Ben-hadad Attacks Samaria 1 Brenton And the son of Ader gathered all his forces, and went up and besieged Samaria, he and thirty-two kings with him, and all his horse and chariots: and they went up and besieged Samaria, and fought against 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 Brenton And he sent into the city to Achaab king of Israel, and said to him, Thus says the son of Ader, BSB BSB: Then he sent messengers into the city to Ahab king of Israel,
3 Brenton Thy silver and thy gold are mine, and thy wives and thy children are mine. BSB BSB: saying, “This is what Ben-hadad says: ‘Your silver and gold are mine, and your best wives and children are mine!’”
4 Brenton And the king of Israel answered and said, As thou hast said, my lord, O king, I am thine, and all mine also . 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 Brenton And the messengers came again, and said, Thus says the son of Ader, I sent to thee, saying, Thou shalt give me thy silver and thy gold, and thy wives and thy 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 Brenton For at this time to-morrow I will send my servants to thee, and they shall search thy house, and the houses of thy servants, and it shall be that all the desirable objects of their eyes on which they shall lay their hands, they shall even take them . 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 Brenton And the king of Israel called all the elders of the land, and said, Take notice now and consider, that this man seeks mischief: for he has sent to me concerning my wives, and concerning my sons, and concerning my daughters: I have not kept back from him my silver and my gold. 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 Brenton And the elders and all the people said to him, Hearken not, and consent not. BSB BSB: And the elders and the people all said, “Do not listen to him or consent to his terms.”
9 Brenton And he said to the messengers of the son of Ader, Say to your master, All things that thou hast sent to thy servant about at first I will do; but this thing I shall not be able to do. And the men departed, and carried back the answer to him. 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 Brenton And the son of Ader sent to him, saying, So do God to me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for foxes to all the people, even my infantry. 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 Brenton And the king of Israel answered and said, Let it be sufficient; let not the humpbacked boast as he that is upright. 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 Brenton And it came to pass when he returned him this answer, he and all the kings with him were drinking in tents: and he said to his servants, Form a trench. And they made a trench against the city. 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.
Ahab Defeats Ben-hadad 13 Brenton And, behold, a prophet came to Achaab king of Israel, and said, Thus saith the Lord, Hast thou seen this great multitude? behold, I give it this day into thine hands; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord. 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 Brenton And Achaab numbered the young men the heads of the districts, and they were two hundred and thirty: and afterwards he numbered the people, even every man fit for war, seven thousand. 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 Brenton And he went forth at noon, and the son of Ader was drinking and getting drunk in Socchoth, he and the kings, even thirty and two kings, his allies. BSB BSB: They marched out at noon while Ben-hadad and the 32 kings allied with him were in their tents getting drunk.
17 Brenton And the young men the heads of the districts went forth first; and they send and report to the king of Syria, saying, There are men come forth 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 Brenton And he said to them, If they come forth peaceably, take them alive; and if they come forth to war, take them alive: 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 Brenton and let not the young men the heads of the districts go forth of the city. And the force that was behind them BSB BSB: Meanwhile, these young officers of the district governors marched out of the city, with the army behind them,
20 Brenton smote each one the man next to him; and each one a second time smote the man next to him: and Syria fled, and Israel pursued them; and the son of Ader, even the king of Syria, escapes on the horse of a horseman. 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 Brenton And the king of Israel went forth, and took all the horses and the chariots, and smote the enemy with a great slaughter in Syria. BSB BSB: Then the king of Israel marched out and attacked the horses and chariots, inflicting a great slaughter on the Arameans.
22 Brenton And the prophet came to the king of Israel, and said, Strengthen thyself, and observe, and see what thou shalt do; for at the return of the year the son of Ader king of Syria comes up against thee. 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 Brenton And the servants of the king of Syria, even they said, The God of Israel is a God of mountains, and not a God of valleys; therefore has he prevailed against us: but if we should fight against them in the plain, verily we shall prevail against 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 Brenton And do thou this thing: Send away the kings, each one to his place, and set princes in their stead. BSB BSB: So do this: Dismiss all the kings from their positions and replace them with other officers.
25 Brenton And we will give thee another army according to the army that was destroyed, and cavalry according to the cavalry, and chariots according to the chariots, and we will fight against them in the plain, and we shall prevail against them. And he hearkened to their voice, and did so. 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.
Another War with Ben-hadad 26 Brenton And it came to pass at the return of the year, that the son of Ader reviewed Syria, and went up to Apheca to war against Israel. BSB BSB: In the spring, Ben-hadad mobilized the Arameans and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel.
27 Brenton And the children of Israel were numbered, and came to meet them: and Israel encamped before them as two little flocks of goats, but Syria filled the land. 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 Brenton And there came the man of God, and said to the king of Israel, Thus saith the Lord, Because Syria has said, The Lord God of Israel is a God of the hills, and he is not a God of the valleys, therefore will I give this great army into thy hand, and thou shalt know that I am the Lord. 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 Brenton And they encamp one over against the other before them seven days. And it came to pass on the seventh day that the battle drew on, and Israel smote Syria, even a hundred thousand footmen in one day. 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 Brenton And the rest fled to Apheca, into the city; and the wall fell upon twenty-seven thousand men that were left: and the son of Ader fled, and entered into an inner chamber, into a closet. 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.
Ahab Spares Ben-hadad 31 Brenton And he said to his servants, I know that the kings of Israel are merciful kings: let us now put sackcloth upon our loins, and ropes upon our heads, and let us go forth to the king of Israel, if by any means he will save our souls 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 Brenton So they girt sackcloth upon their loins, and put ropes upon their heads, and said to the king of Israel, Thy servant the son of Ader says, Let our souls live, I pray thee. And he said, Does he yet live? He is my brother. 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 Brenton And the men divined, and offered drink-offerings; and they caught the word out of his mouth, and said, Thy brother the son of Ader. And he said, Go ye in and fetch him. And the son of Ader went out to him, and they cause him to go up to him into the chariot. 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 Brenton And he said to him, The cities which my father took from thy father I will restore to thee; and thou shalt make streets for thyself in Damascus, as my father made streets in Samaria; and I will let thee go with a covenant. And he made a covenant with him, and let him go. 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.
A Prophet Reproves Ahab 35 Brenton And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his neighbour by the word of the Lord, Smite me, I pray. And the man would not smite him. 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 Brenton And he said to him, Because thou hast not hearkened to the voice of the Lord, therefore, behold, as thou departest from me, a lion shall smite thee: and he departed from him, and a lion found him, and smote 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 Brenton And he finds another man, and says, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man smote him, and in smiting wounded him . BSB BSB: Then the prophet found another man and said, “Strike me, please!” So the man struck him and wounded him,
38 Brenton And the prophet went and stood before the king of Israel by the way, and bound his eyes with a bandage. BSB BSB: and the prophet went and waited on the road for the king, disguising himself with a bandage over his eyes.
39 Brenton And it came to pass as the king passed by, that he cried aloud to the king, and said, Thy servant went out to war, and, behold, a man brought another man to me, and said to me, Keep this man; and if he should by any means escape, then thy life shall go for his life, or thou shalt pay a talent of silver. 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 Brenton And it came to pass, that thy servant looked round this way and that way, and the man was gone. And the king of Israel said to him, Behold, thou hast also destroyed snares set for me. 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 Brenton And he hasted, and took away the bandage from his eyes; and the king of Israel recognised him, 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 Brenton And he said to him, Thus saith the Lord, Because thou hast suffered to escape out of thine hand a man appointed to destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people. 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 Brenton And the king of Israel departed confounded and discouraged, and came to Samaria. 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.