Verse
BSB
Berean Standard Bible
ASV
American Standard Version
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.
And
Ben-hadad 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 fought
against it.
Then
he sent messengers into
the
city
to Ahab king of Israel,
And
he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel, into
the
city,
and
said
unto
him,
Thus
saith
Ben-hadad,
saying,
“This
is
what
Ben-hadad
says:
‘Your
silver and gold are
mine ,
and
your
best
wives and children are mine !’”
Thy
silver and thy
gold is
mine ;
thy
wives also
and thy
children ,
even
the
goodliest,
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. ”
And the king of Israel answered
and
said
, It
is
according
to
thy
saying
, my lord ,
O
king ;
I am thine
, and
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 .
And
the messengers came again,
and said, Thus
speaketh
Ben-hadad ,
saying,
I sent indeed
unto
thee,
saying,
Thou
shalt
deliver
me
thy
silver, and
thy
gold, and
thy
wives, and thy
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 carry
away
all
that is precious
to
you
. ’”
but I will send my servants unto
thee
to -morrow
about
this
time,
and
they
shall
search thy
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
.
Then the king of Israel summoned
all the elders of the land and said, “Please
take
note
and 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. ”
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
.
And the elders and the people all
said, “Do
not listen
to
him
or
consent to
his
terms
. ”
And all
the elders and all
the people said unto
him
, Hearken
thou
not ,
neither
consent.
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
.
Wherefore
he
said
unto
the messengers of Ben-hadad, 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
.
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
Ben-hadad 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
.
And the king of Israel replied
, “
Tell him :
‘The
one
putting
on his armor should
not
boast like
one
taking
it off. ’”
And the king of Israel answered
and
said
, Tell him ,
Let
not
him
that
girdeth
on `
his armor '
boast himself
as
he
that
putteth
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.
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.
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
. ’”
And,
behold,
a prophet came
near
unto
Ahab king of Israel ,
and said
, Thus
saith
Jehovah,
Hast
thou
seen
all
this great multitude
? behold, I will deliver it into thy
hand this day ;
and thou
shalt
know that I am Jehovah
.
“
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
.
And
Ahab
said,
By whom? And he
said
, Thus
saith
Jehovah,
By the young men
of the princes
of
the
provinces
. Then
he
said,
Who shall
begin
the battle? And
he
answered ,
Thou
.
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.
Then
he
mustered
the young men
of the princes
of
the
provinces
, and they
were two
hundred
and thirty-two:
and
after them he mustered
all
the people
, even
all the
children
of
Israel,
being
seven
thousand
.
They marched
out at noon while
Ben-hadad and the 32
kings allied
with
him were
in
their
tents
getting
drunk
.
And
they went
out at noon .
But
Ben-hadad was
drinking
himself
drunk
in
the
pavilions,
he
and the kings ,
the
thirty
and
two
kings
that
helped
him.
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. ”
And the young men
of the princes
of
the
provinces
went
out first ;
and
Ben-hadad sent out, and
they
told
him, saying,
There
are men
come
out from
Samaria.
“If
they have
marched
out in
peace, ”
he
said,
“
take them alive .
Even
if
they have
marched
out for war, take
them alive. ”
And
he
said,
Whether
they are
come
out for
peace, take them alive ,
or
whether
they are
come
out for war, taken
them alive.
Meanwhile,
these young officers
of the district
governors
marched
out
of the city
, with
the army behind
them ,
So
these went
out
of
the
city,
the
young men
of the princes
of the provinces
, and
the army which
followed
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
.
And they
slew
every
one his man;
and
the Syrians
fled, and
Israel
pursued
them:
and
Ben-hadad the
king of Syria
escaped on a
horse
with horsemen
.
Then
the king of Israel marched
out and attacked
the horses and chariots, inflicting
a great slaughter on
the
Arameans
.
And
the king of Israel went
out ,
and smote
the horses and chariots, and
slew
the
Syrians
with
a great slaughter.
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 come up against you
. ”
And
the prophet came
near
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
.
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
the servants of the king of Syria
said unto
him, Their god
is
a
god
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
.
So
do this: Dismiss
all
the kings from
their
positions
and replace
them
with
other
officers.
And
do this thing
: take
the kings away,
every
man
out
of
his
place,
and put
captains
in
their
room;
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
.
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
.
In
the spring
, Ben-hadad mobilized
the Arameans
and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel.
And
it
came
to
pass
at
the return
of
the
year
, that
Ben-hadad mustered
the Syrians,
and went up to Aphek ,
to fight against Israel.
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
.
And
the children
of
Israel
were
mustered
, and
were
victualled
, and went
against
them :
and
the children
of
Israel
encamped
before them like two little
flocks of kids;
but
the Syrians
filled
the country
.
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
. ’”
And
a
man of God came
near
and
spake
unto
the king of Israel ,
and said, Thus
saith
Jehovah,
Because the Syrians
have
said,
Jehovah
is a god of the hills ,
but
he
is
not a
god
of the valleys ;
therefore
will I
deliver all this great multitude
into thy
hand ,
and
ye
shall
know that I am Jehovah
.
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.
And
they
encamped
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
a hundred thousand footmen
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
.
But
the rest fled to
Aphek,
into the city ;
and
the wall fell upon
twenty and
seven thousand men that
were
left
. And
Ben-hadad fled ,
and
came
into
the city ,
into
an inner chamber
.
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. ”
And
his
servants said unto
him, Behold
now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings:
let us ,
we
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.
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. ”
So they
girded
sackcloth on
their loins,
and `put'
ropes on
their heads, and
came
to the king of Israel ,
and said, Thy
servant Ben-hadad saith
, I
pray
thee,
let
me
live
. And he
said
, Is he yet
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.
Now the men observed
diligently
, and hasted
to
catch
whether
it
were
his
mind;
and they
said
, Thy
brother Ben-hadad. Then
he
said,
Go ye,
bring
him. Then Ben-hadad came forth
to
him;
and he
caused
him to
come up into the
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
treaty
I release
you
, ”
Ahab replied
. So he made a treaty
with him and sent
him away
.
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. And
I, `said
Ahab ',
will
let
thee
go
with
this
covenant
. So he made a covenant
with him ,
and let
him go
.
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.
And
a
certain
man
of the sons of the prophets said unto
his fellow
by
the
word
of
Jehovah
, Smite
me, I
pray
thee.
And
the man refused to smite
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 said he
unto
him, Because thou
hast
not obeyed the voice of Jehovah
, 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.
Then the
prophet
found another man and said, “Strike
me, please!”
So
the man struck
him and wounded
him ,
Then he
found another man ,
and said, Smite
me, I
pray
thee.
And
the man smote
him ,
smiting
and wounding
him .
and
the prophet went
and waited on
the
road
for the king, disguising
himself with a
bandage
over his eyes.
So
the prophet departed,
and waited for the king by
the
way
, and
disguised
himself with his
headband
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. ’
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.
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
. ”
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.
Then
the
prophet
quickly
removed
the bandage
from his eyes ,
and the king of Israel recognized
him as
one
of the prophets.
And
he
hasted,
and
took
the headband
away
from his eyes ;
and the king of israel discerned
him that
he
was
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 devoted to destruction, your
life will
be
exchanged
for his life, and your
people for his people. ’”
And he
said unto
him
, Thus
saith
Jehovah,
Because thou
hast
let go
out
of
thy
hand the man whom
I had devoted to destruction, therefore
thy
life shall
go
for his life, and thy
people for his people.
Sullen
and angry,
the king of Israel went home
to Samaria.
And the king of Israel went to his
house
heavy
and
displeased,
and
came
to
Samaria.
Scripture text: Berean Standard Bible and American Standard Version. Public domain; source text distributed by BSB Publishing, LLC.; Public domain..