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¹ And Ben-hadad the king of Syria gathered all his army together; and there were thirty-two kings with him, and horses and chariots; and he went up and besieged Samaria, and fought against it.² And he sent messengers to Ahab the king of Israel, to the city, and said to him, So says Ben-hadad,³ Your silver and your gold are mine, and your wives and your sons, the best, are mine.⁴ And the king of Israel answered and said, According to your word, my lord, O king, I am yours, and all that I have.⁵ And the messengers came again and said, So says Ben-hadad, saying, Sending I sent to you, saying, Your silver and your gold and your wives and your sons you shall give to me;⁶ I will send my servants to you tomorrow about this time, and they shall search your house, and your servants' houses; and it shall be that whatever is pleasing in your eyes, they will put it in their hand and take it away.⁷ And the king of Israel called all the elders of the land, and said, Please note, and see the evil this one is seeking, for he sent to me for my wives, and for my sons, and for my silver, and for my gold, and I did not withhold from him.⁸ And all the elders and all the people said to him, Do not listen nor consent.⁹ And he said to the messengers of Ben-hadad, Say to my lord the king, All that you sent for to your servant at the first, I will do; but this thing I am not able to do; and the messengers went and took word back to him.¹⁰ And Ben-hadad sent to him, and said, So shall the gods do to me and more also if the dust of Samaria shall be enough for handfuls for all the people that follow me.¹¹ And the king of Israel answered and said, Tell him , Do not let him that girds on boast himself like one who loosens his armor .

¹² And it happened when this word was heard, and he was drinking, he and the kings, in the booths, that he said to his servants, Set in order; and they set in order against the city.¹³ And behold, a certain prophet came near to Ahab the king of Israel, and said, So says Jehovah, Have you seen all this great multitude? Behold I am going to give it into your hand today, and you shall know that I am Jehovah.¹⁴ And Ahab said, By whom? And he said, So says Jehovah, by the young men of the rulers of the provinces. Then he said, Who shall begin the battle? And he answered, You.¹⁵ Then he called up the young men of the rulers of the provinces, and they were two hundred and thirty two; and after them he called up all the people, even all the sons of Israel, being seven thousand.¹⁶ And they went out at noon, and Ben-hadad was drinking himself drunk in the booths, he and the kings, the thirty two kings helping him.¹⁷ And the young men of the rulers of the provinces went out at first; and Ben-hadad sent, and they told him, saying, Men have come out of Samaria.¹⁸ And he said, If they have come out for peace, seize them alive; and if they have come to battle, seize them alive.¹⁹ And these went out of the city, the young men of the rulers of the provinces, and the army which followed them.²⁰ And each struck his man, and Syria fled, and Israel pursued them; and Ben-hadad the king of Syria escaped on a horse, also the horsemen.²¹ And the king of Israel went out and struck the horses, and the chariots, and struck the Syrians with a great blow.

²² And the prophet came to the king of Israel and said to him, Go, make yourself strong, and look and see what you do; for at the return of the year the king of Syria will come up against you.²³ And the king of Syria's servants said to him, Their god is a god of the hills; on account of this they were stronger than us; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely, we shall be stronger than them,²⁴ And do this thing: take away the kings, each out of his place, and set commanders in their place.²⁵ And number to yourself an army like the army that was lost from you, even, horse for horse and chariot for chariot; and we shall fight with them in the plain. Are we not stronger than them? And he listened to their voice and did so.²⁶ And it happened at the turn of the year, Ben-hadad called up the Syrians, and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel.²⁷ And the sons of Israel were called up, and were supplied. And they went to meet them. And the sons of Israel camped before them, like two flocks of goats. And the Syrians filled the land.²⁸ And a man of God came near to the king of Israel and said, So says Jehovah, Because the Syrians have said, Jehovah is God of the hills and not God of the valleys, therefore I will deliver all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am Jehovah.²⁹ And they pitched, these against those, seven days. And it happened in the seventh day, the battle came up. And the sons of Israel struck Syria, a hundred thousand footmen in one day.³⁰ And those remaining fled to Aphek, to the city. And the wall fell on twenty seven thousand of those left. And Ben-hadad fled, and came into the city, into an inner room.

³¹ And 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 we shall go to the king of Israel. It may be hewill keep alive your life.³² And they girded sackcloth on their loins, and ropes on their heads. And they came in to the king of Israel and said, Your servant Ben-hadad has said, Please let me live. And he said, Is he yet alive? He is my brother.³³ And the men keenly observed, and quickly caught it from him, and said, Your brother, Ben-hadad. And he said, Go, bring him. And Ben-hadad came out to him. And he took him up on the chariot.³⁴ And he said to him, The cities that my father took from your father, I give back. And you shall make streets for yourself in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria. Then I will let you go with a covenant. And he cut a covenant with him and senthim away.³⁵ And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his neighbor, By the Word of Jehovah, please strike me. And the man refused to strike him.³⁶ And he said to him, Because you have not listened to the voice of Jehovah, behold, you shall go from me, and a lion shall kill you. And he left him, and a lion found him and killed him.³⁷ And he found another man and said, Please strike me. And the man struck him, striking and wounding.³⁸ And the prophet went and stood for the king on the highway, and disguised himself with ashes on his eyes.³⁹ And as the king passed by, it happened that he cried to the king, and said, Your servant went out into the middle of the battle, and behold, a man turned aside and brought a man to me, and said, Keep this man. If he is at all missing, then your life shall be for his life; or you shall weigh out a talent of silver.⁴⁰ And it happened, your servant was working here and there, and he was not there . And the king of Israel said to him, Your judgment is right. You have decided it .⁴¹ And he hurried and took the ashes from his eyes. And the king of Israel saw him, that he was of the prophets.⁴² And he said to him, So says Jehovah, Because you have sent away the man I had devoted from your hand, therefore your life shall go for his life, and your people for his people.⁴³ And the king of Israel went to his house sullen and angry, and came to Samaria.