1 Kings 20
1 And Benhadad the king of Syria gathered all his host 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.
Now Ben-hadad, king of Aram, got all his army together, and thirty-two kings with him, and horses and carriages of war; he went up and made war on Samaria, shutting it in.
2 And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel into the city, and said to him, Thus says Benhadad,
And he sent representatives into the town to Ahab, king of Israel;
3 Your silver and your gold is mine; your wives also and your children, even the best, are mine.
And they said to him, Ben-hadad says, Your silver and your gold are mine; and your wives and children are mine.
4 And the king of Israel answered and said, My lord, O king, according to your saying, I am yours, and all that I have.
And the king of Israel sent him an answer saying, As you say, my lord king, I am yours with all I have.
5 And the messengers came again, and said, Thus speaks Benhadad, saying, Although I have sent to you, saying, You shall deliver me your silver, and your gold, and your wives, and your children;
Then the representatives came back again, and said, These are the words of Ben-hadad: I sent to you saying, Give up to me your silver and your gold, your wives and your children;
6 Yet I will send my servants to you to morrow about this time, and they shall search your house, and the houses of your servants; and it shall be, that whatever is pleasant in your eyes, they shall put it in their hand, and take it away.
But I will send my servants to you tomorrow about this time, to make a search through your house and the houses of your people, and everything which is pleasing in your eyes they will take away in their hands.
7 Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land, and said, Mark, I pray you, and see how this man seeks mischief: for he sent to me for my wives, and for my children, and for my silver, and for my gold; and I denied him not.
Then the king of Israel sent for all the responsible men of the land, and said, Now will you take note and see the evil purpose of this man: he sent for my wives and my children, my silver and my gold, and I did not keep them back.
8 And all the elders and all the people said to him, Listen not to him, nor consent.
And all the responsible men and the people said to him, Do not give attention to him or do what he says.
9 Why he said to the messengers of Benhadad, Tell my lord the king, All that you did send for to your servant at the first I will do: but this thing I may not do. And the messengers departed, and brought him word again.
So he said to the representatives of Ben-hadad, Say to my lord the king, All the orders you sent the first time I will do; but this thing I may not do. And the representatives went back with this answer.
10 And Benhadad sent to him, and said, The gods do so to me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me.
Then Ben-hadad sent to him, saying, May the gods' punishment be on me if there is enough of the dust of Samaria for all the people at my feet to take some in their hands.
11 And the king of Israel answered and said, Tell him, Let not him that girds on his harness boast himself as he that puts it off.
And the king of Israel said in answer, Say to him, The time for loud talk is not when a man is putting on his arms, but when he is taking them off.
12 And it came to pass, when Benhadad heard this message, as he was drinking, he and the kings in the pavilions, that he said to his servants, Set yourselves in array. And they set themselves in array against the city.
Now when this answer was given to Ben-hadad, he was drinking with the kings in the tents, and he said to his men, Take up your positions. So they put themselves in position for attacking the town.
13 And, behold, there came a prophet to Ahab king of Israel, saying, Thus says the LORD, Have you seen all this great multitude? behold, I will deliver it into your hand this day; and you shall know that I am the LORD.
Then a prophet came up to Ahab, king of Israel, and said, The Lord says, Have you seen all this great army? See, I will give it into your hands today, and you will see that I am the Lord.
14 And Ahab said, By whom? And he said, Thus says the LORD, Even by the young men of the princes of the provinces. Then he said, Who shall order the battle? And he answered, You.
And Ahab said, By whom? And he said, The Lord says, By the servants of the chiefs who are over the divisions of the land. Then he said, By whom is the fighting to be started? And he made answer, By you.
15 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.
Then he got together the servants of all the chiefs who were over the divisions of the land, two hundred and thirty-two of them; and after them, he got together all the people, all the children of Israel, seven thousand.
16 And they went out at noon. But Benhadad was drinking himself drunk in the pavilions, he and the kings, the thirty and two kings that helped him.
And in the middle of the day they went out. But Ben-hadad was drinking in the tents with the thirty-two kings who were helping him.
17 And the young men of the princes of the provinces went out first; and Benhadad sent out, and they told him, saying, There are men come out of Samaria.
And the servants of the chiefs who were over the divisions of the land went forward first; and when Ben-hadad sent out, they gave him the news, saying, Men have come out from Samaria.
18 And he said, Whether they be come out for peace, take them alive; or whether they be come out for war, take them alive.
And he said, If they have come out for peace, take them living, and if they have come out for war, take them living.
19 So these young men of the princes of the provinces came out of the city, and the army which followed them.
So the servants of the chiefs of the divisions of the land went out of the town, with the army coming after them.
20 And they slew every one his man: and the Syrians fled; and Israel pursued them: and Benhadad the king of Syria escaped on an horse with the horsemen.
And every one of them put his man to death, and the Aramaeans went in flight with Israel after them; and Ben-hadad, king of Aram, got away safely on a horse with his horsemen.
21 And the king of Israel went out, and smote the horses and chariots, and slew the Syrians with a great slaughter.
And the king of Israel went out and took the horses and the war-carriages, and made great destruction among the Aramaeans.
22 And the prophet came to the king of Israel, and said to him, Go, strengthen yourself, and mark, and see what you do: for at the return of the year the king of Syria will come up against you.
Then the prophet came up to the king of Israel, and said to him, Now make yourself strong, and take care what you do, or a year from now the king of Aram will come up against you again.
23 And the servants of the king of Syria said to 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.
Then the king of Aram's servants said to him, Their god is a god of the hills; that is why they were stronger than we: but if we make an attack on them in the lowlands, we will certainly be stronger than they.
24 And do this thing, Take the kings away, every man out of his place, and put captains in their rooms:
This is what you have to do: take away the kings from their positions, and put captains in their places;
25 And number you an army, like the army that you have 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 listened to their voice, and did so.
And get together another army like the one which came to destruction, horse for horse, and carriage for carriage; and let us make war on them in the lowlands, and certainly we will be stronger than they. And he gave ear to what they said, and did so.
26 And it came to pass at the return of the year, that Benhadad numbered the Syrians, and went up to Aphek, to fight against Israel.
So, a year later, Ben-hadad got the Aramaeans together and went up to Aphek to make war on Israel.
27 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.
And the children of Israel got themselves together, and food was made ready and they went against them; the tents of the children of Israel were like two little flocks of goats before them, but all the country was full of the Aramaeans.
28 And there came a man of God, and spoke to the king of Israel, and said, Thus says the LORD, Because the Syrians have said, The LORD is God of the hills, but he is not God of the valleys, therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the LORD.
And a man of God came up and said to the king of Israel, The Lord says, Because the Aramaeans have said, The Lord is a god of the hills and not of the valleys; I will give all this great army into your hands, and you will see that I am the Lord.
29 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.
Now the two armies kept their positions facing one another for seven days. And on the seventh day the fight was started; and the children of Israel put to the sword a hundred thousand Aramaean footmen in one day.
30 But the rest fled to Aphek, into the city; and there a wall fell on twenty and seven thousand of the men that were left. And Benhadad fled, and came into the city, into an inner chamber.
But the rest went in flight to Aphek, into the town, where a wall came down on the twenty-seven thousand who were still living. And Ben-hadad went in flight into the town, into an inner room.
31 And his servants said to him, Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings: let us, I pray you, put sackcloth on our loins, and ropes on our heads, and go out to the king of Israel: peradventure he will save your life.
Then his servants said to him, It is said that the kings of Israel are full of mercy: let us then put on haircloth, and cords on our heads, and go to the king of Israel; it may be that he will give you your life.
32 So they girded sackcloth on their loins, and put ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said, Your servant Benhadad says, I pray you, let me live. And he said, Is he yet alive? he is my brother.
So they put on haircloth, and cords on their heads, and came to the king of Israel and said, Your servant Ben-hadad says, Let me now keep my life. And he said, Is he still living? he is my brother.
33 Now the men did diligently observe whether any thing would come from him, and did hastily catch it: and they said, Your brother Benhadad. Then he said, Go you, bring him. Then Benhadad came forth to him; and he caused him to come up into the chariot.
Now the men took it as a sign, and quickly took up his words; and they said, Ben-hadad is your brother. Then he said, Go and get him. So Ben-hadad came out to him and he made him get up into his carriage.
34 And Benhadad said to him, The cities, which my father took from your father, I will restore; and you shall make streets for you in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria. Then said Ahab, I will send you away with this covenant. So he made a covenant with him, and sent him away.
And Ben-hadad said to him, The towns my father took from your father I will give back; and you may make streets for yourself in Damascus as my father did in Samaria. And as for me, at the price of this agreement you will let me go. So he made an agreement with him and let him go.
35 And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his neighbor in the word of the LORD, Smite me, I pray you. And the man refused to smite him.
And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his neighbour by the word of the Lord, Give me a wound. But the man would not.
36 Then said he to him, Because you have not obeyed the voice of the LORD, behold, as soon as you are departed from me, a lion shall slay you. And as soon as he was departed from him, a lion found him, and slew him.
Then he said to him, Because you have not given ear to the voice of the Lord, straight away when you have gone from me a lion will put you to death. And when he had gone, straight away a lion came rushing at him and put him to death.
37 Then he found another man, and said, Smite me, I pray you. And the man smote him, so that in smiting he wounded him.
Then he came across another man, and said, Give me a wound. And the man gave him a blow wounding him.
38 So the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with ashes on his face.
So the prophet went away, and pulling his head-band over his eyes to keep his face covered, took his place by the road waiting for the king.
39 And as the king passed by, he cried to the king: and he said, Your servant went out into the middle of the battle; and, behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man to me, and said, Keep this man: if by any means he be missing, then shall your life be for his life, or else you shall pay a talent of silver.
And when the king went by, crying out to him he said, Your servant went out into the fight; and a man came out to me with another man and said, Keep this man: if by any chance he gets away, your life will be the price of his life, or you will have to give a talent of silver in payment.
40 And as your servant was busy here and there, he was gone. And the king of Israel said to him, So shall your judgment be; yourself have decided it.
But while your servant was turning this way and that, he was gone. Then the king of Israel said to him, You are responsible; you have given the decision against yourself.
41 And he hurried, and took the ashes away from his face; and the king of Israel discerned him that he was of the prophets.
Then he quickly took the head-band from his eyes; and the king of Israel saw that he was one of the prophets.
42 And he said to him, Thus says the LORD, Because you have let go out of your hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction, therefore your life shall go for his life, and your people for his people.
And he said to him, These are the words of the Lord: Because you have let go from your hands the man whom I had put to the curse, your life will be taken for his life, and your people for his people.
43 And the king of Israel went to his house heavy and displeased, and came to Samaria.
Then the king of Israel went back to his house, bitter and angry, and came to Samaria.
