Back to BooksSimple English

1 Kings

Starts with King Solomon's reign, his wisdom, and building the temple, then the kingdom dividing into Israel and Judah.

Chapter 20

Back to Chapters

1 And Benhadad the king of Syria 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 warred against it.

*King Benhadad of Syria brought together his large army, which included 32 other kings, along with their horses and chariots. He attacked and surrounded Samaria, fighting against the city.

2 And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel into the city, and said unto him, Thus saith Benhadad,

*And he sent messengers to King Ahab of Israel into the city, saying, "This is what Benhadad wants you to know."

3 Thy silver and thy gold is mine; thy wives also and thy children, even the goodliest, are mine.

*Your silver and gold belong to me. Your best wives and children are also mine.

4 And the king of Israel answered and said, My lord, O king, according to thy saying, I am thine, and all that I have.

*The king of Israel replied, "My lord, king, whatever you say, I belong to you and everything I have is yours."

5 And the messengers came again, and said, Thus speaketh Benhadad, saying, Although I have sent unto thee, saying, Thou shalt deliver me thy silver, and thy gold, and thy wives, and thy children;

*The messengers returned and said, This is what Benhadad wants you to know: Even though he previously asked for your silver, gold, wives, and children, he still wants them.

6 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.

*"Even so, I will send my helpers to you tomorrow around this time. They will look through your home and the homes of those with you. Whatever seems nice to you, they will pick it up and take it away."

7 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.

*Then the king of Israel gathered all the important people and said, "Please watch carefully, this man is causing trouble. He asked for my wives, my children, my silver, and my gold, and I didn't say no."

8 And all the elders and all the people said unto him, Hearken not unto him, nor consent.

*And everyone, including the older folks and the rest of the people, told him, "Don't listen to him and don't agree."

9 Wherefore he said unto the messengers of Benhadad, 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.

*So, he told Benhadad's messengers to say to their king, "I will do everything you asked for initially, but I can't do this extra thing." The messengers left and reported back to him.

10 And Benhadad 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.

*Ben-Hadad sent a message saying, "May the same thing happen to me and even more if the dust from Samaria is enough for everyone who comes with me to hold in their hands."

11 And the king of Israel answered and said, Tell him, Let not him that girdeth on his harness boast himself as he that putteth it off.

*The king of Israel replied, "Tell him, Someone who puts on their armor shouldn't brag like someone who takes it off."

12 And it came to pass, when Ben-hadad heard this message, as he was drinking, he and the kings in the pavilions, that he said unto his servants, Set yourselves in array. And they set themselves in array against the city.

*When Ben-hadad heard this message while drinking with other kings, he told his servants to prepare for battle against the city. They did as he asked and got ready to fight.

13 And, behold, there came a prophet unto Ahab king of Israel, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Hast 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 suddenly, a prophet appeared to King Ahab of Israel and said, "The Lord says, 'Have you noticed this large group of people? Today, I will hand them over to you. This way, you'll understand that I am the Lord.'"

14 And Ahab said, By whom? And he said, Thus saith 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.

*Ahab asked, "By whom?" and was told it's the Lord's decision through the young leaders. When Ahab asked who will lead the fight, the answer was, "You."

15 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.

*Then he counted the young men from the leaders of the areas, and there were 232 of them. After that, he counted everyone - all the people of Israel, which totaled to 7,000.

16 And they went out at noon. But Benhadad was drinking himself drunk in the pavilions, he and the kings, the thirty and two kings that helped him.

*At midday, they left. However, Benhadad and the other 32 kings who assisted him were getting very drunk in their tents with many other kings.

17 And the young men of the princes of the provinces went out first; and Benhadad sent out, and they told him, saying, There are men come out of Samaria.

*The young princes' helpers left first. Then Benhadad sent his own people, who reported that some men from Samaria had arrived.

18 And he said, Whether they be come out for peace, take them alive; or whether they be come out for war, take them alive.

*He said, if they come out for peace, capture them alive. If they come out for war, also capture them alive.

19 So these young men of the princes of the provinces came out of the city, and the army which followed them.

*So, the young men from the prince's cities left the city, along with the soldiers who followed them.

20 And they slew every one his man: and the Syrians fled; and Israel pursued them: and Benhadad the king of Syria escaped on an horse with the horsemen.

*They killed each of their enemies, and the Syrians ran away. Israel chased them, but Benhadad, the Syrian king, escaped on a horse with his riders.

21 And the king of Israel went out, and smote the horses and chariots, and slew the Syrians with a great slaughter.

*The king of Israel left and attacked the horses, chariots, and killed many Syrians.

22 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.

*The prophet visited the king of Israel and told him, "Get ready and be alert. Watch your actions because next year, the king of Syria will attack you."

23 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.

*The Syrian king's servants said, "Their gods are mountain gods; that's why they are stronger. But if we fight them on flat ground, we will be stronger."

24 And do this thing, Take the kings away, every man out of his place, and put captains in their rooms:

*And do this action: Remove all the kings, each person from their position, and replace them with leaders in their spots.

25 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.

*Gather a large army, just like the one you previously lost. Replace horse for horse and chariot for chariot. We'll battle them on flat land and will definitely be stronger. He listened to their advice and followed these steps.

26 And it came to pass at the return of the year, that Benhadad numbered the Syrians, and went up to Aphek, to fight against Israel.

*After a year passed, Benhadad gathered the Syrian army and went to Aphek to battle against Israel.

27 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.

*The Israelite children counted and gathered fought against another group. They set up camp like two small groups of young goats. However, the Syrians occupied the land completely.

28 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.

*A man of God talked to the king of Israel and said, "God tells you, The Syrians think God only rules the hills but not the valleys. So, I will give all these people into your control. Then you'll understand that I am God."

29 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 an hundred thousand footmen in one day.

*For seven days, they faced off against each other. On the seventh day, the fighting began, and the Israelites defeated the Syrians, killing 100,000 foot soldiers in a single day.

30 But the rest fled to Aphek, into the city; and there a wall fell upon twenty and seven thousand of the men that were left. And Benhadad fled, and came into the city, into an inner chamber.

*But the others ran to Aphek, into the town; and there, a part of the wall collapsed on 20,700 men who were still alive. Then Benhadad escaped, and hid in another room inside the city.

31 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: peradventure he will save thy life.

*His helpers said, "We heard that the leaders in Israel are kind. So let's tie cloth around our waists and ropes on our heads to show respect. Then we can go meet the leader of Israel and ask if he can save your life."

32 So they girded sackcloth on their loins, and put ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said, Thy servant Benhadad saith, I pray thee, let me live. And he said, Is he yet alive? he is my brother.

*So they tied cloth around their waists and put ropes on their heads. Then they went to the king of Israel and said, "Your servant Benhadad asks for his life." The king replied, "Is he still alive? He is like my brother."

33 Now the men did diligently observe whether any thing would come from him, and did hastily catch it: and they said, Thy brother Benhadad. Then he said, Go ye, bring him. Then Benhadad came forth to him; and he caused him to come up into the chariot.

*Now, the men carefully watched if anything would appear from him and quickly caught it. They said, "Your brother Benhadad." He replied, "Go get him." So, Benhadad came out to him, and he helped him climb into the chariot.

34 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. Then said Ahab, I will send thee away with this covenant. So he made a covenant with him, and sent him away.

*Ben-hadad told Ahab, "I'll give back the cities my father took from your father. You can build streets in Damascus like my father did in Samaria." Ahab agreed and they made a deal. Then Ahab let Ben-hadad go.

35 And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said unto his neighbour in the word of the LORD, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man refused to smite him.

*A man from the prophets asked his neighbor, as God told him, "Hit me, please." But the man wouldn't hit him.

36 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 said to him, "You didn't listen to God's command, so when you leave me, a lion will kill you." As soon as he left, a lion found him and killed him.

37 Then he found another man, and said, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man smote him, so that in smiting he wounded him.

*Then he met another person, and asked, Please hit me. So the person hit him, but in hitting, they both got hurt.

38 So the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with ashes upon his face.

*So the prophet left, waited for the king on the road, and covered his face with ash.

39 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.

*As the king walked by, he called out to the other king. He said, "My servant was in the middle of the fight. A man suddenly appeared and brought another man to me. He told me to watch this man closely. If he goes missing, then his life will be equal to yours or you must pay a large amount of silver."

40 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.

*As your helper went here and there, he left. The king of Israel told him, Just like you decided, so shall your punishment be.

41 And he hasted, and took the ashes away from his face; and the king of Israel discerned him that he was of the prophets.

*He quickly removed the ash from his face, and the king of Israel recognized that he was a prophet.

42 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, therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people.

*He said, "God says, since you released someone I chose for punishment, now your life will be taken in place of his, and your people will suffer like his people."

43 And the king of Israel went to his house heavy and displeased, and came to Samaria.

*The king of Israel returned home feeling sad and unhappy, then he went to Samaria.

read summary

Back to Chapters

Back to Books

* work in progress, there will be mistakes