1 Kings 20

1 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 Then he sent messengers into the city to Ahab king of Israel,

3 saying, “This is what Ben-hadad says: ‘Your silver and gold are mine, and your best wives and children are mine!’”

4 And the king of Israel replied, “Just as you say, my lord the king: I am yours, along with all that I have.”

5 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 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 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 the elders and the people all said, “Do not listen to him or consent to his terms.”

9 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 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 replied, “Tell him: ‘The one putting on his armor should not boast like one taking it off.’”

12 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 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 “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 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 They marched out at noon while Ben-hadad and the 32 kings allied with him were in their tents getting drunk.

17 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 “If they have marched out in peace,” he said, “take them alive. Even if they have marched out for war, take them alive.”

19 Meanwhile, these young officers of the district governors marched out of the city, with the army behind them,

20 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 Then the king of Israel marched out and attacked the horses and chariots, inflicting a great slaughter on the Arameans.

22 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 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 So do this: Dismiss all the kings from their positions and replace them with other officers.

25 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 In the spring, Ben-hadad mobilized the Arameans and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel.

27 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 the man of God approached the king of Israel and said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Because the Arameans have said that 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 the prophet found another man and said, “Strike me, please!” So the man struck him and wounded him,

38 and the prophet went and waited on the road for the king, disguising himself with a bandage over his eyes.

39 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 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 the prophet quickly removed the bandage from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets.

42 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 Sullen and angry, the king of Israel went home to Samaria.

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.

2 And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel into the city, and said unto him, Thus saith Benhadad,

3 Thy silver and thy gold [is] mine; thy wives also and thy children, [even] the goodliest, [are] mine.

4 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 And the messengers came again, and said, Thus speaketh Benhadad, saying, Although I have sent unto thee, saying, Thou shalt deliver me thy silver, and thy gold, and thy wives, and thy children;

6 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 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 And all the elders and all the people said unto him, Hearken not [unto him], nor consent.

9 Wherefore he said unto the messengers of Benhadad, 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 And Benhadad 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 And the king of Israel answered and said, Tell [him], Let not him that girdeth on [his harness] boast himself as he that putteth it 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 unto his servants, Set [yourselves in array]. And they set [themselves in array] against the city.

13 And, behold, there came a prophet unto Ahab king of Israel, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Hast thou seen all this great multitude? behold, I will deliver it into thine hand this day; and thou shalt know that I [am] the LORD.

14 And Ahab said, By whom? And he said, Thus saith the LORD, [Even] by the young men of the princes of the provinces. Then he said, Who shall order the battle? And he answered, Thou.

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.

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.

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.

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.

19 So these young men of the princes of the provinces came out of the city, and the army which followed 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.

21 And the king of Israel went out, and smote the horses and chariots, and slew the Syrians with a great slaughter.

22 ¶ 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 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 And do this thing, Take the kings away, every man out of his place, and put captains in their rooms:

25 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 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.

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.

28 And there came a man of God, and spake unto the king of Israel, and said, Thus saith 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 thine hand, and ye shall know 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.

30 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 Benhadad fled, and came into the city, into an inner chamber.

31 ¶ 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 So they girded sackcloth on their loins, and [put] ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said, Thy servant Benhadad saith, I pray thee, let me live. And he said, [Is] he yet alive? 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, Thy brother Benhadad. Then he said, Go ye, bring him. Then Benhadad came forth to him; and he caused him to come up into the chariot.

34 And [Benhadad] 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 And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said unto his neighbour in the word of the LORD, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man refused to smite him.

36 Then said he unto him, Because thou hast not obeyed the voice of the LORD, 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 he found another man, and said, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man smote him, so that in smiting he wounded [him].

38 So the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with ashes upon his face.

39 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 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 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 he said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, 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 And the king of Israel went to his house heavy and displeased, and came to Samaria.

1 And Benhadad king of Syria gathered together all his power, and there were thirty and two kings with him, and horses, and chariots: and he went up, and besieged Samaria, and fought against them.

2 And sent messengers unto Ahab king of Israel into the city.

3 And said unto him, Thus saith Benhadad, Thy silver and thy gold are mine, and thy wives and thy best children are mine.

4 And the king of Israel answered and said, My lord king, as thou hast spoken; I am thine, and all that I have.

5 And the messengers came again, and said, Thus saith Benhadad, Because I have sent unto thee, saying, Thy silver, and thy gold, thy wives, and thy children, shalt thou give me,

6 Then to morrow about this time I will send my servants unto thee, and they shall visit thy house, and the houses of thy subjects: and they shall take in their hands the things that are pleasant unto thee, and carry them away.

7 And the king of Israel called unto all the elders of the land, and said, Mark and see how wickedly he doeth it. He hath sent unto me for my wives, and for my children, and for my silver, and for my gold; and I have not withstood him.

8 And all the ancients and all the people said unto him, Thou shalt not hearken, nor grant.

9 And he said unto Benhadad the messengers, Tell my lord the king: All that thou didst command thy servant at the first will I do; but this I cannot do. And the messengers went and said these things again.

10 And Benhadad sent unto him, saying, The gods do this and that unto me, where the dust of Samaria shall be enough for all the people under me to bring a handful of it.

11 But the king of Israel answered and said, Say ye, He that putteth on the armour shall not boast, as he that putteth it off.

12 And when Benhadad heard it, and he was drinking with the kings in the tents, he said unto his servants: Send yourselves. And they sent themselves against the city.

13 And, behold, a prophet came to Ahab king of Israel, and said, Thus saith the LORD, Thou hast seen all this great multitude. Behold, I will deliver it into thine hand this day, that thou mayest know that I am the LORD.

14 And Ahab said, By whom? And he said, Thus saith the LORD, By the sons of the governors. And he said, Who shall stir up the battle? And he said, Thou.

15 And he numbered the sons of the governors, two hundred thirty and two. And he numbered after them all the people of all the children of Israel, seven thousand men.

16 And they departed in the middle of the day. And Benhadad drank, and was drunken in the tent, with the thirty and two kings that came to his help.

17 And the lads of the governors went out first. And Benhadad sent out, and they told him, saying: There go men out of Samaria.

18 And he said, Take them alive, whether they come out for peace, or for strife.

19 And when the lads of the governors were gone out, and the host after them,

20 And they smote every man that came before him. And the Syrians fled, and Israel pursued after them. And Benhadad king of Syria escaped with horses and horsemen.

21 And the king of Israel went out, and smote horse and chariot, and made a great slaughter of the Syrians.

22 And a prophet came to the king of Israel, and said unto him, Go and strengthen thyself; and mark and see what thou doest. For the king of Syria shall come up against thee when the year is expired.

23 For the servants of the king of Syria said unto him, Their gods are mountain gods: therefore have they taken us. O that we should fight with them in the plain! What is the matter, that we should have conquered them?

24 Do thou therefore unto him, Remove the kings every one from his place, and put lords in their stead.

25 And ordain thee an army like unto the army that thou hast lost, and horses and chariots like unto them: and let us fight against them in the plain. What shall we do to them? And he hearkened unto their voice, and did so.

26 And it came to pass, when the year was expired, that Benhadad gathered the Syrians, and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel.

27 And the children of Israel also arrayed themselves, and fed themselves, and went out to meet them, and encamped against them, as two little flocks of goats. And the land was full of the Syrians.

28 And a man of God came near, and said unto the king of Israel, Thus saith the LORD; Because the Syrians have said, The LORD is a God of the mountains, and not a God of the ground, I have delivered all this great multitude into thy hand, that ye may know that I am the LORD.

29 And they encamped against them seven days. And on the seventh day they went out to battle, and the children of Israel smote the Syrians an hundred thousand footmen in one day.

30 And the remnant fled to Aphek into the city: and the wall fell upon the rest of the twenty and seven thousand men. And Benhadad also fled into the city, from chamber to chamber.

31 And his servants said unto him, Behold, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings: let us therefore put sackcloth upon our loins, and ropes upon our heads, and go out unto the king of Israel: peradventure he will save thy life.

32 And they girded sackcloth about their loins, and ropes about their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said: Benhadad thy servant saith unto thee, Let my soul live. And he said, If he live, he is my brother.

33 And the men took the word from him in haste, and interpreted it for themselves, and said: Yea, thy brother Benhadad. And he said, Come and bring him. So Benhadad went out to him. And let him sit upon the chariot

34 And he said unto him, The cities which my father took from thy father will I restore unto thee; and make thee streets of Damascus, as my father did of Samaria, and I will leave thee with a covenant. And he made a covenant with him, and sent him away.

35 Then said a man of the sons of the prophets unto his neighbour by the word of the LORD, Slay me, I pray thee. But he refused to smite him.

36 And he said unto him, Because thou hast not hearkened unto the voice of the LORD, behold, a lion shall smite thee, if thou depart from me. And as he departed from him, a lion found him, and smote him.

37 And he found another man, and said, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man smote him sore.

38 And the prophet went and stood by the way of the king, and hid his face with ashes.

39 And as the king passed by, he cried unto the king, saying, Thy servant was gone out in the midst of the battle. And, behold, a man was departed, and brought a man unto me, and said, Keep this man: if any man miss him, then thy soul shall be for his soul, or thou shalt weigh a talent of silver.

40 And when thy servant had business here and there, he was no more. And the king of Israel said unto him, This is thy judgment; thou hast pleaded it thyself.

41 And he hasted, and put away the ashes from his face: and the king of Israel knew him, that he was one of the prophets.

42 And he said unto him, Thus saith the LORD; Because thou hast sent away the exiled man from thee, thy soul shall be for his soul, and thy people for his people.

43 And the king of Israel went away displeased and angry into his house, and came to Samaria.