryside.
28 Then approached the man of God, and spake unto the king of Israel, and said—Thus, saith Yahweh—Because the Syrians have said—A god of the mountains, is Yahweh, but, not a god of the vales, is he, therefore will I deliver all this great multitude, into thy hand, so shalt thou know, that, I, am Yahweh.
Then the man of God approached the king of Israel and said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Because the Arameans think the LORD is a god of the hills and not of the valleys, I will deliver all this great army into your hand. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’”
29 So they encamped, these, over against, those, seven days, —and it came to pass, on the seventh day, that the battle was joined, and the sons of Israel smote the Syrians, a hundred thousand footmen, in one day.
For seven days the armies camped opposite each other, and on the seventh day the battle ensued, and the Israelites struck down the Arameans—a hundred thousand foot soldiers in one day.
30 And they who were left fled to Aphek, into the city, and the wall fell upon twenty-seven thousand men who were left, —and, Ben-hadad, fled, and came into the city, into a chamber within a chamber.
The rest of them fled into the city of Aphek, where the wall fell on twenty-seven thousand of the remaining men. Ben-hadad also fled to the city and hid in an inner room.
31 And his servants said unto him, Lo! we pray thee, we have heard, of the kings of the house of Israel, that, kings known for lovingkindness, they are. Let us, we pray thee, put sackcloth upon our loins, and ropes about our head, and let us go forth unto the king of Israel, peradventure he will save alive thy soul.
Then the servants of Ben-hadad said to him, “Look now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful. Let us go out to the king of Israel with sackcloth around our waists and ropes around our heads. Perhaps he will spare your life.”
32 So they girded sackcloth upon their loins, and [put] ropes about their heads, and came in unto the king of Israel, and said, Thy servant, Ben-hadad, saith, —Let my soul live, I pray thee. And he said, —Is he yet alive? My brother, he is.
So with sackcloth around their waists and ropes around their heads, they went to the king of Israel and said, “Your servant Ben-hadad says, ‘Please spare my life.’” And the king answered, “Is he still alive? He is my brother.”
33 Now, the men, could divine, so they hastened to let him confirm the word of his own accord, and they said, —Thy brother, is Ben-hadad! He said therefore, —Go fetch him. So Ben-hadad came forth unto him, and he made him come up unto him on his chariot.
Now the men were looking for a sign of hope, and they quickly grasped at this word and replied, “Yes, your brother Ben-hadad.” “Go and get him!” said the king. Then Ben-hadad came out, and Ahab had him come up into his chariot.
34 And he said unto him—The cities which my father took from thy father, will I restore, and, bazaars, shalt thou make thee in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria. So then, I, with this covenant, will let thee go. So he solemnised with him a covenant, and let him go.
Ben-hadad said to him, “I will restore the cities my father took from your father; you may set up your own marketplaces in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria.” “By this treaty I release you,” Ahab replied. So he made a treaty with him and sent him away.
35 And, a certain man of the sons of the prophets, said unto his neighbour, by the word of Yahweh—Smite me, I pray thee. But the man refused to smite him.
Meanwhile, by the word of the LORD, one of the sons of the prophets said to his companion, “Strike me, please!” But the man refused to strike him.
36 So he said to him—Because thou hast not hearkened unto the voice of Yahweh, lo! when thou art departing from me, there shall smite thee a lion. And when he departed from beside him, a lion found him, and smote him.
Then the prophet said to him, “Because you have not obeyed the voice of the LORD, as soon as you depart from me a lion will kill you.” And when he left, a lion found him and killed him.
37 Then found he another man, and said, —Smite me, I pray thee. So the man smote him—kept on smiting and wounding.
Then the prophet found another man and said, “Strike me, please!” So the man struck him and wounded him,
38 Then the prophet departed, and waited for the king, by the way, —and disguised himself with his turban over his eyes.
and the prophet went and waited on the road for the king, disguising himself with a bandage over his eyes.
39 And so it was, when, the king, was passing, he, cried out unto the king, —and said—Thy servant, went out in the midst of the battle, and lo! a man, turned aside and brought unto me a man, and said—Keep this man, if he be, missing, then shall, thy life, go for, his life, or, a talent of silver, shalt thou weigh out.
As the king passed by, he cried out to the king: “Your servant had marched out into the middle of the battle, when suddenly a man came over with a captive and told me, ‘Guard this man! If he goes missing for any reason, your life will be exchanged for his life, or you will weigh out a talent of silver.’
40 And so it was, as thy servant was busy here and there, that, he, was gone. And the king of Israel said unto him—Such, is thy judgment, thou thyself, hast decided it.
But while your servant was busy here and there, the man disappeared.” And the king of Israel said to him, “So shall your judgment be; you have pronounced it on yourself.”
41 Then hastened he, and removed the turban from over his eyes, —and the king of Israel knew him, that, of the prophets, was, he.
Then the prophet quickly removed the bandage from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets.
42 And he said unto him—Thus, saith Yahweh, Because thou hast let go the man whom I had devoted, out of thy hand, therefore shall, thy life, be instead of, his life, and, thy people, instead of, his people.
And the prophet said to the king, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Because you have let slip from your hand the man I had devoted to destruction, your life will be exchanged for his life, and your people for his people.’”
43 And the king of Israel departed unto his house, sullen and disturbed, —and entered Samaria.
Sullen and angry, the king of Israel went home to Samaria.
