|
|
 |
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
War
with Aram |
|
|
 |
| 1 Kings 20:1 |
|
Now Ben-hadad king of Aram gathered all his
army, and there were thirty-two kings with him, and horses and chariots. And he
went up and besieged Samaria and fought against it. |
|
|
|
|
| 1 Kings 20:2 |
|
Then he sent messengers to the city to Ahab
king of Israel and said to him, "Thus says Ben-hadad, |
| |
|
|
| 1 Kings 20:3 |
|
'Your silver and your gold are mine; your most
beautiful wives and children are also mine.'" |
| |
|
|
| 1 Kings 20:4 |
|
The king of Israel replied, "It is according
to your word, my lord, O king; I am yours, and all that I have." |
| |
|
|
| 1 Kings 20:5 |
|
Then the messengers returned and said, "Thus
says Ben-hadad, 'Surely, I sent to you saying, "You shall give me your silver
and your gold and your wives and your children," |
| |
|
|
| 1 Kings 20:6 |
|
but about this time tomorrow I will send my
servants to you, and they will search your house and the houses of your servants;
and whatever is desirable in your eyes, they will take in their hand and carry
away.'" |
| |
|
|
| 1 Kings 20:7 |
|
Then the king of Israel called all the elders
of the land and said, "Please observe and see how this man is looking for trouble;
for he sent to me for my wives and my children and my silver and my gold, and
I did not refuse him." |
|
|
|
| 1 Kings 20:8 |
|
All the elders and all the people said to him,
"Do not listen or consent." |
|
|
|
| 1 Kings 20:9 |
|
So he said to the messengers of Ben-hadad, "Tell
my lord the king, 'All that you sent for to your servant at the first I will do,
but this thing I cannot do.'" And the messengers departed and brought him word
again. |
|
|
|
| 1 Kings 20:10 |
|
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 handfuls for
all the people who follow me." |
|
|
|
| 1 Kings 20:11 |
|
Then the king of Israel replied, "Tell him,
'Let not him who girds on his armor boast like him who takes it off.'" |
|
|
|
| 1 Kings 20:12 |
|
When Ben-hadad heard this message, as he was
drinking with the kings in the temporary shelters, he said to his servants, "Station
yourselves. " So they stationed themselves against the city. |
| |
|
|
| |
|
Ahab
Victorious |
|
|
|
| 1 Kings 20:13 |
|
Now behold, a prophet approached Ahab king of
Israel and said, "Thus says the LORD, 'Have you seen all this great multitude?
Behold, I will deliver them into your hand today, and you shall know that I am
the LORD.'" |
|
|
|
| 1 Kings 20:14 |
|
Ahab said, "By whom?" So he said, "Thus says
the LORD, 'By the young men of the rulers of the provinces.'" Then he said, "Who
shall begin the battle?" And he answered, "You." |
|
|
|
| 1 Kings 20:15 |
|
Then he mustered the young men of the rulers
of the provinces, and there were 232; and after them he mustered all the people,
even all the sons of Israel, 7,000. |
|
|
|
| 1 Kings 20:16 |
|
They went out at noon, while Ben-hadad was drinking
himself drunk in the temporary shelters with the thirty-two kings who helped him. |
|
|
|
| 1 Kings 20:17 |
|
The young men of the rulers of the provinces
went out first; and Ben-hadad sent out and they told him, saying, "Men have come
out from Samaria." |
|
|
|
| 1 Kings 20:18 |
|
Then he said, "If they have come out for peace,
take them alive; or if they have come out for war, take them alive." |
|
|
|
| 1 Kings 20:19 |
|
So these went out from the city, the young men
of the rulers of the provinces, and the army which followed them. |
| |
|
|
| 1 Kings 20:20 |
|
They killed each his man; and the Arameans
fled and Israel pursued them, and Ben-hadad king of Aram escaped on a horse with
horsemen. |
| |
|
|
| 1 Kings 20:21 |
|
The king of Israel went out and struck the horses
and chariots, and killed the Arameans with a great slaughter. |
|
|
|
|
| 1 Kings 20:22 |
|
Then the prophet came near to the king of Israel
and said to him, "Go, strengthen yourself and observe and see what you have to
do; for at the turn of the year the king of Aram will come up against you." |
|
|
|
|
| 1 Kings 20:23 |
|
Now the servants of the king of Aram said to
him, "Their gods are gods of the mountains, therefore they were stronger than
we; but rather let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we will be stronger
than they. |
|
|
|
|
| 1 Kings 20:24 |
|
Do this thing: remove the kings, each from his
place, and put captains in their place, |
|
|
|
|
| 1 Kings 20:25 |
|
and muster an army like the army that you have
lost, horse for horse, and chariot for chariot. Then we will fight against them
in the plain, and surely we will be stronger than they." And he listened to their
voice and did so. |
| |
|
|
| |
|
Another
Aramean War |
|
|
|
|
| 1 Kings 20:26 |
|
At the turn of the year, Ben-hadad mustered
the Arameans and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel. |
|
|
|
|
| 1 Kings 20:27 |
|
The sons of Israel were mustered and were provisioned
and went to meet them; and the sons of Israel camped before them like two little
flocks of goats, but the Arameans filled the country. |
|
|
|
|
| 1 Kings 20:28 |
|
Then a man of God came near and spoke to the
king of Israel and said, "Thus says the LORD, 'Because the Arameans have said,
"The LORD is a god of the mountains, but He is not a god of the valleys," therefore
I will give all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I
am the LORD.'" |
|
|
|
|
| 1 Kings 20:29 |
|
So they camped one over against the other seven
days. And on the seventh day the battle was joined, and the sons of Israel killed
of the Arameans 100,000 foot soldiers in one day. |
|
|
|
|
| 1 Kings 20:30 |
|
But the rest fled to Aphek into the city, and
the wall fell on 27,000 men who were left. And Ben-hadad fled and came into the
city into an inner chamber. |
|
|
|
|
| 1 Kings 20:31 |
|
His servants said to him, "Behold now, we have
heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings, please let us
put sackcloth on our loins and ropes on our heads, and go out to the king of Israel;
perhaps he will save your life." |
|
|
|
|
| 1 Kings 20:32 |
|
So they girded sackcloth on their loins and
put 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." |
|
|
|
|
| 1 Kings 20:33 |
|
Now the men took this as an omen, and quickly
catching his word said, "Your brother Ben-hadad." Then he said, "Go, bring him."
Then Ben-hadad came out to him, and he took him up into the chariot. |
|
|
|
|
| 1 Kings 20:34 |
|
Ben-hadad said to him, "The cities which my
father took from your father I will restore, and you shall make streets for yourself
in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria." Ahab said, "And I will let you go
with this covenant." So he made a covenant with him and let him go. |
|
|
|
|
| 1 Kings 20:35 |
|
Now a certain man of the sons of the prophets
said to another by the word of the LORD, "Please strike me." But the man refused
to strike him. |
|
|
|
|
| 1 Kings 20:36 |
|
Then he said to him, "Because you have not listened
to the voice of the LORD, behold, as soon as you have departed from me, a lion
will kill you." And as soon as he had departed from him a lion found him and killed
him. |
|
|
|
|
| 1 Kings 20:37 |
|
Then he found another man and said, "Please
strike me." And the man struck him, wounding him. |
|
|
|
|
| 1 Kings 20:38 |
|
So the prophet departed and waited for the
king by the way, and disguised himself with a bandage over his eyes. |
|
|
|
|
| 1 Kings 20:39 |
|
As the king passed by, he cried to the king
and said, "Your servant went out into the midst of the battle; and behold, a man
turned aside and brought a man to me and said, 'Guard this man; if for any reason
he is missing, then your life shall be for his life, or else you shall pay a talent
of silver.' |
|
|
|
|
| 1 Kings 20:40 |
|
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." |
|
|
|
|
| 1 Kings 20:41 |
|
Then he hastily took the bandage away from his
eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him that he was of the prophets. |
|
|
|
|
| 1 Kings 20:42 |
|
He said to him, "Thus says the LORD, 'Because
you have let go out of your hand the man whom I had devoted to destruction, therefore
your life shall go for his life, and your people for his people.'" |
|
|
|
|
| 1 Kings 20:43 |
|
So the king of Israel went to his house sullen
and vexed, and came to Samaria. |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
