| Chapter
20 |
| 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 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. |
| 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
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. |
|
35 | And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said
unto his neighbor 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. |
