1 Kings 20:12-21

Other Translations of 1 Kings 20:12-21

King James Version

¹² And it came to pass, when Benhadad heard this message, message: Heb. word 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, there came came: Heb. approached a prophet unto Ahab king of Israel, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Hast thou seen all this great multitude? behold, I will deliver it into thine hand this day; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord. ¹⁴ And 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. ¹⁵ Then 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. ¹⁶ And they went out at noon. But Benhadad 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 Benhadad 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 So these young men of the princes of the provinces came out of the city, and the army which followed them. ²⁰ And they slew every one his man: and the Syrians fled; and Israel pursued them: and Benhadad the king of Syria escaped on an 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.

English Standard Version

¹² When Ben-hadad heard this message as he was drinking with the kings in the booths, he said to his men, "Take your positions." And they took their positions against the city. ¹³ And behold, a prophet came near to Ahab king of Israel and said, "Thus says the Lord, Have you seen all this great multitude? Behold, I will give it into your hand this day, and you shall know that I am the Lord." ¹⁴ And Ahab said, "By whom?" He said, "Thus says the Lord, By the servants of the governors of the districts." Then he said, "Who shall begin the battle?" He answered, "You." ¹⁵ Then he mustered the servants of the governors of the districts, and they were 232. And after them he mustered all the people of Israel, seven thousand. ¹⁶ And they went out at noon, while Ben-hadad was drinking himself drunk in the booths, he and the thirty-two kings who helped him. ¹⁷ The servants of the governors of the districts went out first. And Ben-hadad sent out scouts, and they reported to him, "Men are coming out from Samaria." ¹⁸ He said, "If they have come out for peace, take them alive. Or if they have come out for war, take them alive." ¹⁹ So these went out of the city, the servants of the governors of the districts and the army that followed them. ²⁰ And each struck down his man. The Syrians fled, and Israel pursued them, but Ben-hadad king of Syria escaped on a horse with horsemen. ²¹ And the king of Israel went out and struck the horses and chariots, and struck the Syrians with a great blow.

The Message

¹² It happened that when Ben-Hadad heard this retort he was into some heavy drinking, boozing it up with the sheiks in their field shelters. Drunkenly, he ordered his henchmen, "Go after them!" And they attacked the city. ¹³ Just then a lone prophet approached Ahab king of Israel and said, "God's word: Have you taken a good look at this mob? Well, look again - I'm turning it over to you this very day. And you'll know, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that I am God." ¹⁴ Ahab said, "Really? And who is going to make this happen?" God said, "The young commandos of the regional chiefs." "And who," said Ahab, "will strike the first blow?" God said, "You." ¹⁵ Ahab looked over the commandos of the regional chiefs; he counted 232. Then he assessed the available troops - 7,000. ¹⁶ At noon they set out after Ben-Hadad who, with his allies, the thirty-two sheiks, was busy at serious drinking in the field shelters. ¹⁷ The commandos of the regional chiefs made up the vanguard. A report was brought to Ben-Hadad: "Men are on their way from Samaria." ¹⁸ He said, "If they've come in peace, take them alive as hostages; if they've come to fight, the same - take them alive as hostages." ¹⁹ The commandos poured out of the city with the full army behind them. ²⁰ They hit hard in hand-to-hand combat. The Arameans scattered from the field, with Israel hard on their heels. But Ben-Hadad king of Aram got away on horseback, along with his cavalry. ²¹ The king of Israel cut down both horses and chariots - an enormous defeat for Aram.

New King James Version

¹² And it happened when Ben-Hadad heard this message, as he and the kings were drinking at the command post, that he said to his servants, "Get ready." And they got ready to attack the city. ¹³ Suddenly a prophet approached Ahab king of Israel, saying, "Thus says the Lord: 'Have you seen all this great multitude? Behold, I will deliver it into your hand today, and you shall know that I am the Lord.' " ¹⁴ So Ahab said, "By whom?" And he said, "Thus says the Lord: 'By the young leaders of the provinces.' " Then he said, "Who will set the battle in order?" And he answered, "You." ¹⁵ Then he mustered the young leaders of the provinces, and there were two hundred and thirty-two; and after them he mustered all the people, all the children of Israel--seven thousand. ¹⁶ So they went out at noon. Meanwhile Ben-Hadad and the thirty-two kings helping him were getting drunk at the command post. ¹⁷ The young leaders of the provinces went out first. And Ben-Hadad sent out a patrol, and they told him, saying, "Men are coming out of Samaria!" ¹⁸ So he said, "If they have come out for peace, take them alive; and if they have come out for war, take them alive." ¹⁹ Then these young leaders of the provinces went out of the city with the army which followed them. ²⁰ And each one killed his man; so the Syrians fled, and Israel pursued them; and Ben-Hadad the king of Syria escaped on a horse with the cavalry. ²¹ Then the king of Israel went out and attacked the horses and chariots, and killed the Syrians with a great slaughter.

New Living Translation

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. 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.