Ben-hadad Attacks Samaria
And Ben-hadad, king of Aram, gathered all his force — thirty-two kings with him, and horse and chariot; and he went up and besieged Samaria, and fought against it.
And he sent messengers to Ahab, king of Israel, into the city, and said to him, “Thus says Ben-hadad:
Your silver and your gold are mine; and your wives and your best sons are mine.”
And the king of Israel answered and said, “According to your word, my lord the king — I am yours, and all that I have.”
And the messengers returned and said: “Thus says Ben-hadad, saying: Indeed I sent to you, saying, ‘Your silver and your gold and your wives and your sons you shall give me.’
But at this time tomorrow I will send my servants to you, and they will search your house and the houses of your servants; and it shall be that everything desirable in your eyes they will lay their hand on and take.”
And the king of Israel called all the elders of the land and said: “Know, please, and see that this man is seeking evil — for he sent to me for my wives and for my sons, and for my silver and for my gold, and I did not withhold them from him.”
And all the elders and all the people said to him, “Do not listen, and do not consent.”
And he said to the messengers of Ben-hadad, “Say to my lord the king: All that you sent to your servant at the first I will do; but this thing I am not able to do.” And the messengers went and brought word back to him.
And Ben-hadad sent to him and said, “Thus may the gods do to me, and thus may they add — if the dust of Samaria will suffice for handfuls for all the people who follow at my feet.”
And the king of Israel answered and said, “Speak: Let not the one who straps on his armor boast like the one who takes it off.”
And it was, when he heard this word — he was drinking, he and the kings, in the shelters — that he said to his servants, “Take positions.” And they took positions against the city.
Ahab Defeats Ben-hadad
And look — a certain prophet approached Ahab, king of Israel, and said: “Thus says the LORD: Have you seen all this great multitude? Look — I am giving it into your hand today, and you shall know that I am the LORD.”
And Ahab said, “By whom?” And he said, “Thus says the LORD: By the young men of the commanders of the provinces.” And he said, “Who shall begin the battle?” And he said, “You.”
And he mustered the young men of the commanders of the provinces, and they were two hundred and thirty-two; and after them he mustered all the people, all the sons of Israel — seven thousand.
And they went out at noon, while Ben-hadad was drinking himself drunk in the shelters, he and the kings — the thirty-two kings helping him.
And the young men of the commanders of the provinces went out first. And Ben-hadad sent, and they told him, saying, “Men have come out from Samaria.”
And he said, “If they have come out for peace, seize them alive; and if they have come out for war, seize them alive.”
So these went out from the city — the young men of the commanders of the provinces, and the force that followed them.
And each struck down his man; and Aram fled, and Israel pursued them. And Ben-hadad, king of Aram, escaped on a horse with horsemen.
And the king of Israel went out and struck the horses and the chariots, and struck Aram with a great blow.
And the prophet approached the king of Israel and said to him, “Go, strengthen yourself, and know and see what you should do — for at the turn of the year the king of Aram will come up against you.”
And the servants of the king of Aram said to him: “Their gods are gods of the mountains; that is why they were stronger than we. But let us fight them on the plain — surely we will be stronger than they.
And do this thing: remove the kings, each from his place, and set governors in their place.
And you — muster for yourself a force like the force you lost, horse for horse and chariot for chariot; and let us fight them on the plain — surely we will be stronger than they.” And he listened to their voice, and did so.
Another War with Ben-hadad
And it was at the turn of the year that Ben-hadad mustered Aram, and went up to Aphek for battle with Israel.
And the sons of Israel were mustered and provisioned, and they went to meet them; and the sons of Israel camped opposite them like two little flocks of goats, while Aram filled the land.
And the man of God approached and spoke to the king of Israel, and said: “Thus says the LORD: Because Aram has said, ‘The LORD is a god of mountains, and he is not a god of valleys’ — I will give all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the LORD.”
And they camped, these opposite those, seven days. And it was on the seventh day that the battle was joined; and the sons of Israel struck down Aram — a hundred thousand foot soldiers in one day.
And those who were left fled to Aphek, into the city; and the wall fell on twenty-seven thousand of the men who were left. And Ben-hadad fled and came into the city, into an inner room within a room.
Ahab Spares Ben-hadad
And his servants said to him: “Look, please — we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are kings of loyal love. Let us put sackcloth on our waists, please, and ropes on our heads, and go out to the king of Israel. Perhaps he will let your life live.”
And they girded sackcloth on their waists and ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel and said, “Your servant Ben-hadad says, ‘Let my life live, please.’” And he said, “Is he still alive? He is my brother.”
And the men took it as an omen, and hurried to catch it from him, and said, “Your brother Ben-hadad.” And he said, “Go, bring him.” And Ben-hadad came out to him, and he brought him up into the chariot.
And he said to him, “The cities that my father took from your father I will restore; and you may set up markets for yourself in Damascus, as my father set up in Samaria.” “And I, with a covenant, will send you away.” So he cut a covenant with him and sent him away.
A Prophet Reproves Ahab
And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his companion, by the word of the LORD, “Strike me, please.” But the man refused to strike him.
And he said to him, “Because you have not listened to the voice of the LORD — look, when you go from me, the lion will strike you.” And he went from beside him, and the lion found him and struck him.
And he found another man and said, “Strike me, please.” And the man struck him — striking and wounding.
And the prophet went and stood waiting for the king on the way, and disguised himself with a bandage over his eyes.
And it was, as the king was passing by, that he cried out to the king and said: “Your servant went out into the middle of the battle — and look, a man turned aside and brought a man to me and said, ‘Guard this man. If he is missing at all, then your life shall be in place of his life, or you shall weigh out a talent of silver.’
And it was, while your servant was busy here and there, that he was gone.” And the king of Israel said to him, “So is your judgment — you yourself have decided it.”
And he hurried and removed the bandage from over his eyes; and the king of Israel recognized him, that he was one of the prophets.
And he said to him, “Thus says the LORD: Because you have let go out of your hand the man I had devoted to destruction, your life shall be in place of his life, and your people in place of his people.”
And the king of Israel went to his house sullen and vexed, and came to Samaria.