1 Kings 20:1-21

Ahab Defeats the Syrians

20¹ And Ben-Hadad king of Syria assembled all his host; and there were thirty-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 to him, Thus says Ben-Hadad: ³ Thy silver and thy gold is mine; thy wives also and thy children, the goodliest, are mine. ⁴ And the king of Israel answered and said, My lord, O king, according to thy saying, I am thine, and all that I have. ⁵ And the messengers came again, and said, Thus speaks Ben-Hadad saying: I sent to thee indeed, saying, Thou shalt deliver me thy silver, and thy gold, and thy wives, and thy children; ⁶ but to-morrow about this time I will send my servants to thee, and they shall search thy house, and the houses of thy servants; and it shall be, that whatsoever is pleasant in thy sight, they shall put in their hand and take away. ⁷ And the king of Israel called all the elders of the land and said, Mark, I pray you, and see how this [man] seeks 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. ⁸ And all the elders and all the people said to him, Hearken not, nor consent. ⁹ And 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 cannot do. And the messengers departed, and brought him word again. ¹⁰ And 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! ¹¹ And the king of Israel answered and said, Tell [him], Let not him that girdeth on boast himself as he that putteth off!

¹² And it came to pass when he heard this word, as he was drinking, he and the kings in the tents, that he said to his servants, Set yourselves. And they set themselves against the city. ¹³ And behold, a prophet drew near to 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 servants of the princes of the provinces. Then he said, Who shall begin the battle? And he said, Thou. ¹⁵ And he numbered the servants 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. ¹⁶ And they went out at noon; and Ben-Hadad drank himself drunk in the tents, he and the kings, the thirty-two kings that helped him. ¹⁷ And the servants 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. ¹⁸ And he said, Whether they be come out for peace, take them alive; or whether they be come out for war, take them alive. ¹⁹ And these servants of the princes of the provinces came out of the city, and the army that 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 the horsemen. ²¹ And the king of Israel went out, and smote the horses and chariots, and slew the Syrians with a great slaughter.