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1 Kings 20
1599 Geneva Bible
1 Kings 20
1599 Geneva Bible
20 1 Samaria is besieged. 13 The Lord promiseth the victory to Ahab by a Prophet. 31 The King of Israel made peace with Ben-Hadad, and is reproved therefore by the Prophet.
1 Then Ben-Hadad the king of [a]Aram assembled all his army, and two and thirty [b]kings with him, with horses, and chariots, and went up and besieged [c]Samaria, and fought against it.
2 And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel, into the city,
3 And said unto him, Thus saith Ben-Hadad, Thy silver and thy gold is mine: also thy women, and thy fair children are mine.
4 And the king of Israel answered, and said, My lord king, according to thy saying, [d]I am thine, and all that I have.
5 And when the messengers came again, they said, Thus commandeth Ben-Hadad, and saith, When I shall send unto thee, and command, thou shalt deliver me thy silver and thy gold, and thy women, and thy children,
6 [e]Or else I will send my servants unto thee by tomorrow this time, and they shall search thine house, and the houses of thy servants: and whatsoever is pleasant in thine eyes, they shall take it in their hands, and bring it away.
7 Then the King of Israel sent for all the Elders of the land, and said, Take heed, I pray you, and see how he 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.
8 And all the Elders, and all the people said to him, Hearken [f]not unto him, nor consent.
9 Wherefore 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 time, that I will do, but this thing I may not do. And the messengers departed, and brought him an answer.
10 And Ben-Hadad sent unto him, and said, The gods do so to me and more also, if the [g]dust of Samaria be enough to all the people that follow me, for every man an handful.
11 And the king of Israel answered, and said, Tell him, Let not him that girdeth his harness, boast himself, as he that [h]putteth it off.
12 And when he heard that tidings, as he was with the kings drinking in the pavilions, he said unto the servants, [i]Bring forth your engines. And they set them against the city.
13 ¶ And behold, there came a Prophet unto Ahab king of Israel, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Hast thou seen all this great multitude? behold, I will deliver it into thine hand this day, that thou mayest know, [j]that I am the Lord.
14 And Ahab said, By whom? and he said, Thus saith the Lord, By the servants of the princes of the provinces. He said again, Who shall order the battle? and he answered, Thou.
15 ¶ Then he numbered the servants of the princes of the provinces, and they were two hundred, two and thirty: and after them he numbered the whole people of all the children of Israel, even seven thousand.
16 And they went out at noon: but Ben-Hadad did drink till he was drunken in the tents, both he and the kings: for two and thirty kings helped him.
17 So the [k]servants of the princes of the provinces went out first: and Ben-Hadad sent out, and they showed him, saying, There are men come out of Samaria.
18 And he said, Whether they be come out for peace, take them alive: or whether they be come out to fight, take them yet alive.
19 So they came out of the city, to wit, the servants of the princes of the provinces, and the host which followed them.
20 And they slew everyone his [l]enemy: and the [m]Aramites fled, and Israel pursued them: but Ben-Hadad the king of Aram escaped on an horse with his [n]horsemen.
21 And the king of Israel went out, and smote the horses and chariots, and with a great slaughter slew the Aramites.
22 (For there had come a Prophet to the king of Israel, and had said unto him, Go, be of good courage, and consider, and take heed what thou doest: for when the year is gone about, the king of Aram will come up against thee.)
23 ¶ Then the servants of the king of Aram said unto him, Their [o]gods are gods of the mountains, and therefore they overcame us: but let us fight against them in the plain, and doubtless we shall overcome them.
24 And this do, Take the kings away, everyone out of his place, and place captains for them.
25 And number thyself an army, like the army that thou hast lost, with such horses, and such chariots, and we will fight against them in the plain, and doubtless we shall overcome them: and he hearkened unto their voice, and did so.
26 And after the year was gone about, Ben-Hadad numbered the Aramites, and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel.
27 And the children of Israel were numbered, and were all [p]assembled, and went against them, and the children of Israel pitched before them like two little flocks of kids: but the Aramites filled the country.
28 And there came a man of God, and spake unto the king of Israel, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Because the Aramites have said, The Lord is the God of the mountains, and not God of the valleys, therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thine hand, and ye shall know that [q]I am the Lord.
29 And they pitched one over against the other seven days, and in the seventh day the battle was joined: and the children of Israel slew of the Aramites an hundred thousand footmen in one day.
30 But the rest fled to Aphek into the city: and there fell a wall upon seven and twenty thousand men that were left: and Ben-Hadad fled into the city, and came into [r]a secret chamber.
31 ¶ And his servants said unto him, Behold now, we have heard say that the Kings of the house of Israel are merciful Kings: we pray thee, let us put sackcloth about our [s]loins, and ropes about our heads, and go out to the King of Israel: it may be that he will save thy life.
32 Then they girded sackcloth about their loins, and put ropes about 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.
33 Now the men took diligent heed, [t]if they could catch anything of him, and made haste, and said, Thy brother [u]Ben-Hadad. And he said, Go, bring him. So Ben-Hadad came out unto him, and he caused him to come up into the chariot.
34 And 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 [v]Damascus, as my father did in Samaria. Then said Ahab, I will let thee go with this covenant. So he made a covenant with him, and let him go.
35 ¶ Then a certain man of the [w]children of the Prophets said unto his neighbor by the commandment of the Lord, [x]Smite me, I pray thee. But the man refused to smite him.
36 Then said he unto him, Because thou hast not obeyed the voice of the Lord, behold, as soon as thou art departed from me, a lion shall [y]slay thee. So when he was departed from him, a lion found him, and slew him.
37 Then he found another man, and said, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man smote him, and in smiting wounded him.
38 So the Prophet departed, and waited for the King by the way, and disguised himself with ashes upon his face.
39 And when the King came by, he cried unto the King, and said, [z]Thy servant went into the midst of the battle, and behold, there went away a man, whom another man brought unto me, and said, Keep this man: if he be lost, and want, thy life shall go for his life, or else thou shalt pay a talent of silver.
40 And as thy servant had here and there to do, he was gone: And the King of Israel said unto him, So shall thy judgment be: thou hast given sentence.
41 And he hasted, and took the ashes away from his face: and the King of Israel knew him that he was of the Prophets:
42 And he said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, (A)Because thou hast let go out of thine hands a man whom I appointed to die, thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people.
43 And the King of Israel went to his house heavy and in displeasure, and came to [aa]Samaria.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 20:1 Or, Syria
- 1 Kings 20:1 That is, governors and rulers of provinces.
- 1 Kings 20:1 Or, Shomeron.
- 1 Kings 20:4 I am content to obey and pay tribute.
- 1 Kings 20:6 He would not accept his answer except he did out of hand deliver whatsoever he should ask, for he sought an occasion how to make war against him.
- 1 Kings 20:8 They thought it their duties rather to venture their lives, than to grant to that thing which was not lawful, only to satisfy the lust of a tyrant.
- 1 Kings 20:10 Much less shall there be found any prey that is worth anything, when they shall be so many.
- 1 Kings 20:11 Boast not before the victory be gotten.
- 1 Kings 20:12 Or, put yourselves in order.
- 1 Kings 20:13 Before God went about with signs and miracles to pull Ahab from his impiety, and now again with wonderful victories.
- 1 Kings 20:17 That is, young men trained in the service of princes.
- 1 Kings 20:20 Hebrew, man.
- 1 Kings 20:20 Or, Syrians.
- 1 Kings 20:20 Which them that were appointed for the preservation of his person.
- 1 Kings 20:23 Thus the wicked blaspheme God in their fury, whom notwithstanding he suffereth not unpunished.
- 1 Kings 20:27 All they, which were in the battle of the former year, verse 15.
- 1 Kings 20:28 Who am of like power in the valley, as I am on the hills, and can as well destroy a multitude with few as with many.
- 1 Kings 20:30 Hebrew, from chamber, to chamber.
- 1 Kings 20:31 In sign of submission, and that we have deserved death, if he will punish us with rigor.
- 1 Kings 20:33 Or, and caught it of him.
- 1 Kings 20:33 He is alive.
- 1 Kings 20:34 Thou shalt appoint in my chief city what thou wilt, and I will obey thee.
- 1 Kings 20:35 Or, of the disciples.
- 1 Kings 20:35 By this external sign he would more lively touch the king’s heart.
- 1 Kings 20:36 Because thou hast transgressed the commandment of the Lord.
- 1 Kings 20:39 By this parable he maketh Ahab condemn himself, who made a covenant with God’s enemy, and let him escape, whom God had appointed to be slain.
- 1 Kings 20:43 Or, Shomeron.
1 Kings 20
New International Version
1 Kings 20
New International Version
Ben-Hadad Attacks Samaria
20 Now Ben-Hadad(A) king of Aram mustered his entire army. Accompanied by thirty-two kings with their horses and chariots, he went up and besieged Samaria(B) and attacked it. 2 He sent messengers into the city to Ahab king of Israel, saying, “This is what Ben-Hadad says: 3 ‘Your silver and gold are mine, and the best of your wives and children are mine.’”
4 The king of Israel answered, “Just as you say, my lord the king. I and all I have are yours.”
5 The messengers came again and said, “This is what Ben-Hadad says: ‘I sent to demand your silver and gold, your wives and your children. 6 But about this time tomorrow I am going to send my officials to search your palace and the houses of your officials. They will seize everything you value and carry it away.’”
7 The king of Israel summoned all the elders(C) of the land and said to them, “See how this man is looking for trouble!(D) When he sent for my wives and my children, my silver and my gold, I did not refuse him.”
8 The elders and the people all answered, “Don’t listen to him or agree to his demands.”
9 So he replied to Ben-Hadad’s messengers, “Tell my lord the king, ‘Your servant will do all you demanded the first time, but this demand I cannot meet.’” They left and took the answer back to Ben-Hadad.
10 Then Ben-Hadad sent another message to Ahab: “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if enough dust(E) remains in Samaria to give each of my men a handful.”
11 The king of Israel answered, “Tell him: ‘One who puts on his armor should not boast(F) like one who takes it off.’”
12 Ben-Hadad heard this message while he and the kings were drinking(G) in their tents,[a] and he ordered his men: “Prepare to attack.” So they prepared to attack the city.
Ahab Defeats Ben-Hadad
13 Meanwhile a prophet(H) came to Ahab king of Israel and announced, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Do you see this vast army? I will give it into your hand today, and then you will know(I) that I am the Lord.’”
14 “But who will do this?” asked Ahab.
The prophet replied, “This is what the Lord says: ‘The junior officers under the provincial commanders will do it.’”
“And who will start(J) the battle?” he asked.
The prophet answered, “You will.”
15 So Ahab summoned the 232 junior officers under the provincial commanders. Then he assembled the rest of the Israelites, 7,000 in all. 16 They set out at noon while Ben-Hadad and the 32 kings allied with him were in their tents getting drunk.(K) 17 The junior officers under the provincial commanders went out first.
Now Ben-Hadad had dispatched scouts, who reported, “Men are advancing from Samaria.”
18 He said, “If they have come out for peace, take them alive; if they have come out for war, take them alive.”
19 The junior officers under the provincial commanders marched out of the city with the army behind them 20 and each one struck down his opponent. At that, the Arameans fled, with the Israelites in pursuit. But Ben-Hadad king of Aram escaped on horseback with some of his horsemen. 21 The king of Israel advanced and overpowered the horses and chariots and inflicted heavy losses on the Arameans.
22 Afterward, the prophet(L) came to the king of Israel and said, “Strengthen your position and see what must be done, because next spring(M) the king of Aram will attack you again.”
23 Meanwhile, the officials of the king of Aram advised him, “Their gods are gods(N) of the hills. That is why they were too strong for us. But if we fight them on the plains, surely we will be stronger than they. 24 Do this: Remove all the kings from their commands and replace them with other officers. 25 You must also raise an army like the one you lost—horse for horse and chariot for chariot—so we can fight Israel on the plains. Then surely we will be stronger than they.” He agreed with them and acted accordingly.
26 The next spring(O) Ben-Hadad mustered the Arameans and went up to Aphek(P) to fight against Israel. 27 When the Israelites were also mustered and given provisions, they marched out to meet them. The Israelites camped opposite them like two small flocks of goats, while the Arameans covered the countryside.(Q)
28 The man of God came up and told the king of Israel, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Because the Arameans think the Lord is a god of the hills and not a god(R) of the valleys, I will deliver this vast army into your hands, and you will know(S) that I am the Lord.’”
29 For seven days they camped opposite each other, and on the seventh day the battle was joined. The Israelites inflicted a hundred thousand casualties on the Aramean foot soldiers in one day. 30 The rest of them escaped to the city of Aphek,(T) where the wall collapsed(U) on twenty-seven thousand of them. And Ben-Hadad fled to the city and hid(V) in an inner room.
31 His officials said to him, “Look, we have heard that the kings of Israel are merciful.(W) Let us go to the king of Israel with sackcloth(X) around our waists and ropes around our heads. Perhaps he will spare your life.”
32 Wearing sackcloth around their waists and ropes around 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.”
33 The men took this as a good sign and were quick to pick up his word. “Yes, your brother Ben-Hadad!” they said.
“Go and get him,” the king said. When Ben-Hadad came out, Ahab had him come up into his chariot.
34 “I will return the cities(Y) my father took from your father,” Ben-Hadad(Z) offered. “You may set up your own market areas(AA) in Damascus,(AB) as my father did in Samaria.”
Ahab said, “On the basis of a treaty(AC) I will set you free.” So he made a treaty with him, and let him go.
A Prophet Condemns Ahab
35 By the word of the Lord one of the company of the prophets(AD) said to his companion, “Strike me with your weapon,” but he refused.(AE)
36 So the prophet said, “Because you have not obeyed the Lord, as soon as you leave me a lion(AF) will kill you.” And after the man went away, a lion found him and killed him.
37 The prophet found another man and said, “Strike me, please.” So the man struck him and wounded him. 38 Then the prophet went and stood by the road waiting for the king. He disguised himself with his headband down over his eyes. 39 As the king passed by, the prophet called out to him, “Your servant went into the thick of the battle, and someone came to me with a captive and said, ‘Guard this man. If he is missing, it will be your life for his life,(AG) or you must pay a talent[b] of silver.’ 40 While your servant was busy here and there, the man disappeared.”
“That is your sentence,”(AH) the king of Israel said. “You have pronounced it yourself.”
41 Then the prophet quickly removed the headband from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets. 42 He said to the king, “This is what the Lord says: ‘You(AI) have set free a man I had determined should die.[c](AJ) Therefore it is your life for his life,(AK) your people for his people.’” 43 Sullen and angry,(AL) the king of Israel went to his palace in Samaria.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 20:12 Or in Sukkoth; also in verse 16
- 1 Kings 20:39 That is, about 75 pounds or about 34 kilograms
- 1 Kings 20:42 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
1599 Geneva Bible (GNV) 
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