Syria Attacks Israel
1 King Benhadad of Syria called his army together. He was joined by 32 other kings with their horses and chariots, and together they marched to Samaria and attacked. 2 Benhadad sent a messenger to tell King Ahab of Israel, 3 “Ahab, give me your silver and gold, your wives, and your strongest sons!”
4 “Your Majesty,” Ahab replied, “everything I have is yours, including me.”
5 Later, Benhadad sent another messenger to say to Ahab, “I already told you to give me your silver and gold, your wives, and your children. 6 But tomorrow at this time, I will send my officials into your city to search your palace and the houses of your officials. They will take everything else that you own.”
7 Ahab called a meeting with the leaders of Israel and said, “Benhadad is causing real trouble. He told me to give him my wives and children, as well as my silver and gold. And I agreed.”
8 “Don't listen to him!” they answered. “You don't have to do what he says.”
9 So Ahab sent someone to tell Benhadad, “Your Majesty, I'll give you my silver and gold, and even my wives and children. But I won't let you have anything else.”
When Benhadad got his answer, 10 he replied, “I'll completely destroy Samaria! There won't even be enough of it left for my soldiers to carry back in their hands. If I don't do it, I pray that the gods will punish me terribly.”
11 Ahab then answered, “Benhadad, don't brag before the fighting even begins. Wait and see if you live through it.”
12 Meanwhile, Benhadad and the other kings had been drinking in their tents. But when Ahab's reply came, he ordered his soldiers to prepare to attack Samaria, and they all got ready.
13 At that very moment, a prophet ran up to Ahab and said, “You can see that Benhadad's army is very strong. But the Lord has promised to help you defeat them today. Then you will know that the Lord is in control.”
14 “Who will fight the battle?” Ahab asked.
The prophet answered, “The young bodyguards who serve the district officials.”
“But who will lead them into battle?” Ahab asked.
“You will!” the prophet replied.
15 So Ahab called together the 232 young soldiers and the 7,000 troops in Israel's army, and he got them ready to fight the Syrians.
Israel Defeats the Syrians
16-17 At noon, King Ahab and his Israelite army marched out of Samaria, with the young soldiers in front.
King Benhadad of Syria and the 32 kings with him were drunk when the scouts he had sent out ran up to his tent, shouting, “We just now saw soldiers marching out of Samaria!”
18 “Take them alive!” Benhadad ordered. “I don't care if they have come out to fight or to surrender.”
19 The young soldiers led Israel's troops into battle, 20 and each of them attacked and killed an enemy soldier. The rest of the Syrian army turned and ran, and the Israelites went after them. Benhadad and some others escaped on horses, 21 but Ahab and his soldiers followed them and captured their horses and chariots.
Ahab and Israel's army crushed the Syrians.
22 Later, the prophet went back and warned Ahab, “Benhadad will attack you again next spring. Build up your troops and make sure you have some good plans.”
Syria Attacks Israel Again
23 Meanwhile, Benhadad's officials went to him and explained:
Israel's gods are mountain gods. We fought Israel's army in the hills, and that's why they defeated us. But if we fight them on flat land, there's no way we can lose.
24 Here's what you should do. First, get rid of those 32 kings and put army commanders in their places. 25 Then get more soldiers, horses, and chariots, so your army will be as strong as it was before. We'll fight Israel's army on flat land and wipe them out.
Benhadad agreed and did what they suggested.
26 In the spring, Benhadad got his army together, and they marched to the town of Aphek to attack Israel. 27 The Israelites also prepared to fight. They marched out to meet the Syrians, and the two armies camped across from each other. The Syrians covered the whole area, but the Israelites looked like two little flocks of goats.
28 The prophet went to Ahab and said, “The Syrians think the Lord is a god of the hills and not of the valleys. So he has promised to help you defeat their powerful army. Then you will know that the Lord is in control.”
29 For seven days the two armies stayed in their camps, facing each other. Then on the seventh day the fighting broke out, and before sunset the Israelites had killed 100,000 Syrian troops. 30 The rest of the Syrian army ran back to Aphek, but the town wall fell and crushed 27,000 of them.
Benhadad also escaped to Aphek and hid in the back room of a house. 31 His officials said, “Your Majesty, we've heard that Israel's kings keep their agreements. We will wrap sackcloth around our waists, put ropes around our heads, and ask Ahab to let you live.”
32 They dressed in sackcloth and put ropes on their heads, then they went to Ahab and said, “Your servant Benhadad asks you to let him live.”
“Is he still alive?” Ahab asked. “Benhadad is like a brother to me.”
33 Benhadad's officials were trying to figure out what Ahab was thinking, and when he said “brother,” they quickly replied, “You're right! You and Benhadad are like brothers.”
“Go get him,” Ahab said.
When Benhadad came out, Ahab had him climb up into his chariot.
34 Benhadad said, “I'll give back the towns my father took from your father. And you can have shops in Damascus, just as my father had in Samaria.”
Ahab replied, “If you do these things, I'll let you go free.” Then they signed a peace treaty, and Ahab let Benhadad go.
A Prophet Condemns Ahab
35 About this time the Lord commanded a prophet to say to a friend, “Hit me!” But the friend refused, 36 and the prophet told him, “You disobeyed the Lord, and as soon as you walk away, a lion will kill you.” The friend left, and suddenly a lion killed him.
37 The prophet found someone else and said, “Hit me!” So this man beat him up.
38 The prophet left and put a bandage over his face to disguise himself. Then he went and stood beside the road, waiting for Ahab to pass by.
39 When Ahab went by, the prophet shouted, “Your Majesty, right in the heat of battle, someone brought a prisoner to me and told me to guard him. He said if the prisoner got away, I would either be killed or forced to pay 3,000 pieces of silver. 40 But I got busy doing other things, and the prisoner escaped.”
Ahab answered, “You will be punished just as you have said.”
41 The man quickly tore the bandage off his face, and Ahab saw that he was one of the prophets. 42 The prophet said, “The Lord told you to kill Benhadad, but you let him go. Now you will die in his place, and your people will die in place of his people.”
43 Ahab went back to Samaria, angry and depressed.
War with Syria
1 King Benhadad of Syria gathered all his troops, and supported by thirty-two other rulers with their horses and chariots, he marched up, laid siege to Samaria, and launched attacks against it. 2 He sent messengers into the city to King Ahab of Israel to say, “King Benhadad demands that 3 you surrender to him your silver and gold, your women and the strongest of your children.”
4 “Tell my lord, King Benhadad, that I agree; he can have me and everything I own,” Ahab answered.
5 Later the messengers came back to Ahab with another demand from Benhadad: “I sent you word that you were to hand over to me your silver and gold, your women and your children. 6 Now, however, I will send my officers to search your palace and the homes of your officials, and to take everything they consider valuable. They will be there about this time tomorrow.”
7 King Ahab called in all the leaders of the country and said, “You see that this man wants to ruin us. He sent me a message demanding my wives and children, my silver and gold, and I agreed.”
8 The leaders and the people answered, “Don't pay any attention to him; don't give in.”
9 So Ahab replied to Benhadad's messengers, “Tell my lord the king that I agreed to his first demand, but I cannot agree to the second.”
The messengers left and then returned with another message 10 from Benhadad: “I will bring enough men to destroy this city of yours and carry off the rubble in their hands. May the gods strike me dead if I don't!”
11 King Ahab answered, “Tell King Benhadad that a real soldier does his bragging after a battle, not before it.”
12 Benhadad received Ahab's answer as he and his allies, the other rulers, were drinking in their tents. He ordered his men to get ready to attack the city, and so they moved into position.
13 Meanwhile, a prophet went to King Ahab and said, “The Lord says, ‘Don't be afraid of that huge army! I will give you victory over it today, and you will know that I am the Lord.’”
14 “Who will lead the attack?” Ahab asked.
The prophet answered, “The Lord says that the young soldiers under the command of the district governors are to do it.”
“Who will command the main force?” the king asked.
“You,” the prophet answered.
15 So the king called out the young soldiers who were under the district commanders, 232 in all. Then he called out the Israelite army, a total of seven thousand men.
16 The attack began at noon, as Benhadad and his thirty-two allies were getting drunk in their tents. 17 The young soldiers advanced first. Scouts sent out by Benhadad reported to him that a group of soldiers was coming out of Samaria. 18 He ordered, “Take them alive, no matter whether they are coming to fight or to ask for peace.”
19 The young soldiers led the attack, followed by the Israelite army, 20 and each one killed the man he fought. The Syrians fled, with the Israelites in hot pursuit, but Benhadad escaped on horseback, accompanied by some of the cavalry. 21 King Ahab took to the field, captured the horses and chariots, and inflicted a severe defeat on the Syrians.
22 Then the prophet went to King Ahab and said, “Go back and build up your forces and make careful plans, because the king of Syria will attack again next spring.”
The Second Syrian Attack
23 King Benhadad's officials said to him, “The gods of Israel are mountain gods, and that is why the Israelites defeated us. But we will certainly defeat them if we fight them in the plains. 24 Now, remove the thirty-two rulers from their commands and replace them with field commanders. 25 Then call up an army as large as the one that deserted you, with the same number of horses and chariots. We will fight the Israelites in the plains, and this time we will defeat them.”
King Benhadad agreed and followed their advice. 26 The following spring he called up his men and marched with them to the city of Aphek to attack the Israelites. 27 The Israelites were called up and equipped; they marched out and camped in two groups facing the Syrians. The Israelites looked like two small flocks of goats compared to the Syrians, who spread out over the countryside.
28 A prophet went to King Ahab and said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Because the Syrians say that I am a god of the hills and not of the plains, I will give you victory over their huge army, and you and your people will know that I am the Lord.’”
29 For seven days the Syrians and the Israelites stayed in their camps, facing each other. On the seventh day they started fighting, and the Israelites killed a hundred thousand Syrians. 30 The survivors fled into the city of Aphek, where the city walls fell on twenty-seven thousand of them.
Benhadad also escaped into the city and took refuge in the back room of a house. 31 His officials went to him and said, “We have heard that the Israelite kings are merciful. Give us permission to go to the king of Israel with sackcloth around our waists and ropes around our necks, and maybe he will spare your life.” 32 So they wrapped sackcloth around their waists and ropes around their necks, went to Ahab and said, “Your servant Benhadad pleads with you for his life.”
Ahab answered, “Is he still alive? Good! He's like a brother to me!”
33 Benhadad's officials were watching for a good sign, and when Ahab said “brother,” they took it up at once, and said, “As you say, Benhadad is your brother!”
“Bring him to me,” Ahab ordered. When Benhadad arrived, Ahab invited him to get in the chariot with him. 34 Benhadad said to him, “I will restore to you the towns my father took from your father, and you may set up a commercial center for yourself in Damascus, just as my father did in Samaria.”
Ahab replied, “On these terms, then, I will set you free.” He made a treaty with him and let him go.
A Prophet Condemns Ahab
35 At the Lord's command a member of a group of prophets ordered a fellow prophet to hit him. But he refused, 36 so he said to him, “Because you have disobeyed the Lord's command, a lion will kill you as soon as you leave me.” And as soon as he left, a lion came along and killed him.
37 Then this same prophet went to another man and said, “Hit me!” This man did so; he hit him a hard blow and hurt him. 38 The prophet bandaged his face with a cloth, to disguise himself, and went and stood by the road, waiting for the king of Israel to pass. 39 As the king was passing by, the prophet called out to him and said, “Your Majesty, I was fighting in the battle when a soldier brought a captured enemy to me and said, ‘Guard this man; if he escapes, you will pay for it with your life or else pay a fine of three thousand pieces of silver.’ 40 But I got busy with other things, and the man escaped.”
The king answered, “You have pronounced your own sentence, and you will have to pay the penalty.”
41 The prophet tore the cloth from his face, and at once the king recognized him as one of the prophets. 42 The prophet then said to the king, “This is the word of the Lord: ‘Because you allowed the man to escape whom I had ordered to be killed, you will pay for it with your life, and your army will be destroyed for letting his army escape.’”
43 The king went back home to Samaria, worried and depressed.