-
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.
02 And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel
into the city, and said unto him, Thus saith
Benhadad,
03 Thy silver and thy gold is mine; thy wives
also and thy children, even the goodliest, are
mine.
04 And the king of Israel answered and said, My
lord, O king, according to thy saying, I am
thine, and all that I have.
05 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;
06 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.
07 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.
08 And all the elders and all the people said
unto him, Hearken not unto him, nor consent.
09 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.
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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 neighbour 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.
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