³¹ Now the ^(A)king of Syria had commanded the thirty-two ^(B)captains of his chariots, saying, “Fight with no one small or great, but only with the king of Israel.”

²⁴ So do this thing: Dismiss the kings, each from his position, and put captains in their ^[a]places;

³⁰ Now the king of Syria had commanded the captains of the chariots who were with him, saying, “Fight with no one small or great, but only with the king of Israel.”

⁶ Both the great and the small shall die in this land. They shall not be buried; ^(A)neither shall men lament for them, ^(B)cut themselves, nor ^(C)make themselves bald for them.

³³ Now the men were watching closely to see whether any sign of mercy would come from him; and they quickly grasped at this word and said, “Your brother Ben-Hadad.”

So he said, “Go, bring him.” Then Ben-Hadad came out to him; and he had him come up into the chariot.

³⁴ So Ben-Hadad said to him, ^(A)“The cities which my father took from your father I will restore; and you may set up marketplaces for yourself in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria.”

Then Ahab said, “I will send you away with this treaty.” So he made a treaty with him and sent him away.

Ahab Condemned

³⁵ Now a certain man of ^(B)the sons of the prophets said to his neighbor ^(C)by the word of the Lord, “Strike me, please.” And the man refused to strike him. ³⁶ Then he said to him, “Because you have not obeyed the voice of the Lord, surely, as soon as you depart from me, a lion shall kill you.” And as soon as he left him, ^(D)a lion found him and killed him.

³⁷ And he found another man, and said, “Strike me, please.” So the man struck him, inflicting a wound. ³⁸ Then the prophet departed and waited for the king by the road, and disguised himself with a bandage over his eyes. ³⁹ Now ^(E)as the king passed by, he cried out to the king and said, “Your servant went out into the midst of the battle; and there, a man came over and brought a man to me, and said, ‘Guard this man; if by any means he is missing, ^(F)your life shall be for his life, or else you shall ^[a]pay a talent of silver.’ ⁴⁰ While your servant was busy here and there, he was gone.”

Then the king of Israel said to him, “So shall your judgment be; you yourself have decided it.”

⁴¹ And he hastened to take the bandage away from his eyes; and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets. ⁴² Then he said to him, “Thus says the Lord: ^(G)‘Because you have let slip out of your hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction, therefore your life shall go for his life, and your people for his people.’ ”

¹⁶ So they went out at noon. Meanwhile Ben-Hadad and the thirty-two kings helping him were ^(A)getting drunk at the command post.

Ahab Defeats the Syrians

20 Now ^(A)Ben-Hadad the king of Syria gathered all his forces together; thirty-two kings were with him, with horses and chariots. And he went up and besieged ^(B)Samaria, and made war against it.

² and had taken captive the ^(A)women and those who were there, from small to great; they did not kill anyone, but carried them away and went their way.

¹¹ And they ^(A)struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they became weary trying to find the door.