1 Kings 20
1 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.
And Ben–hadad the king of Syria gathered all his army 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 Ben-Hadad sent messengers into the city to King Ahab, to say this to him: “This is what King Ben-Hadad says:
And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel into the city, and said unto him, Thus saith Ben–hadad,
3 ‘[You must give to] me all your silver and gold, your (good-looking/most beautiful) wives/women and strongest children.’”
Thy silver and thy gold is mine; thy wives also and thy children, even the goodliest, are mine.
4 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.’”
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 [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.
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 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.”
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 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.”
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 The leaders and all the other people said to him, “Do not pay any attention to him! Do not do what he is requesting!”
And all the elders and all the people said unto him, Hearken not unto him, nor consent.
9 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.
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 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!”
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 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.”
And the king of Israel answered and said, Tell him, Let not him that girdeth on his armour boast himself as he that putteth it off.
12 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.
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 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].’”
And, behold, there came a prophet unto Ahab king of Israel, saying, Thus saith Yhwh, Hast thou seen all this great multitude? behold, I will deliver it into thine hand this day; and thou shalt know that I am Yhwh.
14 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!”
And Ahab said, By whom? And he said, Thus saith Yhwh, Even by the young men of the princes of the provinces. Then he said, Who shall order the battle? And he answered, Thou.
15 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.
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 They started to attack at noon, while Ben-Hadad and the other rulers were getting drunk in their temporary shelters.
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 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]”!
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 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
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 The young Israeli soldiers went out of the city to attack [the Syrian army], and the other soldiers in the Israeli army followed them.
So these young men of the princes of the provinces came out of the city, and the army which followed them.
20 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.
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 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.
And the king of Israel went out, and smote the horses and chariots, and slew the Syrians with a great slaughter.
22 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.”
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 [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.
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 So, this is what you should do: You must remove the 32 kings [who are leading your troops] and replace them with army commanders.
And do this thing, Take the kings away, every man out of his place, and put captains in their rooms:
25 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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 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].’”
And there came a man of God, and spake unto the king of Israel, and said, Thus saith Yhwh, Because the Syrians have said, Yhwh 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 Yhwh.
29 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.
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 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.
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 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.”
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 [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!”
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 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].
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 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.
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 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.
And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said unto his neighbour in the word of Yhwh, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man refused to smite him.
36 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.
Then said he unto him, Because thou hast not obeyed the voice of Yhwh, 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 Then the prophet found another prophet, and said to him, “Strike me!” So that man hit him [very hard] and injured him.
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 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.
So the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with ashes upon his face.
39 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!’
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 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.”
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 The prophet immediately took off the bandage, and the king of Israel recognized that he was one 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 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!’”
And he said unto him, Thus saith Yhwh, 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 The king went back home to Samaria, very angry and depressed/dejected.
And the king of Israel went to his house heavy and displeased, and came to Samaria.
