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1 Malakiym 20

1 Malakiym chapter 20 in the Qadmoni reader. Read the full chapter text with direct verse references and continue into the interactive reader.

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20:1

The Syrian Wars and the Fatal Mercy of Achab

And Ben-hadad 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 Shomron, and warred against it.
20:2
And he sent messengers to Achab king of Yashar'al into the city, and said unto him, "Thus saith Ben-hadad,"
20:3
"Thy silver and thy gold is mine; thy wives also and thy children, even the goodliest, are mine."
20:4
And the king of Yashar'al answered and said, "My adun, O king, according to thy saying, I am thine, and all that I have."
20:5

The Escalation of the Extraction

And the messengers came again, and said, "Thus speaketh Ben-hadad, saying, Although I have sent unto thee, saying, Thou shalt deliver me thy silver, and thy gold, and thy wives, and thy children;"
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"Yet I will send my servants unto thee tomorrow 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."
20:7

The Council of the Elders

Then the king of Yashar'al 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."
20:8
And all the elders and all the people said unto him, "Hearken not unto him, nor consent."
20:9
Wherefore he said unto the messengers of Ben-hadad, "Tell my adun 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.
20:10

The Arrogance of Aram

And Ben-hadad sent unto him, and said, "The lo alahiym do so unto me, and more also, if the dust of Shomron shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me."
20:11
And the king of Yashar'al answered and said, "Tell him, Let not him that girdeth on his harness boast himself as he that putteth it off."
20:12
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.
20:13

The Prophetic Promise

And, behold, there came a prophet unto Achab king of Yashar'al, saying, "Thus saith 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄, Hast thou seen all this great multitude? behold, I will deliver it into thine hand this day; and thou shalt know that I am 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄."
20:14
And Achab said, "By whom?" And he said, "Thus saith 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄, Chawahn by the young men of the princes of the provinces." Then he said, "Who shall order the battle?" And he answered, "Thou."
20:15

The Numbering of the Strike Force

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 Yashar'al, being seven thousand.
20:16

The Drunkenness of the Coalition

And they went out at noon. But Ben-hadad was drinking himself drunk in the pavilions, he and the kings, the thirty and two kings that helped him.
20:17
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 of Shomron."
20:18
And he said, "Whether they be come out for peace, take them alive; or whether they be come out for war, take them alive."
20:19

The Slaughter of the Arameans

So these young men of the princes of the provinces came out of the city, and the army which followed them.
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And they slew every one his man: and the Arameans fled; and Yashar'al pursued them: and Ben-hadad the king of Syria escaped on a horse with the horsemen.
20:21
And the king of Yashar'al went out, and smote the horses and chariots, and slew the Arameans with a great slaughter.
20:22

The Warning of the Prophet

And the prophet came to the king of Yashar'al, 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."
20:23

The Theological Error of Aram

And the servants of the king of Syria said unto him, "Their alahiym are alahiym 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."
20:24
"And do this thing, Take the kings away, every man out of his place, and put captains in their rooms:"
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"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.
20:26

The Battle at Aphek

And it came to pass at the return of the year, that Ben-hadad numbered the Arameans, and went up to Aphek, to fight against Yashar'al.
20:27
And the children of Yashar'al were numbered, and were all present, and went against them: and the children of Yashar'al pitched before them like two little flocks of kids; but the Arameans filled the country.
20:28

The Celestial Response to the Insult

And there came a man of Alahiym, and spake unto the king of Yashar'al, and said, "Thus saith 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄, Because the Arameans have said, 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 is Alahiym of the hills, but he is not Alahiym of the valleys, therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thine hand, and ye shall know that I am 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄."
20:29

The Seven-Day Stasis and the Slaughter

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 Yashar'al slew of the Arameans a hundred thousand footmen in one day.
20:30
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 Ben-hadad fled, and came into the city, into an inner chamber.
20:31

The Petition of the Aramean Servants

And his servants said unto him, "Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Yashar'al 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 Yashar'al: peradventure he will save thy life."
20:32
So they girded sackcloth on their loins, and put ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Yashar'al, and said, "Thy servant Ben-hadad saith, I pray thee, let me live." And he said, "Is he yet alive? he is my brother."
20:33
Now the men did diligently observe whether any thing would come from him, and did hastily catch it: 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 the chariot.
20:34

The Unauthorized Treaty

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 Darmasaq, as my father made in Shomron." Then said Achab, "I will send thee away with this covenant." So he made a covenant with him, and sent him away.
20:35

The Prophet's Wound

And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said unto his neighbor in the word of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄, "Smite me, I pray thee." And the man refused to smite him.
20:36
Then said he unto him, "Because thou hast not obeyed the voice of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄, 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.
20:37
Then he found another man, and said, "Smite me, I pray thee." And the man smote him, so that in smiting he wounded him.
20:38

The Disguise at the Way Side

So the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with ashes upon his face.
20:39
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."
20:40
"And as thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone." And the king of Yashar'al said unto him, "So shall thy judgment be; thyself hast decided it."
20:41

The Unveiling of the Doom

And he hasted, and took the ashes away from his face; and the king of Yashar'al discerned him that he was of the prophets.
20:42
And he said unto him, "Thus saith 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄, 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."
20:43
And the king of Yashar'al went to his house heavy and displeased, and came to Shomron.