1 Kings 20

Ahab’s Battles with Aram

1 Now, Ben-Hadad, king of Aram, gathered his whole army. He had thirty-two kings with him, plus horses and chariots. He rolled up, laid siege to Samaria, and hit it hard.

2 He sent messengers into the city to Ahab king of Israel, saying, “This is what Ben-Hadad says:”

3 “’Your silver and your gold are mine. Your finest women and your best kids are mine too.’”

4 The king of Israel answered, “It is all good, my lord the king. I am yours, and everything I got is yours.”

5 Then the messengers came back again, saying, “This is what Ben-Hadad says: ‘I sent you a message, saying, “You must hand over your silver, your gold, your women, and your kids to me.”’”

6 “’But by this time tomorrow, I am sending my boys to search your palace and the houses of your officials. They will snatch everything you value with their own hands and bring it here.’”

7 Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land and said, “Look, this dude is trying to rob me! He sent for my women, my kids, my silver, and my gold, and I did not even say no to him!”

8 All the elders and all the people told him, “Do not listen, do not agree to it!”

9 So he told Ben-Hadad’s messengers, “Tell my lord the king, ‘Everything you first sent for, I will do. But this last thing, I cannot do.’” So the messengers bounced and took back the word.

10 Then Ben-Hadad sent him a message, saying, “May the gods hit me super hard, and even worse, if there is enough dust in Samaria to fill the hands of all the people who follow me!”

11 The king of Israel answered, “Tell him, ‘Do not let the one strapping on his armor brag like the one taking it off!’”

12 When Ben-Hadad heard this message while he was drinking with the kings in the tents, he told his boys, “Get ready to attack!” So they got ready to attack the city.

13 All of a sudden, a prophet popped up to Ahab king of Israel and said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘You see this huge army, Look, I am going to hand them over to you today, so you will know that I am the Lord.’”

14 Ahab asked, “By whom,” The prophet said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘By the young men of the district governors.’” Then Ahab asked, “Who is going to start the fight?” He said, “You!”

15 So Ahab counted the young men of the district governors, and there were two hundred thirty-two. After them, he gathered all the Israelite army, seven thousand of them.

16 They marched out at noon, while Ben-Hadad and the thirty-two kings with him were still getting drunk in the tents.

17 The young men of the district governors marched out first. When Ben-Hadad’s scouts reported, “Some dudes are coming out of Samaria!”

18 He said, “If they came out for peace, grab them alive. If they came out for war, grab them alive too.”

19 But these young men of the district governors and the army following them busted out of the city.

20 Each one started hitting their man, and the Arameans bolted, with Israel chasing after them. Ben-Hadad king of Aram escaped on a horse with some of his cavalry.

21 The king of Israel rode out and took down the horses and chariots, and he dished out a massive defeat to the Arameans.

22 Then the prophet popped up to the king of Israel and told him, “Go, get strong, understand what you must do, and plan your moves, because by next spring, the king of Aram is going to roll up against you again.”

23 Now, the officials of the king of Aram told him, “Their gods are mountain gods; that is why they were stronger than us. But let us fight them on the flat land, and we will for sure be stronger than them.”

24 “And do this: remove each king from his position and put governors in their place.”

25 “Then get yourself an army just like the one you lost, with the same number of horses and chariots. Then we will fight them on the flat land, and we will for sure be stronger than them.” He listened to their advice and did just that.

26 So it happened the next spring that Ben-Hadad assembled the Arameans and went up to Aphek to fight Israel.

27 The Israelites were also assembled and supplied, and they went out to meet them. The Israelites camped opposite them like two small flocks of goats, while the Arameans filled the land.

28 A man of God popped up and told the king of Israel, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Because the Arameans said, “The Lord is a god of the mountains, not a god of the valleys," I am going to hand over this whole huge army to you, so you will know that I am the Lord.’”

29 They were camped opposite each other for seven days. On the seventh day, the battle popped off. And the Israelites struck down a hundred thousand Aramean foot soldiers in one day.

30 The rest of them fled to Aphek, into the city, and the wall collapsed on twenty-seven thousand of the remaining men. Ben-Hadad fled and went into the city, hiding in an inner room.

31 His officials told him, “Look, we heard that the kings 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. Maybe he will spare your life.”

32 So they put sackcloth around their waists and ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel and said, “Your servant Ben-Hadad says, ‘Please let me live.’” Ahab said, “Is he still alive, He is my brother!”

33 Now, the men took that as a good sign and quickly took him up on it, saying, “Your brother Ben-Hadad!” Ahab said, “Go get him!” So Ben-Hadad came out to him, and Ahab had him get up into his chariot.

34 Ben-Hadad told him, “The cities my pops snatched from your pops, I will give them back. And you can set up markets for yourself in Damascus, just like my pops set up in Samaria.” Ahab said, “On these terms, I will let you go.” So he made a covenant with him and let him go.

35 Now, one of the sons of the prophets, by the word of the Lord, told his buddy, “Hit me!” But the guy refused to hit him.

36 Then he told him, “Because you did not obey the voice of the Lord, watch, as soon as you leave me, a lion is going to kill you.” And as soon as he left him, a lion found him and killed him.

37 Then he found another guy and said, “Hit me!” And the guy hit him, wounding him.

38 So the prophet went and waited for the king by the road, disguising himself with a bandage over his eyes.

39 As the king was passing by, he yelled out to the king, “Your servant went out into the middle of the battle, and look, a man turned aside and brought a guy to me and said, ‘Guard this guy! If he goes missing for any reason, your life is going to be for his life, or you are going to pay two thousand pounds of silver.’”

40 “While your servant was busy here and there, he was gone.” The king of Israel told him, “Your own verdict is on you; you decided it yourself.”

41 Then he quickly pulled the bandage from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized that he was one of the prophets.

42 He told him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Because you let go the man I had marked for destruction, your life is going to be for his life, and your people for his people.’”

43 The king of Israel went to his house in Samaria, moody and vexed.