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1 KIN G S 2 0
the twelfth team. Elijah went over to him and
threw his cloak across his shoulders and then
walked away. 20 Elisha left the oxen standing
there, ran after Elijah, and said to him, “First
let me go and kiss my father and mother goodbye, and then I will go with you!”
Elijah replied, “Go on back, but think about
what I have done to you.”
21 So Elisha returned to his oxen and slaughtered them. He used the wood from the plow to
build a fire to roast their flesh. He passed around
the meat to the townspeople, and they all ate.
Then he went with Elijah as his assistant.
Ben-Hadad Attacks Samaria
About that time King Ben-hadad of
Aram mobilized his army, supported
by the chariots and horses of thirty-two allied kings. They went to besiege Samaria, the
capital of Israel, and launched attacks against
it. 2 Ben-hadad sent messengers into the city to
relay this message to King Ahab of Israel: “This
is what Ben-hadad says: 3 ‘Your silver and gold
are mine, and so are your wives and the best of
your children!’”
4 “All right, my lord the king,” Israel’s king replied. “All that I have is yours!”
5 Soon Ben-hadad’s messengers returned
again and said, “This is what Ben-hadad says:
‘I have already demanded that you give me your
silver, gold, wives, and children. 6 But about this
time tomorrow I will send my officials to search
your palace and the homes of your officials.
They will take away everything you consider
valuable!’”
7 Then Ahab summoned all the elders of the
land and said to them, “Look how this man is
stirring up trouble! I already agreed with his demand that I give him my wives and children and
silver and gold.”
8 “Don’t give in to any more demands,” all the
elders and the people advised.
9 So Ahab told the messengers from Benhadad, “Say this to my lord the king: ‘I will give
you everything you asked for the first time, but
I cannot accept this last demand of yours.’” So
the messengers returned to Ben-hadad with
that response.
10 Then Ben-hadad sent this message to Ahab:
“May the gods strike me and even kill me if there
remains enough dust from Samaria to provide
even a handful for each of my soldiers.”
11 The king of Israel sent back this answer:
“A warrior putting on his sword for battle
should not boast like a warrior who has already won.”
12 Ahab’s reply reached Ben-hadad and the
other kings as they were drinking in their tents.*
“Prepare to attack!” Ben-hadad commanded his
officers. So they prepared to attack the city.
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Ahab’s Victory over Ben-Hadad
13 Then a certain prophet came to see King Ahab
of Israel and told him, “This is what the Lord
says: Do you see all these enemy forces? Today
I will hand them all over to you. Then you will
know that I am the Lord.”
14 Ahab asked, “How will he do it?”
And the prophet replied, “This is what the
Lord says: The troops of the provincial commanders will do it.”
“Should we attack first?” Ahab asked.
“Yes,” the prophet answered.
15 So Ahab mustered the troops of the 232 provincial commanders. Then he called out the rest
of the army of Israel, some 7,000 men. 16 About
noontime, as Ben-hadad and the thirty-two
allied kings were still in their tents drinking
themselves into a stupor, 17 the troops of the
provincial commanders marched out of the city
as the first contingent.
As they approached, Ben-hadad’s scouts reported to him, “Some troops are coming from
Samaria.”
18 “Take them alive,” Ben-hadad commanded,
“whether they have come for peace or for war.”
19 But Ahab’s provincial commanders and the
entire army had now come out to fight. 20 Each
Israelite soldier killed his Aramean opponent,
and suddenly the entire Aramean army panicked and fled. The Israelites chased them, but
King Ben-hadad and a few of his charioteers escaped on horses. 21 However, the king of Israel
destroyed the other horses and chariots and
slaughtered the Arameans.
22 Afterward the prophet said to King Ahab,
“Get ready for another attack. Begin making
plans now, for the king of Aram will come back
next spring.*”
Ben-Hadad’s Second Attack
23 After their defeat, Ben-hadad’s officers said to
him, “The Israelite gods are gods of the hills;
that is why they won. But we can beat them
easily on the plains. 24 Only this time replace
the kings with field commanders! 25 Recruit
another army like the one you lost. Give us the
same number of horses, chariots, and men, and
we will fight against them on the plains. There’s
no doubt that we will beat them.” So King Benhadad did as they suggested.
26 The following spring he called up the Aramean army and marched out against Israel,
this time at Aphek. 27 Israel then mustered its
army, set up supply lines, and marched out for
battle. But the Israelite army looked like two
little flocks of goats in comparison to the vast
Aramean forces that filled the countryside!
28 Then the man of God went to the king of
Israel and said, “This is what the Lord says:
20:12 Or in Succoth; also in 20:16. 20:22 Hebrew at the turn
of the year; similarly in 20:26. The first day of the year in the
ancient Hebrew lunar calendar occurred in March or April.