1 Kings 20
Legacy Standard Bible
Ahab Wars with Aram
20 Now (A)Ben-hadad king of Aram gathered all his military force, (B)and there were thirty-two kings with him, and horses and chariots. And he went up and (C)besieged Samaria and fought against it. 2 Then he sent messengers to the city to Ahab king of Israel and said to him, “Thus says Ben-hadad, 3 ‘Your silver and your gold are mine; your most beautiful wives and children are also mine.’” 4 Then the king of Israel answered and said, “It is according to your word, my lord, O king; I am yours, and all that I have.” 5 Then the messengers returned and said, “Thus says [a]Ben-hadad, ‘Surely, I sent to you saying, “You shall give me your silver and your gold and your wives and your children,” 6 but about this time tomorrow I will send my servants to you, and they will search your house and the houses of your servants; and [b]whatever is desirable in your eyes, they will put in their hand and carry away.’”
7 Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land and said, “Please know and (D)see how this man is looking for trouble; for he sent to me for my wives and my children and my silver and my gold, and I withheld nothing from 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, “Say to my lord the king, ‘All that you sent for to your servant at the first I will do, but this thing I cannot do.’” And the messengers departed and brought him word again. 10 Then Ben-hadad sent to him and said, “May (E)the gods do so to me and more also, if the dust of Samaria will be sufficient for [c]a handful for all the people who [d]follow me.” 11 Then the king of Israel answered and said, “Speak to him, ‘(F)Let not him who girds on his armor boast like him who takes it off.’” 12 Now it happened that when Ben-hadad heard this message, as (G)he was drinking [e]with the kings in the booths, he said to his servants, “Station yourselves.” So they stationed themselves against the city.
13 Now behold, a prophet approached Ahab king of Israel and said, “Thus says Yahweh, ‘Have you seen all this great multitude? Behold, (H)I will deliver them into your hand today, and (I)you shall know that I am Yahweh.’” 14 And Ahab said, “By whom?” So he said, “Thus says Yahweh, ‘By the young men of the rulers of the provinces.’” Then he said, “Who shall [f]begin the battle?” And he said, “You.” 15 Then he mustered the young men of the rulers of the provinces, and there were 232; and after them he mustered all the people, even all the sons of Israel, 7,000.
16 And they went out at noon, while (J)Ben-hadad was drinking himself drunk in the booths [g]with the thirty-two kings who helped him. 17 And the young men of the rulers of the provinces went out first; and Ben-hadad sent out and they told him, saying, “Men have come out from Samaria.” 18 (K)Then 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 from the city, the young men of the rulers of the provinces, and the military force which followed them. 20 And they each struck his man; and the Arameans 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 struck down the horses and chariots, and struck the Arameans with a great slaughter.
22 Then (L)the prophet came near to the king of Israel and said to him, “Go, strengthen yourself and know and see what you have to do; for (M)at the turn of the year the king of Aram will come up against you.”
23 Now the servants of the king of Aram said to him, “(N)Their gods are gods of the mountains, therefore they were stronger than we; but rather let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we will be stronger than they. 24 Do this thing: remove the kings, each from his place, and put captains in their place, 25 and you shall number a military force like the military force that you have lost, horse for horse, and chariot for chariot. Then we will fight against them in the plain, and surely we will be stronger than they.” And he listened to their voice and did so.
Israel Fights the Arameans
26 (O)Now it happened at the turn of the year, that Ben-hadad mustered the Arameans and went up to (P)Aphek to fight against Israel. 27 Now the sons of Israel were mustered and were provided for and went to meet them; and the sons of Israel camped before them like two little flocks of goats, (Q)but the Arameans filled the land. 28 Then (R)a man of God came near and spoke to the king of Israel and said, “Thus says Yahweh, ‘Because the Arameans have said, “(S)Yahweh is a god of the mountains, but He is not a god of the valleys,” therefore (T)I will give all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am Yahweh.’” 29 So they camped one opposite the other seven days. Now it happened that on the seventh day the battle was joined, and the sons of Israel struck down of the Arameans 100,000 foot soldiers in one day. 30 But the rest fled to (U)Aphek into the city, and the wall fell on 27,000 men who were left. And Ben-hadad fled and came into the city (V)into an inner chamber.
31 (W)Then his servants said to him, “Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are kings of lovingkindness, please let us (X)put sackcloth on our loins and ropes on our heads, and go out to the king of Israel; perhaps he will preserve your [h]life.” 32 So (Y)they girded sackcloth on their loins and put ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel and said, “(Z)Your servant Ben-hadad says, ‘Please let me live.’” And he said, “Is he still alive? He is my brother.” 33 Now the men interpreted this as an omen, and hastily [i]catching his word said, “Your brother Ben-hadad.” Then he said, “Go, bring him.” Then Ben-hadad came out to him, and he [j]took him up into the chariot. 34 And Ben-hadad said to him, “(AA)The cities which my father took from your father I will return, and you shall make streets for yourself in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria.” Ahab said, “And I will let you go with this covenant.” So he cut a covenant with him and let him go.
A Prophecy Enrages Ahab
35 Now a certain man of (AB)the sons of the prophets said to [k]another (AC)by the word of Yahweh, “Please strike me.” But the man refused to strike him. 36 Then he said to him, “Because you have not listened to the voice of Yahweh, behold, as soon as you walk away from me, (AD)a lion will strike you down.” And as soon as he had walked away from him, a lion found him and struck him down. 37 Then he found another man and said, “Please [l]strike me.” And the man [m]struck him, [n]wounding him. 38 So the prophet walked away and stood by, for the king by the way, and (AE)disguised himself with a bandage over his eyes. 39 Now it happened that as the king was passing by, he cried out to the king and said, “Your servant went out into the midst of the battle; and behold, a man turned aside and brought a man to me and said, ‘Guard this man; if for any reason he is missing, (AF)then your life shall be for his life, or else you shall pay a [o]talent of silver.’ 40 Now it happened that while your servant was busy here and there, he was gone.” And the king of Israel said to him, “So shall your judgment be; you yourself have decided it.” 41 Then he hastily took the bandage away from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him, that he was of the prophets. 42 And he said to him, “Thus says Yahweh, ‘Because you have let go out of your hand the man whom I had devoted to destruction, therefore (AG)your [p]life shall go for his [q]life, and your people for his people.’” 43 So (AH)the king of Israel went to his house sullen and enraged, and came to Samaria.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Kings 20:5 Lit Ben-hadad, saying
- 1 Kings 20:6 Lit all the desire of your eyes
- 1 Kings 20:10 Lit handfuls
- 1 Kings 20:10 Lit are at my feet
- 1 Kings 20:12 Lit he and
- 1 Kings 20:14 Lit bind
- 1 Kings 20:16 Lit he and the thirty-two kings
- 1 Kings 20:31 Lit soul
- 1 Kings 20:33 Lit caught from him
- 1 Kings 20:33 Lit caused him to come up
- 1 Kings 20:35 Lit his neighbor
- 1 Kings 20:37 Lit smite
- 1 Kings 20:37 Lit smote
- 1 Kings 20:37 Lit striking and wounding
- 1 Kings 20:39 A talent was approx. 75 lb. or 34 kg
- 1 Kings 20:42 Lit soul
- 1 Kings 20:42 Lit soul
1 Kings 20
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Ahab’s Wars with the Arameans
20 King Ben-hadad of Aram gathered all his army together; thirty-two kings were with him, along with horses and chariots. He marched against Samaria, laid siege to it, and attacked it.(A) 2 Then he sent messengers into the city to King Ahab of Israel and said to him, “Thus says Ben-hadad: 3 Your silver and gold are mine; your fairest wives and children also are mine.” 4 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 gold, your wives and children’; 6 now 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 them[a] and take it away.”
7 Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land and said, “Look now! See how this man is seeking trouble, for he sent to me for my wives, my children, my silver, and my gold, and I did not refuse him.”(B) 8 Then 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.” The messengers left and brought him word again. 10 Ben-hadad sent to him and said, “The gods do so to me and more also, if the dust of Samaria will provide a handful for each of the people who follow me.”(C) 11 The king of Israel answered, “Enough![b] One who puts on armor should not brag like one who takes it off.”(D) 12 When Ben-hadad heard this message—now he had been drinking with the kings in the booths—he said to his men, “Take your positions!” And they took their positions against the city.(E)
Prophetic Opposition to Ahab
13 Then a certain prophet came up to King Ahab of Israel and said, “Thus says the Lord: Have you seen all this great multitude? Look, I will give it into your hand today, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”(F) 14 Ahab said, “By whom?” He said, “Thus says the Lord: By the young men who serve the district governors.” Then he said, “Who shall begin the battle?” He answered, “You.” 15 Then he mustered the young men who served the district governors, two hundred thirty-two; after them he mustered all the people of Israel, seven thousand.
16 They went out at noon, while Ben-hadad was drinking himself drunk in the booths, he and the thirty-two kings allied with him.(G) 17 The young men who served the district governors went out first. Ben-hadad had sent out scouts,[c] and they reported to him, “Men have come out from Samaria.” 18 He said, “If they have come out for peace, take them alive; if they have come out for war, take them alive.”(H)
19 But these had already come out of the city: the young men who served the district governors and the army that followed them. 20 Each killed his man; the Arameans fled, and Israel pursued them, but King Ben-hadad of Aram escaped on a horse with the cavalry. 21 The king of Israel went out, attacked the horses and chariots, and inflicted a massive defeat on the Arameans.
22 Then the prophet approached the king of Israel and said to him, “Come, strengthen yourself, and consider well what you have to do, for in the spring the king of Aram will come up against you.”(I)
The Arameans Are Defeated
23 The servants of the king of Aram said to him, “Their gods are gods of the hills, so they were stronger than we, but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.(J) 24 Also do this: remove the kings, each from his post, and put commanders in place of them; 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.” He heeded their voice and did so.
26 In the spring Ben-hadad mustered the Arameans and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel.(K) 27 After the Israelites had been mustered and provisioned, they went out to engage them; the people of Israel encamped opposite them like two little flocks of goats, while the Arameans filled the country. 28 A man of God approached and said to the king of Israel, “Thus says the Lord: Because the Arameans have said, ‘The Lord is a god of the hills, but he is not a god of the valleys,’ therefore I will give all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”(L) 29 They encamped opposite one another seven days. Then on the seventh day the battle began; the Israelites killed one hundred thousand Aramean foot soldiers in one day. 30 The rest fled into the city of Aphek, and the wall fell on twenty-seven thousand men who were left.
Ben-hadad also fled and entered the city to hide.(M) 31 His servants said to him, “Look, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings; let us put sackcloth around our waists and ropes on our heads, and go out to the king of Israel; perhaps he will spare your life.”(N) 32 So they tied sackcloth around their waists, put ropes on their heads, went to the king of Israel, and said, “Your servant Ben-hadad says, ‘Please let me live.’ ” And he said, “Is he still alive? He is my brother.”(O) 33 Now the men were watching for an omen; they quickly took it up from him and said, “Yes, Ben-hadad is your brother.” Then he said, “Go and bring him.” So Ben-hadad came out to him, and he had him come up into the chariot. 34 Ben-hadad[d] said to him, “I will restore the towns that my father took from your father, and you may establish bazaars for yourself in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria.” The king of Israel responded,[e] “I will let you go on those terms.” So he made a treaty with him and let him go.(P)
A Prophet Condemns Ahab
35 At the command of the Lord a certain member of a company of prophets[f] said to another, “Strike me!” But the man refused to strike him.(Q) 36 Then he said to him, “Because you have not obeyed the voice of the Lord, as soon as you have left me, a lion will kill you.” And when he had left him, a lion met him and killed him.(R) 37 Then he found another man and said, “Strike me!” So the man hit him, striking and wounding him. 38 Then the prophet departed and waited for the king along the road, disguising himself with a bandage over his eyes. 39 As the king passed by, he cried to the king and said, “Your servant went out into the thick of the battle; then a soldier turned and brought a man to me and said, ‘Guard this man; if he is missing, your life shall be given for his life, or else you shall pay a talent of silver.’(S) 40 While 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 quickly took the bandage away from his eyes. The king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets. 42 Then he said to him, “Thus says the Lord: Because you have let the man go whom I had devoted to destruction, therefore your life shall be for his life and your people for his people.”(T) 43 The king of Israel set out toward home, resentful and sullen, and came to Samaria.(U)
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New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.