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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "//www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="//www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width; initial-scale=1.0; maximum-scale=1.0; user-scalable=0;"/><title>1 Kings 20 JPS Tanakh 1917</title><link rel="canonical" href="https://biblehub.com/jps/1_kings/20.htm" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/1_kings/20.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="../topmenuchap/1_kings/20-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="/">Bible</a> > <a href="../">JPS Tanakh 1917</a> > 1 Kings 20</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../1_kings/19.htm" title="1 Kings 19">◄</a> 1 Kings 20 <a href="../1_kings/21.htm" title="1 Kings 21">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading">JPS Tanakh 1917</div><div class="chap"><span class="reftext"><a href="/1_kings/20-1.htm"><b>1</b></a></span>And Ben-hadad the king of Aram 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 fought against it. <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_kings/20-2.htm"><b>2</b></a></span>And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel, into the city, <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_kings/20-3.htm"><b>3</b></a></span>and said unto him: ‘Thus saith Ben-hadad: Thy silver and thy gold is mine; thy wives also and thy children, even the goodliest, are mine.’ <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_kings/20-4.htm"><b>4</b></a></span>And the king of Israel answered and said: ‘It is according to thy saying, my lord, O king: I am thine, and all that I have.’ <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_kings/20-5.htm"><b>5</b></a></span>And the messengers came again, and said: ‘Thus speaketh Ben-hadad, saying: I sent indeed unto thee, saying: Thou shalt deliver me thy silver, and thy gold, and thy wives, and thy children; <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_kings/20-6.htm"><b>6</b></a></span>but I will send my servants unto thee tomorrow about this time, and they shall search thy 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.’ <p><span class="reftext"><a href="/1_kings/20-7.htm"><b>7</b></a></span>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.’ <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_kings/20-8.htm"><b>8</b></a></span>And all the elders and all the people said unto him: ‘Hearken thou not, neither consent.’ <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_kings/20-9.htm"><b>9</b></a></span>Wherefore he said unto the messengers of 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 back word. <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_kings/20-10.htm"><b>10</b></a></span>And 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.’ <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_kings/20-11.htm"><b>11</b></a></span>And the king of Israel answered and said: ‘Tell him: Let not him that girdeth on his armour boast himself as he that putteth it off.’ <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_kings/20-12.htm"><b>12</b></a></span>And it came to pass, when [Ben-hadad] heard this message, as he was drinking, he and the kings, in the booths, that he said unto his servants: ‘Set yourselves in array.’ And they set themselves in array against the city. <p><span class="reftext"><a href="/1_kings/20-13.htm"><b>13</b></a></span>And, behold, a prophet came near unto Ahab king of Israel, and said: ‘Thus saith the LORD: Hast thou seen all this great multitude? behold, I will deliver it into thy hand this day; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD.’ <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_kings/20-14.htm"><b>14</b></a></span>And Ahab said: ‘By whom?’ And he said: ‘Thus saith the LORD: By the young men of the princes of the provinces.’ Then he said: ‘Who shall begin the battle?’ And he answered: ‘Thou.’ <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_kings/20-15.htm"><b>15</b></a></span>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. <p><span class="reftext"><a href="/1_kings/20-16.htm"><b>16</b></a></span>And they went out at noon. But Ben-hadad was drinking himself drunk in the booths, he and the kings, the thirty and two kings that helped him. <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_kings/20-17.htm"><b>17</b></a></span>And the young men of the princes of the provinces went out first; and Ben-hadad sent out, and they told him, saying: ‘There are men come out from Samaria.’ <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_kings/20-18.htm"><b>18</b></a></span>And he said: ‘Whether they are come out for peace, take them alive; or whether they are come out for war, take them alive.’ <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_kings/20-19.htm"><b>19</b></a></span>So these went out of the city, the young men of the princes of the provinces, and the army which followed them. <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_kings/20-20.htm"><b>20</b></a></span>And they slew every one his man; and the Arameans fled, and Israel pursued them; and Ben-hadad the king of Aram escaped on a horse with horsemen. <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_kings/20-21.htm"><b>21</b></a></span>And the king of Israel went out, and smote the horses and chariots, and slew the Arameans with a great slaughter. <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_kings/20-22.htm"><b>22</b></a></span>And the prophet came near 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 Aram will come up against thee.’ <p><span class="reftext"><a href="/1_kings/20-23.htm"><b>23</b></a></span>And the servants of the king of Aram said unto him: ‘Their God is a God 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. <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_kings/20-24.htm"><b>24</b></a></span>And do this thing: take the kings away, every man out of his place, and put governors in their room: <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_kings/20-25.htm"><b>25</b></a></span>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 hearkened unto their voice, and did so. <p><span class="reftext"><a href="/1_kings/20-26.htm"><b>26</b></a></span>And it came to pass at the return of the year, that Ben-hadad mustered the Arameans, and went up to Aphek, to fight against Israel. <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_kings/20-27.htm"><b>27</b></a></span>And the children of Israel were mustered, and were victualled, and went against them; and the children of Israel encamped before them like two little flocks of kids; but the Arameans filled the country. <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_kings/20-28.htm"><b>28</b></a></span>And a man of God came near and spoke unto the king of Israel, and said: ‘Thus saith the LORD: Because the Arameans have said: The LORD is a God of the hills, but he is not a God of the valleys; therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thy hand, and ye shall know that I am the LORD.’ <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_kings/20-29.htm"><b>29</b></a></span>And they encamped 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 Arameans a hundred thousand footmen in one day. <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_kings/20-30.htm"><b>30</b></a></span>But the rest fled to Aphek, into the city; and the wall fell upon twenty and seven thousand men that were left. And Ben-hadad fled, and came into the city, into an inner chamber. <p><span class="reftext"><a href="/1_kings/20-31.htm"><b>31</b></a></span>And his servants said unto him: ‘Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings; let us, we pray thee, put sackcloth on our loins, and ropes upon our heads, and go out to the king of Israel; peradventure he will save thy life.’ <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_kings/20-32.htm"><b>32</b></a></span>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-hadad saith: I pray thee, let me live.’ And he said: ‘Is he yet alive? he is my brother.’ <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_kings/20-33.htm"><b>33</b></a></span>Now the men took it for a sign, and hastened to catch it from him; and they said: ‘Thy brother Ben-hadad.’ Then he said: ‘Go ye, bring him.’ Then Ben-hadad came forth to him; and he caused him to come up into his chariot. <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_kings/20-34.htm"><b>34</b></a></span>And [Ben-hadad] 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.’ ’And I, said Ahab, will let thee go with this covenant.’ So he made a covenant with him, and let him go. <p><span class="reftext"><a href="/1_kings/20-35.htm"><b>35</b></a></span>And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said unto his fellow by the word of the LORD: ‘Smite me, I pray thee.’ And the man refused to smite him. <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_kings/20-36.htm"><b>36</b></a></span>Then said he unto him: ‘Because thou hast not heartened to 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. <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_kings/20-37.htm"><b>37</b></a></span>Then he found another man, and said: ‘Smite me, I pray thee.’ And the man smote him, smiting and wounding him. <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_kings/20-38.htm"><b>38</b></a></span>So the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with his headband over his eyes. <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_kings/20-39.htm"><b>39</b></a></span>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. <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_kings/20-40.htm"><b>40</b></a></span>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 hast decided it.’ <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_kings/20-41.htm"><b>41</b></a></span>And he hastened, and took the headband away from his eyes; and the king of Israel discerned him that he was of the prophets. <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_kings/20-42.htm"><b>42</b></a></span>And he said unto him: ‘Thus saith the LORD: Because thou hast let go out of thy hand the man whom I had devoted to destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people.’ <span class="reftext"><a href="/1_kings/20-43.htm"><b>43</b></a></span>And the king of Israel went to his house sullen and displeased, and came to Samaria.</div></div><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center">THE HOLY SCRIPTURES<br>ACCORDING TO THE MASORETIC TEXT<br>A NEW TRANSLATION<p><a href="//www.jps.org/">Jewish Publication Society</a><br>1917<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/">Bible Hub</a></div></div></div></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="left"><a href="../1_kings/19.htm" onmouseover='lft.src="/leftgif.png"' onmouseout='lft.src="/left.png"' title="1 Kings 19"><img src="/left.png" name="lft" border="0" alt="1 Kings 19" /></a></div><div id="right"><a href="../1_kings/21.htm" onmouseover='rght.src="/rightgif.png"' onmouseout='rght.src="/right.png"' title="1 Kings 21"><img src="/right.png" name="rght" border="0" alt="1 Kings 21" /></a></div><div id="botleft"><a href="#" onmouseover='botleft.src="/botleftgif.png"' onmouseout='botleft.src="/botleft.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botleft.png" name="botleft" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="botright"><a href="#" onmouseover='botright.src="/botrightgif.png"' onmouseout='botright.src="/botright.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botright.png" name="botright" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="rightbox"><div class="padright"><div id="pic"><iframe width="100%" height="860" scrolling="no" src="//biblescan.com/mpad/1_kings/20-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></div></div><div id="rightbox4"><div class="padright2"><div id="spons1"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tr><td class="sp1"><iframe width="122" height="860" scrolling="no" src="../sidemenu.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></div><div id="bot"><div align="center" style="background-color:#F2FAFF"><br /><br /> <table align="center" width="90%" style="max-width:900px"><tr><td> <div id="rcjsload_a957f3"></div> <script type="text/javascript"> (function() { var referer="";try{if(referer=document.referrer,"undefined"==typeof referer||""==referer)throw"undefined"}catch(exception){referer=document.location.href,(""==referer||"undefined"==typeof referer)&&(referer=document.URL)}referer=referer.substr(0,700); 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