1 Kings 20
20
Ben-Hadad Attacks Samaria
1#1Ki 15:18; 15:20Now Ben-Hadad the king of Aram gathered his army together. Thirty-two kings were with him, with horses and chariots, and he went up and besieged Samaria and fought against it. 2He sent messengers into the city to Ahab king of Israel and said to him, “Thus says Ben-Hadad: 3Your silver and gold is mine, as are your most attractive wives and children.”
4The king of Israel answered, “My lord, O king, just as you have said, I and all that I own are yours.”
5The messengers came again and said, “Thus says Ben-Hadad: Although I have said that you must give me your silver and gold, your wives and your children, 6instead I will send my servants tomorrow about this time, and they will search your house and the houses of your servants, and whatever is precious to you, they will put it in their hands and take it away.”
7#2Ki 5:7Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land and said, “Please notice how this man is looking for trouble, for he has demanded I give him my wives and children and my silver and gold, and I have not denied his request.”
8All the elders and all the people said to him, “Do not listen to him or consent to his demands.”
9Therefore he said to the messengers of Ben-Hadad, “Tell my lord the king: I will comply with the first request of your servant, but this thing I will not do.” And the messengers departed and brought him word again.
10#1Ki 19:2; Ex 11:8Then Ben-Hadad sent messengers to him and said, “The gods do to me and then some if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people who follow me.”
11#Pr 27:1The king of Israel answered, “Tell him: Let not he who puts on his armor boast himself as he who takes it off.”
12#1Ki 16:9; 20:16When Ben-Hadad heard this message as he was drinking with the kings in the pavilions, he said to his servants, “Station yourselves!” And they stationed themselves against the city.
Ahab Defeats Ben-Hadad
13#1Ki 20:28Then a prophet came to Ahab king of Israel, saying, “Thus says the Lord: Have you seen this great multitude? See, I will deliver it into your hand this day, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”
14Ahab asked, “By whom?”
And he said, “Thus says the Lord: By the young leaders of the provinces.”
Then he said, “Who shall order the battle?”
And he answered, “You.”
15Then he counted the young leaders of the provinces, and they were two hundred and thirty-two, and after them he counted all the people, all the children of Israel, and had seven thousand. 16They went out at noon. But Ben-Hadad and the thirty-two kings who helped him were getting drunk in the pavilions. 17The young leaders of the provinces went out first.
Ben-Hadad sent out scouts, and they told him, “Men from Samaria have come out.”
18#2Ki 14:8–12He said, “If they have come out peacefully, take them alive, and if they have come out for battle, take them alive.”
19So these young leaders of the provinces came out of the city, followed by the army. 20Each one killed his man, and the Arameans fled with Israel pursuing them, but Ben-Hadad, the king of Aram, escaped on a horse with the horsemen. 21The king of Israel went out and attacked the horses and chariots and killed a great number of Arameans.
22#2Sa 11:1; 1Ki 20:13The prophet came to the king of Israel and said, “Go, strengthen yourself and prepare, and see what you do, for next year the king of Aram will come up against you.”
23#1Ki 14:23The servants of the king of Aram said to him, “Their gods are gods of the hills. That is why they were stronger than us, but if we fight against them in the plain, we will surely be stronger than they. 24Do this: Dismiss the kings, each from his position, and put commanders in their places, 25and assemble an army like the army that you lost, horse for horse and chariot for chariot, and we will fight them in the plain and will surely be stronger than they.” And he listened to their advice and followed it.
26#2Ki 13:17; 1Ki 20:22The next year Ben-Hadad assembled the Arameans and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel. 27#Jdg 6:5; 1Sa 13:5–8The children of Israel were assembled and were all present, and they went against them, and the children of Israel camped in front of them like two little flocks of kids, while the Arameans filled the country.
28#1Ki 20:13; 17:18A man of God came and spoke to the king of Israel and said, “Thus says the Lord: Because the Arameans have said, ‘The Lord is God of the hills, but He is not God of the valleys,’ I will deliver all this great multitude into your hand, and you will know that I am the Lord.”
29They camped opposite each other for seven days, and on the seventh day, the battle was joined. The children of Israel killed a hundred thousand Aramean footmen in one day. 30#1Ki 22:25; 2Ch 18:24But the rest fled into the city of Aphek, where a wall fell on twenty-seven thousand of the men who were left. And Ben-Hadad fled and came into the city into an inner chamber.
31#Ge 37:34; 2Sa 3:31His servants said to him, “We have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings. Please let us put sackcloth on our loins and ropes on our heads and go out to the king of Israel. Perhaps he will spare your life.”
32#1Ki 20:3–6So they girded sackcloth on their loins and put ropes on their heads and came 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!”
33Now the men were diligently looking for a positive sign and quickly took hold of it, and they said, “Your brother Ben-Hadad!”
Then he said, “Go. You bring him.” Then Ben-Hadad came to him and got into the chariot.
34#1Ki 15:20Ben-Hadad said to him, “I will restore the cities which my father took from your father, and you shall make streets for yourself in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria.”
Then Ahab said, “I will send you away with this covenant.” So he made a covenant with him and sent him away.
A Prophet Condemns Ahab
35#1Ki 13:17–18; 2Ki 2:15Speaking in the word of the Lord, a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his neighbor, “Strike me, please.” But the man refused to strike him.
36Then he said to him, “Because you have not obeyed the voice of the Lord, as soon as you leave me, a lion will kill you.” And as soon as he left him, a lion found and killed him.
37Then he found another man and said, “Strike me, please.” And the man struck him so that he was wounded. 38#1Ki 14:2So the prophet departed and waited by the road for the king and disguised himself with ashes on his face. 39#2Ki 10:24As the king passed by, he cried to the king and said, “Your servant went out into the midst of the battle, and a man turned aside and brought a man to me and said, ‘Keep this man, and if by any means he goes missing, then your life shall be given for his life, or else you shall pay a talent#About 75 pounds, or 34 kilograms. of silver.’ 40As your servant was busy here and there, he disappeared.”
And the king of Israel said to him, “So shall your judgment be; you have decided it yourself.”
41He quickly took the ashes away from his face, and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets. 42#1Ki 22:31–37; 20:39He said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because you have let go out of your hand a man whom I had appointed to utter destruction, you shall pay for his life with your life and his people with your people.’ ” 43#1Ki 21:4The king of Israel went to his house in Samaria angry and depressed.
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1 Kings 20: MEV
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Military Bible Association
1 Kings 20
20
Ben-Hadad Attacks Samaria
1About that time King Ben-hadad of Aram mobilized his army, supported by the chariots and horses of thirty-two allied kings. They went to besiege Samaria, the capital of Israel, and launched attacks against it. 2Ben-hadad sent messengers into the city to relay this message to King Ahab of Israel: “This is what Ben-hadad says: 3‘Your silver and gold are mine, and so are your wives and the best of your children!’”
4“All right, my lord the king,” Israel’s king replied. “All that I have is yours!”
5Soon Ben-hadad’s messengers returned again and said, “This is what Ben-hadad says: ‘I have already demanded that you give me your silver, gold, wives, and children. 6But about this time tomorrow I will send my officials to search your palace and the homes of your officials. They will take away everything you consider valuable!’”
7Then Ahab summoned all the elders of the land and said to them, “Look how this man is stirring up trouble! I already agreed with his demand that I give him my wives and children and silver and gold.”
8“Don’t give in to any more demands,” all the elders and the people advised.
9So Ahab told the messengers from Ben-hadad, “Say this to my lord the king: ‘I will give you everything you asked for the first time, but I cannot accept this last demand of yours.’” So the messengers returned to Ben-hadad with that response.
10Then Ben-hadad sent this message to Ahab: “May the gods strike me and even kill me if there remains enough dust from Samaria to provide even a handful for each of my soldiers.”
11The king of Israel sent back this answer: “A warrior putting on his sword for battle should not boast like a warrior who has already won.”
12Ahab’s reply reached Ben-hadad and the other kings as they were drinking in their tents.#20:12 Or in Succoth; also in 20:16. “Prepare to attack!” Ben-hadad commanded his officers. So they prepared to attack the city.
Ahab’s Victory over Ben-Hadad
13Then a certain prophet came to see King Ahab of Israel and told him, “This is what the Lord says: Do you see all these enemy forces? Today I will hand them all over to you. Then you will know that I am the Lord.”
14Ahab asked, “How will he do it?”
And the prophet replied, “This is what the Lord says: The troops of the provincial commanders will do it.”
“Should we attack first?” Ahab asked.
“Yes,” the prophet answered.
15So Ahab mustered the troops of the 232 provincial commanders. Then he called out the rest of the army of Israel, some 7,000 men. 16About noontime, as Ben-hadad and the thirty-two allied kings were still in their tents drinking themselves into a stupor, 17the troops of the provincial commanders marched out of the city as the first contingent.
As they approached, Ben-hadad’s scouts reported to him, “Some troops are coming from Samaria.”
18“Take them alive,” Ben-hadad commanded, “whether they have come for peace or for war.”
19But Ahab’s provincial commanders and the entire army had now come out to fight. 20Each Israelite soldier killed his Aramean opponent, and suddenly the entire Aramean army panicked and fled. The Israelites chased them, but King Ben-hadad and a few of his charioteers escaped on horses. 21However, the king of Israel destroyed the other horses and chariots and slaughtered the Arameans.
22Afterward the prophet said to King Ahab, “Get ready for another attack. Begin making plans now, for the king of Aram will come back next spring.#20:22 Hebrew at the turn of the year; similarly in 20:26. The first day of the year in the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar occurred in March or April.”
Ben-Hadad’s Second Attack
23After their defeat, Ben-hadad’s officers said to him, “The Israelite gods are gods of the hills; that is why they won. But we can beat them easily on the plains. 24Only this time replace the kings with field commanders! 25Recruit another army like the one you lost. Give us the same number of horses, chariots, and men, and we will fight against them on the plains. There’s no doubt that we will beat them.” So King Ben-hadad did as they suggested.
26The following spring he called up the Aramean army and marched out against Israel, this time at Aphek. 27Israel then mustered its army, set up supply lines, and marched out for battle. But the Israelite army looked like two little flocks of goats in comparison to the vast Aramean forces that filled the countryside!
28Then the man of God went to the king of Israel and said, “This is what the Lord says: The Arameans have said, ‘The Lord is a god of the hills and not of the plains.’ So I will defeat this vast army for you. Then you will know that I am the Lord.”
29The two armies camped opposite each other for seven days, and on the seventh day the battle began. The Israelites killed 100,000 Aramean foot soldiers in one day. 30The rest fled into the town of Aphek, but the wall fell on them and killed another 27,000. Ben-hadad fled into the town and hid in a secret room.
31Ben-hadad’s officers said to him, “Sir, we have heard that the kings of Israel are merciful. So let’s humble ourselves by wearing burlap around our waists and putting ropes on our heads, and surrender to the king of Israel. Then perhaps he will let you live.”
32So they put on burlap and ropes, and they went to the king of Israel and begged, “Your servant Ben-hadad says, ‘Please let me live!’”
The king of Israel responded, “Is he still alive? He is my brother!”
33The men took this as a good sign and quickly picked up on his words. “Yes,” they said, “your brother Ben-hadad!”
“Go and get him,” the king of Israel told them. And when Ben-hadad arrived, Ahab invited him up into his chariot.
34Ben-hadad told him, “I will give back the towns my father took from your father, and you may establish places of trade in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria.”
Then Ahab said, “I will release you under these conditions.” So they made a new treaty, and Ben-hadad was set free.
A Prophet Condemns Ahab
35Meanwhile, the Lord instructed one of the group of prophets to say to another man, “Hit me!” But the man refused to hit the prophet. 36Then the prophet told him, “Because you have not obeyed the voice of the Lord, a lion will kill you as soon as you leave me.” And when he had gone, a lion did attack and kill him.
37Then the prophet turned to another man and said, “Hit me!” So he struck the prophet and wounded him.
38The prophet placed a bandage over his eyes to disguise himself and then waited beside the road for the king. 39As the king passed by, the prophet called out to him, “Sir, I was in the thick of battle, and suddenly a man brought me a prisoner. He said, ‘Guard this man; if for any reason he gets away, you will either die or pay a fine of seventy-five pounds#20:39 Hebrew 1 talent [34 kilograms]. of silver!’ 40But while I was busy doing something else, the prisoner disappeared!”
“Well, it’s your own fault,” the king replied. “You have brought the judgment on yourself.”
41Then the prophet quickly pulled the bandage from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets. 42The prophet said to him, “This is what the Lord says: Because you have spared the man I said must be destroyed,#20:42 The Hebrew term used here refers to the complete consecration of things or people to the Lord, either by destroying them or by giving them as an offering. now you must die in his place, and your people will die instead of his people.” 43So the king of Israel went home to Samaria angry and sullen.
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