Kings III 20
1 And Nabuthai the Jezraelite had a vineyard, near the threshing floor of Achaab king of Samaria.
Ben Hadad king of Aram gathered all his army together. There were thirty-two lesser kings with him, and horses and chariots. He went up, besieged Samaria and fought against it.
2 And Achaab spoke to Nabuthai, saying, Give me your vineyard, and I will have it for a garden of herbs, for it [is] near my house: and I will give you another vineyard better than it; or if it please you, I will give you money, the price of this your vineyard, and I will have it for a garden of herbs.
He sent messengers into the city to Ahab king of Israel, and said to him, “Ben Hadad says this:
3 And Nabuthai said to Achaab, My God forbid me that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers.
'Your silver and your gold are mine. Also your wives and children, the best ones, are now mine.'”
4 And the spirit of Achaab was troubled, and he lay down upon his bed, and covered his face, and ate no bread.
The king of Israel answered and said, “It is as you say, my master, king. I and all that I have are yours.”
5 And Jezabel his wife went in to him, and spoke to him, [saying], Why [is] your spirit troubled, and [why] do you eat no bread?
The messengers came again and said, “Ben Hadad says this, 'I sent word to you saying that you must give me your silver, your gold, your wives, and your children.
6 And he said to her, Because I spoke to Nabuthai the Jezraelite, saying, Give me your vineyard for money; or if you will, I will give you another vineyard for it: and he said, I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.
But I will send my servants to you tomorrow about this time, and they will search your house and your servants' houses. They will seize with their own hands and take away whatever pleases their eyes.'”
7 And Jezabel his wife said to him, Do you now thus act the king over Israel? arise, and eat bread, and be your own [master], and I will give you the vineyard of Nabuthai the Jezraelite.
Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land together and said, “Please take note and see how this man seeks trouble. He has sent word to me in order to take my wives, children, and silver and gold, and I have not refused him.”
8 And she wrote a letter in the name of Achaab, and sealed it with his seal, and sent the letter to the elders, and to the freemen who lived with Nabuthai.
All the elders and all the people said to Ahab, “Do not listen to him or consent to his demands.”
9 And it was written in the letters, saying, Keep a fast, and set Naboth in a chief place among the people.
So Ahab said to the messengers of Ben Hadad, “Tell my master the king, 'I agree to everything that you sent your servant to do the first time, but I cannot accept this second demand.'” So the messengers left and took this response to Ben Hadad.
10 And set two men, sons of transgressors, before him, and let them testify against him, saying, He blessed God and the king: and let them lead him forth, and stone him, and let them die.
Then Ben Hadad sent his reply to Ahab, and said, “May the gods do so to me and more also, if even the ashes of Samaria will be enough for all the people who follow me to have a handful each.”
11 And the men of his city, the elders, and the nobles who lived in his city, did as Jezabel sent to them, and as it had been written in the letters which she sent to them.
The king of Israel answered and said, “Tell Ben Hadad, 'No one who is just putting on his armor, should boast as if he were taking it off.'”
12 And they proclaimed a fast, and set Nebuthai in a chief place among the people.
Ben Hadad heard this message as he was drinking, he and the kings under him who were in their tents. Ben Hadad commanded his men, “Line yourselves up in position for battle.” So they prepared themselves in position of battle to attack the city.
13 And two men, sons of transgressors, came in, and sat opposite him, and bore witness against him, saying, You have blessed God and the king. And they led him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, and he died.
Then behold, a prophet came to Ahab king of Israel and said, “Yahweh says, 'Have you seen this great army? Look, I will place it into your hand today, and you will know that I am Yahweh.'”
14 And they sent to Jezabel, saying, Nabuthai is stoned, and is dead.
Ahab replied, “By whom?” Yahweh replied and said, “By the young officers who serve the governors of the districts.” Then Ahab said, “Who will begin the battle?” Yahweh answered, “You.”
15 And it came to pass, when Jezabel heard [it], that she said to Achaab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Nabuthai the Jezraelite, who would not sell it to you: for Nebuthai is not alive, for he is dead.
Then Ahab mustered the young officers who served the governors of the districts. They numbered 232. After them he mustered all the soldiers, all the army of Israel; seven thousand in number.
16 And it came to pass, when Achaab heard that Nabuthai the Jezraelite was dead, that he tore his garments, and put on sackcloth. And it came to pass afterward, that Achaab arose and went down to the vineyard of Nabuthai the Jezraelite, to take possession of it.
They went out at noon. Ben Hadad had been drinking himself drunk in his tent, he and the thirty-two lesser kings who were supporting him.
17 And the Lord spoke to Eliu the Thesbite, saying,
The young officers who served the governors of the districts went forward first. Then Ben Hadad was informed by scouts that he had sent out, “Men are coming out from Samaria.”
18 Arise, and go down to meet Achaab king of Israel, who is in Samaria, for he [is] in the vineyard of Nabuthai, for he has gone down there to take possession of it.
Ben Hadad said, “Whether they have come out for peace or war, take them alive.”
19 And you shall speak to him, saying, Thus says the Lord, Forasmuch as you have slain and taken possession, therefore thus says the Lord, In every place where the swine and the dogs have licked the blood of Nabuthai, there shall the dogs lick your blood; and the harlots shall wash themselves in your blood.
So the young officers who served the governors of the districts went out of the city and the army followed them.
20 And Achaab said to Eliu, Hast you found me, mine enemy? and he said, I have found [you]: because you have wickedly sold yourself to work evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger;
Each man killed his opponent. The Arameans fled and Israel pursued them. Ben Hadad the king of Aram escaped on a horse along with some horsemen.
21 behold, I bring evil upon you: and I will kindle a fire after you, and I will utterly destroy every male of Achaab, and him that is shut up and him that is left in Israel.
Then the king of Israel went out and attacked the horses and chariots, and killed the Arameans in a great slaughter.
22 And I will make your house as the house of Jeroboam the son of Nabat, and as the house of Baasa son of Achia, because of the provocations wherewith you have provoked [me], and caused Israel to sin.
So the prophet came to the king of Israel and said to him, “Go, strengthen yourself, and understand and plan what you are doing, because at the return of the year the king of Aram will come up against you again.”
23 And the Lord spoke of Jezabel, saying, The dogs shall devour her within the fortification of Jezrael.
The servants of the king of Aram said to him, “Their god is a god of the hills. That is why they were stronger than we were. But now let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we will be stronger than they are.
24 Him that is dead of Achaab in the city shall the dogs eat, and him that is dead of him in the field shall the birds of the sky eat.
So you must do this: Remove all the kings from their positions of authority and replace them with military commanders.
25 But Achaab [did] wickedly, in that he sold himself to do that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, as his wife Jezabel led him astray.
Raise up an army like the army you lost—horse for horse and chariot for chariot—so we can fight them in the plain. Then surely we will be stronger than they are.” So Ben Hadad listened to their advice and did what they advised.
26 And he did very abominably in following after the abominations, according to all that the Amorite did, whom the Lord utterly destroyed from before the children of Israel.
After the beginning of the new year, Ben Hadad mustered the Arameans and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel.
27 And because of the word, Achaab was pierced with sorrow before the Lord, and he both went weeping, and tore his garment, and girded sackcloth upon his body, and fasted; he put on sackcloth also in the day that he struck Nabuthai the Jezraelite, and went his way.
The people of Israel were mustered and supplied to fight against them. The people of Israel camped before them like two little flocks of goats, but the Arameans filled the countryside.
28 And the word of the Lord came by the hand of his servant Eliu concerning Achaab, and the Lord said,
Then a man of God came near and spoke to the king of Israel and said, “Yahweh says: 'Because the Arameans have said that Yahweh is a god of the hills, but he is not a god of the valleys, I will place this great army into your hand, and you will know that I am Yahweh.'”
29 Hast you seen how Achaab has been pricked [to the heart] before me? I will not bring on the evil in his days, but in his son's days will I bring on the evil.
So the armies camped opposite each other for seven days. Then on the seventh day the battle started. The people of Israel killed 100,000 Aramean footmen in one day.
30 And the son of Ader gathered all his forces, and went up and besieged Samaria, [he] and thirty-two kings with him, and all [his] horse and chariots: and they went up and besieged Samaria, and fought against it.
The rest fled to Aphek, into the city, and the wall fell on twenty-seven thousand men who were left. Ben Hadad fled and went into the city, into an inner room.
31 And he sent into the city to Achaab king of Israel, and said to him, Thus says the son of Ader,
Ben Hadad's servants said to him, “Look now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings. Please let us put sackcloth around our waists and ropes around our heads, and go out to the king of Israel. Perhaps he will spare your life.”
32 Your silver and your gold are mine, and your wives and your children are mine.
So they put sackcloth on their waists and ropes around their heads and then went to the king of Israel and said, “Your servant Ben Hadad said, 'Please let me live.'” Ahab said, “Is he still alive? He is my brother.”
33 And the king of Israel answered and said, As you have said, my lord, O king, I am your, and all mine [also].
Now the men were listening for any sign from Ahab, so they quickly answered him, “Yes, your brother Ben Hadad is alive.” Then Ahab said, “Go and bring him.” Then Ben Hadad came to him, and Ahab had him come up into his chariot.
34 And the messengers came again, and said, Thus says the son of Ader, I sent to you, saying, You shall give me your silver and your gold, and your wives and your children.
Ben Hadad said to Ahab, “I will restore to you the cities that my father took from your father, and you may make markets for yourself in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria.” Ahab replied, “I will let you go with this covenant.” So Ahab made a covenant with him and then let him go.
35 For at this time to-morrow I will send my servants to you, and they shall search your house, and the houses of your servants, and it shall be that all the desirable objects of their eyes on which they shall lay their hands, they shall even take [them].
A certain man, one of the sons of the prophets, said to one of his fellow prophets by the word of Yahweh, “Please hit me.” But the man refused to hit him.
36 And the king of Israel called all the elders of the land, and said, Take notice now and consider, that this man seeks mischief: for he has sent to me concerning my wives, and concerning my sons, an concerning my daughters: I have not kept back from him my silver and my gold.
Then the prophet said to his fellow prophet, “Because you have not obeyed the voice of Yahweh, as soon as you leave me, a lion will kill you.” As soon as that man had left him, a lion came upon him and killed him.
37 And the elders and all the people said to him, Listen not, and consent not.
Then the prophet found another man and said, “Please hit me.” So the man hit him and wounded him.
38 And he said to the messengers of the son of Ader, Say to your master, All things that you have sent to your servant about at first I will do; but this thing I shall not be able to do. And the men departed, and carried back the answer to him.
Then the prophet left and waited for the king by the road; he had disguised himself with a bandage over his eyes.
39 And the son of Ader sent to him, saying, So do God to me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for foxes to all the people, even my infantry.
As the king passed by, the prophet cried out to the king and said, “Your servant went out into the heat of the battle, and a soldier stopped and brought a man to me and said, 'Watch this man. If by any means he goes missing, your life will be given for his life, or you must pay a talent of silver.'
40 And the king of Israel answered and said, Let it be sufficient; let not the humpbacked boast as he that is upright.
But because your servant was busy going here and there, the man escaped.” Then the king of Israel said to him, “This is what your punishment will be—you yourself have decided it.”
41 And it came to pass when he returned him this answer, he and all the kings with him were drinking in tents: and he said to his servants, Form a trench. And they made a trench against the city.
Then the prophet quickly removed the bandage from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized that he was one of the prophets.
42 And, behold, a prophet came to Achaab king of Israel, and said, Thus says the Lord, Hast you seen this great multitude? behold, I give it this day into your hands; and you shall know that I [am] the Lord.
The prophet said to the king, “Yahweh says, 'Because you have let go from your hand the man whom I had sentenced to death, your life will take the place of his life, and your people for his people.'”
43 And Achaab said, Whereby? And he said, Thus says the Lord, by the young men of the heads of the districts. And Achaab said, Who shall begin the battle? and he said, You.
So the king of Israel went to his house resentful and angry, and arrived in Samaria.
