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.
Currently Selected:
1 Kings 20: CEVDCI
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
1 Kings 20
20
Syrian-Israeli Conflicts: Ben-Hadad vs. Ahab of Israel
1Ben-Hadad king of Aram gathered all of his army, and thirty-two kings were with him, and horses and chariots. He went up and laid siege against Samaria and fought with it. 2He sent messengers to the city to Ahab king of Israel. 3He said to him, “Thus says Ben-Hadad: ‘Your silver and your gold are mine, and your women and your best sons are mine.’ ” 4Then the king of Israel answered and said, “As your word, my master the king; I am yours, and all that is mine is yours.” 5The messengers returned and said, “Thus says Ben-Hadad, saying, ‘I sent to you saying, “Your silver and gold are mine, and your women and your best sons you must give to me.” 6So at this time tomorrow, I will send my servants to you that they might search your house and the houses of your servants. All the desire of your eyes they will lay hands on#Literally “they will put in their hands” and take it away.’ ”
7Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land and said, “Please know and realize that this man is seeking trouble, for he sent to me for my women, my sons, my silver, and my gold, and I did not withhold anything from him.” 8All of the elders and all of the people said to him, “Do not listen and do not consent.” 9So he said to the messengers of Ben-Hadad, “Say to my lord the king, ‘All that you demanded from your servant at the first, I will do, but this thing I am not able to do.’ ” Then the messengers went and made a report to him.#Literally “returned him a word” 10Then Ben-Hadad sent to him and said, “Thus may the gods do to me and thus may they add if the dust of Samaria is sufficient for the hollow of a hand for all of the people who are at my feet.” 11The king of Israel answered and said, “Tell him, ‘Let not him who girds on his armor boast as one who takes off his armor.’ ” 12It happened at the moment he heard this word, he and the kings were drinking in the tents.#Literally “booths” He said to his servants, “Get ready to attack.” So they got ready to attack the city.
13Suddenly a certain prophet approached Ahab king of Israel and said, “Thus says Yahweh: ‘Have you seen all this great crowd? Behold, I am giving it into your hand today, that you may know that I am Yahweh.’ ” 14Ahab said, “By whom?” And he said, “Thus says Yahweh: ‘By the servants of the commanders of the provinces.’ ” He asked, “Who will begin the battle?” And he said, “You.” 15So he mustered the servants of the commanders of the provinces, and there were two hundred and thirty-two. After them he mustered all of the army, all the sons of Israel, seven thousand.
16They went out at noon while Ben-Hadad was drinking himself drunk in the tents, he and the thirty-two kings helping him. 17Then the servants of the commanders of the provinces went out first, and Ben-Hadad sent, and they reported to him, saying, “Men have come out from Samaria.” 18Then he said, “If they have come out for peace, seize them alive; and if they have come out for war, seize them alive.” 19But these had come out from the city, the servants of the commanders of the provinces, and the army that was after them. 20Each man killed his man, and the Arameans fled, so Israel pursued them, but Ben-Hadad king of Aram escaped on a horse with cavalry. 21The king of Israel went out and attacked the horses and the chariots and defeated Aram with a great blow.
22Then the prophet came near to the king of Israel, and he said to him, “Go, strengthen yourself; consider well#Literally “know and see” what you should do, for the king of Aram is coming against you at the turn of the year.”
23The servants of the king of Aram said to him, “Their gods are gods of the mountains, therefore they were stronger than we.#Hebrew “he” Let us fight with them in the plain; surely we will be stronger than they. 24Do this thing: remove the kings each from his post, and put a governor in their place. 25You must muster an army for yourself as the army you have lost,#Literally “as the army which fell from with you” and horses and chariots as the horses and chariots you lost, then we will fight them in the plain. Surely we will be stronger than they.” So he listened to their voice and did so.
26It happened at the turning of the year that Ben-Hadad mustered Aram and went up to Aphek for the war with Israel. 27The Israelites#Literally “sons/children of Israel” had been mustered and provisioned, and they went to engage them. The Israelites#Literally “sons/children of Israel” encamped opposite them as two flocks of goats, but the Arameans filled the land. 28Then the man of God approached, and he spoke to the king of Israel, and he said, “Thus says Yahweh: ‘Because Aram has said, “Yahweh is a god of the mountains and not a god of the valleys,” ’ I will give all this great crowd into your hand that you may know that I am Yahweh.” 29These encamped opposite for seven days, and it happened on the seventh day that the battle began,#Literally “the battle drew near” and the Israelites#Literally “sons/children of Israel” killed the Arameans, one hundred thousand infantry in one day. 30Then those who remained fled to Aphek, to the city, and the wall fell on twenty-seven thousand men who had remained, so Ben-Hadad fled and went to the innermost rooms of the city.
31Then his servants said to him, “Please now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are kings of mercy. Let us now put sackcloth on around our waists and ropes on our heads. Then let us go out to the king of Israel. Perhaps he will let you live.”#Literally “he may let your life live” 32So they tied sackcloth around their waists and ropes on their heads. Then they went to the king of Israel and said, “Your servant Ben-Hadad says, ‘Please let me live.’ ” And he said, “Is my brother still alive?” 33The men took this as a good omen and they quickly accepted it as true from him, and they said, “Your brother Ben-Hadad lives.” So he said, “Go, get him.” Ben-Hadad came out to him, and Ahab pulled him up on the chariot. 34Ben-Hadad said to him, “The cities which my father took from your father I shall return. You may set up streets with stalls for yourself in Damascus just as my father set up in Samaria.” Then Ahab said, “On these terms#Literally “In covenant” I will let you go,” So he made a covenant with him and let him go.
35A certain man from the sons of the prophets said to his fellow countryman, “By the word of Yahweh, please strike me.” But the man refused to strike him.
36He said to him, “Because you have not obeyed the voice of Yahweh, look, as you now are going from me, a lion will kill you.” When he went from beside him, the lion found him and killed him. 37Then he found another man and said, “Strike me, please,” so the man struck him sharply and wounded him. 38Then the prophet went and waited#Literally “stood” for the king along the road and disguised himself with a#Hebrew “the” headband over his eyes. 39As the king was passing by, he called to the king and said, “Your servant went out in the thick of the battle, and suddenly a man turned and brought a man to me and said, ‘Guard this man. If by any means he should be missed, it will be your life in his place, or you shall pay a talent of silver.’ 40It happened that your servant was busy here and there,#Literally “was doing here and here” and he disappeared.”#Literally “and he was not” Then the king said to him, “Your own judgment has been determined.” 41He quickly removed the headband from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him, that he was from the prophets. 42He said to him, “Thus says Yahweh: ‘Because you have let the man I devoted for destruction go from your hand, your life shall be in place of his life and your people in place of his people.’ ” 43Then the king of Israel went to his house, sullen and angry, and he came to Samaria.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
2010 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software