1 KingsJudaism / Hebrew BibleAccepted ScriptureBiblical Hebrew / AramaicShare1 Kings 20Webster - EnglishMoreVersion - 9 availableWorld English BibleKing James VersionAmerican Standard VersionDarby BibleYoung's Literal TranslationWebster BibleGeneva BibleDouay-Rheims ChallonerReina-Valera 1909WEBKJVASVDarbyYLTWebsterGenevaDouayRV1909LanguageEnglishEspañol‹1 Kings 11 Kings 21 Kings 31 Kings 41 Kings 51 Kings 61 Kings 71 Kings 81 Kings 91 Kings 101 Kings 111 Kings 121 Kings 131 Kings 141 Kings 151 Kings 161 Kings 171 Kings 181 Kings 191 Kings 201 Kings 211 Kings 22›1 Kings 20ListenPlay this chapter in spoken English.Save chapterListen to chapter1And Ben-hadad the king of Syria collected all his army: and [there were] thirty and two kings with him, and horses, and chariots: and he went up and besieged Samaria, and warred against it. 2And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel into the city, and said to him, Thus saith Ben-hadad, 3Thy silver and thy gold [is] mine; thy wives also and thy children, [even] the most comely, [are] mine. 4And the king of Israel answered and said, My lord, O king, according to thy saying, I [am] thine, and all that I have. 5And the messengers came again, and said, Thus speaketh Ben-hadad, saying, Although I have sent to thee, saying, Thou shalt deliver to me thy silver, and thy gold, and thy wives, and thy children; 6Yet I will send my servants to thee to-morrow about this time, and they shall search thy house, and the houses of thy servants; and it shall be, [that] whatever is pleasant in thy eyes, they shall take [it] in their hand, and carry [it] away. 7Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land, and said, Mark, I pray you, and see how this [man] seeketh 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. 8And all the elders and all the people said to him, Hearken not [to him], nor consent. 9Wherefore he said to the messengers of Ben-hadad, Tell my lord the king, All that thou didst send for to thy servant at the first, I will do: but this thing I may not do. And the messengers departed, and brought him word again. 10And Ben-hadad 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. 11And the king of Israel answered and said, Tell [him], Let not him that girdeth on [his harness] boast himself as he that putteth it off. 12And 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. 13And behold, there came a prophet to Ahab king of Israel, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Hast thou seen all this great multitude? behold, I will deliver it into thy hand this day; and thou shalt know that I [am] the LORD. 14And Ahab said, By whom? And he said, Thus saith the LORD, [Even] by the young men of the princes of the provinces. Then he said, Who shall order the battle? And he answered, Thou. 15Then 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. 16And they went out at noon. But Ben-hadad [was] drinking himself drunk in the pavilions, he and the kings, the thirty and two kings that helped him. 17And the young men of the princes of the provinces went out first; and Ben-hadad sent out, and they told him, saying, There are men come out of Samaria. 18And he said, Whether they have come out for peace, take them alive; or whether they have come out for war, take them alive. 19So these young men of the princes of the provinces came out of the city, and the army which followed them. 20And they slew every one his man: and the Syrians fled; and Israel pursued them: and Ben-hadad the king of Syria escaped on a horse with the horsemen. 21And the king of Israel went out, and smote the horses and chariots, and slew the Syrians with a great slaughter. 22And the prophet came to the king of Israel, and said to him, Go, strengthen thyself, and mark, and see what thou doest: for at the return of the year the king of Syria will come up against thee. 23And 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. 24And do this thing, Take the kings away, every man out of his place, and put captains in their rooms: 25And number thee an army, like the army that thou hast 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 hearkened to their voice, and did so. 26And it came to pass at the return of the year, that Ben-hadad numbered the Syrians, and went up to Aphek, to fight against Israel. 27And the children of Israel were numbered, and were all present, and went against them: and the children of Israel encamped before them like two little flocks of kids; but the Syrians filled the country. 28And there came a man of God, and spoke to the king of Israel, and said, Thus saith 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 thy hand, and ye shall know that I [am] the LORD. 29And they encamped 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 a hundred thousand footmen in one day. 30But the rest fled to Aphek, into the city; and [there] a wall fell upon twenty and seven thousand of the men [that were] left. And Ben-hadad fled, and came into the city, into an inner chamber. 31And 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 thee, put sackcloth on our loins, and ropes upon our heads, and go out to the king of Israel: it may be he will save thy life. 32So they girded sackcloth on their loins, and [put] ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said, Thy servant Ben-hadad saith, I pray thee, let me live. And he said, [Is] he yet alive? he [is] my brother. 33Now the men diligently observed whether [any thing would come] from him, and did hastily catch [it]: and they said, Thy brother Ben-hadad. Then he said, Go ye, bring him. Then Ben-hadad came forth to him; and he caused him to come up into the chariot. 34And [Ben-hadad] said to him, The cities, which my father took from thy father, I will restore; and thou shalt make streets for thee in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria. Then [said Ahab], I will send thee away with this covenant. So he made a covenant with him, and sent him away. 35And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his neighbor in the word of the LORD, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man refused to smite him. 36Then said he to him, Because thou hast not obeyed the voice of the LORD, behold, as soon as thou hast departed from me, a lion will slay thee. And as soon as he had departed from him, a lion found him, and slew him. 37Then he found another man, and said, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man smote him, so that in smiting he wounded [him]. 38So the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with ashes upon his face. 39And as the king passed by, he cried to the king: and he said, Thy servant went out into the midst 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 shall be missing, then shall thy life be for his life, or else thou shalt pay a talent of silver. 40And as thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone. And the king of Israel said to him, So [shall] thy judgment [be]; thyself hast decided [it]. 41And he hasted, and took the ashes away from his face; and the king of Israel discerned him that he [was] of the prophets. 42And he said to him, Thus saith the LORD, Because thou hast let go out of [thy] hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people. 43And the king of Israel went to his house heavy and displeased, and came to Samaria. ‹Previous chapter1 Kings 19Next chapter1 Kings 21›Similar passagesBy tradition and source labelFind similarCompare selectedCompare with similarAsk Deep ThoughtSelect passages to search for parallels.Versions1 Kings 20 across 9 versionsShow all 9WEB - World English BibleKJV - King James VersionASV - American Standard VersionDarby - Darby BibleYLT - Young's Literal TranslationWebster - Webster BibleGeneva - Geneva BibleDouay - Douay-Rheims ChallonerRV1909 - Reina-Valera 1909Tap any verse to select it, then compare selected passages or ask Deep Thought. 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