1 Kings 20
20
Ben-Hadad and Ahab Go to War
1Now Ben-Hadad was king of Aram. He gathered together all his army. There were 32 kings with their horses and chariots. They went with him and surrounded Samaria and attacked it. 2The king sent messengers into the city to Ahab king of Israel. 3This was his message: “Ben-Hadad says, ‘You must give me your silver and gold and the best of your wives and children.’”
4Ahab king of Israel answered, “My master and king, I agree to what you say. I and everything I have belongs to you.”
5Then the messengers came to Ahab again. They said, “Ben-Hadad says, ‘I told you before that you must give me your silver and gold, your wives and your children. 6About this time tomorrow I am going to send my men to you. They are to search everywhere in your palace. And they are to search the homes of the men who rule under you. My men will take anything they want.’”
7So Ahab called a meeting of all the elders of his country. He said, “Ben-Hadad is looking for trouble. First he said I had to give him my wives, my children, my silver and my gold. I agreed to that.”
8But the elders and all the people said, “Pay no attention to him. Don’t do what he says.”
9So Ahab said to Ben-Hadad’s messengers, “Tell my master the king this: ‘I will do what you said at first. But I will not obey your second command.’” So King Ben-Hadad’s men carried the message back to him.
10Then Ben-Hadad sent another message to Ahab: “I will completely destroy Samaria. There won’t be even enough left for each of my men to get a handful of dust. May the gods punish me terribly if I don’t do this!”
11Ahab answered, “Tell Ben-Hadad this: ‘The man who puts on his armor should not brag too soon. It’s the man who lives long enough to take it off who has the right to brag.’”
12Now Ben-Hadad was drinking in his tent with the other rulers. The messengers came and gave him the message from Ahab. Ben-Hadad commanded his men to prepare to attack the city. So they moved into their places for the battle.
13At the same time a prophet came to Ahab, king of Israel. The prophet said, “Ahab, the Lord says to you, ‘Do you see that big army? I will let you defeat it today. Then you will know I am the Lord.’”
14Ahab said, “Who will you use to defeat them?”
The prophet answered, “The Lord says, ‘The young officers of the district governors will defeat them.’”
Then the king asked, “Who will command the main army?”
The prophet answered, “You will.”
15So Ahab gathered the young officers of the district governors. There were 232 of them. Then he called together the army of Israel. There were 7,000 of them.
16At noon Ben-Hadad and the 32 rulers helping him were getting drunk in their tents. At this time Ahab attacked them. 17The young officers of the district governors attacked first.
Ben-Hadad’s scouts told him that soldiers were coming from Samaria. 18So Ben-Hadad said, “They may be coming to fight. Or they may be coming to ask for peace. In either case capture them alive.”
19The young officers of the district governors led the attack. The army of Israel followed them. 20Then each officer of Israel killed the man who came against him. So the men from Aram ran away as Israel chased them. But Ben-Hadad king of Aram escaped on a horse with some of his horsemen. 21Ahab king of Israel led the army. He captured the Arameans’ horses and chariots. So King Ahab caused a great defeat of the Aramean army.
22Then the prophet went to Ahab king of Israel and said, “The king of Aram will attack you again next spring. So you should go home now and make your army stronger. Make plans to defend yourself.”
23The officers of Ben-Hadad king of Aram said to him, “The gods of Israel are mountain gods. Since we fought in a mountain area, Israel won. So let’s fight them on the flat land. Then we will win. 24This is what you should do. Don’t allow the 32 rulers to command the armies. Put commanders in their places. 25Gather an army like the one that was destroyed. Gather as many horses and chariots as it had. We will fight the Israelites on flat land. Then we will win.” Ben-Hadad agreed with their advice and did what they said.
26The next spring Ben-Hadad gathered the people of Aram. He went to Aphek to fight against Israel.
27The Israelites also prepared for war. They marched out to meet the Arameans and camped opposite them. They looked like two small groups of goats. But the Arameans covered the area.
28A man of God came to the king of Israel with this message: “The Lord says, ‘The people of Aram say that I, the Lord, am a god of the mountains. They think I am not a god of the valleys. So I will allow you to defeat this big army. Then you will know I am the Lord.’”
29The armies were camped across from each other for seven days. On the seventh day the battle began. The Israelites killed 100,000 Aramean soldiers in one day. 30The rest of them ran away to the city of Aphek. There a city wall fell on 27,000 of them. Ben-Hadad also ran away to the city and hid in a room.
31His officers said to him, “We have heard that the kings of Israel are merciful. Let’s dress in rough cloth to show our sadness. And let’s wear ropes on our heads as a sign of surrender. Then let’s go to the king of Israel. Maybe he will let you live.”
32So they dressed in rough cloth and wore ropes on their heads. Then they went to the king of Israel. They said, “Your servant Ben-Hadad says, ‘Please let me live.’”
Ahab answered, “Is he still alive? He is my brother.”
33Now Ben-Hadad’s men had wanted a sign from Ahab. They wanted to know he would not kill Ben-Hadad. So when Ahab called Ben-Hadad his brother, they quickly said, “Yes! Ben-Hadad is your brother.”
Ahab said, “Bring him to me.” When Ben-Hadad came, Ahab asked him to join him in the chariot.
34Ben-Hadad said to him, “Ahab, I will give you back the towns my father took from your father. And you may put shops in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria.”
Ahab said, “If you agree to this, I will allow you to go free.” So the two kings made a peace agreement. Then Ahab let Ben-Hadad go free.
A Prophet Speaks Against Ahab
35One of the prophets told another prophet, “Hit me!” He told him to do this because the Lord had commanded it. But the other prophet refused. 36So the first prophet said, “You did not obey the Lord’s command. So a lion will kill you as soon as you leave me.” When the second prophet left, a lion found him and killed him.
37The first prophet went to another man and said, “Hit me, please!” So the man hit him and hurt him. 38Then the prophet wrapped his face in a cloth. This way no one could tell who he was. Then he went and waited by the road for the king. 39As Ahab king of Israel passed by, the prophet called out to him. The prophet said, “I went to fight in the battle. One of our men brought an enemy soldier to me. Our man said, ‘Guard this man. If he runs away, you will have to give your life in his place. Or, you will have to pay a fine of 75 pounds of silver.’ 40But I became busy doing other things. So the man ran away.”
The king of Israel answered, “You have said what the punishment is. You must do what the man said.”
41Then the prophet quickly took the cloth from his face. When the king of Israel saw him, he knew he was one of the prophets. 42Then the prophet said to the king, “This is what the Lord says: ‘You set free the man I said should die. So your life will be taken in his place. And the lives of your people will be taken in place of the lives of his people.’”
43Then the king went back to his palace in Samaria. He was angry and upset.
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1 Kings 20: ICB
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1 Kings 20
20
Syria Attacks Israel
1King Benhadad of Syria#20.1 King Benhadad of Syria: This is probably not the same Benhadad mentioned in 15.18-21. called his army together. He was joined by 32 other kings with their horses and chariots, and together they marched to Samaria and attacked. 2Benhadad sent a messenger to tell King Ahab of Israel, 3“Ahab, give me your silver and gold, your wives,#20.3 wives: Having more than one wife was allowed in those times. and your strongest sons!”
4“Your Majesty,” Ahab replied, “everything I have is yours, including me.”
5Later, Benhadad sent another messenger to say to Ahab, “I already told you to give me your silver and gold, your wives, and your children. 6But tomorrow at this time, I will send my officials into your city to search your palace and the houses of your officials. They will take everything else that you#20.6 you: Hebrew; three ancient translations “they.” own.”
7Ahab called a meeting with the leaders of Israel and said, “Benhadad is causing real trouble. He told me to give him my wives and children, as well as my silver and gold. And I agreed.”
8“Don't listen to him!” they answered. “You don't have to do what he says.”
9So Ahab sent someone to tell Benhadad, “Your Majesty, I'll give you my silver and gold, and even my wives and children. But I won't let you have anything else.”
When Benhadad got his answer, 10he replied, “I'll completely destroy Samaria! There won't even be enough of it left for my soldiers to carry back in their hands. If I don't do it, I pray that the gods will punish me terribly.”
11Ahab then answered, “Benhadad, don't brag before the fighting even begins. Wait and see if you live through it.”
12Meanwhile, Benhadad and the other kings had been drinking in their tents. But when Ahab's reply came, he ordered his soldiers to prepare to attack Samaria, and they all got ready.
13At that very moment, a prophet ran up to Ahab and said, “You can see that Benhadad's army is very strong. But the Lord has promised to help you defeat them today. Then you will know that the Lord is in control.”
14“Who will fight the battle?” Ahab asked.
The prophet answered, “The young bodyguards who serve the district officials.”
“But who will lead them into battle?” Ahab asked.
“You will!” the prophet replied.
15So Ahab called together the 232 young soldiers and the 7,000 troops in Israel's army, and he got them ready to fight the Syrians.
Israel Defeats the Syrians
16-17At noon, King Ahab and his Israelite army marched out of Samaria, with the young soldiers in front.
King Benhadad of Syria and the 32 kings with him were drunk when the scouts he had sent out ran up to his tent, shouting, “We just now saw soldiers marching out of Samaria!”
18“Take them alive!” Benhadad ordered. “I don't care if they have come out to fight or to surrender.”
19The young soldiers led Israel's troops into battle, 20and each of them attacked and killed an enemy soldier. The rest of the Syrian army turned and ran, and the Israelites went after them. Benhadad and some others escaped on horses, 21but Ahab and his soldiers followed them and captured#20.21 captured: One ancient translation; Hebrew “attacked.” their horses and chariots.
Ahab and Israel's army crushed the Syrians.
22Later, the prophet#20.22 the prophet: See verse 13. went back and warned Ahab, “Benhadad will attack you again next spring. Build up your troops and make sure you have some good plans.”
Syria Attacks Israel Again
23Meanwhile, Benhadad's officials went to him and explained:
Israel's gods are mountain gods. We fought Israel's army in the hills, and that's why they defeated us. But if we fight them on flat land, there's no way we can lose.
24Here's what you should do. First, get rid of those 32 kings and put army commanders in their places. 25Then get more soldiers, horses, and chariots, so your army will be as strong as it was before. We'll fight Israel's army on flat land and wipe them out.
Benhadad agreed and did what they suggested.
26In the spring, Benhadad got his army together, and they marched to the town of Aphek to attack Israel. 27The Israelites also prepared to fight. They marched out to meet the Syrians, and the two armies camped across from each other. The Syrians covered the whole area, but the Israelites looked like two little flocks of goats.
28The prophet went to Ahab and said, “The Syrians think the Lord is a god of the hills and not of the valleys. So he has promised to help you defeat their powerful army. Then you will know that the Lord is in control.”
29For seven days the two armies stayed in their camps, facing each other. Then on the seventh day the fighting broke out, and before sunset the Israelites had killed 100,000 Syrian troops. 30The rest of the Syrian army ran back to Aphek, but the town wall fell and crushed 27,000 of them.
Benhadad also escaped to Aphek and hid in the back room of a house. 31His officials said, “Your Majesty, we've heard that Israel's kings keep their agreements. We will wrap sackcloth around our waists, put ropes around our heads, and ask Ahab to let you live.”
32They dressed in sackcloth and put ropes on their heads, then they went to Ahab and said, “Your servant Benhadad asks you to let him live.”
“Is he still alive?” Ahab asked. “Benhadad is like a brother to me.”
33Benhadad's officials were trying to figure out what Ahab was thinking, and when he said “brother,” they quickly replied, “You're right! You and Benhadad are like brothers.”
“Go get him,” Ahab said.
When Benhadad came out, Ahab had him climb up into his chariot.
34Benhadad said, “I'll give back the towns my father took from your father. And you can have shops in Damascus, just as my father had in Samaria.”
Ahab replied, “If you do these things, I'll let you go free.” Then they signed a peace treaty, and Ahab let Benhadad go.
A Prophet Condemns Ahab
35About this time the Lord commanded a prophet to say to a friend, “Hit me!” But the friend refused, 36#1 K 13.24. and the prophet told him, “You disobeyed the Lord, and as soon as you walk away, a lion will kill you.” The friend left, and suddenly a lion killed him.
37The prophet found someone else and said, “Hit me!” So this man beat him up.
38The prophet left and put a bandage over his face to disguise himself. Then he went and stood beside the road, waiting for Ahab to pass by.
39When Ahab went by, the prophet shouted, “Your Majesty, right in the heat of battle, someone brought a prisoner to me and told me to guard him. He said if the prisoner got away, I would either be killed or forced to pay 3,000 pieces of silver. 40But I got busy doing other things, and the prisoner escaped.”
Ahab answered, “You will be punished just as you have said.”
41The man quickly tore the bandage off his face, and Ahab saw that he was one of the prophets. 42The prophet said, “The Lord told you to kill Benhadad, but you let him go. Now you will die in his place, and your people will die in place of his people.”
43Ahab went back to Samaria, angry and depressed.
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© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.