1And Ben-hadad king of Aram gathered all his host, and thirty and two kings with him, and horse and chariot; and he went up and besieged Samaria, and fought against it.
2And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel, to the city,
3and said to him, "Thus says Ben-hadad: Your silver and your gold are mine, and your wives and your sons, the best, are mine."
4And the king of Israel answered and said, "According to your word, my lord, O king, I am yours, and all that I have."
5And the messengers returned, and said, "Thus says Ben-hadad, saying: Indeed I sent to you, saying, You shall give me your silver and your gold and your wives and your sons;
6but at this time tomorrow I will send my servants to you, and they shall search your house and the houses of your servants; and it shall be, that every desire of your eyes they shall put in their hand and take."
7And the king of Israel called all the elders of the land, and said, "Know, please, and see that this one is seeking evil; 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."
8And all the elders and all the people said to him, "Do not listen, and do not consent."
9And 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 returned him word.
10And Ben-hadad sent to him, and said, "So may God do to me, and so may they add, if the dust (aphar) of Samaria suffices for the handfuls of all the people who are at my feet."
11And the king of Israel answered and said, "Speak: Let not the one who girds boast like the one who looses."
12And it came to pass, when he heard this word, while he was drinking, he and the kings, in the booths, that he said to his servants, "Set yourselves." And they set against the city.
13And behold, one prophet drew near to Ahab king of Israel, and said, "Thus says YHWH: Have you seen all this great multitude? Behold, I am giving it into your hand today, and you shall know that I am YHWH."
14And Ahab said, "By whom?" And he said, "Thus says YHWH: By the young men of the princes of the provinces." And he said, "Who shall begin the battle?" And he said, "You."
15And 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, all the children of Israel, seven thousand.
16And they went out at noon; and Ben-hadad was drinking himself drunk in the booths, he and the kings, the thirty and two kings helping him.
17And the young men of the princes of the provinces went out first; and Ben-hadad sent out, and they told him, saying, "Men (ish) have come out from Samaria."
18And he said, "Whether for peace they have come out, take them alive (chai); or whether for war they have come out, take them alive (chai)."
19And these went out of the city, the young men of the princes of the provinces, and the army that was after them.
20And they struck each man (ish) his man (ish); and Aram fled, and Israel pursued them; and Ben-hadad king of Aram escaped on a horse with horsemen.
21And the king of Israel went out, and struck the horse and the chariot, and struck Aram with a great blow.
22And the prophet drew near to the king of Israel, and said to him, "Go, strengthen yourself, and know and see what you do; for at the turn of the year the king of Aram is coming up against you."
23And the servants of the king of Aram said to him, "Their God is a God of mountains; therefore they were stronger than us; but let us fight against them in the plain — surely we shall be stronger than them.
24And do this thing: remove the kings, each man (ish) from his place, and put governors in their place;
25and you, number for yourself an army like the army that fell from you, and horse for horse and chariot for chariot; and we will fight them in the plain — surely we shall be stronger than them." And he listened to their voice, and did so.
26And it came to pass at the turn of the year, that Ben-hadad numbered Aram, and went up to Aphek for the battle against Israel.
27And the children of Israel were numbered and provisioned, and went to meet them; and the children of Israel encamped before them like two little flocks of goats; but Aram filled the land.
28And the man (ish) of God drew near, and spoke to the king of Israel, and said, "Thus says YHWH: Because Aram has said, 'YHWH is a God of mountains, and not a God of valleys is He,' therefore I will give all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am YHWH."
29And these encamped opposite those seven days. And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the battle drew near; and the children of Israel struck Aram, a hundred thousand footmen in one day.
30And the rest fled to Aphek, into the city; and the wall fell upon twenty and seven thousand men (ish) who were left. And Ben-hadad fled, and came into the city, into a chamber within a chamber.
31And his servants said to him, "Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are kings of kindness; let us put, please, sackcloth on our loins, and ropes on our heads, and go out to the king of Israel; perhaps he will let your soul (nephesh) live."
32And they girded sackcloth on their loins, and ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said, "Your servant Ben-hadad says, 'Let my soul (nephesh) live, please.'" And he said, "Is he still alive (chai)? He is my brother."
33And the men (ish) were observing for an omen, and hastened, and caught the word from him, and said, "Your brother Ben-hadad." And he said, "Come, take him." And Ben-hadad came out to him, and he brought him up onto the chariot.
34And he said to him, "The cities that my father took from your father I will restore; and you shall make for yourself streets in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria." "And I, with this covenant (berit), will send you away." And he made with him a covenant (berit), and sent him away.
35And a certain man (ish) of the sons of the prophets said to his fellow by the word of YHWH, "Strike me, please." And the man (ish) refused to strike him.
36And he said to him, "Because you have not listened to the voice of YHWH, behold, you are going from me, and the lion shall strike you." And he went from beside him, and the lion found him, and struck him.
37And he found another man (ish), and said, "Strike me, please." And the man (ish) struck him, striking and wounding.
38And the prophet went, and stood for the king on the way, and disguised himself with a headband over his eyes.
39And it came to pass, as the king passed by, that he cried to the king, and said, "Your servant went out into the midst of the battle; and behold, a man (ish) turned aside, and brought to me a man (ish), and said, 'Keep this man (ish); if he is ever missing, then your soul (nephesh) shall be in place of his soul (nephesh), or you shall weigh out a talent of silver.'
40And it came to pass, while your servant was busy here and there, that he was gone." And the king of Israel said to him, "So is your judgment (mishpat); you yourself have decided."
41And he hastened, and took the headband away from his eyes; and the king of Israel recognized him, that he was of the prophets.
42And he said to him, "Thus says YHWH: Because you have sent out of your hand the man (ish) of my ban, therefore your soul (nephesh) shall be in place of his soul (nephesh), and your people in place of his people."
43And the king of Israel went to his house sullen and angry, and came to Samaria.