| New International Version | International Standard Version |
| 1Now Ben-Hadad king of Aram mustered his entire army. Accompanied by thirty-two kings with their horses and chariots, he went up and besieged Samaria and attacked it. | 1A little while later, King Ben-hadad of Aram mustered an army of cavalry and chariots in a military confederacy with 32 kings, invaded Samaria, and set up siege encampments there. |
| 2He sent messengers into the city to Ahab king of Israel, saying, "This is what Ben-Hadad says: | 2Then he sent envoys to visit King Ahab of Israel and told him, "This is what Ben-hadad says: |
| 3Your silver and gold are mine, and the best of your wives and children are mine.'" | 3Your silver and gold belong to me. So do the most beautiful of your wives and children.'" |
| 4The king of Israel answered, "Just as you say, my lord the king. I and all I have are yours." | 4"Whatever you want, your majesty," the king of Israel answered. "I belong to you, as does everything I own." |
| 5The messengers came again and said, "This is what Ben-Hadad says: 'I sent to demand your silver and gold, your wives and your children. | 5After delivering Ahab's answer, the envoys returned with this message: "This is what Ben-hadad says: 'I've sent my envoys to you to tell you that your silver, gold, wives, and children are to be given to me. |
| 6But about this time tomorrow I am going to send my officials to search your palace and the houses of your officials. They will seize everything you value and carry it away.'" | 6About this time tomorrow, I'll send my servants to you, and they'll search through your palace and your servants' houses. Whatever is important to you will be seized and taken away.'" |
| 7The king of Israel summoned all the elders of the land and said to them, "See how this man is looking for trouble! When he sent for my wives and my children, my silver and my gold, I did not refuse him." | 7Then the king of Israel called together all of the elders of the land and told them, "Please note that this man is here looking for trouble. He sent a message to me, demanding my wives, my children, and my silver and gold, and I haven't refused him." |
| 8The elders and the people all answered, "Don't listen to him or agree to his demands." | 8"Don't listen to him," all the elders and the people replied. "And don't agree to his terms." |
| 9So he replied to Ben-Hadad's messengers, "Tell my lord the king, 'Your servant will do all you demanded the first time, but this demand I cannot meet.'" They left and took the answer back to Ben-Hadad. | 9So he told Ben-hadad's envoys, "Tell his majesty the king, 'Everything that you asked for the first time I will do, but this thing I cannot do.'" So the envoys left to deliver Ahab's response. They returned a little while later. |
| 10Then Ben-Hadad sent another message to Ahab: "May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if enough dust remains in Samaria to give each of my men a handful." | 10Beh-hadad sent this message back: "May the gods do so to me, and more than that also, if the dust that remains of Samaria is enough to fill up a few handfuls for all of the armies at my disposal." |
| 11The king of Israel answered, "Tell him: 'One who puts on his armor should not boast like one who takes it off.'" | 11But the king of Israel replied, "Tell him, 'The one who is starting to strap on his battle armor should never brag like the one who is taking it off.'" |
| 12Ben-Hadad heard this message while he and the kings were drinking in their tents, and he ordered his men: "Prepare to attack." So they prepared to attack the city. | 12Ben-hadad received Ahab's response while he was celebrating with his kings in the battle pavilions. "Sound 'Battle Stations!'" he ordered, and the army began to prepare their attack. |
| 13Meanwhile a prophet came to Ahab king of Israel and announced, "This is what the LORD says: 'Do you see this vast army? I will give it into your hand today, and then you will know that I am the LORD.'" | 13Right about then, a prophet approached King Ahab of Israel and told him, "This is what the LORD says: 'You see all of this great big army, do you? Well now, I'm going to deliver them all right into your hand, and you will learn that I am the LORD!'" |
| 14"But who will do this?" asked Ahab. The prophet replied, "This is what the LORD says: 'The junior officers under the provincial commanders will do it.'" "And who will start the battle?" he asked. The prophet answered, "You will." | 14"By whom?" Ahab asked. "This is what the LORD says," the prophet replied. "'By the young men who serve as officials within the provinces.'" "Who is to begin the battle?" Ahab asked. "You," the prophet answered. |
| 15So Ahab summoned the 232 junior officers under the provincial commanders. Then he assembled the rest of the Israelites, 7,000 in all. | 15So Ahab gathered together 232 young men who served as officials within the provinces and then mustered 7,000 soldiers from among the Israelis. |
| 16They set out at noon while Ben-Hadad and the 32 kings allied with him were in their tents getting drunk. | 16They attacked at noon, just as Ben-hadad was drinking himself drunk in the battle pavilions, along with the 32 kings who had joined him. |
| 17The junior officers under the provincial commanders went out first. Now Ben-Hadad had dispatched scouts, who reported, "Men are advancing from Samaria." | 17The young men who served as officials within the provinces led the charge, and somebody informed Ben-hadad, "Some men have come out from Samaria." |
| 18He said, "If they have come out for peace, take them alive; if they have come out for war, take them alive." | 18"Take them alive, whether they've come in peace or not," he ordered. |
| 19The junior officers under the provincial commanders marched out of the city with the army behind them | 19Meanwhile, as the young men who served as officials within the provinces left the city, their army followed after them. |
| 20and each one struck down his opponent. At that, the Arameans fled, with the Israelites in pursuit. But Ben-Hadad king of Aram escaped on horseback with some of his horsemen. | 20Each man struck down his opponent, and the Arameans ran away with Israel in pursuit. King Ben-hadad of Aram escaped on horseback with the help of his cavalry. |
| 21The king of Israel advanced and overpowered the horses and chariots and inflicted heavy losses on the Arameans. | 21The king of Israel went out and attacked the cavalry and chariots and killed the Arameans in a massive victory. |
| 22Afterward, the prophet came to the king of Israel and said, "Strengthen your position and see what must be done, because next spring the king of Aram will attack you again." | 22The prophet approached the king of Israel and told him, "Go replenish your forces and prepare for the future, because early this next year the king of Aram will attack you again." |
| 23Meanwhile, the officials of the king of Aram advised him, "Their gods are gods of the hills. That is why they were too strong for us. But if we fight them on the plains, surely we will be stronger than they. | 23Sure enough, the advisors to the king of Aram told him, "Their gods are mountain gods. That's why they were stronger than we were. But when we fight them on the plains, we're certain to be the stronger army! |
| 24Do this: Remove all the kings from their commands and replace them with other officers. | 24So do this: remove the kings from command and replace them with captains. |
| 25You must also raise an army like the one you lost--horse for horse and chariot for chariot--so we can fight Israel on the plains. Then surely we will be stronger than they." He agreed with them and acted accordingly. | 25Then replace the army that you lost, horse-for-horse and chariot-for-chariot. We'll fight them on the plains, and we're certain to be the stronger army." Ben-hadad listened to what they had to say and carried out their advice. |
| 26The next spring Ben-Hadad mustered the Arameans and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel. | 26Early the next year, Ben-hadad mustered the Arameans and invaded Aphek in a battle against Israel. |
| 27When the Israelites were also mustered and given provisions, they marched out to meet them. The Israelites camped opposite them like two small flocks of goats, while the Arameans covered the countryside. | 27The Israelis were mustered, equipped with provisions, and sent out to fight. The Israeli encampment looked like two little flocks of goats compared to how the Aramean encampments filled the countryside! |
| 28The man of God came up and told the king of Israel, "This is what the LORD says: 'Because the Arameans think the LORD is a god of the hills and not a god of the valleys, I will deliver this vast army into your hands, and you will know that I am the LORD.'" | 28Right about then, a man of God approached and told the king of Israel, "This is what the LORD says: 'Because the Arameans keep saying "The LORD is a mountain god, but isn't a valley god," I'm going to deliver this entire vast army right into your control, so you'll learn that I really am the LORD.'" |
| 29For seven days they camped opposite each other, and on the seventh day the battle was joined. The Israelites inflicted a hundred thousand casualties on the Aramean foot soldiers in one day. | 29So they remained in opposing camps for seven days. Then on the seventh day the battle commenced, and the Israelis killed 100,000 Aramean infantry troops in a single day. |
| 30The rest of them escaped to the city of Aphek, where the wall collapsed on twenty-seven thousand of them. And Ben-Hadad fled to the city and hid in an inner room. | 30The rest of the Aramean army retreated into Aphek, but the city wall collapsed on 27,000 soldiers who had taken shelter there. Ben-hadad himself ran away and hid inside a closet somewhere in the city. |
| 31His officials said to him, "Look, we have heard that the kings of Israel are merciful. Let us go to the king of Israel with sackcloth around our waists and ropes around our heads. Perhaps he will spare your life." | 31"Look, now," his advisors suggested, "we've heard that the Israeli kings are merciful. So let's clothe ourselves with sackcloth, tie our hair back with ropes, and go out to the king of Israel. Maybe he'll spare your life." |
| 32Wearing sackcloth 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.'" The king answered, "Is he still alive? He is my brother." | 32So they put on some sackcloth, tied their hair back with ropes, and approached the king of Israel. "Your servant Ben-hadad says this," they said. "Please let me live." "Is he still alive?" Ahab asked. "He's my brother." |
| 33The men took this as a good sign and were quick to pick up his word. "Yes, your brother Ben-Hadad!" they said. "Go and get him," the king said. When Ben-Hadad came out, Ahab had him come up into his chariot. | 33Ben-hadad's advisors, quickly analyzing the signs in what Ahab was saying, responded, "Yes, your brother Ben-hadad." "Go get him," Ahab responded. So Ben-hadad came out to him, and Ahab took him up into his personal chariot. |
| 34"I will return the cities my father took from your father," Ben-Hadad offered. "You may set up your own market areas in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria." Ahab said, "On the basis of a treaty I will set you free." So he made a treaty with him, and let him go. | 34Ben-hadad made this promise to Ahab: "I will restore the cities that my ancestors took from your ancestors. You'll be able to build streets named after yourself in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria." "With this promise I will release you," Ahab replied. So Ahab made a treaty with Ben-hadad and let him go. |
| 35By the word of the LORD one of the company of the prophets said to his companion, "Strike me with your weapon," but he refused. | 35Right about then, one of the members of the guild of prophets told another through a message from the LORD: "Please strike me!" But the man refused to do so, |
| 36So the prophet said, "Because you have not obeyed the LORD, as soon as you leave me a lion will kill you." And after the man went away, a lion found him and killed him. | 36so he told him, "Because you haven't obeyed the LORD's voice, as soon as you leave here, a lion will kill you." As soon as the man left, a lion found him and killed him. |
| 37The prophet found another man and said, "Strike me, please." So the man struck him and wounded him. | 37Later, he found another man and told him, "Please strike me!" So the man struck him and wounded him. |
| 38Then the prophet went and stood by the road waiting for the king. He disguised himself with his headband down over his eyes. | 38Then the prophet left and waited for the king to pass by, disguising himself with a bandage over his eyes. |
| 39As the king passed by, the prophet called out to him, "Your servant went into the thick of the battle, and someone came to me with a captive and said, 'Guard this man. If he is missing, it will be your life for his life, or you must pay a talent of silver.' | 39As the king was passing by, he cried out to the king and told him, "Your servant went out into the middle of the battle, and a soldier turned aside, brought a prisoner to me, and told me, 'Guard this man. If he turns up missing for any reason at all, you'll pay for it with your life or be fined one talent of silver.' |
| 40While your servant was busy here and there, the man disappeared." "That is your sentence," the king of Israel said. "You have pronounced it yourself." | 40While your servant was busy here and there, the prisoner escaped." The king told him, "By your actions you've earned the proper judgment!" |
| 41Then the prophet quickly removed the headband from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets. | 41Then the prophet quickly tore off his bandage, and the king of Israel recognized him as being one of the prophets. |
| 42He said to the king, "This is what the LORD says: 'You have set free a man I had determined should die. Therefore it is your life for his life, your people for his people.'" | 42He told the king, "This is what the LORD says: 'Because you let the man whom I had dedicated to destruction go free, therefore your life is to be forfeited for his life, and your people for his people.'" |
| 43Sullen and angry, the king of Israel went to his palace in Samaria. | 43After hearing this, the king of Israel rode back to his palace in Samaria, frustrated and in a foul mood. |
| New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. | The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation
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