1 Kings 20:13-34

English Standard Version

Ahab Defeats Ben-hadad

¹³And behold, a prophet came near to Ahab king of Israel and said, “Thus says the Lord, Have you seen all this great multitude? Behold, ^(A)I will give it into your hand this day, ^(B)and you shall know that I am the Lord.” ¹⁴And Ahab said, “By whom?” He said, “Thus says the Lord, By the servants of the governors of the districts.” Then he said, “Who shall begin the battle?” He answered, “You.” ¹⁵Then he mustered the servants of the governors of the districts, and they were 232. And after them he mustered all the people of Israel, seven thousand.

¹⁶And they went out at noon, while Ben-hadad ^(C)was drinking himself drunk in the booths, he and the thirty-two kings who helped him. ¹⁷The servants of the governors of the districts went out first. And Ben-hadad sent out scouts, and they reported to him, “Men are coming out from Samaria.” ¹⁸He said, “If they have come out for peace, take them alive. Or if they have come out for war, take them alive.”

¹⁹So these went out of the city, the servants of the governors of the districts and the army that followed them. ²⁰And each struck down his man. The Syrians fled, and Israel pursued them, but Ben-hadad king of Syria escaped on a horse with horsemen. ²¹And the king of Israel went out and struck the horses and chariots, and struck the Syrians with a great blow.

²²Then ^(D)the prophet came near to the king of Israel and said to him, “Come, strengthen yourself, and consider well what you have to do, for ^(E)in the spring the king of Syria will come up against you.”

²³And the servants of the king of Syria said to him, “Their gods are gods of the hills, and so they were stronger than we. But let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. ²⁴And do this: remove the kings, each from his post, and put commanders in their places, ²⁵and 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 surely we shall be stronger than they.” And he listened to their voice and did so.

Ahab Defeats Ben-hadad Again

²⁶^(F)In the spring, Ben-hadad mustered the Syrians and went up to ^(G)Aphek to fight against Israel. ²⁷And the people of Israel were mustered and were provisioned and went against them. The people of Israel encamped before them like two little flocks of goats, but the Syrians filled the country. ²⁸And a ^(H)man of God came near and said to the king of Israel, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because the Syrians have said, ^(I)“The Lord is a god of the hills but he is not a god of the valleys,” therefore ^(J)I will give all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord.’” ²⁹And they encamped opposite one another seven days. Then on the seventh day the battle was joined. And the people of Israel struck down of the Syrians 100,000 foot soldiers in one day. ³⁰And the rest fled into the city of ^(K)Aphek, and the wall fell upon 27,000 men who were left.

Ben-hadad also fled and entered ^(L)an inner chamber in the city. ³¹And his servants said to him, “Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings. Let us ^(M)put sackcloth around our waists and ropes on our heads and go out to the king of Israel. Perhaps he will spare your life.” ³²So they ^(N)tied sackcloth around their waists and put ropes on their heads and went to the king of Israel and said, “Your servant Ben-hadad says, ‘Please, let me live.’” And he said, “Does he still live? He is my brother.” ³³Now the men were watching for a sign, and they quickly took it up from him and said, “Yes, your brother Ben-hadad.” Then he said, “Go and bring him.” Then Ben-hadad came out to him, and he caused him to come up into the chariot. ³⁴And Ben-hadad said to him, ^(O)“The cities that my father took from your father I will restore, and you may establish bazaars for yourself in ^(P)Damascus, as my father did in Samaria.” And Ahab said, “I will let you go on these terms.” So he made a covenant with him and let him go.