1 ARST Ben Hadad, the king of Aram, gathered all his army, and he brought thirty- two lesser kings to join him with their armies and horses and chariots. They marched to the city of Samaria, the capital of Israel, and surrounded it and prepared to attack it. BSB BSB: Now Ben-hadad king of Aram assembled his entire army. Accompanied by thirty-two kings with their horses and chariots, he marched up, besieged Samaria, and waged war against it.
2 ARST Ben Hadad sent messengers into the city to King Ahab, and they said this to him:“This is what King Ben Hadad says: BSB BSB: Then he sent messengers into the city to Ahab king of Israel,
3 ARST ‘You must give to me all your silver and gold, your good- looking wives and strongest children.’” BSB BSB: saying, “This is what Ben-hadad says: ‘Your silver and gold are mine, and your best wives and children are mine!’”
4 ARST The king of Israel replied to them,“Tell this to King Ben Hadad,‘I agree to do what you requested. You can have me and everything that I own.’” BSB BSB: And the king of Israel replied, “Just as you say, my lord the king: I am yours, along with all that I have.”
5 ARST The messengers told that to Ben Hadad, and he sent them back with another message:“I sent a message to you saying that you must give me all your silver and gold and your wives and your children. BSB BSB: The messengers came back and said, “This is what Ben-hadad says: ‘I have sent to you to demand your silver, your gold, your wives, and your children.
6 ARST But in addition to that, about this time tomorrow, I will send some of my officials to search your palace and the houses of your officials, and to bring to me everything that they see is valuable.” BSB BSB: But about this time tomorrow I will send my servants to search your palace and the houses of your servants. They will seize and carry away all that is precious to you.’”
7 ARST King Ahab summoned all the leaders of Israel, and said to them,“You can see for yourselves that this man is trying to cause much trouble. He sent me a message insisting that I must give him my wives and my children, my silver and my gold, and I agreed to do that.” BSB BSB: Then the king of Israel summoned all the elders of the land and said, “Please take note and see that this man is looking for trouble, for when he demanded my wives, my children, my silver, and my gold, I did not deny him.”
8 ARST The leaders and all the other people said to him,“Do not pay any attention to him! Do not do what he is requesting!” BSB BSB: And the elders and the people all said, “Do not listen to him or consent to his terms.”
9 ARST So Ahab said to Ben Hadad’ s messengers,“Tell the king that I agree to give him the things that he first requested, but I do not agree to allow his officials to take anything that they want from my palace and from the houses of my officials.” So the messengers reported that to King Ben Hadad, and they returned with another message from Ben Hadad. BSB BSB: So Ahab answered the messengers of Ben-hadad, “Tell my lord the king, ‘All that you demanded of your servant the first time I will do, but this thing I cannot do.’” So the messengers departed and relayed the message to Ben-hadad.
10 ARST In that message he said,“We will destroy your city completely, with the result that there will not be enough ashes left for each of my soldiers to have one handful! I hope that the gods will strike me dead if we do not do that!” BSB BSB: Then Ben-hadad sent another message to Ahab: “May the gods deal with me, and ever so severely, if enough dust remains of Samaria for each of my men to have a handful.”
11 ARST King Ahab replied to the messengers,“Tell King Ben Hadad this: No one wins a battle before he fights it, so do not boast before you should.” BSB BSB: And the king of Israel replied, “Tell him: ‘The one putting on his armor should not boast like one taking it off.’”
12 ARST Ben Hadad heard that message while he and the other rulers were drinking wine in their temporary shelters. He told his men to prepare to attack the city. So his men did that. BSB BSB: Ben-hadad received this message while he and the kings were drinking in their tents, and he said to his servants, “Take your positions.” So they stationed themselves against the city.
13 ARST At that moment, a prophet came to King Ahab and said to him,“This is what Yahweh says:‘Do not be at all afraid of the large enemy army that you see! I will enable your army to defeat them today, and you will know that it is I, Yahweh, who has done it.’” BSB BSB: Meanwhile a prophet approached Ahab king of Israel and declared, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Do you see this entire great army? Behold, I will deliver it into your hand this very day, and you will know that I am the LORD.’”
15 ARST So Ahab gathered the young soldiers who were commanded by the district governors. There were 232 of those men. Then he also summoned all the Israelite army. There were only seven thousand soldiers. BSB BSB: So Ahab assembled the young officers of the district governors, and there were 232 men. And after them, he assembled the rest of the Israelite troops, 7,000 in all.
16 ARST They started to attack at noon, while Ben Hadad and the other rulers were getting drunk in their temporary shelters. BSB BSB: They marched out at noon while Ben-hadad and the 32 kings allied with him were in their tents getting drunk.
17 ARST The young soldiers advanced first. Some scouts who had been sent out by Ben Hadad reported to him,“There are men coming out of Samaria”! BSB BSB: And the young officers of the district governors marched out first. Now Ben-hadad had sent out scouts, who reported to him, “Men are marching out of Samaria.”
18 ARST He said,“It does not matter whether they are coming to fight against us or to request for peace. Capture them, but do not kill them!” BSB BSB: “If they have marched out in peace,” he said, “take them alive. Even if they have marched out for war, take them alive.”
19 ARST The young Israelite soldiers went out of the city to attack the Aramean army, and the other soldiers in the Israelite army followed them. BSB BSB: Meanwhile, these young officers of the district governors marched out of the city, with the army behind them,
20 ARST Each Israelite soldier killed an Aramean soldier. The rest of the Aramean army then ran away, and the Israelite soldiers pursued them. But King Ben Hadad escaped riding his horse, along with some other men riding horses. BSB BSB: and each one struck down his opponent. So the Arameans fled, with the Israelites in pursuit. But Ben-hadad king of Aram escaped on horseback with the cavalry.
21 ARST Then the king of Israel went out of the city; he and his soldiers captured all the other Aramean horses and chariots, and also killed a large number of Aramean soldiers. BSB BSB: Then the king of Israel marched out and attacked the horses and chariots, inflicting a great slaughter on the Arameans.
22 ARST Then that same prophet went to King Ahab and said to him,“Go back and prepare your soldiers, and think carefully about what will be necessary for you to do, because the king of Aram will attack with his army again in the springtime of next year.” BSB BSB: Afterward, the prophet approached the king of Israel and said, “Go and strengthen your position, and take note what you must do, for in the spring the king of Aram will come up against you.”
23 ARST After the Aramean army was defeated, Ben Hadad’ s officials said to him,“The gods that the Israelites worship are gods who live in the hills. Samaria is built on a hill, and that is why their soldiers were able to defeat us. But if we fight against them in the plains, we certainly will be able to defeat them. BSB BSB: Meanwhile, the servants of the king of Aram said to him, “Their gods are gods of the hills. That is why they prevailed over us. Instead, we should fight them on the plains; surely then we will prevail.
24 ARST So, this is what you should do: You must remove the thirty- two kings who are leading your troops and replace them with army commanders. BSB BSB: So do this: Dismiss all the kings from their positions and replace them with other officers.
25 ARST Then gather an army like the army that was defeated. Gather an army that has as many horses and chariots as the first army had. Then we will fight the Israelites in the plains, and we will surely defeat them.” Ben Hadad agreed with them, and he did what they suggested. BSB BSB: And you must raise an army like the one you have lost—horse for horse and chariot for chariot—so we can fight the Israelites on the plain, where we will surely prevail.” And the king approved their plan and acted accordingly.
26 ARST In the spring of the following year, he gathered his soldiers and marched with them to the city of Aphek east of the Sea of Galilee, to fight against the Israelite army. BSB BSB: In the spring, Ben-hadad mobilized the Arameans and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel.
27 ARST The Israelite army was also gathered together, and they were given the things that they needed for the battle. Then they marched out and formed two groups facing the Aramean army. Their army was very small. They resembled two small flocks of goats, whereas the Aramean army was very large and spread all over the countryside. BSB BSB: The Israelites also mobilized, gathered supplies, and marched out to meet them. The Israelites camped before them like two small flocks of goats, while the Arameans covered the countryside.
28 ARST A prophet came to King Ahab and said to him,“This is what Yahweh says:‘The Arameans say that I am a god who lives in the hills, and that I am not a god who lives in the valleys. So I will show that they are wrong by enabling your men to defeat this huge army in the valley, and you will know that I, Yahweh, have done it.’” BSB BSB: Then the man of God approached the king of Israel and said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Because the Arameans have said that the LORD is a god of the hills and not of the valleys, I will deliver all this great army into your hand. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’”
29 ARST The two armies stayed in their tents for seven days, in groups that faced each other. Then, on the seventh day, they started fighting. The Israelite army killed 100, 000 Aramean soldiers. BSB BSB: For seven days the armies camped opposite each other, and on the seventh day the battle ensued, and the Israelites struck down the Arameans—a hundred thousand foot soldiers in one day.
30 ARST The other Aramean soldiers ran away into Aphek. Then the wall of the city collapsed and killed twenty- seven thousand more Aramean soldiers. Ben Hadad also escaped into the city and hid in the back room of a house. BSB BSB: The rest of them fled into the city of Aphek, where the wall fell on twenty-seven thousand of the remaining men. Ben-hadad also fled to the city and hid in an inner room.
31 ARST His officials went to him and said,“We have heard a report that the Israelites act mercifully. So allow us to go to the king of Israel, wearing course sacks around our waists and ropes on our heads to indicate that we will be his slaves. Perhaps if we do that, he will allow you to remain alive.” BSB BSB: Then the servants of Ben-hadad said to him, “Look now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful. Let us go out to the king of Israel with sackcloth around our waists and ropes around our heads. Perhaps he will spare your life.”
32 ARST The king permitted them to do that, so they wrapped coarse sacks around their waists and put ropes on their heads, and they went to the king of Israel and said to him,“Ben Hadad, who greatly respects you, says,‘Please do not kill me.’” Ahab replied,“Is he still alive? He is like a brother to me!” BSB BSB: So with sackcloth around their waists and ropes around their heads, they went to the king of Israel and said, “Your servant Ben-hadad says, ‘Please spare my life.’” And the king answered, “Is he still alive? He is my brother.”
33 ARST Ben Hadad’ s officials were trying to find out if Ahab would act mercifully, and when Ahab said“brother,” they were optimistic. So they replied,“Yes, he is like your brother!” Ahab said,“Go and bring him to me.” So they went and brought Ben Hadad to him. When Ben Hadad arrived, Ahab told him to get in the chariot and sit with him. BSB BSB: Now the men were looking for a sign of hope, and they quickly grasped at this word and replied, “Yes, your brother Ben-hadad.” “Go and get him!” said the king. Then Ben-hadad came out, and Ahab had him come up into his chariot.
34 ARST Ben Hadad said to him,“I will give back to you the towns that my father’ s army took from your father. And I will allow you to set up market areas for your merchants in Damascus my capital, just as my father did in Samaria your capital.” Ahab replied,“Because you agree to do that, I will not execute you.” So Ahab made an agreement with Ben Hadad, and allowed him to go home. BSB BSB: Ben-hadad said to him, “I will restore the cities my father took from your father; you may set up your own marketplaces in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria.” “By this treaty I release you,” Ahab replied. So he made a treaty with him and sent him away.
35 ARST Then Yahweh spoke to a member of an association of prophets and told him to request a fellow prophet to strike him. But that man refused to do it. BSB BSB: Meanwhile, by the word of the LORD, one of the sons of the prophets said to his companion, “Strike me, please!” But the man refused to strike him.
36 ARST So the prophet said to him,“Because you refused to obey what Yahweh told you to do, a lion will kill you as soon as you leave me.” And as soon as he left that prophet, a lion suddenly met him and killed him. BSB BSB: Then the prophet said to him, “Because you have not obeyed the voice of the LORD, as soon as you depart from me a lion will kill you.” And when he left, a lion found him and killed him.
37 ARST Then the prophet found another prophet, and said to him,“Strike me!” So that man hit him very hard and injured him. BSB BSB: Then the prophet found another man and said, “Strike me, please!” So the man struck him and wounded him,
38 ARST Then the prophet put a large bandage over his face so that no one would recognize him. Then he went and stood alongside the road, waiting for the king to come by. BSB BSB: and the prophet went and waited on the road for the king, disguising himself with a bandage over his eyes.
39 ARST When the king passed by, the prophet cried out to him, saying“Your Majesty, after I was wounded while I was fighting in a battle, a soldier brought to me one of our enemies who he had captured, and said to me,‘Guard this man! If he escapes, you must pay me thirty- three kilograms of silver; if you do not pay that, you will be executed!’ BSB BSB: As the king passed by, he cried out to the king: “Your servant had marched out into the middle of the battle, when suddenly a man came over with a captive and told me, ‘Guard this man! If he goes missing for any reason, your life will be exchanged for his life, or you will weigh out a talent of silver.’
40 ARST But while I was busy doing other things, the man escaped!” The king of Israel said to him,“That is your problem! You yourself have said that you deserve to be punished.” BSB BSB: But while your servant was busy here and there, the man disappeared.” And the king of Israel said to him, “So shall your judgment be; you have pronounced it on yourself.”
41 ARST The prophet immediately took off the bandage, and the king of Israel recognized that he was one of the prophets. BSB BSB: Then the prophet quickly removed the bandage from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets.
42 ARST The prophet said to him,“This is what Yahweh says:‘You have allowed that man Ben Hadad to escape after I commanded you to be sure to execute him! Since you did not do that, you will be killed instead. And your army will be destroyed because you allowed some of his army to escape!’” BSB BSB: And the prophet said to the king, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Because you have let slip from your hand the man I had devoted to destruction, your life will be exchanged for his life, and your people for his people.’”
43 ARST The king went back home to Samaria, very angry and depressed. BSB BSB: Sullen and angry, the king of Israel went home to Samaria.
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.