1 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. Compare verse
2 And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel into the city, and said to him, Thus said Benhadad, Compare verse
3 Your silver and your gold is mine; your wives also and your children, even the best, are mine. Compare verse
4 And the king of Israel answered and said, My lord, O king, according to your saying, I am yours, and all that I have. Compare verse
5 And the messengers came again, and said, Thus speaks Benhadad, saying, Although I have sent to you, saying, You shall deliver me your silver, and your gold, and your wives, and your children; Compare verse
6 Yet I will send my servants to you to morrow about this time, and they shall search your house, and the houses of your servants; and it shall be, that whatever is pleasant in your eyes, they shall put it in their hand, and take it away. Compare verse
7 Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land, and said, Mark, I pray you, and see how this man seeks mischief: for he sent to me for my wives, and for my children, and for my silver, and for my gold; and I denied him not. Compare verse
8 And all the elders and all the people said to him, Listen not to him, nor consent. Compare verse
9 Why he said to the messengers of Benhadad, Tell my lord the king, All that you did send for to your servant at the first I will do: but this thing I may not do. And the messengers departed, and brought him word again. Compare verse
10 And Benhadad sent to him, and said, The gods do so to me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me. Compare verse1 commentary
11 And the king of Israel answered and said, Tell him, Let not him that girds on his harness boast himself as he that puts it off. Compare verse3 commentaries
12 And it came to pass, when Ben-hadad heard this message, as he was drinking, he and the kings in the pavilions, that he said to his servants, Set yourselves in array. And they set themselves in array against the city. Compare verse
13 And, behold, there came a prophet to Ahab king of Israel, saying, Thus said the LORD, Have you seen all this great multitude? behold, I will deliver it into your hand this day; and you shall know that I am the LORD. Compare verse
14 And Ahab said, By whom? And he said, Thus said the LORD, Even by the young men of the princes of the provinces. Then he said, Who shall order the battle? And he answered, You. Compare verse
15 Then 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. Compare verse
16 And 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. Compare verse
17 And 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. Compare verse
18 And he said, Whether they be come out for peace, take them alive; or whether they be come out for war, take them alive. Compare verse
19 So these young men of the princes of the provinces came out of the city, and the army which followed them. Compare verse
20 And 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. Compare verse3 commentaries
21 And the king of Israel went out, and smote the horses and chariots, and slew the Syrians with a great slaughter. Compare verse3 commentaries
22 And the prophet came to the king of Israel, and said to him, Go, strengthen yourself, and mark, and see what you do: for at the return of the year the king of Syria will come up against you. Compare verse3 commentaries
23 And the servants of the king of Syria said to 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. Compare verse3 commentaries
24 And do this thing, Take the kings away, every man out of his place, and put captains in their rooms: Compare verse3 commentaries
25 And number you an army, like the army that you have 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 listened to their voice, and did so. Compare verse3 commentaries
26 And it came to pass at the return of the year, that Benhadad numbered the Syrians, and went up to Aphek, to fight against Israel. Compare verse3 commentaries
27 And 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. Compare verse3 commentaries
28 And there came a man of God, and spoke to the king of Israel, and said, Thus said 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 your hand, and you shall know that I am the LORD. Compare verse3 commentaries
29 And 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. Compare verse3 commentaries
30 But the rest fled to Aphek, into the city; and there a wall fell on twenty and seven thousand of the men that were left. And Benhadad fled, and came into the city, into an inner chamber. Compare verse3 commentaries
31 And his servants said to him, Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings: let us, I pray you, put sackcloth on our loins, and ropes on our heads, and go out to the king of Israel: peradventure he will save your life. Compare verse
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 Benhadad said, I pray you, let me live. And he said, Is he yet alive? he is my brother. Compare verse
33 Now the men did diligently observe whether any thing would come from him, and did hastily catch it: and they said, Your brother Benhadad. Then he said, Go you, bring him. Then Benhadad came forth to him; and he caused him to come up into the chariot. Compare verse
34 And Ben-hadad said to him, The cities, which my father took from your father, I will restore; and you shall make streets for you in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria. Then said Ahab, I will send you away with this covenant. So he made a covenant with him, and sent him away. Compare verse2 commentaries
35 And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his neighbor in the word of the LORD, Smite me, I pray you. And the man refused to smite him. Compare verse1 commentary
36 Then said he to him, Because you have not obeyed the voice of the LORD, behold, as soon as you are departed from me, a lion shall slay you. And as soon as he was departed from him, a lion found him, and slew him. Compare verse1 commentary
37 Then he found another man, and said, Smite me, I pray you. And the man smote him, so that in smiting he wounded him. Compare verse1 commentary
38 So the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with ashes on his face. Compare verse1 commentary
39 And as the king passed by, he cried to the king: and he 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 by any means he be missing, then shall your life be for his life, or else you shall pay a talent of silver. Compare verse
40 And as your servant was busy here and there, he was gone. And the king of Israel said to him, So shall your judgment be; yourself have decided it. Compare verse
41 And he hurried, and took the ashes away from his face; and the king of Israel discerned him that he was of the prophets. Compare verse2 commentaries
42 And he said to him, Thus said the LORD, Because you have let go out of your hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction, therefore your life shall go for his life, and your people for his people. Compare verse2 commentaries
43 And the king of Israel went to his house heavy and displeased, and came to Samaria. Compare verse2 commentaries