1 Kings 20:1-28 ▼

1 Now Ben-hadad king of Aram gathered together all his forces, and thirty-two kings with him, and horse and chariot. And he went up and laid siege against Samaria and made war against it.

2 And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel, to the city,

3 and he said to him, “Thus says Ben-hadad: ‘Your silver and your gold are mine, and your wives and loveliest children are mine.’”

4 And the king of Israel answered and said, “According to your word, My lord, the king, unto you are I and all that I have.”

5 And the messengers returned and said, “Thus speaks Ben-hadad, saying: ‘Surely I have sent to you, saying: Your silver, and your gold, and your wives, and your children, you shall deliver to me.

6 But about this time tomorrow I will send my servants to you, and they shall search your house and the houses of your servants, and it will come to pass that whatever is desirable in your eyes, they will put it in their hands and take it.’”

7 And the king of Israel called all the elders of the land and said, “Know, please, and see that this one seeks evil, for he sent to me for my wives and my children and my silver and my gold, and I did not withhold from him.”

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

9 And he said to the messengers of Ben-hadad, “Tell my lord the king, ‘All that you sent for to your servant the first time, I will do; and this thing I cannot do.’” And the messengers departed, and brought back to him word.

10 And Ben-hadad sent to him and said, “Thus may the gods do to me, and thus more, if the dust of Samaria is left for handfuls for all the people who are at my feet.”

11 And the king of Israel answered and said, “Declare: ‘Let not him who is girding boast as him who is loosing.’”

12 And it came to pass at the hearing of this word—and he was drinking, he and the kings, in the booths—that he said to his servants, “Set yourselves.” And they set themselves against the city.

13 And behold, one prophet approached unto Ahab king of Israel and said, “Thus says YHWH: ‘Have you seen all this great multitude? Behold, I will deliver it into your hand today, and you shall know that I am YHWH.’”

14 And Ahab said, “By whom?” And he said, “Thus says YHWH: ‘By the young men of the commanders of the provinces.’” And he said, “Who will direct the battle?” And he answered, “You.”

15 And he mustered by the young men of the commanders of the provinces, and there were two hundred and thirty-two, and after them he mustered all the people, all the sons of Israel, seven thousand.

16 And they went out at noon while Ben-hadad was getting drunk at the command post—he and the kings, thirty-two kings helping him.

17 And the young men of the commanders of the provinces went out first. And Ben-hadad sent out, and they reported to him, saying, “Men are coming out of Samaria.”

18 And he said, “If they have come out for peace, take them alive. And if they have come out for war, take them alive.”

19 And these went out of the city—the young men of the commanders of the provinces—and the army that was after them.

20 And they struck down each man his man, and Aram fled. And Israel pursued them, and Ben-hadad king of Aram escaped on a horse with horsemen.

21 And the king of Israel went out and attacked the horse and the chariot, and he struck among the Aramaeans a great slaughter.

22 And the prophet came to the king of Israel and said to him, “Go, strengthen yourself and take note, and see what you should do. For at the return of the year the king of Aram will come up against you.”

23 And the servants of the king of Aram said to him, “Their gods are gods of the hills; upon thus they were stronger than we. But if we fight against them in the plain, will we not surely be stronger than they?

24 And do this thing: Dismiss the kings, each from his place, and set governors in their places,

25 and you shall muster to 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. Will we not surely be stronger than they?” And he listened to their voice and did so.

26 And it was at the return of the year, and Ben-hadad mustered the Aramaeans and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel.

27 And the sons of Israel were mustered and were sustained, and they went against them. And the sons of Israel encamped before them like two small flocks of goats, and the Aramaeans filled the countryside.

28 And came a man of God and spoke to the king of Israel and said, “Thus says YHWH: ‘Because that the Aramaeans have said that YHWH is God of the hills, and He is not God of the valleys, therefore I will deliver all this great multitude into your hand, and you⁺ shall know that I am YHWH.’”