1Now Ben-Hadad king of Aram gathered all his army together—thirty-two kings were with him, along with horses and chariots—and he went up and laid siege to Samaria and fought against it.
2He sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel, into the city,
3and said to him, “Thus says Ben-Hadad: Your silver and your gold are mine, and your wives and your best children are mine.”
4The king of Israel answered and said, “As you say, my lord the king: I am yours, and all that I have.”
5The messengers returned and said, “Thus says Ben-Hadad: I sent word to you saying, ‘Your silver and your gold and your wives and your children you shall give to me,’
6but about this time tomorrow I will send my servants to you, and they will search your house and the houses of your servants, and it will be that everything precious in your eyes they will lay hold of and take away.”
7Then the king of Israel summoned all the elders of the land and said, “Know now and see that this man is seeking trouble, for he sent to me for my wives and my children and my silver and my gold, and I did not refuse him.”
8And all the elders and all the people said to him, “Do not listen, and do not consent.”
9So he said to the messengers of Ben-Hadad, “Say to my lord the king: All that you sent to your servant at the first I will do, but this thing I am not able to do.” And the messengers went and brought word back to him.
10Then Ben-Hadad sent to him and said, “May the gods do so to me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria will suffice for the handfuls of all the people who follow me!”
11The king of Israel answered and said, “Tell him: Let not the one who girds on his armor boast like the one who takes it off.”
12When he heard this word, while he was drinking, he and the kings in the booths, he said to his servants, “Take your positions!” And they took their positions against the city.
13And behold, a certain prophet approached Ahab king of Israel and said, “Thus says Yahweh: Have you seen all this great multitude? Behold, I am giving it into your hand this day, and you shall know that I am Yahweh.”
14Ahab said, “By whom?” And he said, “Thus says Yahweh: By the young men of the officials of the provinces.” Then he said, “Who shall open the battle?” And he said, “You.”
15So he mustered the young men of the officials of the provinces, and they were two hundred and thirty-two; and after them he mustered all the people, all the sons of Israel, seven thousand.
16They went out at noon, while Ben-Hadad was drinking himself drunk in the booths, he and the thirty-two kings who were helping him.
17The young men of the officials of the provinces went out first, and Ben-Hadad sent out scouts, and they reported to him, saying, “Men have come out from Samaria.”
18He said, “If they have come out for peace, seize them alive; and if they have come out for war, seize them alive.”
19So these went out from the city, the young men of the officials of the provinces, and the army that followed them.
20And each one struck down his man, and Aram fled, and Israel pursued them; but Ben-Hadad king of Aram escaped on a horse with the horsemen.
21Then the king of Israel went out and struck the horses and the chariots, and struck Aram with a great blow.
22Then the prophet approached the king of Israel and said to him, “Go, strengthen yourself, and take note and see what you must do, for at the turn of the year the king of Aram will come up against you.”
23Now the servants of the king of Aram said to him, “Their gods are gods of the hills; that is why they were stronger than we. But let us fight against them in the plain—surely we will be stronger than they.”
24And do this thing: Remove the kings, each from his place, and put governors in their places,
25and you, count for yourself an army like the army you lost, horse for horse and chariot for chariot; then let us fight against them in the plain—surely we will be stronger than they.” And he listened to their voice and did so.
26And it happened at the turn of the year that Ben-Hadad mustered Aram and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel.
27And the sons of Israel were mustered and provisioned, and they went to meet them; and the sons of Israel encamped opposite them like two little flocks of goats, while the Arameans filled the land.
28Then the man of God approached and spoke to the king of Israel and said, “Thus says Yahweh: Because Aram has said, ‘Yahweh is a god of the hills and not a god of the valleys,’ I will give all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am Yahweh.”
29And they encamped opposite one another for seven days. And on the seventh day the battle was joined, and the sons of Israel struck down of Aram a hundred thousand foot soldiers in one day.
30And the rest fled to Aphek, into the city, and the wall fell on twenty-seven thousand men who were left. And Ben-Hadad fled and came into the city, into an inner chamber.
31And his servants said to him, “Look now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings. Let us put sackcloth on our waists and ropes on our heads, and go out to the king of Israel; perhaps he will spare your life.”
32So they girded sackcloth on their waists and ropes on their heads and came to the king of Israel and said, “Your servant Ben-hadad says, ‘Please let me live.’” And he said, “Is he still alive? He is my brother.”
33Now the men were watching for an omen, and they quickly caught at his word and said, “Your brother Ben-hadad.” And he said, “Go, bring him.” Then Ben-hadad came out to him, and he had him come up into the chariot.
34And he said to him, “The cities that my father took from your father I will restore, and you may set up markets for yourself in Damascus, as my father set them up in Samaria.” “And I, on these terms of a covenant, will let you go.” So he made a covenant with him and let him go.
35Now a certain man from the sons of the prophets said to his companion by the word of Yahweh, “Strike me, please.” But the man refused to strike him.
36Then he said to him, “Because you have not obeyed the voice of Yahweh, behold, as soon as you leave me, a lion will strike you down.” And when he departed from beside him, the lion found him and struck him down.
37Then he found another man and said, “Strike me, please.” And the man struck him, striking and wounding him.
38Then the prophet went and stationed himself for the king on the road, and he disguised himself with a bandage over his eyes.
39And as the king was passing by, he cried out to the king and said, “Your servant went out into the thick of the battle, and behold, a man turned aside and brought a man to me and said, ‘Guard this man; if he is ever missing, then your life shall be for his life, or you shall weigh out a talent of silver.’
40But while your servant was busy here and there, he was gone.” And the king of Israel said to him, “So shall your judgment be; you yourself have decided it.”
41Then he quickly removed the bandage from over his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him, that he was one of the prophets.
42And he said to him, “Thus says Yahweh: ‘Because you have let go from your hand the man I had devoted to destruction, your life shall be for his life, and your people for his people.’”
43So the king of Israel went to his house, sullen and angry, and came to Samaria.
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