1Kings:20:1-24
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And Benhadad Ben-Hadad #
the king of Syria gathered #
all his host together :
and there were thirty and two kings with him ,
and horses ,
and chariots :
and he went up and besieged Samaria ,
and warred against it .
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And he sent messengers to Ahab #
Ach #
ab #
king of Israel into the city ,
and said unto him ,
Thus saith Benhadad Ben-Hadad #,
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Thy silver and thy gold is mine ;
thy wives also and thy children ,
even the goodliest ,
are mine .
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And the king of Israel answered and said ,
My lord ,
O king ,
according to thy saying ,
I am thine ,
and all that I have .
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And the messengers came again ,
and said ,
Thus speaketh Benhadad Ben-Hadad #,
saying ,
Although I have sent unto thee ,
saying ,
Thou shalt deliver me thy silver ,
and thy gold ,
and thy wives ,
and thy children ;
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Yet I will send my servants unto thee to morrow about this time ,
and they shall search thine house ,
and the houses of thy servants ;
and it shall be ,
that whatsoever is pleasant in thine eyes ,
they shall put it in their hand ,
and take it away .
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Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land ,
and said ,
Mark ,
I pray you ,
and see how this man seeketh mischief :
for he sent unto me for my wives ,
and for my children ,
and for my silver ,
and for my gold ;
and I denied him not .
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And all the elders and all the people said unto him ,
Hearken not unto him ,
nor consent .
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Wherefore he said unto the messengers of Benhadad 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 may not do .
And the messengers departed ,
and brought #
him word again .
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And Benhadad Ben-Hadad #
sent unto him ,
and said ,
The gods do so unto me ,
and more also ,
if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me .
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And the king of Israel answered and said ,
Tell him ,
Let not him that girdeth on his harness boast himself as he that putteth it off .
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And it came to pass ,
when Benhadad heard this message ,
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 .
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And ,
behold ,
there came a prophet unto Ahab #
Ach #
ab #
king of Israel Yisra #
el #,
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 .
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And Ahab #
Ach #
ab #
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 .
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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 Yisra #
el #,
being seven thousand .
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And they went out at noon .
But Benhadad Ben-Hadad #
was drinking himself drunk in the pavilions ,
he and the kings ,
the thirty and two kings that helped him .
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And the young men of the princes of the provinces went out first ri #
shown #;
and Benhadad Ben-Hadad #
sent out ,
and they told him ,
saying ,
There are men come out of Samaria .
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And he said ,
Whether they be come out for peace ,
take them alive ;
or whether they be come out for war ,
take them alive .
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So these young men of the princes of the provinces came out of the city ,
and the army which followed them .
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And they slew every one his man :
and the Syrians fled ;
and Israel pursued them :
and Benhadad Ben-Hadad #
the king of Syria escaped on an horse with the horsemen .
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And te king of Israel went out ,
and smote the horses and chariots ,
and slew the Syrians with a great slaughter .
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And the prophet came to the king of Israel Yisra #
el #,
and said unto him ,
Go ,
strengthen thyself ,
and mark ,
and see what thou doest :
for at the return of the year the king of Syria will come up against thee .
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And the servants of the king of Syria said unto him ,
Their gods are gods of the hills ;
therefore they were stronger than we ;
but let us fight against them in the plain ,
and surely we shall be stronger than they .
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And do this thing ,
Take the kings away ,
every man out of his place ,
and put captains in their rooms :