April 24

1 Kings 19:1 — 20:43

19 Then Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done and all about how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 At that Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying: “So may the gods do, and so may they add to it, if at this time tomorrow I shall not make your soul like the soul of each one of them!” 3 And he became afraid. Consequently he rose up and began to go for his soul and came to Beer-sheba, which belongs to Judah. Then he left his attendant behind there. 4 And he himself went into the wilderness a day’s journey, and at length came and sat down under a certain broom tree. And he began to ask that his soul might die and to say: “It is enough! Now, O Jehovah, take my soul away, for I am no better than my forefathers.”

5 Finally he lay down and fell asleep under the broom tree. But, look! now an angel was touching him. Then he said to him: “Rise up, eat.” 6 When he looked, why, there at his head was a round cake upon heated stones and a jug of water. And he began to eat and drink, after which he lay down again. 7 Later the angel of Jehovah came back a second time and touched him and said: “Rise up, eat, for the journey is too much for you.” 8 So he rose up and ate and drank, and he kept going in the power of that nourishment for forty days and forty nights as far as the mountain of the [true] God, Horeb.

9 There he finally entered into a cave, that he might spend the night there; and, look! there was Jehovah’s word for him, and it went on to say to him: “What is your business here, Elijah?” 10 To this he said: “I have been absolutely jealous for Jehovah the God of armies; for the sons of Israel have left your covenant, your altars they have torn down, and your prophets they have killed with the sword, so that I only am left; and they begin looking for my soul to take it away.” 11 But it said: “Go out, and you must stand on the mountain before Jehovah.” And, look! Jehovah was passing by, and a great and strong wind was rending mountains and breaking crags before Jehovah. (Jehovah was not in the wind.) And after the wind there was a quaking. (Jehovah was not in the quaking.) 12 And after the quaking there was a fire. (Jehovah was not in the fire.) And after the fire there was a calm, low voice. 13 And it came about that as soon as Elijah heard it, he immediately wrapped his face in his official garment and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave; and, look! there was a voice for him, and it proceeded to say to him: “What is your business here, Elijah?” 14 To this he said: “I have been absolutely jealous for Jehovah the God of armies; for the sons of Israel have left your covenant, your altars they have torn down, and your prophets they have killed with the sword, so that I only am left; and they begin looking for my soul to take it away.”

15 Jehovah now said to him: “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; and you must come in and anoint Hazael as king over Syria. 16 And Jehu the grandson of Nimshi you should anoint as king over Israel; and Elisha the son of Shaphat from Abel-meholah you should anoint as prophet in place of you. 17 And it must occur that the one escaping from Hazael’s sword, Jehu will put to death; and the one escaping from Jehu’s sword, Elisha will put to death. 18 And I have let seven thousand remain in Israel, all the knees that have not bent down to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”

19 Accordingly he went from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat while he was plowing with twelve spans before him, and he with the twelfth. So Elijah crossed over to him and threw his official garment upon him. 20 At that he left the bulls and went running after Elijah and said: “Let me, please, kiss my father and my mother. Then I will go following you.” At this he said to him: “Go, return; for what have I done to you?” 21 So he returned from following him and then took a span of the bulls and sacrificed them, and with the implements of the bulls he boiled their flesh and then gave it to the people, and they proceeded to eat. After that he rose up and went following Elijah and began to minister to him.

20 As for Ben-hadad the king of Syria, he collected all his military forces together and also thirty-two kings with him and horses and chariots, and he proceeded to go up and lay siege to Samaria and fight against it. 2 Then he sent messengers to Ahab the king of Israel at the city. And he went on to say to him: “This is what Ben-hadad has said, 3 ‘Your silver and your gold are mine, and your wives and your sons, the best looking, are mine.’” 4 To this the king of Israel answered and said: “According to your word, my lord the king, yours I am with all that belongs to me.”

5 Later the messengers came back and said: “This is what Ben-hadad has said, ‘I sent to you, saying: “Your silver and your gold and your wives and your sons you will give me. 6 But about this time tomorrow I shall send my servants to you, and they must carefully search your house and the houses of your servants; and it must occur that everything desirable to your eyes they will put in their hand, and they must take it away.”’”

7 At that the king of Israel called all the older men of the land and said: “Take note, please, and see that it is calamity that this one is seeking; for he sent to me for my wives and my sons and my silver and my gold, and I did not hold them back from him.” 8 Then all the older men and all the people said to him: “Do not obey, and you should not consent.” 9 So he said to the messengers of Ben-hadad: “Say to my lord the king, ‘All that you sent to your servant at first I shall do; but this thing I am not able to do.’” With that the messengers went off and brought word back to him.

10 Ben-hadad now sent to him and said: “So may the gods do to me, and so may they add to it, if the dust of Samaria will be sufficient for handfuls for all the people that follow me!” 11 In turn the king of Israel answered and said: “YOU men, speak [to him], ‘Do not let one girding on boast about himself like one unfastening.’” 12 And it came about that as soon as he heard this word, while he himself and the kings were drinking in the booths, he immediately said to his servants: “Get set!” And they began to get set against the city.

13 And, look! a certain prophet approached Ahab the king of Israel and then said: “This is what Jehovah has said, ‘Have you seen all this great crowd? Here I am giving it into your hand today, and you will certainly know that I am Jehovah.’” 14 Then Ahab said: “By whom?” to which he said: “This is what Jehovah has said, ‘By the young men of the princes of the jurisdictional districts.’” Finally he said: “Who will open the battle engagement?” to which he said: “You!”

15 And he proceeded to take the count of the young men of the princes of the jurisdictional districts, and they came to be two hundred and thirty-two; and after them he took the count of all the people, all the sons of Israel, seven thousand. 16 And they began to go out at noon while Ben-hadad was drinking himself drunk in the booths, he together with the kings, the thirty-two kings that were helping him. 17 When the young men of the princes of the jurisdictional districts came out first, Ben-hadad at once sent out; and they came telling him, saying: “There are men that have come out from Samaria.” 18 At that he said: “Whether it is for peace that they have come out, YOU should seize them alive; or whether it is for battle that they have come out, alive is how YOU should seize them.” 19 And these were the ones that came out from the city, the young men of the princes of the jurisdictional districts and the military forces that were behind them. 20 And they began to strike down each one his man; and the Syrians took to flight, and Israel went in pursuit of them, but Ben-hadad the king of Syria got to escape upon a horse together with the horsemen. 21 But the king of Israel went out and kept striking down the horses and the chariots, and he struck down the Syrians with a great slaughter.

22 Later the prophet approached the king of Israel and said to him: “Go, strengthen yourself and take note and see what you are going to do; for at the return of the year the king of Syria is coming up against you.”

23 As for the servants of the king of Syria, they said to him: “Their God is a God of mountains. That is why they proved stronger than we were. So, on the other hand, let us fight against them on the level land [and see] whether we shall not prove stronger than they are. 24 And do this thing: Remove the kings each one from his place and put in governors instead of them. 25 As for you, you should number a military force for yourself equal to the military force that fell from your side, with horse for horse and chariot for chariot; and let us fight against them on the level land [and see] whether we shall not prove stronger than they are.” Accordingly he listened to their voice and did just that way.

26 And it came about at the return of the year that Ben-hadad proceeded to muster the Syrians and to go up to Aphek for battle against Israel. 27 As for the sons of Israel, they were mustered and supplied and began to go out to meet them; and the sons of Israel went into camp in front of them like two tiny flocks of goats, while the Syrians, for their part, filled the earth. 28 Then the man of the [true] God approached and said to the king of Israel, yes, he went on to say: “This is what Jehovah has said, ‘For the reason that the Syrians have said: “Jehovah is a God of mountains, and he is not a God of low plains,” I shall have to give all this great crowd into your hand, and YOU men will certainly know that I am Jehovah.’”

29 And they continued encamped for seven days, these in front of those. And it came about on the seventh day that the engagement in battle began; and the sons of Israel went striking down the Syrians, a hundred thousand men on foot in one day. 30 And those that were left went fleeing to Aphek, to the city; and the wall came falling down upon twenty-seven thousand men that were left. As for Ben-hadad, he fled and finally came into the city into the innermost chamber.

31 So his servants said to him: “Here, now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are kings of loving-kindness. Please, let us carry sackcloth upon our loins and ropes upon our heads, and let us go out to the king of Israel. Perhaps he will preserve your soul alive.” 32 Accordingly they girded sackcloth about their loins, with ropes upon their heads, and came in to the king of Israel and said: “Your servant Ben-hadad has said, ‘Please, let my soul live.’” To this he said: “Is he still alive? He is my brother.” 33 So the men themselves took it as an omen and quickly took it as a decision of his own accord, and they went on to say: “Ben-hadad is your brother.” At that he said: “Come, fetch him.” Then Ben-hadad went out to him; and he at once had him get up into the chariot.

34 [Ben-hadad] now said to him: “The cities that my father took from your father I shall return; and streets you will assign to yourself in Damascus the same as my father assigned in Samaria.”

“And as for me, in a covenant I shall send you away.”

With that he concluded a covenant with him and sent him away.

35 And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his friend by the word of Jehovah: “Strike me, please.” But the man refused to strike him. 36 Therefore he said to him: “For the reason that you did not listen to the voice of Jehovah, here you are going away from me, and a lion will certainly strike you down.” After that he went away from beside him, and the lion got to find him and strike him down.

37 And he went on to find another man and to say: “Strike me, please.” So the man struck him, striking and wounding.

38 Then the prophet went and stood still for the king by the road, and he kept himself disguised with a bandage over his eyes. 39 And it came about that as the king was passing by, he cried out to the king and proceeded to say: “Your servant himself went out into the thick of the battle; and, look! a man was leaving the line, and he came bringing a man to me and then said, ‘Guard this man. If he should in any way be missing, your soul will also have to take the place of his soul, or else a talent of silver you will weigh out.’ 40 And it came about that as your servant was active here and there, why, he himself was gone.” At this the king of Israel said to him: “Thus your own judgment is. You yourself have decided.” 41 Upon that he hurriedly removed the bandage from over his eyes, and the king of Israel got to recognize him, that he was from the prophets. 42 He now said to him: “This is what Jehovah has said, ‘For the reason that you have let go out of your hand the man devoted to me for destruction, your soul must take the place of his soul, and your people the place of his people.’” 43 At that the king of Israel went on his way toward his house, sullen and dejected, and came to Samaria.