1 Kings 20:13-30

13A prophet approached King Ahab of Israel and said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Do you see this whole huge army? Watch, I am handing it over to you today so that you may know that I am the Lord.’”

14Ahab asked, “By whom?” And the prophet said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘By the young men of the provincial leaders.’” Then he asked, “Who is to start the battle?” He said, “You.”

15So Ahab mobilized the young men of the provincial leaders, and there were 232. After them he mobilized all the Israelite troops: 7,000.

16They marched out at noon while Ben-hadad and the thirty-two kings who were helping him were getting drunk in their quarters.

17The young men of the provincial leaders marched out first. Then Ben-hadad sent out scouts, and they reported to him, saying, “Men are marching out of Samaria.”

18So he said, “If they have marched out in peace, take them alive, and if they have marched out for battle, take them alive.”

19The young men of the provincial leaders and the army behind them marched out from the city,

20and each one struck down his opponent. So the Arameans fled and Israel pursued them, but King Ben-hadad of Aram escaped on a horse with the cavalry.

21Then the king of Israel marched out and attacked the cavalry and the chariots. He inflicted a severe slaughter on Aram.

22The prophet approached the king of Israel and said to him, “Go and strengthen yourself, then consider carefully what you should do, for in the spring the king of Aram will attack you.”

23Now the king of Aram’s servants said to him, “Their gods are gods of the hill country. That’s why they were stronger than we were. Instead, we should fight with them on the plain; then we will certainly be stronger than they are.

24Also do this: remove each king from his position and appoint captains in their place.

25Raise another army for yourself like the army you lost — horse for horse, chariot for chariot — and let’s fight with them on the plain; and we will certainly be stronger than they are.” The king listened to them and did it.

26In the spring, Ben-hadad mobilized the Arameans and went up to Aphek to battle Israel.

27The Israelites mobilized, gathered supplies, and went to fight them. The Israelites camped in front of them like two little flocks of goats, while the Arameans filled the landscape.

28Then the man of God approached and said to the king of Israel, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Because the Arameans have said, “The Lord is a god of the mountains and not a god of the valleys,” I will hand over all this whole huge army to you. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”

29They camped opposite each other for seven days. On the seventh day, the battle took place, and the Israelites struck down the Arameans — one hundred thousand foot soldiers in one day.

30The ones who remained fled into the city of Aphek, and the wall fell on those twenty-seven thousand remaining men. Ben-hadad also fled and went into an inner room in the city.