 1 King Benhadad of Syria gathered all his army together and 32 kings were with him and horses and chariots to lay siege to Samaria and war against it. 2 He sent messengers to King Ahab of Israel and to the city and said to him, Benhadad says this: 3 Your silver and your gold are mine. Also your wives and your children. The best are mine. 4 The king of Israel said, My lord O King, according to your saying I am yours and all that I have. 5 The messengers came again and said, Benhadad speaks in this way saying, Although I have sent to you saying, You shall deliver me your silver and your gold and your wives and your children, 6 yet I will send my servants to you tomorrow about this time, and they shall search your house and the houses of your servants. Whatever is pleasant in your eyes, they will put it in their hand and take it away. 7 The king of Israel called all the elders of the land and said, Please mark and see how this one seeks mischief. For he sent to me for my wives and for my children and for my silver and for my gold. I did not keep them back from him. 8 All the elders and all the people said to him, Do not listen nor consent. 9 He said to the messengers of Benhadad, Tell my lord the king, All that you sent for to your servant at the first I will do, but this I may not do. And the messengers left and brought him word again. 10 Benhadad sent to him and said, May the gods do so to me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall be enough for handfuls for all the people who follow me. 11 The king of Israel said, Tell him, Do not let those who put on armor boast like those who take it off. 12 When Benhadad heard this message as he was drinking, he and the kings in the pavilions, he said to his servants, Set in order and they set themselves in array against the city. 13 Behold, a prophet came near to King Ahab of Israel saying, Thus says the Lord, Have you seen all this great multitude? Behold, I will deliver it to you today and you will know that I am the Lord. 14 Ahab said, By whom? And he said, Thus says the Lord, By the young men of the rulers of the provinces. And he said, Who shall order the battle? And he answered, You. 15 He numbered the young men of the rulers of the provinces, and they were 232. And after them he numbered all the people, all the children of Israel, 7,000. 16 They went out at noon. But Benhadad was drinking himself drunk in the booths, he and the kings, the 32 kings who helped him. 17 The young men of the rulers of the provinces went out first. And Benhadad sent out, and they told him saying, There are men coming out of Samaria. 18 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 young men of the rulers of the provinces came out of the city, and the army that followed them. 20 They each killed his man and the Syrians fled. Israel pursued them but King Benhadad of Syria escaped on a horse with the horsemen. 21 Then the king of Israel struck the horses and chariots and killed the Syrians in a great slaughter. 22 The prophet came to the king of Israel and said to him, Go strengthen yourself, and watch and see what you do. For at the return of the year the king of Syria will come up against you. 23 The servants of the king of Syria said to him, Their gods are gods of the hills. On account of this they were stronger than we were. But let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. 24 Do this, take the kings away, each man out of his place, and put commanders in their places, 25 and number an army like the army that you have lost, horse for horse and chariot for chariot. And we will fight against them in the plain. Are we not stronger than they? And he listened to their voice and did so. 26 At the turn of the year, Benhadad numbered the Syrians that went to Aphek to fight against Israel. 27 The children of Israel were numbered and were fed and went to meet them. The children of Israel pitched before them like two little flocks of goats, and the Syrians filled the country. 28 A man of God came near and spoke to the king of Israel and said, Thus says the Lord, Because the Syrians have said, The Lord is God of the hills, but He is not God of the valleys, therefore I will deliver all this great multitude to you and you will know that I am the Lord. 29 They pitched over against one another seven days. In the seventh day, and the battle came up. And the children of Israel struck Syria, 100,000 soldiers+ in one day. 30 But the rest fled to Aphek, into the city. And there a wall fell on 27,000 of those remaining. And Benhadad fled and came into the city, into an inner room. 31 His servants said to him, Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings. Please let us put on sackcloth and ropes on our heads and go out to the king of Israel. Perhaps he will save your life. 32 They bound sackcloth on their bodies+ and ropes on their heads and came to the king of Israel and said, Your servant Benhadad says, Please let me live. He said, Is he still alive? He is my brother. 33 The men diligently observed if anything would come from him and quickly catch it. They said, Your brother Benhadad. Then he said, Go. Bring him. Benhadad came out to him, and he caused him to come into the chariot. 34 Benhadad said to him, I will restore the cities that my father took from your father. Make streets in Damascus as my father made in Samaria. Ahab said, I will send you away with this covenant. So he made a covenant with him and sent him away. 35 A certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his neighbor, By the Word of the Lord, please strike me. And the man refused to strike him. 36 He said to him, Because you have not obeyed the voice of the Lord, behold, as soon as you have departed from me, a lion shall kill you. And as soon as he had departed from him, a lion found him and killed him. 37 He found another man and said, Please strike me. And the man struck him, so that he wounded him in striking him. 38 The prophet waited for the king by the wayside and disguised himself with ashes on his face. 39 As the king passed by, he called to the king and said, Your servant went out into the middle of the battle, and behold, a man turned aside and brought a man to me and said, Keep this man. If he is missing by any means, then your life will be for his life, or else you shall pay a talent of silver. 40 As 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 He hurried and took the ashes away from his face. The king of Israel saw that he was one of the prophets. 42 He said to him, Thus says the Lord, Because you have let go out of your hand a man whom I devoted to destruction, therefore your life shall be for his life, and your people for his people. 43 The king of Israel went to his house heavy and displeased, and came to Samaria.
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