1 Kings 20

NEW JERUSALEM	DOUAI-RHEIMS
1 Ben-Hadad king of Aram mustered his whole army -- thirty-two kings were with him, and horses andchariots -- and marched on Samaria, to besiege it and take it by assault.	1 And Benadad, king of Syria, gathered together all his host, and there were two and thirty kings with him, and horses, and chariots: and going up, he fought against Samaria, and besieged it.
2 He sent messengers into the city to Ahab king of Israel to tel him, 'Ben-Hadad says this,	2 And, sending messengers to Achab king of Israel into the city,
3 "Your silver and gold are mine. Your wives and children remain yours." '	3 He said: Thus saith Benadad: Thy silver, and thy gold is mine: and thy wives, and thy goodliest children are mine.
4 The king of Israel replied, 'As you command, my lord king. Myself and al I have are yours.'	4 And the king of Israel answered: According to thy word, my lord 0 king, I am thine, and all that I have.
5 The messengers came again, this time they said, 'Ben-Hadad says this, "I have already sent you anorder to hand over your silver and your gold, your wives and your children;	5 And the messengers came again, and said: Thus saith Benadad, who sent us unto thee: Thy silver, and thy gold, and thy wives, and thy children thou shalt deliver up to me.
6 but I swear, this time tomorrow, I shal send my servants to ransack your house and your servants'houses and lay hands on everything that they value and take it away." '	6 To morrow therefore at this same hour I will send my servants to thee, and they shall search thy house, and the houses of thy servants: and all that pleaseth them, they shall put in their hands, and take away.
7 The king of Israel summoned al the elders of the country and said, 'You can see clearly how this manintends to ruin us. He has already demanded my wives and my children, although I have not refused him mysilver and gold.'	7 And the king of Israel called all the ancients of the land, and said: Mark, and see that he layeth snares for us. For he sent to me for my wives, and for my children, and for my silver and gold: and I said not nay.
8 Al the elders and all the people said, 'Take no notice. Do not consent.'	8 And all the ancients, and all the people said to him: Hearken not to him, nor consent to him.
9 So he gave this answer to Ben-Hadad's messengers, 'Say to my lord the king, "Al you first required ofyour servant I wil do, but this I cannot do." ' And the messengers went back with the answer.	9 Wherefore he answered the messengers of Benadad: Tell my lord the king: All that thou didst send for to me thy servant at first, I will do: but this thing I cannot do.
10 Ben-Hadad then sent him the following message, 'May the gods bring unnameable ills on me andworse il s too, if there is enough dust in Samaria for each of my fol owers to have a handful!'	10 And the messengers returning brought him word. And he sent again and said: Such and such things may the gods do to me, and more may they add, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me.
11 But the king of Israel returned this answer, 'Say: the man who puts on his armour is not the one toboast, but the man who takes it off.'	11 And the king of Israel answering, said: Tell him: Let not the girded boast himself as the ungirded.
12 When Ben-Hadad heard this message -- he was under the awnings drinking with the kings -- he gaveorders to his servants, 'Take up position!' And they took up their positions against the city.	12 And it came to pass, when Benadad heard this word, that he and the kings were drinking in pavilions, and he said to his servants: Beset the city. And they beset it.
13 A prophet then arrived, looking for Ahab king of Israel. 'Yahweh says this,' he said. ' "You have seenthis huge army? This very day I shal deliver it into your hands, and you will know that I am Yahweh." '	13 And behold a prophet coming to Achab king of Israel, said to him: Thus saith the Lord: Hast thou seen all this exceeding great multitude, behold I will deliver them into thy hand this day: that thou mayest know that I am the Lord.
14 'By whose means?' Ahab asked. The prophet replied, 'Yahweh says this, "By means of the guards ofthe district governors." ' 'Who wil co-ordinate the attack?' Ahab asked. 'You will,' the prophet replied.	14 And Achab said: By whom? And he said to him: Thus saith the Lord: By the servants of the princes of the provinces. And he said: Who shall begin to fight? And he said: Thou.
15 So Ahab inspected the guards of the district governors: there were two hundred and thirty-two. Afterthese he reviewed the army, all the Israelites: there were seven thousand.	15 So he mustered the servants of the princes of the provinces, and he found the number of two hundred and thirty-two: and he mustered after them the people, all the children of Israel, seven thousand:
16 They made a sortie at midday, when Ben-Hadad was drinking himself senseless under the awnings,he and the thirty-two kings who were al ies.	16 And they went out at noon. But Benadad was drinking himself drunk in his pavilion, and the two and thirty kings with him, who were come to help him.
17 The guards of the district governors led the sortie. A report was made to Ben-Hadad: 'Some menhave come out of Samaria.'	17 And the servants of the princes of the provinces went out first. And Benadad sent. And they told him, saying: There are men come out of Samaria.
18 He said, 'If they have come out for peace, take them alive; if they have come out for war, take themalive too.'	18 And he said: Whether they come for peace, take them alive: or whether they come to fight, take them alive.
19 So they made a sortie from the city, the district governors' guards and behind them the army,	19 So the servants of the princes of the provinces went out, and the rest of the army followed:
20 and each struck down his man. Aram took to flight and Israel pursued; Ben-Hadad king of Aramescaped on horseback.	20 And every one slew the man that came against him: and the Syrians fled, and Israel pursued after them. And Benadad king of Syria fled away on horseback with his horsemen.
21 The king of Israel then advanced, capturing horses and chariots and inflicting a great defeat on Aram.	21 But the king of Israel going out overthrew the horses and chariots, and slew the Syrians with a great slaughter.
22 The prophet then went to the king of Israel and said, 'Now is the time to be resolute and think careful yabout what you should do, for at the turn of the year the king of Aram wil march against you.'	22 (And a prophet coming to the king of Israel, said to him: Go, and strengthen thyself, and know, and see what thou dost: for the next year the king of Syria will come up against thee.)
23 The servants of the king of Aram said to him, 'Their gods are gods of the mountains; that is why theyhave proved stronger than we are. But if we fight them on level ground, we shal certainly beat them.	23 But the servants of the king of Syria said to him: Their gods are gods of the hills, therefore they have overcome us: but it is better that we should fight against them in the plains, and we shall overcome them.
24 This is what you must do: remove all these kings from their commands and appoint professionalsoldiers in their place.	24 Do thou therefore this thing: Remove all the kings from thy army, and put captains in their stead:
25 You, for your part, must recruit an army as large as the one which deserted you, with as many horsesand as many chariots; then if we fight them on level ground, we shal certainly beat them.' He listened to theiradvice and acted accordingly.	25 And make up the number of soldiers that have been slain of thine, and horses according to the former horses, and chariots according to the chariots which thou hadst before: and we will fight against them in the plains, and thou shalt see that we shall overcome them. He believed their counsel and did so.
26 At the turn of the year, Ben-Hadad mustered the Aramaeans and marched on Aphek to fight Israel.	26 Wherefore at the return of the year, p Benadad mustered the Syrians, ancient up to Aphec, to fight against Israel.
27 The Israelites were already mobilised and provisioned, and marched out to meet them. Encampedopposite them, the Israelites looked like two herds of goats, whereas the Aramaeans fil ed the countryside.	27 And the children of Israel were mustered, and taking victuals went out on the other side, and camped over against them, like two little hocks of goats: but the Syrians filled the land.
28 The man of God then went to the king of Israel and said, 'Yahweh says this, "Since Aram has saidthat Yahweh is a god of the mountains and not a god of the plains, I shall put the whole of this huge army intoyour power, and you will know that I am Yahweh." '	28 (And a man of God coming, said to the king of Israel: Thus saith the Lord: Because the Syrians have said: The Lord is God of the hills, but is not God of the valleys: I will deliver all this great multitude into thy hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord.)
29 For seven days they were encamped opposite each other. On the seventh day battle was joined andthe Israelites slaughtered the Aramaeans, a hundred thousand foot soldiers in one day.	29 And both sides set their armies in array one against the other seven days, and on the seventh day the battle was fought: and the children of Israel slew of the Syrians a hundred thousand footmen in one day.
30 The rest fled to Aphek, into the citadel, but the city walls collapsed on twenty-seven thousand of thesurvivors. Now Ben-Hadad had fled and taken refuge in an inner room inside the citadel.	30 And they that remained fled to Aphec, into the city: and the wall fell upon seven and twenty thousand men, that were left. And Benadad fleeing went into the city, into a chamber that was within a chamber.
31 'Look,' his servants said to him, 'we have heard that the kings of Israel are faithful and kind kings. Letus put sackcloth round our waists and cords round our heads and go out to the king of Israel; perhaps he wilspare your life.'	31 And his servants said to him: Behold, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful: so let us put sackcloth on our loins, and ropes on our heads, and go out to the king of Israel: perhaps he will save our lives.
32 So they wrapped sackcloth round their waists and put cords round their heads and went to the king ofIsrael, and said, 'Your servant Ben-Hadad says, "Spare my life." '	32 So they girded sackcloth on their loins, and put ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said to him: Thy servant Benadad saith: I beseech thee let me have my life. And he said: If he be yet alive he is my brother.
33 'So he is stil alive?' he replied. 'He is my brother.' The men took this for a good omen and quicklyseized on his words. 'Yes,' they said, 'Ben-Hadad is your brother.' Ahab said, 'Go and fetch him.' Then Ben-Hadad came out to him and Ahab made him get up into his chariot.	33 The men took this for a sign: and in haste caught the word out of his mouth, and said: Thy brother Benadad. And he said to them: Go, and bring him to me. Then Benadad came out to him, and he lifted him up into his chariot.
34 Ben-Hadad said, 'I shall restore the towns which my father took from your father and you may set upa trading quarter for yourself in Damascus as my father did in Samaria.' 'With a treaty,' Ahab said, 'I shall set youfree.' Granting him a treaty, Ahab let him go.	34 And he said to him: The cities which my father took from thy father, I will restore: and do thou make thee streets in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria, and having made a league I will depart from thee. So he made a league with him, and let him go.
35 At Yahweh's command a member of the brotherhood of prophets said to a companion of his, 'Strikeme,' but the man refused to strike him.	35 Then a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his companion in the word of the Lord: Strike me. But he would not strike.
36 So he said to him, 'Since you have disobeyed Yahweh's order, the very moment you leave me a lionwil kill you.' And no sooner had he left him than he met a lion, which killed him.	36 Then he said to him: Because thou wouldst not hearken to the word of the Lord, behold then shalt depart from me, and a lion shall slay thee. And when he was gone a little from him, a lion found him, and slew him.
37 The prophet then went to find another man and said, 'Strike me,' and the man struck him andwounded him.	37 Then he found another man, and said to him: Strike me. And he struck him, and wounded him.
38 The prophet then went and stood waiting for the king on the road, disguising himself with a bandageover his eyes.	38 So the prophet went, and met the king in the way, and disguised himself by sprinkling dust on his face and his eyes.
39 As the king passed, he cal ed out to him, 'Your servant was making his way to where the fight wasthickest when someone left the fighting to bring a man to me, and said, "Guard this man; if he is found missing,your life wil pay for his, or else you wil have to pay one talent of silver."	39 And as the king passed by, he cried to the king, and said: Thy servant went out to fight hand to hand: and when a certain man was run away, one brought him to me, and said: Keep this man: and if he shall slip away, thy life shall be for his life, or thou shalt pay a talent of silver.
40 But your servant was busy with one thing and another, the man disappeared.' The king of Israel said,'That is your sentence then. You have pronounced it yourself.'	40 And whilst I in a hurry turned this way and that, on a sudden he was not to be seen. And the king of Israel said to him: This is thy judgment, which thyself hast decreed.
41 At this the man quickly pul ed off the bandage over his eyes, and the king of Israel recognised him asone of the prophets.	41 But he forthwith wiped off the dust from his face, and the king of Israel knew him, that he was one of the prophets.
42 He said to the king, 'Yahweh says this, "Since you have let the man escape who was under my curseof destruction, your life wil pay for his, your people for his people." '	42 And he said to him: Thus saith the Lord: Because thou hast let go out of thy hand a mall worthy of death, thy life shall be for his life, and thy people for his people.
43 And the king of Israel went home, gloomy and out of temper, back to Samaria.	43 And the king of Israel returned to his house, slighting to hear, and raging came into Samaria.