 CHAPTER XX. And Ben Haddad, the king of Syria, gathered all his hosts together. And there were thirty and two kings with him, and horses and chariots. And he went up and besieged Samaria and ward against it. And he sent messengers to Ahab, king of Israel, into the city, and said unto him, Thus sayeth Ben Haddad, Thy silver and thy gold is mine, Thy wives also and Thy children, even the goodliest are mine. And the king of Israel answered and said, My lord, O king, according to thy saying, I am thine, and all that I have. And the messengers came again and said, Thus speaketh Ben Haddad, saying, Although I have sent unto thee, saying, Thou shalt deliver me thy silver and thy gold and thy wives and thy children, 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. 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. And all the elders and all the people said unto him, How can not unto him nor consent? Wherefore he said unto the messengers of Ben Haddad, 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. And Ben Haddad 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. And the king of Israel answered and said, Tell him, let not him that Goethe on his harness boast himself as he that puteth it off. And it came to pass when Ben Haddad heard this message as he was drinking, he and the kings and the pavilions, that he said unto his servants, Set yourselves in array, and they set themselves in array against the city. And behold, there came a prophet unto Ahab, king of Israel, saying, Thus sayeth the lord, Has 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. And Ahab said, By whom? And he said, Thus sayeth 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. 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. And they went out at noon, but Ben Haddad was drinking himself drunk in the pavilions, he and the kings, the thirty and two kings that helped him. And the young men of the princes of the provinces went out first, and Ben Haddad sent out, and they told him, saying, There are men coming out of Samaria. And he said, Whether they become out for peace, take them alive, or whether they become out for war, take them alive. So these young men of the princes of the provinces came out of the city, and the army which followed them. And they slew every one his man, and the Syrians fled, and Israel pursued them. And Ben Haddad the king of Syria escaped on a horse with the horsemen. And the king of Israel went out and smoked the horses and chariots, and slew the Syrians with a great slaughter. And the prophet came to the king of Israel 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. 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. And do this thing, take the kings away, every man out of his place, and put captains in their rooms, and number thee an army, like the army that thou hast lost, horse for horse, and chariot for chariot, and we will fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. And he harkened unto their voice, and did so. And it came to pass at the return of the year that Ben Haddad numbered the Syrians, and went up to Efec to fight against Israel. And the children of Israel were numbered, and were all present, and went against them, and the children of Israel pitched before them like two little flocks of kids, but the Syrians filled the country. And there came a man of God, and spake unto the king of Israel, and said, Thus saith the Lord, because the Syrians have said, The Lord is God of the hills, but he is not God of the valleys. Therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thine hand, and ye shall know that I am the Lord. And they pitched one over against the other seven days. And so it was that in the seventh day the battle was joined, and the children of Israel slew of the Syrians and hundred thousand footmen in one day. But the rest fled to Efec into the city, and there a wall fell upon twenty and seven thousand of the men that were left. And Ben Haddad fled and came into the city, into an inner chamber. And his servants said unto him, Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings. Let us, I pray thee, put sackcloth on our loins, and ropes upon our heads, and go out to the king of Israel, per the venture he will save thy life. So they girded sackcloth on their loins, and put ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said, Thy servant Ben Haddad saith, I pray thee, let me live. And he said, Is he yet alive? He is my brother. Now the men did diligently observe whether anything would come from him, and did hastily catch it, and they said, Thy brother, Ben Haddad. Then he said, Go ye, bring him. Then Ben Haddad came forth to him, and he caused him to come up into the chariot. And Ben Haddad said unto him, The cities which my father took from thy father, I will restore, and thou shalt make streets for thee in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria. Then said Ahab, I will send thee away with this covenant. So he made a covenant with him, and sent him away. And a certain man of the sons of the prophet said unto his neighbor in the word of the Lord, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man refused to smite him. Then said he unto him, Because thou hast not obeyed the voice of the Lord, behold, as soon as thou art departed from me, a lion shall slay thee, and as soon as he was departed from him, a lion found him, and slew him. Then he found another man, and said, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man smote him, so that in smiting he wounded him. So the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with ashes upon his face. And as the king passed by, he cried unto the king, and he said, Thy servant went out into the midst of the battle. And behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man unto me, and said, Keep this man, if by any means he be missing, then shall thy life be for his life, or else thou shalt pay a talent of silver. And as thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone. And the king of Israel said unto him, So shall thy judgment be, Thyself has decided it. And he hasted, and took the ashes away from his face, and the king of Israel discerned him that he was of the prophets. And he said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Because thou hast let go out of thy hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction, For thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people. And the king of Israel went to his house heavy and displeased, and came to Samaria. CHAPTER XXI. OF FIRST KINGS OF THE BIBLE, KING JAMES VERSION. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. CHAPTER XXI. And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab King of Samaria. And Ahab spoke unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near unto my house, and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it, or if it seem good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money. And Naboth said to Ahab, The Lord forbid at me that I should give thee the inheritance of my fathers unto thee. And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased, because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him. For he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread. But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said unto him, Why is thy spirit so sad that thou eatest no bread? And he said unto her, Because I speak unto Naboth the Jezreelite, and said unto him, Give me thy vineyard for money, or else if it please thee, I will give thee another vineyard for it. And he answered, I will not give thee my vineyard. And Jezebel his wife said unto him, Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? Arise, and eat bread, and let thine heart be merry. I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite. So she wrote letters in Ahab's name and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that were in his city, dwelling with Naboth. And she wrote in the letters saying, Proclaim a fast and set Naboth on high among the people, and set two men, sons of Belial, before him, to bear witness against him, saying, Thou didst blaspheme God and the king, and then carry him out and stone him that he may die. And the men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who were the inhabitants in his city, did as Jezebel had sent unto them, and as it was written in the letters which she had sent unto them. They proclaimed a fast and set Naboth on high among the people, and there came in two men, children of Belial, and sat before him, and the men of Belial witnessed against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did blaspheme God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city and stoned him with stones that he died. Then they sent to Jezebel saying, Naboth is stoned and is dead. And it came to pass when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give thee for money, for Naboth is not alive but dead. And it came to pass when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it. And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, Arise, go down to meet Ahab, king of Israel, which is in Samaria, behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, wither he is gone down to possess it. And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thou sayeth the Lord. Has thou killed and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thou sayeth the Lord, in the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth, shall dogs licked thy blood, even thine. And Ahab said to Elijah, Has thou found me on mine enemy? And he answered, I have found thee, because thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the Lord. Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will take away thy posterity, and will cut off on Ahab, him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, and will make thine house like the house of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, and like the house of Bashar, the son of Ahija, for the provocation wherewith thou has provoked me to anger, and made Israel to sin. And Jezebel also spake the Lord, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezebel. Him that dyeth of Ahab in the city the dogs shall eat, and him that dyeth in the field shall the fowls of their air eat. But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to wickedness in the sight of the Lord, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up. And he did very abominably in following idols, according to all things as did the Amorites whom the Lord cast out before the children of Israel. And it came to pass when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly. And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, Seeest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? Because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days, but in his son's days will I bring the evil upon his house. And they continued three years without war between Syria and Israel. And it came to pass in the third year, that Jehoshaphat the King of Judah came down to the King of Israel. And the King of Israel said unto his servants, No ye that Ramoth and Gilead is ours, and we be still, and take it not out of the hand of the King of Syria. And he said unto Jehoshaphat, Will thou go with me to battle to Ramoth Gilead? And Jehoshaphat said to the King of Israel, I am as thou art, my people as thy people, my horses as thy horses. And Jehoshaphat said unto the King of Israel, Inquire, I pray thee, at the word of the Lord today. Then the King of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall I go against Ramoth Gilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up, for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the King. And Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the Lord besides that we might inquire of him? And the King of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah, the son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire of the Lord. But I hate him, for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the King say so. Then the King of Israel called an officer, and said, Heyson, hear the Micaiah, the son of Imlah. And the King of Israel and Jehoshaphat, the King of Judah, sat each on his throne, having put on their robes in a void place in the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets prophesied before them. And Zedekiah, the son of Chanana, made him horns of iron, and he said, Thus saith the Lord, With these shalt thou push the Syrians until thou have consumed them. And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramoth Gilead and prosper, for the Lord shall deliver it into the King's hand. And the messenger that was gone to call Micaiah spake unto him, saying, Behold now the words of the prophets declare good unto the King with one mouth, that thy word I pray thee be like the word of one of them, and speak that which is good. And Micaiah said, As the Lord liveth, what the Lord saith unto me, that will I speak. So he came to the King, and the King said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go against Ramoth Gilead to battle, or shall we forbear? And he answered him, Go and prosper, for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the King. And the King said unto him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou tell me nothing but that which is true in the name of the Lord? And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd. And the Lord said, These have no master, let them return every man to his house in peace. And the King of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would prophesy no good concerning me but evil? And he said, He are thou therefore the word of the Lord. I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him, on his right hand, and on his left. And the Lord said, Who shall persuade Ahab that he may go up and fall at Ramoth Gilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner. And they came forth a spirit, and stood before the Lord, and said, I will persuade him. And the Lord said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also. Go forth and do so. Now therefore behold, the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil concerning thee. But Zedekai, the son of Chanana, went near, and smote Mekai on the cheek, and said, Which way went the spirit of the Lord from me to speak unto thee? And Mekai said, Behold, thou shalt see in that day when thou shalt go into an inner chamber to hide thyself. And the king of Israel said, Take Mekai and carry him back unto Ammon, the governor of the city, and to Joash, the king's son. And say, thus saith the king, Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I come in peace. And Mekai said, If thou return at all in peace, the Lord hath not spoken by me. And he said, Hark no people, every one of you. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, went up to Ramoth Gilead. And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself and enter into the battle, but put thou on thy robes. And the king of Israel disguised himself and went into the battle. But the king of Syria commanded his thirty and two captains that had ruled over his chariots, saying, Fight neither with small nor great, save only with the king of Israel. And it came to pass when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, Surely it is the king of Israel. And they turned aside to fight against him. And Jehoshaphat cried out. And it came to pass when the captains of the chariots perceived that it was not the king of Israel, that they turned back from pursuing him. And a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness. Wherefore he said unto the driver of his chariot, Turn thine hand and carry me out of the host, for I am wounded. And the battle increased that day, and the king was stayed up in his chariot against the Syrians, and died at even, and the blood ran out of the wound into the midst of the chariot. And there went a proclamation throughout the host about the going down of the sun, saying, Every man to his city, and every man to his own country. So the king died and was brought to Samaria, and they buried the king in Samaria. And one washed the chariot in the pool of Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood, and they washed his armor, according unto the word of the Lord which he spake. Now the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all that he did, and the ivory house which he made, and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? So Ahab slept with his fathers, and Ahaziah, his son, reigned in his stead. And Jehoshaphat, the son of Assa, began to reign over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab, king of Israel. Jehoshaphat was thirty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty and five years in Jerusalem, and his mother's name was Asaba, the daughter of Shilhe. And he walked in all the ways of Assa, his father. He turned not aside from it, during that which was right in the eyes of the Lord. Nevertheless the high places were not taken away, for the people offered and burnt incense yet in the high places. And Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel. Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, and his might that he showed and how he wore, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? And the remnant of the sodomites which remained in the days of his father Assa, he took out of the land. There was then no king in Edom. A deputy was king. Jehoshaphat made ships of Thashish to go to Ophia for gold, but they went not, for the ships were broken at Isi-on-Gibah. Then said Ahaziah the son of Ahab unto Jehoshaphat, let my servants go with thy servants in the ships, but Jehoshaphat would not. And Jehoshaphat slept with his father's, and was buried with his father's in the city of David his father, and Jehoram his son reigned in his stead. Ahaziah the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel and Samaria, the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, and reigned two years over Israel. And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way of his father, and in the way of his mother, and in the way of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nibbat, who made Israel to sin. For he served Baal, and worshipped him, and provoked to anger the Lord God of Israel according to all that his father had done. End of chapter twenty-two End of first Kings