CHAPTER 20
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.
saying,
“This is what
Ben-hadad
says:
‘Your silver
and gold
are
mine,
and your best
wives
and children
are
mine!’”
And the king
of Israel
replied,
“Just as you say,
my lord
the king:
I am yours,
along with all
that
I have.”
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.
But
about
this time
tomorrow
I will send
my servants
to search
your palace
and
the houses
of your servants.
They will seize
and take away
all that
is
precious
to you.’”
Then the king
of Israel
summoned
all
the elders
of the land
and said,
“Please
take note,
and you will 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."
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.
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.”
And the king
of Israel
replied,
“Tell him:
‘The one putting on his armor
should not
boast
like one taking it off.’”
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.
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.'"
“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.
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.
They marched out
at noon
while Ben-hadad
and the 32
kings
allied
with him
were in their tents
getting
drunk.
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.”
“If
they have marched out
in peace,”
he said,
“take
them alive.
Or if
they have marched out
for war,
take
them alive.”
Meanwhile, these
young officers
of the district
governors
marched out
of
the city,
with the army
behind them,
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.
Then the king
of Israel
marched out
and attacked
the horses
and chariots,
inflicting
a great
slaughter
on the Arameans.
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 march
against you.”
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.
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.
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.
Then the man
of God
approached
the king
of Israel
and said,
“This is what
the LORD
says:
‘Because
the Arameans
think
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.'"
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.
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.
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."
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.”
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.
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 covenant
I
release you,” Ahab replied.
So he made
a treaty
with him
and sent him away.
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.
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.
Then the prophet found
another
man
and said,
“Strike me,
please!”
So the man
struck him
and wounded him,
and the prophet
went
and waited
on
the road
for the king,
disguising himself
with a bandage
over
his eyes.
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.'
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.”
Then the prophet quickly
removed
the bandage
from
his eyes,
and the king
of Israel
recognized
him
as
one of the prophets.
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 set apart for destruction,
your life
will be exchanged
for
his life,
and your people
for
his people.’”