1 Kings 20:1-21

Ahab Defeats the Syrians

20¹ And Ben-hadad 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 fought against it. ² And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel, into the city, and said unto him, Thus saith Ben-hadad, ³ Thy silver and thy gold is mine; thy wives also and thy children, even the goodliest, are mine. ⁴ And the king of Israel answered and said, It is according to thy saying, my lord, O king; I am thine, and all that I have. ⁵ And the messengers came again, and said, Thus speaketh Ben-hadad, saying, I sent indeed unto thee, saying, Thou shalt deliver me thy silver, and thy gold, and thy wives, and thy children; ⁶ but I will send my servants unto thee to-morrow about this time, and they shall search thy house, and the houses of thy servants; and it shall be, that whatsoever is pleasant in thine eyes, they shall put it in their hand, and take it away. ⁷ Then 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 unto me for my wives, and for my children, and for my silver, and for my gold; and I denied him not. ⁸ And all the elders and all the people said unto him, Hearken thou not, neither consent. ⁹ Wherefore he said unto 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. ¹⁰ And Ben-hadad sent unto him, and said, The gods do so unto me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me. ¹¹ And the king of Israel answered and said, Tell him, Let not him that girdeth on [his armor] boast himself as he that putteth it off.

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 unto his servants, Set [yourselves in array]. And they set [themselves in array] against the city. ¹³ And, behold, a prophet came near unto Ahab king of Israel, and said, Thus saith Jehovah, Hast thou seen all this great multitude? behold, I will deliver it into thy hand this day; and thou shalt know that I am Jehovah. ¹⁴ And Ahab said, By whom? And he said, Thus saith Jehovah, By the young men of the princes of the provinces. Then he said, Who shall begin the battle? And he answered, Thou. ¹⁵ Then he mustered the young men of the princes of the provinces, and they were two hundred and thirty-two: and after them he mustered all the people, even all the children of Israel, being seven thousand. ¹⁶ And 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. ¹⁷ And 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 from Samaria. ¹⁸ And he said, Whether they are come out for peace, take them alive, or whether they are come out for war, taken them alive. ¹⁹ So these went out of the city, the young men of the princes of the provinces, and the army which followed them. ²⁰ And 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 horsemen. ²¹ And the king of Israel went out, and smote the horses and chariots, and slew the Syrians with a great slaughter.