1 Kings 20

1And Ben-hadad 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.

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

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

4And the king of Israel answered and said, My lord, O king, according to thy saying, I am thine, and all that I have.

5And 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;

6Yet 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.footnote a

7Then 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.footnote b

8And all the elders and all the people said unto him, Hearken not unto him, nor consent.

9Wherefore 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.

10And 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.footnote c

11And 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.

12And 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.footnote dfootnote efootnote f

13And, 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.footnote g

14And 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.footnote hfootnote i

15Then 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.

16And 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.

17And 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.

18And he said, Whether they be come out for peace, take them alive; or whether they be come out for war, take them alive.

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

20And 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.

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

22And 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.

23And 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.

24And do this thing, Take the kings away, every man out of his place, and put captains in their rooms:

25And 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.footnote j

26And 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.footnote k

27And 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.footnote l

28And 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.

29And 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.

30But 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.footnote m

31And 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.

32So 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.

33Now 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.

34And 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.footnote n

35And 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.

36Then 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.

37Then he found another man, and said, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man smote him, so that in smiting he wounded him.footnote o

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

39And 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.footnote p

40And 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.footnote q

41And he hasted, and took the ashes away from his face; and the king of Israel discerned him that he was of the prophets.

42And 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.

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

Ben-hadad Attacks Samaria

1Now 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. 2Then he sent messengers into the city to Ahab king of Israel, 3saying, “This is what Ben-hadad says:footnote a ‘Your silver and gold are mine, and your best wives and children are mine!’”

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

5The 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. 6But 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.’”

7Then 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.”

8And the elders and the people all said, “Do not listen to him or consent to his terms.”

9So 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.

10Then 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.”

11And the king of Israel replied, “Tell him: ‘The one putting on his armor should not boast like one taking it off.’”

12Ben-hadad received this message while he and the kings were drinking in their tents,footnote b and he said to his servants, “Take your positions.” So they stationed themselves against the city.

Ahab Defeats Ben-hadad

13Meanwhile 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.

15So 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.

16They marched out at noon while Ben-hadad and the 32 kings allied with him were in their tents getting drunk. 17And 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.”

19Meanwhile, these young officers of the district governors marched out of the city, with the army behind them, 20and 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.

21Then the king of Israel marched out and attacked the horses and chariots, inflicting a great slaughter on the Arameans.

22Afterward, the prophet approached the king of Israel and said, “Go and strengthen your position, and take note what you must do, for in the springfootnote c the king of Aram will come up against you.”

23Meanwhile, 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. 24So do this: Dismiss all the kings from their positions and replace them with other officers. 25And 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.

Another War with Ben-hadad

26In the spring, Ben-hadad mobilized the Arameans and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel. 27The 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.

28Then 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.’”

29For 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.

30The 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.

Ahab Spares Ben-hadad

31Then 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.”

32So 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.”

33Now 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.

34Ben-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 treatyfootnote d I release you,” Ahab replied. So he made a treaty with him and sent him away.

A Prophet Reproves Ahab

35Meanwhile, 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.

36Then 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.

37Then the prophet found another man and said, “Strike me, please!”
So the man struck him and wounded him, 38and the prophet went and waited on the road for the king, disguising himself with a bandage over his eyes.

39As 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.footnote e’ 40But 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.”

41Then the prophet quickly removed the bandage from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets.

42And 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,footnote f your life will be exchanged for his life, and your people for his people.’”

43Sullen and angry, the king of Israel went home to Samaria.