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1 Kings 20
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1And Ben-hadad the king of Syria gathered all his host together; and there were thirty and two kings with him, and horses and chariots: and he went up and besieged Samaria, and fought against it.
1King Ben-hadad of Syria gathered his whole army together. Supported by thirty-two kings with their horses and chariots, he went up and surrounded Samaria to attack it.
2And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel, into the city, and said unto him, Thus saith Ben-hadad,
2He sent messengers into the city to King Ahab of Israel to say to him, 'This is what Ben-hadad says:'
3Thy silver and thy gold is mine; thy wives also and thy children, even the goodliest, are mine.
3'Your silver and gold are mine, and your best wives and children are mine too.'
4And the king of Israel answered and said, It is according to thy saying, my lord, O king; I am thine, and all that I have.
4The king of Israel answered, 'Just as you say, my lord the king. I and everything I have belong to you.'
5And the messengers came again, and said, Thus speaketh Ben-hadad, saying, I sent indeed unto thee, saying, Thou shalt deliver me thy silver, and thy gold, and thy wives, and thy children;
5The messengers came back a second time and said, 'This is what Ben-hadad says: I sent word for you to give me your silver, your gold, your wives, and your children.'
6but I will send my servants unto thee to-morrow about this time, and they shall search thy house, and the houses of thy servants; and it shall be, that whatsoever is pleasant in thine eyes, they shall put it in their hand, and take it away.
6'But tomorrow about this time I will send my officials to search your palace and the houses of your officials. They will seize everything you value and carry it away.'
7Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land, and said, Mark, I pray you, and see how this man seeketh mischief: for he sent unto me for my wives, and for my children, and for my silver, and for my gold; and I denied him not.
7Then the king of Israel summoned all the elders of the land and said, 'Look how this man is looking for trouble! He demanded my wives, my children, my silver, and my gold, and I didn't refuse him.'
8And all the elders and all the people said unto him, Hearken thou not, neither consent.
8The elders and all the people replied, 'Do not listen to him or agree to his demands.'
9Wherefore he said unto the messengers of Ben-hadad, Tell my lord the king, All that thou didst send for to thy servant at the first I will do; but this thing I may not do. And the messengers departed, and brought him word again.
9So Ahab told Ben-hadad’s messengers, 'Tell my lord the king: I will do everything you demanded the first time, but I cannot do this new thing.' The messengers left and took the answer back to Ben-hadad.
10And Ben-hadad sent unto him, and said, The gods do so unto me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me.
10Then Ben-hadad sent another message to Ahab: 'May the gods strike me dead and worse if there is enough dust left in Samaria to give a handful to each of my soldiers!'
11And the king of Israel answered and said, Tell him, Let not him that girdeth on his armor boast himself as he that putteth it off.
11The king of Israel replied, 'Tell him: A warrior putting on his armor shouldn't brag like a soldier taking it off after a victory.'
12And it came to pass, when Ben-hadad heard this message, as he was drinking, he and the kings, in the pavilions, that he said unto his servants, Set yourselves in array. And they set themselves in array against the city.
12Ben-hadad heard this message while he and the other kings were drinking in their tents. He ordered his men, 'Prepare to attack!' So they prepared to attack the city.
13And, behold, a prophet came near unto Ahab king of Israel, and said, Thus saith Jehovah, Hast thou seen all this great multitude? behold, I will deliver it into thy hand this day; and thou shalt know that I am Jehovah.
13Just then a prophet came to King Ahab of Israel and said, 'This is what the LORD says: Do you see this huge army? I will hand it over to you today, and then you will know that I am the LORD.'
14And Ahab said, By whom? And he said, Thus saith Jehovah, By the young men of the princes of the provinces. Then he said, Who shall begin the battle? And he answered, Thou.
14'But who will do this?' Ahab asked. The prophet replied, 'The LORD says: The young officers of the provincial governors will do it.' 'Who will start the battle?' Ahab asked. The prophet answered, 'You will.'
15Then he mustered the young men of the princes of the provinces, and they were two hundred and thirty-two: and after them he mustered all the people, even all the children of Israel, being seven thousand.
15So Ahab gathered the young officers of the provincial governors, and there were 232 of them. After that, he assembled the rest of the Israelite army, totaling 7,000 men.
16And they went out at noon. But Ben-hadad was drinking himself drunk in the pavilions, he and the kings, the thirty and two kings that helped him.
16They marched out at noon, while Ben-hadad and the thirty-two kings helping him were getting drunk in their tents.
17And the young men of the princes of the provinces went out first; and Ben-hadad sent out, and they told him, saying, There are men come out from Samaria.
17The young officers of the provincial governors went out first. Ben-hadad’s scouts reported to him, 'Men are coming out from Samaria.'
18And he said, Whether they are come out for peace, take them alive; or whether they are come out for war, take them alive.
18He said, 'Whether they have come out for peace or for war, take them alive.'
19So these went out of the city, the young men of the princes of the provinces, and the army which followed them.
19The young officers led the way out of the city, with the rest of the army following them.
20And they slew every one his man; and the Syrians fled, and Israel pursued them: and Ben-hadad the king of Syria escaped on a horse with horsemen.
20Each of them killed the man he faced. The Syrians fled with the Israelites in pursuit, but King Ben-hadad of Syria escaped on a horse with some of his cavalry.
21And the king of Israel went out, and smote the horses and chariots, and slew the Syrians with a great slaughter.
21The king of Israel rode out and destroyed the horses and chariots, inflicting a heavy defeat on the Syrians.
22And the prophet came near 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.
22Afterward, the prophet went to the king of Israel and said, 'Go, build up your strength and see what needs to be done, because at the beginning of next year the king of Syria will attack you again.'
23And the servants of the king of Syria said unto him, Their god is a god 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.
23Meanwhile, the officials of the king of Syria said to him, 'Their gods are gods of the hills. That is why they were stronger than we were. But if we fight them on the plains, we will surely be stronger than they are.'
24And do this thing: take the kings away, every man out of his place, and put captains in their room;
24'Do this: Remove the kings from their commands and put military governors in their places.'
25and 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.
25'Then recruit an army like the one you lost—horse for horse and chariot for chariot. We will fight them on the plains, and we will definitely be stronger than they are.' Ben-hadad followed their advice and did exactly that.
26And it came to pass at the return of the year, that Ben-hadad mustered the Syrians, and went up to Aphek, to fight against Israel.
26At the beginning of the next year, Ben-hadad gathered the Syrians and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel.
27And the children of Israel were mustered, and were victualled, and went against them: and the children of Israel encamped before them like two little flocks of kids; but the Syrians filled the country.
27The Israelites were also gathered and given supplies, and they marched out to meet them. The Israelites camped opposite them like two small flocks of goats, while the Syrians covered the whole countryside.
28And a man of God came near and spake unto the king of Israel, and said, Thus saith Jehovah, Because the Syrians have said, Jehovah is a god of the hills, but he is not a god of the valleys; therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thy hand, and ye shall know that I am Jehovah.
28A man of God came and said to the king of Israel, 'This is what the LORD says: Because the Syrians think the LORD is a god of the hills and not a god of the valleys, I will hand this entire huge army over to you. Then you will know that I am the LORD.'
29And they encamped 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 a hundred thousand footmen in one day.
29The two armies stayed camped opposite each other for seven days. On the seventh day the battle began. The Israelites killed 100,000 Syrian foot soldiers in a single day.
30But the rest fled to Aphek, into the city; and the wall fell upon twenty and seven thousand men that were left. And Ben-hadad fled, and came into the city, into an inner chamber.
30The rest fled into the city of Aphek, where a wall fell on 27,000 of them. Ben-hadad also fled into the city and hid in an inner room.
31And his servants said unto him, Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings: let us, we 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.
31His officials said to him, 'Look, we have heard that the kings of Israel are merciful. Let us put on burlap clothes and ropes around our necks and go out to the king of Israel. Maybe he will let you live.'
32So they girded sackcloth on their loins, and put ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said, Thy servant Ben-hadad saith, I pray thee, let me live. And he said, Is he yet alive? he is my brother.
32Wearing burlap around their waists and ropes on their heads, they went to the king of Israel and said, 'Your servant Ben-hadad says: Please let me live.' The king answered, 'Is he still alive? He is my brother.'
33Now the men observed diligently, and hasted to catch whether it were his mind; and they said, Thy brother Ben-hadad. Then he said, Go ye, bring him. Then Ben-hadad came forth to him; and he caused him to come up into the chariot.
33The men took this as a good sign and quickly jumped on his word. They said, 'Yes, your brother Ben-hadad!' Ahab said, 'Go and get him.' When Ben-hadad came out, Ahab had him get up into his chariot.
34And 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. And I, said Ahab, will let thee go with this covenant. So he made a covenant with him, and let him go.
34Ben-hadad said, 'I will return the cities my father took from your father. You may set up your own marketplaces in Damascus, just as my father did in Samaria.' Ahab replied, 'On the basis of this treaty, I will set you free.' So they made a treaty, and Ahab let him go.
35And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said unto his fellow by the word of Jehovah, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man refused to smite him.
35By the word of the LORD, one of the sons of the prophets said to his companion, 'Strike me, please.' But the man refused.
36Then said he unto him, Because thou hast not obeyed the voice of Jehovah, behold, as soon as thou art departed from me, a lion shall slay thee. And as soon as he was departed from him, a lion found him, and slew him.
36Then the prophet told him, 'Because you have not obeyed the LORD, a lion will kill you as soon as you leave me.' After the man left, a lion found him and killed him.
37Then he found another man, and said, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man smote him, smiting and wounding him.
37The prophet found another man and said, 'Strike me, please.' This man struck him and wounded him.
38So the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with his headband over his eyes.
38The prophet then went and stood by the road, waiting for the king. He disguised himself by pulling his headband down over his eyes.
39And as the king passed by, he cried unto the king; and he said, Thy servant went out into the midst of the battle; and, behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man unto me, and said, Keep this man: if by any means he be missing, then shall thy life be for his life, or else thou shalt pay a talent of silver.
39As the king passed by, the prophet called out to him, 'Your servant went into the thick of the battle, and a soldier brought a prisoner to me and said, "Guard this man. If he goes missing, it will be your life for his life, or you must pay seventy-five pounds of silver."'
40And as thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone. And the king of Israel said unto him, So shall thy judgment be; thyself hast decided it.
40'But while your servant was busy doing things here and there, the man disappeared.' The king of Israel said, 'That is your sentence; you have pronounced it yourself.'
41And he hasted, and took the headband away from his eyes; and the king of Israel discerned him that he was of the prophets.
41Then the prophet quickly pulled the headband away from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets.
42And he said unto him, Thus saith Jehovah, Because thou hast let go out of thy hand the man whom I had devoted to destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people.
42He said to the king, 'This is what the LORD says: You have set free a man I determined should be destroyed. Therefore, your life will be taken for his life, and your people for his people.'