rsv 1Kings:20:13-34 SEEK
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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 ."
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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 ."
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Then he mustered the servants of the governors of the districts ,
and they were two hundred and thirty-two ;
and after them he mustered all the people of Israel ,
seven thousand .
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And they went out at noon ,
while Ben-ha '
dad was drinking himself drunk in the booths ,
he and the thirty-two kings who helped him .
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The servants of the governors of the districts went out first .
And Ben-ha '
dad sent out scouts ,
and they reported to him , "
Men are coming out from Sama '
ria ."
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He said , "
If they have come out for peace ,
take them alive ;
or if they have come out for war ,
take them alive ."
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So these went out of the city ,
the servants of the governors of the districts ,
and the army which followed them .
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And each killed his man ;
the Syrians fled and Israel pursued them ,
but Ben-ha '
dad king of Syria escaped on a horse with horsemen .
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And the king of Israel went out ,
and captured the horses and chariots ,
and killed the Syrians with a great slaughter .
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Then the prophet came near to the king of Israel ,
and said to him , "
Come ,
strengthen yourself ,
and consider well what you have to do ;
for in the spring the king of Syria will come up against you ."
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And the servants of the king of Syria said to him , "
Their gods are gods of the hills ,
and so 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 :
remove the kings ,
each from his post ,
and put commanders in their places ;
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and muster an army like the army that you have lost ,
horse for horse ,
and chariot for chariot ;
then we will fight against them in the plain ,
and surely we shall be stronger than they ."
And he hearkened to their voice ,
and did so .
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In the spring Ben-ha '
dad mustered the Syrians ,
and went up to Aphek ,
to fight against Israel .
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And the people of Israel were mustered ,
and were provisioned ,
and went against them ;
the people of Israel encamped before them like two little flocks of goats ,
but the Syrians filled the country .
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And a man of God came near and said to the king of Israel , "
Thus says the LORD , `
Because the Syrians have said , "
The LORD is a god of the hills but he is not a god of the valleys ,"
therefore I will give all this great multitude into your hand ,
and you shall know that I am the LORD .'"
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And they encamped opposite one another seven days .
Then on the seventh day the battle was joined ;
and the people of Israel smote of the Syrians a hundred thousand foot soldiers in one day .
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And the rest fled into the city of Aphek ;
and the wall fell upon twenty-seven thousand men that were left .
Ben-ha '
dad also fled ,
and entered an inner chamber in the city .
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And his servants said to him , "
Behold now ,
we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings ;
let us put sackcloth on our loins and ropes upon our heads ,
and go out to the king of Israel ;
perhaps he will spare your life ."
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So they girded sackcloth on their loins ,
and put ropes on their heads ,
and went to the king of Israel and said , "
Your servant Ben-ha '
dad says , `
Pray ,
let me live .'"
And he said , "
Does he still live ?
He is my brother ."
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Now the men were watching for an omen ,
and they quickly took it up from him and said , "
Yes ,
your brother Ben-ha '
dad ."
Then he said , "
Go and bring him ."
Then Ben-ha '
dad came forth to him ;
and he caused him to come up into the chariot .
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And Ben-ha '
dad said to him , "
The cities which my father took from your father I will restore ;
and you may establish bazaars for yourself in Damascus ,
as my father did in Sama '
ria ."
And Ahab said , "
I will let you go on these terms ."
So he made a covenant with him and let him go .