Kings III 21:5-29

⁵And the messengers came again, and said, Thus says the son of Ader, I sent to thee, saying, Thou shalt give me thy silver and thy gold, and thy wives and thy children.

⁶For at this time to-morrow I will send my servants to thee, and they shall search thy house, and the houses of thy servants, and it shall be that all the desirable objects of their eyes on which they shall lay their hands, they shall even take them.

⁷And the king of Israel called all the elders of the land, and said, Take notice now and consider, that this man seeks mischief: for he has sent to me concerning my wives, and concerning my sons, and concerning my daughters: I have not kept back from him my silver and my gold.

⁸And the elders and all the people said to him, Hearken not, and consent not.

⁹And he said to the messengers of the son of Ader, Say to your master, All things that thou hast sent to thy servant about at first I will do; but this thing I shall not be able to do. And the men departed, and carried back the answer to him.

¹⁰And the son of Ader sent to him, saying, So do God to me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for foxes to all the people, even my infantry.

¹¹And the king of Israel answered and said, Let it be sufficient; let not the humpbacked boast as he that is upright.

¹²And it came to pass when he returned him this answer, he and all the kings with him were drinking in tents: and he said to his servants, Form a trench. And they made a trench against the city.

¹³And, behold, a prophet came to Achaab king of Israel, and said, Thus saith the Lord, Hast thou seen this great multitude? behold, I give it this day into thine hands; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord.

¹⁴And Achaab said, Whereby? And he said, Thus saith the Lord, By the young men of the heads of the districts. And Achaab said, Who shall begin the battle? and he said, Thou.

¹⁵And Achaab numbered the young men the heads of the districts, and they were two hundred and thirty: and afterwards he numbered the people, even every man fit for war, seven thousand.

¹⁶And he went forth at noon, and the son of Ader was drinking and getting drunk in Socchoth, he and the kings, even thirty and two kings, his allies.

¹⁷And the young men the heads of the districts went forth first; and they send and report to the king of Syria, saying, There are men come forth out of Samaria.

¹⁸And he said to them, If they come forth peaceably, take them alive; and if they come forth to war, take them alive:

¹⁹and let not the young men the heads of the districts go forth of the city. And the force that was behind them

²⁰smote each one the man next to him; and each one a second time smote the man next to him: and Syria fled, and Israel pursued them; and the son of Ader, even the king of Syria, escapes on the horse of a horseman.

²¹And the king of Israel went forth, and took all the horses and the chariots, and smote the enemy with a great slaughter in Syria.

²²And the prophet came to the king of Israel, and said, Strengthen thyself, and observe, and see what thou shalt do; for at the return of the year the son of Ader king of Syria comes up against thee.

²³And the servants of the king of Syria, even they said, The God of Israel is a God of mountains, and not a God of valleys; therefore has he prevailed against us: but if we should fight against them in the plain, verily we shall prevail against them.

²⁴And do thou this thing: Send away the kings, each one to his place, and set princes in their stead.

²⁵And we will give thee another army according to the army that was destroyed, and cavalry according to the cavalry, and chariots according to the chariots, and we will fight against them in the plain, and we shall prevail against them. And he hearkened to their voice, and did so.

²⁶And it came to pass at the return of the year, that the son of Ader reviewed Syria, and went up to Apheca to war against Israel.

²⁷And the children of Israel were numbered, and came to meet them: and Israel encamped before them as two little flocks of goats, but Syria filled the land.

²⁸And there came the man of God, and said to the king of Israel, Thus saith the Lord, Because Syria has said, The Lord God of Israel is a God of the hills, and he is not a God of the valleys, therefore will I give this great army into thy hand, and thou shalt know that I am the Lord.

²⁹And they encamp one over against the other before them seven days. And it came to pass on the seventh day that the battle drew on, and Israel smote Syria, even a hundred thousand footmen in one day.