King James Version

1 And Ben-Hadad, king of Aram, gathered all his army and thirty-two kings with him, and horses and chariots, and he went up and besieged Samaria and fought against it. 2 And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel in the city. 3 And he said to him, "Thus says Ben-Hadad: 'Your silver and your gold are mine, and your wives and your good sons are mine.'" 4 And the king of Israel answered and said, "As your word, my lord the king, so am I and all that is mine." 5 And the angels returned and said, "Thus says Ben-Hadad, ‘I have sent to you saying, "Your silver and your gold and your wives and your children, you shall give to me."’" 6 For if tomorrow I send my servants to you and they search your house and the houses of your servants, and all the desirable things in your eyes, they will put in their hands and take. 7 And the king of Israel called all the elders of the land and said, "Please know and see that this is a bad thing he is seeking, for he has sent to me for my wives and for my sons and for my silver and for my gold, and I did not withhold anything from him." 8 And all the elders and all the people said to me, "Do not listen and do not consent." 9 And he said to the messengers of Ben Hadad, "Say to my lord the king, 'All that you sent to your servant in the first place, I will do, but this thing I cannot do.'" And the messengers went back and answered him a word. 10 And Ben-Hadad sent to me and said, "Thus may the gods do to me, and thus may they add to me, if there remains dust of Samaria for a handful for all the people who are at my feet." 11 And the king of Israel answered and said, "Speak, do not let the one who puts on armor boast like the one who takes it off." 12 And it came to pass when he heard this word, and he was drinking, he and the kings in the booths, and he said to his servants, "Set it," and they set it upon the city. 13 And behold, a prophet approached Ahab king of Israel and said, "Thus says the Lord: 'Have you seen all this great multitude? Behold, I am giving it into your hand today, and you shall know that I am the Lord.'" 14 And Ahab said, "By whom?" And he said, "Thus says the Lord, by the young men of the rulers of the provinces." And he said, "Who will fight in the battle?" And he said, "You." 15 And he counted the young men of the leaders of the provinces, and there were two hundred thirty. And afterward, he counted all the people, all the sons of Israel, seven thousand. 16 And they went out at noon, and Ben Hadad was drinking drunk in the booths, he and the thirty-two kings who helped him. 17 And the young men of the princes of the provinces went out first, and Ben Hadad sent to tell him, saying, "Men have gone out from Samaria." 18 And he said, "If they have gone out for peace, take them alive; but if they have gone out for war, take them alive." 19 And these went out from the city, young men of the leaders of the provinces and the army that was behind them. 20 And they struck each man his fellow, and Aram fled, and Israel pursued, and Ben-Hadad, the king of Aram, escaped on a horse and horsemen. 21 And the king of Israel went out and struck the horse and the chariot and struck down the Arameans with a great blow. 22 And the prophet approached the king of Israel and said to him, "Go, strengthen yourself and know and see what you should do, for in the turning of the year, the king of Aram will come up against you." 23 And the servants of the king of Aram said to me, "The gods of the hills are their gods; therefore they were stronger than we were. But if we fight against them in the plain, we will certainly be stronger than they are." 24 And concerning this matter, do the removal of the kings, each from his place, and set pots under them. 25 And you shall count for yourself an army like the army that falls from your presence, and a horse like the horse, and a chariot like the chariot, and we will fight them in the plain, if we do not hold back from them, and he heard their voice and did so. 26 And it came to pass at the turn of the year that Ben-Hadad counted Aram and went up to Aphek to battle against Israel. 27 And the sons of Israel were numbered, and they gathered together, and the sons of Israel camped opposite them like two male goats, and Aram filled the land. 28 And a man of God approached and said to the king of Israel, and he said, "Thus says the LORD: Because Aram has said, 'The LORD is a God of the mountains and not a God of the valleys,' I will deliver all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the LORD." 29 And these encamped opposite those for seven days, and it was on the seventh day that the battle drew near, and the sons of Israel struck down one hundred thousand foot soldiers of Aram in one day. 30 And the remnant fled to the city, and the wall fell on twenty-seven thousand men of the remnant, and Ben Hadad escaped and came into the city, room by room. 31 And they said to me, "Indeed, we have heard that the kings of Israel are kings of mercy; let us put on sackcloth around our waists and ropes on our heads, and let us go out to the king of Israel; perhaps he will spare your life." 32 And they girded sackcloth around their waists and ropes on their heads, and they came to the king of Israel and said, "Your servant Ben-Hadad says, 'Please let my life be spared.' " And he said, "Is he still alive? He is my brother." 33 And the men hastened and decided, "Is he not Ben Hadad?" And he said, "Come, take him." And Ben Hadad went out to him and he was lifted up onto the chariot. 34 And he said to me, "The cities which my father took from your father, I will return, and the streets I will give to you in Damascus, as my father placed in Samaria. And I will make a covenant with you, and he made a covenant with him, and he sent him away." 35 And one 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. 36 And he said to him, "Because you did not listen to the voice of the Lord, behold, you shall go from me, and the lion shall kill you." And he went from his presence, and the lion found him and killed him. 37 And he found another man and said, "Strike me, please," and the man struck him and wounded him. 38 And the prophet went and stood before the king by the way and he disguised himself with a cloak over his eyes. 39 And it came to pass that the king was passing by, and he cried out to the king and said, "Your servant went out in the midst of the battle, and behold, a man turned, and he brought to me a man and said, 'Guard this man; if he is missing, your life shall be for his life, or you shall weigh a talent of silver.'" 40 And your servant was doing there, and he is not; and the king of Israel said to me, "Indeed, your judgment you have decided." 41 And he hurried and removed the ashes from my eyes, and he recognized him as the king of Israel, for he was from the prophets. 42 And he said to me, "Thus says the LORD: Because you have sent away a man under the ban from your hand, your life shall be for his life, and your people for his people." 43 And the king of Israel went up to his house angry and sullen, and came to Samaria.