1 Kings

And Benhadad the king of Syria gathered all his host together: and there were thirty and two kings with him, and horses, and chariots; and he went up and besieged Samaria, and warred against it.

1Ben-hadad was the king of Syria. He gathered his whole army. Thirty-two other kings came with him, with horses and chariots. He marched to the city of Samaria, surrounded it, and attacked it.

2And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel into the city, and said unto him, Thus saith Benhadad,

2He sent messengers into the city to Ahab, the king of Israel. They gave Ahab this message from Ben-hadad:

3Thy silver and thy gold is mine; thy wives also and thy children, even the goodliest, are mine.

3"Your silver and your gold belong to me. Your best wives and your children belong to me too."

4And the king of Israel answered and said, My lord, O king, according to thy saying, I am thine, and all that I have.

4The king of Israel answered, "It is just as you say, my lord the king. I am yours, and so is everything I own."

5And the messengers came again, and said, Thus speaketh Benhadad, saying, Although I have sent unto thee, saying, Thou shalt deliver me thy silver, and thy gold, and thy wives, and thy children;

5The messengers came back again. They said, "Ben-hadad says this: I already told you to hand over your silver, your gold, your wives, and your children.

6Yet I will send my servants unto thee to morrow about this time, and they shall search thine house, and the houses of thy servants; and it shall be, that whatsoever is pleasant in thine eyes, they shall put it in their hand, and take it away.

6But tomorrow, about this time, I will send my servants to you. They will search your palace and your servants' houses. They will take away anything you love."

7Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land, and said, Mark, I pray you, and see how this man 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.

7Then the king of Israel called all the leaders of the land together. He said, "Look at how this man is looking for trouble. He asked me for my wives, my children, my silver, and my gold, and I said yes."

8And all the elders and all the people said unto him, Hearken not unto him, nor consent.

8All the leaders and all the people told him, "Do not listen to him. Do not agree."

9Wherefore he said unto the messengers of Benhadad, Tell my lord the king, All that thou didst send for to thy servant at the first I will do: but this thing I may not do. And the messengers departed, and brought him word again.

9So Ahab told Ben-hadad's messengers, "Tell my lord the king this. I will do everything you asked the first time. But this new thing I cannot do." The messengers went back and told Ben-hadad.

10And Benhadad sent unto him, and said, The gods do so unto me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me.

10Then Ben-hadad sent Ahab another message. He said, "May the gods punish me if there is enough dust left of Samaria for each of my men to grab a handful."

11And the king of Israel answered and said, Tell him, Let not him that girdeth on his harness boast himself as he that putteth it off.

11The king of Israel answered, "Tell him this. A man putting on his armor should not brag like a man taking it off."

Note"Harness" in the old wording means armor. The saying means this. Do not brag before the fight, only after you have won.

12And it came to pass, when Ben-hadad heard this message, as he was drinking, he and the kings in the pavilions, that he said unto his servants, Set yourselves in array. And they set themselves in array against the city.

12Ben-hadad heard this message while he and the kings were drinking in their tents. He told his servants, "Get ready to attack." So they got in place around the city.

13And, 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; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD.

13Then a prophet came to Ahab, king of Israel. A prophet is someone who tells people what God says. He said, "The LORD says this. Do you see that huge army? I will hand it over to you today. Then you will know that I am the LORD."

14And Ahab said, By whom? And he said, Thus saith the LORD, Even by the young men of the princes of the provinces. Then he said, Who shall order the battle? And he answered, Thou.

14Ahab asked, "Who will do it?" The prophet said, "The LORD says this. The young officers who serve the leaders of the districts will do it." Ahab asked, "Who should start the battle?" The prophet answered, "You will."

15Then he numbered the young men of the princes of the provinces, and they were two hundred and thirty two: and after them he numbered all the people, even all the children of Israel, being seven thousand.

15So Ahab called the young officers who served the district leaders. There were 232 of them. Then he called the rest of the men of Israel. There were 7,000.

16And they went out at noon. But Benhadad was drinking himself drunk in the pavilions, he and the kings, the thirty and two kings that helped him.

16They marched out at noon. At that time Ben-hadad was in his tent getting drunk. The thirty-two kings who helped him were drinking too.

17And the young men of the princes of the provinces went out first; and Benhadad sent out, and they told him, saying, There are men come out of Samaria.

17The young officers marched out first. Ben-hadad had sent out men to watch. They reported to him, "Men are coming out of Samaria."

18And he said, Whether they be come out for peace, take them alive; or whether they be come out for war, take them alive.

18He said, "If they are coming to talk peace, take them alive. If they are coming to fight, take them alive."

19So these young men of the princes of the provinces came out of the city, and the army which followed them.

19So the young officers marched out of the city. The army came out behind them.

20And they slew every one his man: and the Syrians fled; and Israel pursued them: and Benhadad the king of Syria escaped on an horse with the horsemen.

20Each man struck down the enemy in front of him. The Syrians ran away, and Israel chased them. Ben-hadad, the king of Syria, got away on a horse with some of his riders.

21And the king of Israel went out, and smote the horses and chariots, and slew the Syrians with a great slaughter.

21Then the king of Israel marched out. He attacked the horses and chariots. Many, many Syrians were killed that day.

22And the prophet came to the king of Israel, and said unto him, Go, strengthen thyself, and mark, and see what thou doest: for at the return of the year the king of Syria will come up against thee.

22Later the prophet came to the king of Israel. He said, "Go and make your army stronger. Think carefully about what you must do. Next spring the king of Syria will come to attack you again."

23And the servants of the king of Syria said unto him, Their gods are gods of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.

23Meanwhile the servants of the king of Syria talked to him. They said, "Their gods are gods of the hills. That is why they beat us. Let us fight them on flat land instead. Then we will surely be stronger.

24And do this thing, Take the kings away, every man out of his place, and put captains in their rooms:

24Do this too. Take the kings out of their commands. Put army captains in their places.

25And number thee an army, like the army that thou hast lost, horse for horse, and chariot for chariot: and we will fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. And he hearkened unto their voice, and did so.

25Then build an army as big as the one you lost. Get a horse for every horse and a chariot for every chariot. We will fight them on flat land, and we will surely win." The king listened to them and did what they said.

26And it came to pass at the return of the year, that Benhadad numbered the Syrians, and went up to Aphek, to fight against Israel.

26In the spring, Ben-hadad counted his Syrian soldiers. He marched to a town called Aphek to fight Israel.

27And the children of Israel were numbered, and were all present, and went against them: and the children of Israel pitched before them like two little flocks of kids; but the Syrians filled the country.

27The men of Israel were counted too. They gathered supplies and marched out to meet the Syrians. Israel's camp looked like two small flocks of goats. The Syrians spread out over the whole countryside.

28And there came a man of God, and spake unto the king of Israel, and said, Thus saith the LORD, Because the Syrians have said, The LORD is God of the hills, but he is not God of the valleys, therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thine hand, and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

28Then a man of God came to the king of Israel. He said, "The LORD says this. The Syrians say the LORD is a god of the hills and not of the valleys. So I will hand this huge army over to you. Then you will know that I am the LORD."

29And they pitched one over against the other seven days. And so it was, that in the seventh day the battle was joined: and the children of Israel slew of the Syrians an hundred thousand footmen in one day.

29The two armies camped across from each other for seven days. On the seventh day the fighting began. That day Israel killed 100,000 Syrian foot soldiers.

30But the rest fled to Aphek, into the city; and there a wall fell upon twenty and seven thousand of the men that were left. And Benhadad fled, and came into the city, into an inner chamber.

30The rest ran into the city of Aphek. There a wall fell on 27,000 of the men who were left. Ben-hadad also ran into the city and hid in a back room.

31And his servants said unto him, Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings: let us, I pray thee, put sackcloth on our loins, and ropes upon our heads, and go out to the king of Israel: peradventure he will save thy life.

31His servants said to him, "We have heard that the kings of Israel are kind kings. Let us go to the king of Israel wearing rough cloth and ropes. Maybe he will let you live."

NoteRough cloth, called sackcloth, was worn to show sadness or begging. Ropes on the head showed they were giving up and asking for mercy.

32So they girded sackcloth on their loins, and put ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said, Thy servant Benhadad saith, I pray thee, let me live. And he said, Is he yet alive? he is my brother.

32So they tied rough cloth 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." Ahab said, "Is he still alive? He is my brother."

33Now the men did diligently observe whether any thing would come from him, and did hastily catch it: and they said, Thy brother Benhadad. Then he said, Go ye, bring him. Then Benhadad came forth to him; and he caused him to come up into the chariot.

33The men were watching for any sign of hope. They quickly took hold of that word. They said, "Yes, your brother Ben-hadad." Ahab said, "Go and bring him here." When Ben-hadad came out, Ahab had him ride up into his chariot.

34And 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 Damascus, as my father made in Samaria. Then said Ahab, I will send thee away with this covenant. So he made a covenant with him, and sent him away.

34Ben-hadad said, "I will give back the cities my father took from your father. You may set up your own markets in Damascus, like my father did in Samaria." Ahab said, "With this agreement I will let you go." So he made an agreement with him and sent him away.

35And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said unto his neighbour in the word of the LORD, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man refused to smite him.

35One of the young prophets spoke to a friend. The LORD had told him what to say. He said, "Please hit me." But the man would not hit him.

36Then 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 slay thee. And as soon as he was departed from him, a lion found him, and slew him.

36So the prophet said, "You did not obey the LORD. As soon as you leave me, a lion will kill you." The man left, and a lion found him and killed him.

37Then he found another man, and said, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man smote him, so that in smiting he wounded him.

37Then the prophet found another man. He said, "Please hit me." So the man hit him and hurt him.

38So the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with ashes upon his face.

38Then the prophet went and waited for the king beside the road. He covered his eyes with a cloth so no one would know him.

NoteThe old wording says "ashes upon his face." The word means a cloth or bandage over his eyes, used here as a disguise.

39And as the king passed by, he cried unto the king: and he said, Thy servant went out into the midst of the battle; and, behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man unto me, and said, Keep this man: if by any means he be missing, then shall thy life be for his life, or else thou shalt pay a talent of silver.

39As the king came by, the prophet called out to him. He said, "I went out into the middle of the battle. A man brought me a prisoner. He said, Guard this man. If he gets away, you will die in his place, or you will pay a talent of silver.

NoteA talent of silver was about 75 pounds of silver. That was far more money than a soldier could ever pay.

40And as thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone. And the king of Israel said unto him, So shall thy judgment be; thyself hast decided it.

40But while I was busy with this and that, the man got away." The king of Israel told him, "That is your punishment, then. You have said it yourself."

41And he hasted, and took the ashes away from his face; and the king of Israel discerned him that he was of the prophets.

41Then the prophet quickly pulled the cloth off his eyes. The king of Israel saw that he was one of the prophets.

42And he said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Because thou hast let go out of thy hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people.

42The prophet said to him, "The LORD says this. You let go the man I had set apart to be destroyed. So your life will be taken in place of his life. Your people will be taken in place of his people."

43And the king of Israel went to his house heavy and displeased, and came to Samaria.

43The king of Israel went home to Samaria. He was upset and angry.