st Kings _Chapter 20

King Benhadad of Aram gathered his entire army and led thirty-two kings with chariots and horses to besiege Samaria.

And he sent messengers into the city to King Ahab of Israel, and said to him, This is what Benhadad said:,

Your gold and silver will belong to me, and the most beautiful among your wife and children will also belong to me.

The king of Israel replied, “My lord the king, according to your words, I and everything I have will belong to you.”.

And the messenger said, This is what Benhadad said: I have sent someone to you, to give me your gold and silver, your wife, and your children.

But tomorrow around this time, I will also send my servants to you, to search your house and your servant’s house, and take away all that is pleasing in your eyes.

The king of Israel summoned the elders of the land and said to them, “Please see how this man has plotted against me. He sent someone to me first to ask for my wife, children, and gold and silver, but I did not refuse him.”.

The elders and the people said to the king, ‘Do not listen to him, nor do you agree to him.’.

Therefore, the king of Israel said to the messengers of Benhadad, Tell my lord the king that the first time the king sent someone to ask his servant, his servant obeyed. But what I want this time, I cannot comply. The envoy went and replied to Benhadad.

And Benhadad sent messengers to Ahab, saying, If the dust of Samaria is enough for each of my followers to hold a handful, may the gods punish me heavily.

The king of Israel said, Tell him that he who has only put on his helmet and put on his armor shall not boast like him who has taken off his helmet and taken off his armor.

Benhadad and the kings were drinking wine in the tabernacle, and when they heard these words, they said to his servants, Set up your procession. They formed a team to attack the city.

A prophet came to King Ahab of Israel and said, “This is what the Lord has said: Have you seen this large group of people?”? Today I will deliver them into your hands, and you will know that I am the Lord.

Ahab said, By whom? He answered, ‘The Lord said,’ Through the young men who follow the governor. ‘. And Ahab said, Who shall lead? He said he wants you to personally lead.

So Ahab numbered the young men who followed the governor, a total of two hundred and thirty-two, and later counted the army of Israel, a total of seven thousand.

At noon, they left the city. Benhadad and the thirty-two kings who helped him were drinking heavily in the tabernacle.

The young man who followed the governor left the city first. Benhadad sent people to visit, and they reported that someone had come out of Samaria.

He said, If they want to make peace, they will be captured alive. If they come out to fight, they must also be captured alive.

The young men who followed the governor left the city, and the army followed them.

Kill everyone when they encounter enemies. The Arameans fled, and the Israelites pursued them. King Benhadad of Aram fled on horseback with his cavalry.

The king of Israel went out of the city to attack chariots and horses, and greatly killed the Arameans.

The prophet came to the king of Israel and said to him, “Be strong and pay attention to how you are prepared.”. Because by this time next year, the king of Aram will come up and attack you.

The servants of the king of Aram said to him, “The God of Israel is the mountain god, so they have overcome us.”. But if we fight against them in the plain, we will surely win.

And the king shall do this: take away all the kings, and send captains of war in their place,

And according to the number of troops lost by the king, we will recruit another army, with horses to replace horses and chariots to replace chariots. If we fight against them in the plain, we will surely win. The king listened to his servants and went ahead.

The following year, Benhadad indeed ordered the Arameans to go up to Aph to fight against the Israelites.

The Israelites also gathered their army, prepared food, and went out to meet the Arameans, camping against them like two small flocks of lambs. But the Arameans filled the ground.

A man of God came to the king of Israel and said, ‘This is what the Lord has said:’ Since the Arameans have said that I am the God of the mountains, not the God of the plains, I will give this great crowd into your hands, and you will know that I am the Lord. ‘.

The Israelites and Arameans camped opposite each other for seven days, and on the seventh day, the two armies engaged in battle. On that day, the Israelites killed 100000 Aramaic infantry,

The rest fled to the city of Aph. The city wall collapsed, crushing the remaining 27000 people. Benhada also fled into the city and hid in a tight room.

His servants said to him, “We have heard that the kings of Israel are all kind kings. Now let us put sackcloth around our waists and ropes on our heads, and go out to surrender to the king of Israel. Perhaps he will keep the king alive.”.

So they girded themselves with sackcloth and tied ropes around their heads, and went to see the king of Israel, saying, ‘Your servant Benhadad said,’ Please keep my life. ‘. Ahab said, Is he still alive? He is my brother.

These people were careful to detect his tone and quickly followed his words, saying that Benhada was the king’s brother. Wang said, go and invite him. When Benhadad came out to see the king, he invited him to board the carriage.

Benhadad said to the king, ‘I will return the cities that my father has taken from your father.’. You can set up a market in Damascus, just like my father did in Samaria. Ahab said, ‘I made a treaty according to this and let you go back.’ So he made a treaty with him and let him go.

One of the disciples of the prophet said to his companions by the word of the Lord, ‘Strike me.’. That person refused to hit him.

He said to the man, “Since you have not obeyed the word of the Lord, as soon as you leave me, a lion will bite you to death.”. As soon as the man left him, he indeed met a lion and bit him to death.

The disciples of the prophet met another man and said to him, “Strike me.”. That person hit him and injured him.

He went, covered his eyes with a headscarf, changed his face, and waited for the king by the roadside.

As the king passed by, he called out to the king, saying, While my servant was in battle, someone brought a man and said to me, ‘Watch over this man. If you lose him, your life will replace his life.’. Otherwise, you will have to hand over a tael of silver.

The servant was in a hurry when the person disappeared. The king of Israel said to him, “If you have made a decision yourself, you will judge you accordingly.”.

He quickly removed the blindfolded headscarf, and the king of Israel recognized him as a prophet.

He said to the king, ‘This is what the Lord says:’ Because you have set me free from destruction, your life will replace his life, and your people will replace his people. ‘.

So the king of Israel returned to Samaria dejected and entered his palace.