1 Kings 20
English Standard Version
Ahab's Wars with Syria
20 (A)Ben-hadad the king of Syria gathered all his army together. (B)Thirty-two kings were with him, and horses and chariots. And he went up and closed in on (C)Samaria and fought against it. 2 And he sent messengers into the city to Ahab king of Israel and said to him, “Thus says Ben-hadad: 3 ‘Your silver and your gold are mine; your best wives and children also are mine.’” 4 And the king of Israel answered, “As you say, my lord, O king, I am yours, and all that I have.” 5 The messengers came again and said, “Thus says Ben-hadad: ‘I sent to you, saying, “Deliver to me your silver and your gold, your wives and your children.” 6 Nevertheless I will send my servants to you tomorrow about this time, and they shall search your house and the houses of your servants and lay hands on whatever pleases you and take it away.’”
7 Then the king of Israel called all the (D)elders of the land and said, (E)“Mark, now, and see how this man is seeking trouble, for he sent to me for my wives and my children, and for my silver and my gold, and I did not refuse him.” 8 And all the elders and all the people said to him, “Do not listen or consent.” 9 So he said to the messengers of Ben-hadad, “Tell my lord the king, ‘All that you first demanded of your servant I will do, but this thing I cannot do.’” And the messengers departed and brought him word again. 10 Ben-hadad sent to him and said, (F)“The gods do so to me and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people (G)who follow me.” 11 And the king of Israel answered, “Tell him, ‘Let not him who straps on his armor boast himself as he who takes it off.’” 12 When Ben-hadad heard this message as (H)he was drinking with the kings in the booths, he said to his men, “Take your positions.” And they took their positions against the city.
Ahab Defeats Ben-hadad
13 And behold, a prophet came near to Ahab king of Israel and said, “Thus says the Lord, Have you seen all this great multitude? Behold, (I)I will give it into your hand this day, (J)and you shall know that I am the Lord.” 14 And Ahab said, “By whom?” He said, “Thus says the Lord, By the servants of the governors of the districts.” Then he said, “Who shall begin the battle?” He answered, “You.” 15 Then he mustered the servants of the governors of the districts, and they were 232. And after them he mustered all the people of Israel, seven thousand.
16 And they went out at noon, while Ben-hadad (K)was drinking himself drunk in the booths, he and the thirty-two kings who helped him. 17 The servants of the governors of the districts went out first. And Ben-hadad sent out scouts, and they reported to him, “Men are coming out from Samaria.” 18 He said, “If they have come out for peace, take them alive. Or if they have come out for war, take them alive.”
19 So these went out of the city, the servants of the governors of the districts and the army that followed them. 20 And each struck down his man. The Syrians fled, and Israel pursued them, but Ben-hadad king of Syria escaped on a horse with horsemen. 21 And the king of Israel went out and struck the horses and chariots, and struck the Syrians with a great blow.
22 Then (L)the prophet came near to the king of Israel and said to him, “Come, strengthen yourself, and consider well what you have to do, for (M)in the spring the king of Syria will come up against you.”
23 And the servants of the king of Syria said to him, “Their gods are gods of the hills, and so 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: remove the kings, each from his post, and put commanders in their places, 25 and muster an army like the army that you have lost, horse for horse, and chariot for chariot. Then we will fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.” And he listened to their voice and did so.
Ahab Defeats Ben-hadad Again
26 (N)In the spring, Ben-hadad mustered the Syrians and went up to (O)Aphek to fight against Israel. 27 And the people of Israel were mustered and were provisioned and went against them. The people of Israel encamped before them like two little flocks of goats, but the Syrians filled the country. 28 And a (P)man of God came near and said to the king of Israel, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because the Syrians have said, (Q)“The Lord is a god of the hills but he is not a god of the valleys,” therefore (R)I will give all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord.’” 29 And they encamped opposite one another seven days. Then on the seventh day the battle was joined. And the people of Israel struck down of the Syrians 100,000 foot soldiers in one day. 30 And the rest fled into the city of (S)Aphek, and the wall fell upon 27,000 men who were left.
Ben-hadad also fled and entered (T)an inner chamber in the city. 31 And his servants said to him, “Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings. Let us (U)put sackcloth around our waists and ropes on our heads and go out to the king of Israel. Perhaps he will spare your life.” 32 So they (V)tied sackcloth around their waists and put ropes on their heads and went to the king of Israel and said, “Your servant Ben-hadad says, ‘Please, let me live.’” And he said, “Does he still live? He is my brother.” 33 Now the men were watching for a sign, and they quickly took it up from him and said, “Yes, your brother Ben-hadad.” Then he said, “Go and bring him.” Then Ben-hadad came out to him, and he caused him to come up into the chariot. 34 And Ben-hadad said to him, (W)“The cities that my father took from your father I will restore, and you may establish bazaars for yourself in (X)Damascus, as my father did in Samaria.” And Ahab said, “I will let you go on these terms.” So he made a covenant with him and let him go.
A Prophet Condemns Ben-hadad's Release
35 And a certain man of (Y)the sons of the prophets said to his fellow (Z)at the command of the Lord, “Strike me, please.” But the man refused to strike him. 36 Then he said to him, “Because you have not obeyed the voice of the Lord, behold, as soon as you have gone from me, a lion shall strike you down.” And as soon as he had departed from him, (AA)a lion met him and struck him down. 37 Then he found another man and said, “Strike me, please.” And the man struck him—struck him and wounded him. 38 So the prophet departed and waited for the king by the way, (AB)disguising himself with a bandage over his eyes. 39 And as the king passed, he cried to the king and said, “Your servant went out into the midst of the battle, and behold, a soldier turned and brought a man to me and said, ‘Guard this man; if by any means he is missing, (AC)your life shall be for his life, or else you shall pay a talent[a] of silver.’ 40 And as your servant was busy here and there, he was gone.” The king of Israel said to him, “So shall your judgment be; you yourself have decided it.” 41 Then he hurried to take the bandage away from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets. 42 And he said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because you have let go out of your hand the man whom I had devoted to destruction,[b] therefore (AD)your life shall be for his life, and your people for his people.’” 43 And the king of Israel (AE)went to his house vexed and sullen and came to Samaria.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 20:39 A talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms
- 1 Kings 20:42 That is, set apart (devoted) as an offering to the Lord (for destruction)
1 Kings 20
Common English Bible
Ben-hadad’s wars with Ahab
20 King Ben-hadad of Aram brought together all his army along with thirty-two kings plus horses and chariots. He went up, surrounded Samaria, and made war against it. 2 He sent messengers to Ahab, Israel’s king, inside Samaria. 3 The message said, “This is what Ben-hadad says: ‘Your silver and your gold are mine. Your good-looking wives and children are mine.’”
4 Israel’s king answered, “Whatever you say, my master, great king. I am yours and so is everything I have.”
5 The messengers came back again: “This is what Ben-hadad says: ‘I sent you the message: Give me your silver and gold, your wives and your sons. 6 However, at this time tomorrow I will send my officers to you, and they will search your palace and the houses of your officers. Everything that you find valuable they will seize and take away.’”
7 Then Israel’s king called all the elders of the land and he said, “Please know and understand the evil this man wants to do! He demanded from me my wives and sons, and my silver and gold; and I didn’t refuse him.”
8 All of the elders and the people said to him, “Don’t obey and don’t give in!”
9 So the king said to Ben-hadad’s messengers, “Say to my master the king: ‘Everything that you first ordered your servant, I will do. But I can’t comply with this new command.’”
The messengers took this response to Ben-hadad, 10 who sent back this reply: “May the gods do whatever they want to me if there is even a handful of dust left in Samaria for the armies under me!”
11 Then Israel’s king replied, “The one who prepares for battle shouldn’t brag like one returning from battle.”
12 When Ben-hadad heard this message, he and the other kings were drinking in their tents. Ben-hadad said to his officers, “Take your positions!” So they took up their positions against the city.
13 Suddenly a prophet approached Israel’s King Ahab. He said, “This is what the Lord says: Do you see that great army? Today I am handing it over to you. Then you will know that I am the Lord.”
14 Ahab said, “Who will do it?”
The prophet answered, “This is what the Lord says: The servants of the district officials will do it.”
“Who should start the battle?” Ahab asked.
“You should,” the prophet replied.
15 So Ahab assembled the servants of the district officials. There were two hundred thirty-two of them. Next he assembled the entire Israelite army, seven thousand total. 16 At noon they marched for battle. Meanwhile, Ben-hadad and the thirty-two kings allied with him were getting drunk in their tents. 17 The servants of the district officials were at the head of the march. Ben-hadad sent for information and was told, “Some men have marched out of Samaria.”
18 He said, “If they have come out in peace, take them alive; if they have come out for war, take them alive as well.” 19 So the servants of the district governors with the army behind them marched out from the city. 20 Each one struck down his opponent, so that the Arameans fled. Israel chased after them. Ben-hadad, Aram’s king, escaped with some horses and chariots. 21 Israel’s king went out and attacked the horses and chariots. He attacked the Arameans with a fierce assault.
22 The prophet came to Israel’s king and said to him, “Maintain your strength! Know and understand that at the turn of the coming year, Aram’s king will attack you again.”
23 The officers of Aram’s king said to him, “Israel’s god is a god of the mountains. That’s why they were stronger than us. But if we fight them on the plains, we will certainly be stronger than they are. 24 This is what you need to do: Remove the kings from their military posts and appoint officials in their place. 25 Then raise another army like the one that was destroyed, with horses like those horses and chariots like those chariots. Then we will fight them on the plains, and we will certainly be stronger than they are.” The king took their advice and followed it.
26 So in the spring of the year, Ben-hadad assembled the Arameans and marched up to Aphek to fight with Israel. 27 Now the Israelites had already been assembled and provisioned, so they went to engage the Arameans. The Israelites camped before them like two small flocks of goats, but the Arameans filled the land.
28 Then the man of God came forward and said to Israel’s king, “This is what the Lord says: Because the Arameans said that the Lord is a god of the mountains but not a god of the valleys, I am handing this whole great army over to you. Then you will know that I am the Lord.”
29 The two armies camped opposite each other for seven days. On the seventh day, the battle began. The Israelites attacked and destroyed one hundred thousand Aramean foot soldiers in a single day. 30 Those who were left fled to Aphek, into the city where a wall fell on twenty-seven thousand more of them. But Ben-hadad escaped and hid in an inner room within the city.
31 Ben-hadad’s officers said to him, “Listen, we have heard that the kings of Israel are merciful kings. Allow us to put mourning clothes on our bodies and cords around our heads. We will then go to Israel’s king. Perhaps he will let you live.” 32 So they put mourning clothes on their bodies and cords around their heads. They went to Israel’s king and said, “Ben-hadad is your slave. He begs, ‘Please let me live!’”
Israel’s king said, “Is he still alive? He is my brother.”
33 Taking this as a good sign, Ben-hadad’s men quickly accepted this statement.[a] “Yes, Ben-hadad is your brother!” they said.
“Go and get him,” the king ordered. So Ben-hadad came to him, and the king received him into his chariot.
34 Ben-hadad said to the king, “I will return the towns that my father took from your father. Furthermore, you can set up markets for yourself in Damascus just as my father did in Samaria.”
The king replied,[b] “On the basis of this covenant, I will let you go.” So he made a covenant with Ben-hadad and set him free.
35 At the Lord’s command a certain man who belonged to a prophetic group said to his friend: “Please strike me.” But his friend refused to hit him. 36 So he said to his friend, “Because you didn’t obey the Lord’s voice, a lion will attack you as soon as you leave me.” And as the friend left the prophet, a lion found him and attacked him. 37 Then the prophet found another man and said, “Please strike me.” He hit the prophet, and the attack left a wound. 38 The prophet went and stood before the king by the road. He disguised himself by putting a bandage over his eyes. 39 When the king passed by, the prophet called out to the king, “Your servant was in the middle of the battle when someone brought a prisoner. ‘Guard this man,’ he said. ‘If he escapes it will be your life for his—that, or you will owe me a kikkar of silver.’ 40 Your servant got busy doing this and that, and the prisoner disappeared.”
Israel’s king replied, “It appears you have decided your own fate.”
41 The prophet quickly tore the bandage from over his eyes, and Israel’s king recognized him as one of the prophets. 42 Then the prophet said to the king, “This is what the Lord says: Because you freed a man I condemned to die, it will be your life for his life, and your people for his people.”
43 So Israel’s king went to his palace at Samaria, irritated and upset.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 20:33 Heb uncertain
- 1 Kings 20:34 Heb lacks The king replied.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible