1 Kings 20:15-37

¹⁵And he inspecteth the young men of the heads of the provinces, and they are two hundred, two and thirty, and after them he hath inspecteth the whole of the people, all the sons of Israel, seven thousand,

¹⁶and they go out at noon, and Ben-Hadad is drinking — drunk in the booths, he and the kings, the thirty and two kings, helping him.

¹⁷And the young men of the heads of the provinces go out at the first, and Ben-Hadad sendeth, and they declare to him, saying, 'Men have come out of Samaria.'

¹⁸And he saith, 'If for peace they have come out — catch them alive; and if for battle they have come out — alive catch them.'

¹⁹And these have gone out of the city — the young men of the heads of the provinces — and the force that is after them,

²⁰and smite each his man, and Aram fleeth, and Israel pursueth them, and Ben-Hadad king of Aram escapeth on a horse, and the horsemen;

²¹and the king of Israel goeth out, and smiteth the horses, and the charioteers, and hath smitten among the Aramaeans a great smiting.

²²And the prophet cometh nigh unto the king of Israel, and saith to him, 'Go, strengthen thyself, and know and see that which thou dost, for at the turn of the year the king of Aram is coming up against thee.'

²³And the servants of the king of Aram said unto him, 'Gods of hills are their gods, therefore they were stronger than we; and yet, we fight with them in the plain — are we not stronger than they?

²⁴'And this thing do thou: turn aside the kings each out of his place, and set captains in their stead;

²⁵and thou, number to thee a force as the force that is fallen from thee, and horse for horse, and chariot for chariot, and we fight with them in the plain; are we not stronger than they?' and he hearkeneth to their voice, and doth so.

²⁶And it cometh to pass at the turn of the year, that Ben-Hadad inspecteth the Aramaeans, and goeth up to Aphek, to battle with Israel,

²⁷and the sons of Israel have been inspected, and supported, and go to meet them, and the sons of Israel encamp before them, like two flocks of goats, and the Aramaeans have filled the land.

²⁸And there cometh nigh a man of God, and speaketh unto the king of Israel, and saith, 'Thus said Jehovah, Because that the Aramaeans have said, God of hills is Jehovah, and He is not God of valleys — I have given the whole of this great multitude into thy hand, and ye have known that I am Jehovah.'

²⁹And they encamp one over-against another seven days, and it cometh to pass on the seventh day, that the battle draweth near, and the sons of Israel smite Aram — a hundred thousand footmen in one day.

³⁰And those left flee to Aphek, unto the city, and the wall falleth on twenty and seven chief men who are left, and Ben-Hadad hath fled, and cometh in unto the city, into the innermost part.

³¹And his servants say unto him, 'Lo, we pray thee, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel — that they are kind kings; let us put, we pray thee, sackcloth on our loins, and ropes on our heads, and we go out unto the king of Israel; it may be he doth keep thee alive.'

³²And they gird sackcloth on their loins, and ropes are on their heads, and they come in unto the king of Israel, and say, 'Thy servant Ben-Hadad hath said, Let me live, I pray thee;' and he saith, 'Is he yet alive? he is my brother.'

³³And the men observe diligently, and hasten, and catch it from him, and say, 'Thy brother Ben-Hadad;' and he saith, 'Go ye in, bring him;' and Ben-Hadad cometh out unto him, and he causeth him to come up on the chariot.

³⁴And he saith unto him, 'The cities that my father took from thy father, I give back, and streets thou dost make for thee in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria;' — 'and I, with a covenant, send thee away;' and he maketh with him a covenant, and sendeth him away.

³⁵And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said unto his neighbour by the word of Jehovah, 'Smite me, I pray thee;' and the man refuseth to smite him,

³⁶and he saith to him, 'Because that thou hast not hearkened to the voice of Jehovah, lo, thou art going from me, and the lion hath smitten thee;' and he goeth from him, and the lion findeth him, and smiteth him.

³⁷And he findeth another man, and saith, 'Smite me, I pray thee;' and the man smiteth him, smiting and wounding,