Ben-hadad Attacks Samaria

1And Benadab ye kynge of Siria gathered all his power, & there were two & thirtie kynges wt him, & horses & charettes, and he wente vp, and layed sege vnto Samaria, & foughte agaynst it. 2And he sent messaungers vnto Achab ye kynge of Israel in to ye cite, & caused to saye vnto him: Thus sayeth Benadab: 3Thy syluer & thy golde is myne, and thy wyues & thy best children are myne also. 4The kynge of Israel answered, & sayde: My lorde O kynge, euen as thou hast sayde, I am thine, and all that I haue. 5And the messaungers came agayne, & sayde: Thus sayeth Benadab: For so moch as I haue sent vnto the, sayenge: Thy syluer & thy golde, thy wyues & thy childre 6shalt thou geue me, tomorow aboute this tyme wil I sende my seruautes vnto the, yt they maye serch thyne house and the houses of thy subiectes: & loke what pleasaunt thinge thou hast, yt shal they take in their handes, and cary it awaye.

7So the kynge of Israel called all ye Elders of the lode, & sayde: Mark well & se, what myschefe this ma seketh: He sent vnto me for my wyues & children for syluer & golde, & I haue not sayde him naye. 8Then sayde all the Elders and all the people vnto him: Thou shalt not cosente ner agree vnto him. 9And he spake vnto Benadabs messaugers, Saye vnto my lorde ye kynge: All ye thynges wherfore thou dyddest sende vnto me yi seruaunt at ye first, wil I do, but this can I not do. And ye messaungers wete, and tolde this againe. 10The sent Benadab vnto him sayege: The goddes do this and yt vnto me, yf the dust of Samaria shalbe ynough, for euery one of my people to brynge me an handfull therof. 11But ye kynge of Israel answered, & sayde: Tell him, Let not him yt putteth on ye harnes, make his boast like him yt hath put it of 12Wha Benadab herde yt (eue as he was drynkinge wt the kynges in ye pauylion) he sayde vnto his seruautes: Set yor selues in araye. And they set the selues in araie against ye cite.

Ahab Defeats Ben-hadad

13And beholde, there came a prophet vnto Achab ye kynge of Israel, & saide: Thus sayeth the LORDE: Hast thou sene all this greate multitude? Beholde, this daie wil I delyuer the in to yi hande, so yt thou shalt knowe, how yt I am ye LORDE. 14Achab sayde: By whom? He sayde: Thus sayeth the LORDE: Euen by the yonge men of the rulers of the londe. He sayde: Who shal order the battayl? He sayde: Thou. 15Then mustered he the yonge men of the rulers of the londe, & there were two hudreth and two and thirtie of them: & after the mustured he of the whole people of all the childre of Israel, seue thousande men,

16and they wente out in the noone daye. As for Benadab, he dranke and was dronken in the pauylion with the two & thirtie kynges which were come to helpe him. 17And the yonge men of the rulers of the londe wente forth first. Benadab sent forth, & they brought him worde, & sayde: There come men out of Samaria. 18He sayde: Take them alyue, whether they be come forth for peace, or for warre.

19But whan the londe rulers yonge men were gone forth, and the hoost behynde them, euery one smote him yt came in his waye. 20And the Sirians fled, and Israel folowed after them. And Benadab the kynge of Syria escaped with horses and horsme. 21And the kynge of Israel wente forth, and smote horses and charettes, and dyd a greate slaughter on the Syrians.

22Then came there a prophet vnto the kynge of Israel, and sayde vnto him: Go thy waye and strength the, and take hede, and loke well what thou doest: for whan the yeare is aboute, the kynge of Syria shall come agaynst the of the new.

23For the kynge of ye Syrians seruauntes sayde vnto him: Their goddes are goddes of the mountaynes, therfore haue they gotten the victory. But let vs fyghte with them on the playne, and thou shalt se that we shal ouercome them. 24Do thus, put awaye the kynges euery one from his place, and set dukes in their steades, 25and appoynte the an hoost as was that which thou hast lost, & horses & charettes as the other were, and let vs fight agaynst the in the plaine, and thou shalt se that we shal haue the victory. He cosented vnto their voyce, and dyd so.

Another War with Ben-hadad

26Now whan the yeare was gone aboute, Benadab appoynted the Sirians, and wente vp towarde Aphek, to fighte agaynst Israel, 27and the childre of Israel mustured, and prouyded them selues with vytailes, and wete to mete them, and pitched their tetes ouer against them, like two litle flockes of goates but the londe was full of the Syrians. 28And there came a man of God, and sayde vnto the kynge of Israel: Thus sayeth the LORDE: Because the Syrians haue sayde, that the LORDE is a God of the moutaynes and not a God of the valleys, therfore haue I geuen all this greate heape in to thy handes, that ye maye knowe how that I am ye LORDE. 29And they pitched their tentes right ouer agaynst them seuen dayes. But vpon ye seuenth daye they wente together in to the battayll: and the children of Israel smote of the Sirians an hundreth thousande fote men in one daye, 30and the remnaunt fled to Aphek in to the cite, and the wall fell vpon the other seuen and twenty thousande men. And Benadab fled also vnto the cite in to a litle chamber.

Ahab Spares Ben-hadad

31Then sayde his seruauntes vnto him: Beholde, we haue herde that the kynges of the house of Israel are mercifull kinges, Let vs therfore put sack cloth aboute oure loynes, and halters aboute oure neckes, & go forth to the kynge of Israel, peraduenture he shal let yi soule lyue. 32And they put sack cloth aboute their loynes, and halters aboute their neckes, and came to the kynge of Israel, and sayde: Benadab thy seruaunt sayeth vnto the: O let my soule lyue. He sayde: yf he be yet alyue, he is my brother. 33And the men toke him shortly at his worde, and expounded it for them selues and sayde: Yee Benadab is thy brother. He sayde: Come and brynge him. The wente Benadab forth vnto him, and he caused him to syt vpon the charet, 34and sayde vnto him: The cities that my father toke from thy father, wyl I geue the agayne. And make thou stretes for thyselfe at Damasco, as my father did at Samaria, so wyl I let the go with a bonde of peace. And he made a couenaunt with him, and let him go.

A Prophet Reproves Ahab

35Then spake there a man amonge the children of the prophetes vnto his neghboure by the worde of the LORDE: I praye the smite me. But he refused to smite him. 36Then saide he vnto him, because thou hast not herkened vnto the voyce of the LORDE, beholde, therfore shall there a lyon smyte the, whan thou goest fro me. And whan he wente fro him, a lyon founde him, and slewe him. 37And he founde another man, and sayde: I praye the smyte me. And the man smote him, and wounded him, 38Then wente the prophet, and stepte vnto the kynge by the waye syde, and altered his face with asshes. 39And whan the kynge wente by, he cried vpon ye kynge, and sayde: Thy seruaunt wente forth in to the battayll, and beholde, there wente one asyde, and broughte a man vnto me, and sayde: Kepe this ma: yf he be myssed, thy soule shall be in steade of his soule, or els thou shalt weye downe an hundreth weighte of syluer. 40And whyle thy seruaunt had here & there to do, he was awaye. The kynge of Israel sayde vnto him: It is thine owne iudgment, thou hast geuen it thyselfe. 41Then put he the asshes from his face in all the haist. And the kynge of Israel knewe him, that he was one of the prophetes. 42And he sayde vnto him: Thus sayeth the LORDE: Because thou hast let the damned man go, therfore shall thy soule be for his soule, and thy people for his people. 43And the kynge of Israel departed vnto his house, beinge troubled in his mynde and full indignacion, and came to Samaria.