1 Kings 20:13-34
New American Standard Bible
Ahab Victorious
13 Now behold, a prophet approached Ahab king of Israel, and said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Have you seen all this great multitude? Behold, (A)I am going to hand them over to you today, and (B)you shall know that I am the Lord.’” 14 But Ahab said, “By whom?” So he said, “The Lord says this: ‘By the young men of the leaders of the provinces.’” Then he said, “Who will begin the battle?” And he said, “You will.” 15 So he mustered the young men of the leaders of the provinces, and there were 232; and after them he mustered all the people, all the sons of Israel: seven thousand.
16 They went out at noon, while (C)Ben-hadad was drinking himself drunk in the [a]temporary shelters [b]with the thirty-two kings who were helping him. 17 The young men of the leaders of the provinces went out first; and Ben-hadad sent out scouts, and they reported to him, saying, “Men have come out from Samaria.” 18 (D)Then he said, “If they have come out [c]for peace, take them alive; or if they have come out for war, take them alive as well.”
19 So these men went out from the city, the young men of the leaders of the provinces, and the army which followed them. 20 And they [d]killed, each one, his man; and the Arameans fled and Israel pursued them, and Ben-hadad the king of Aram escaped on a horse with horsemen. 21 The king of Israel also went out and struck the horses and chariots, and [e]killed the Arameans in a great slaughter.
22 Then (E)the prophet approached the king of Israel and said to him, “Go, show yourself courageous and be aware and see what you have to do; for (F)at [f]the turn of the year the king of Aram will march against you.”
23 Now the servants of the king of Aram said to him, “(G)Their gods are gods of the mountains; for that reason they were stronger than we. But let us fight them in the plain, and we will certainly be stronger than they. 24 Carry out this [g]plan: remove the kings, each from his place, and put governors in their place, 25 and [h]muster an army like the army that you have lost, horse for horse and chariot for chariot. Then we will fight against them in the plain, and we will certainly be stronger than they.” And he listened to their voice and did so.
Another Aramean War
26 So (H)at [i]the turn of the year Ben-hadad mustered the Arameans and went up to (I)Aphek to fight against Israel. 27 And the sons of Israel were mustered and given provisions, and they went to meet them; and the sons of Israel camped opposite them like two little flocks of goats, (J)while the Arameans filled the country. 28 Then (K)a man of God approached and spoke to the king of Israel, and said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Since the Arameans have said, “(L)The Lord is a god of mountains, but He is not a god of valleys,” therefore (M)I will hand over to you all this great multitude, and you shall know that I am the Lord.’” 29 So they camped, one opposite the other, for seven days. And on the seventh day the battle was joined, and the sons of Israel [j]killed of the Arameans a hundred thousand foot soldiers in a single day. 30 But the rest fled to (N)Aphek into the city, and the wall fell on twenty-seven thousand men who were left. And Ben-hadad fled and came into the city, going from one (O)inner room to another.
31 But (P)his servants said to him, “Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings. Please let’s (Q)put sackcloth [k]around our waists and ropes on our heads, and go out to the king of Israel; perhaps he will let [l]you live.” 32 So (R)they put sackcloth [m]around their waists and ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel and said, “(S)Your servant Ben-hadad says, ‘Please let [n]me live.’” And Ahab said, “Is he still alive? He is my brother.” 33 Now the men took this as a good omen, and quickly [o]accepting it from him, they said, “Your brother Ben-hadad.” Then he said, “Go, bring him.” Then Ben-hadad came out to him, and he had him mount the chariot. 34 And Ben-hadad said to him, “(T)The cities which my father took from your father I will restore, and you can make streets for yourself in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria.” Ahab said, “And I will let you go with this covenant.” So he made a covenant with him and let him go.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Kings 20:16 Or huts
- 1 Kings 20:16 Lit he and the 32 kings
- 1 Kings 20:18 I.e., to seek terms for surrender
- 1 Kings 20:20 Lit struck
- 1 Kings 20:21 Lit struck
- 1 Kings 20:22 I.e., spring
- 1 Kings 20:24 Lit word
- 1 Kings 20:25 Lit count
- 1 Kings 20:26 I.e., spring
- 1 Kings 20:29 Lit struck
- 1 Kings 20:31 Lit on
- 1 Kings 20:31 Lit your soul
- 1 Kings 20:32 Lit on
- 1 Kings 20:32 Lit my soul
- 1 Kings 20:33 Lit accepted
1 Kings 20:13-34
King James Version
13 And, behold, there came a prophet unto Ahab king of Israel, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Hast thou seen all this great multitude? behold, I will deliver it into thine hand this day; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord.
14 And Ahab said, By whom? And he said, Thus saith the Lord, Even by the young men of the princes of the provinces. Then he said, Who shall order the battle? And he answered, Thou.
15 Then he numbered the young men of the princes of the provinces, and they were two hundred and thirty two: and after them he numbered all the people, even all the children of Israel, being seven thousand.
16 And they went out at noon. But Benhadad was drinking himself drunk in the pavilions, he and the kings, the thirty and two kings that helped him.
17 And the young men of the princes of the provinces went out first; and Benhadad sent out, and they told him, saying, There are men come out of Samaria.
18 And he said, Whether they be come out for peace, take them alive; or whether they be come out for war, take them alive.
19 So these young men of the princes of the provinces came out of the city, and the army which followed them.
20 And they slew every one his man: and the Syrians fled; and Israel pursued them: and Benhadad the king of Syria escaped on an horse with the horsemen.
21 And the king of Israel went out, and smote the horses and chariots, and slew the Syrians with a great slaughter.
22 And the prophet came to the king of Israel, and said unto him, Go, strengthen thyself, and mark, and see what thou doest: for at the return of the year the king of Syria will come up against thee.
23 And the servants of the king of Syria said unto him, Their gods are gods of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.
24 And do this thing, Take the kings away, every man out of his place, and put captains in their rooms:
25 And number thee an army, like the army that thou hast lost, horse for horse, and chariot for chariot: and we will fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. And he hearkened unto their voice, and did so.
26 And it came to pass at the return of the year, that Benhadad numbered the Syrians, and went up to Aphek, to fight against Israel.
27 And the children of Israel were numbered, and were all present, and went against them: and the children of Israel pitched before them like two little flocks of kids; but the Syrians filled the country.
28 And there came a man of God, and spake unto the king of Israel, and said, Thus saith the Lord, Because the Syrians have said, The Lord is God of the hills, but he is not God of the valleys, therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thine hand, and ye shall know that I am the Lord.
29 And they pitched one over against the other seven days. And so it was, that in the seventh day the battle was joined: and the children of Israel slew of the Syrians an hundred thousand footmen in one day.
30 But the rest fled to Aphek, into the city; and there a wall fell upon twenty and seven thousand of the men that were left. And Benhadad fled, and came into the city, into an inner chamber.
31 And his servants said unto him, Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings: let us, I pray thee, put sackcloth on our loins, and ropes upon our heads, and go out to the king of Israel: peradventure he will save thy life.
32 So they girded sackcloth on their loins, and put ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said, Thy servant Benhadad saith, I pray thee, let me live. And he said, Is he yet alive? he is my brother.
33 Now the men did diligently observe whether any thing would come from him, and did hastily catch it: and they said, Thy brother Benhadad. Then he said, Go ye, bring him. Then Benhadad came forth to him; and he caused him to come up into the chariot.
34 And Ben-hadad said unto him, The cities, which my father took from thy father, I will restore; and thou shalt make streets for thee in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria. Then said Ahab, I will send thee away with this covenant. So he made a covenant with him, and sent him away.
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1 Kings 20:13-34
Living Bible
13 Then a prophet came to see King Ahab and gave him this message from the Lord: “Do you see all these enemy forces? I will deliver them all to you today. Then at last you will know that I am the Lord.”
14 Ahab asked, “How will he do it?”
And the prophet replied, “The Lord says, ‘By the troops from the provinces.’”
“Shall we attack first?” Ahab asked.
“Yes,” the prophet answered.
15 So he mustered the troops from the provinces, 232 of them, then the rest of his army of 7,000 men. 16 About noontime, as Ben-hadad and the thirty-two allied kings were still drinking themselves drunk, the first of Ahab’s troops marched out of the city.
17 As they approached, Ben-hadad’s scouts reported to him, “Some troops are coming!”
18 “Take them alive,” Ben-hadad commanded, “whether they have come for truce or for war.”
19 By now Ahab’s entire army had joined the attack. 20 Each one killed a Syrian soldier, and suddenly the entire Syrian army panicked and fled. The Israelis chased them, but King Ben-hadad and a few others escaped on horses. 21 However, the great bulk of the horses and chariots were captured, and most of the Syrian army was killed in a great slaughter.
22 Then the prophet approached King Ahab and said, “Get ready for another attack by the king of Syria.”
23 For after their defeat, Ben-hadad’s officers said to him, “The Israeli God is a god of the hills; that is why they won. But we can beat them easily on the plains. 24 Only this time replace the kings with generals! 25 Recruit another army like the one you lost; give us the same number of horses, chariots, and men, and we will fight against them in the plains; there’s not a shadow of a doubt that we will beat them.” So King Ben-hadad did as they suggested. 26 The following year he called up the Syrian army and marched out against Israel again, this time at Aphek. 27 Israel then mustered its army, set up supply lines, and moved into the battle; but the Israeli army looked like two little flocks of baby goats in comparison to the vast Syrian forces that filled the countryside!
28 Then a prophet went to the king of Israel with this message from the Lord: “Because the Syrians have declared, ‘The Lord is a God of the hills and not of the plains,’ I will help you defeat this vast army, and you shall know that I am indeed the Lord.”
29 The two armies camped opposite each other for seven days, and on the seventh day the battle began. And the Israelis killed 100,000 Syrian infantrymen that first day. 30 The rest fled behind the walls of Aphek, but the wall fell on them and killed another 27,000. Ben-hadad fled into the city and hid in the inner room of one of the houses.
31 “Sir,” his officers said to him, “we have heard that the kings of Israel are very merciful. Let us wear sackcloth and put ropes on our heads and go out to King Ahab to see if he will let you live.”
32 So they went to the king of Israel and begged, “Your servant Ben-hadad pleads, ‘Let me live!’”
“Oh, is he still alive?” the king of Israel asked. “He is my brother!”
33 The men were quick to grab this straw of hope and hurried to clinch the matter by exclaiming, “Yes, your brother Ben-hadad!”
“Go and get him,” the king of Israel told them. And when Ben-hadad arrived, he invited him up into his chariot!
34 Ben-hadad told him, “I will restore the cities my father took from your father, and you may establish trading posts in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria.”
Read full chapterNew American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.