⁹ So he said to Ben-hadad’s messengers, “Say to my lord the king, ‘Everything you demanded of your servant the first time, I will do, but this thing I cannot do.’” So the messengers left and took word back to him.

¹⁰ Then Ben-hadad sent messengers to him and said, “May the gods punish me and do so severely^(A) if Samaria’s dust^(B) amounts to a handful for each of the people who follow me.”

¹¹ The king of Israel answered, “Say this: ‘Don’t let the one who puts on his armor boast^(C) like the one who takes it off.’”