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1 Kings 20:1–6

War with Aram

1 Now aBen-hadad king of Aram gathered all his army, band there were thirty-two kings with him, and horses and chariots. And he went up and cbesieged Samaria and fought against it.

2 Then he sent messengers to the city to Ahab king of Israel and said to him, “Thus says Ben-hadad,

3 ‘Your silver and your gold are mine; your most beautiful wives and children are also mine.’ ”

4 The king of Israel replied, “It is according to your word, my lord, O king; I am yours, and all that I have.”

5 Then the messengers returned and said, “Thus says 1Ben-hadad, ‘Surely, I sent to you saying, “You shall give me your silver and your gold and your wives and your children,”

6 but about this time tomorrow I will send my servants to you, and they will search your house and the houses of your servants; and 1whatever is desirable in your eyes, they will 2take in their hand and carry away.’ ”

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1 Kings 20:1–6 — The New International Version (NIV)

Now Ben-Hadad king of Aram mustered his entire army. Accompanied by thirty-two kings with their horses and chariots, he went up and besieged Samaria and attacked it. He sent messengers into the city to Ahab king of Israel, saying, “This is what Ben-Hadad says: ‘Your silver and gold are mine, and the best of your wives and children are mine.’ ”

The king of Israel answered, “Just as you say, my lord the king. I and all I have are yours.”

The messengers came again and said, “This is what Ben-Hadad says: ‘I sent to demand your silver and gold, your wives and your children. But about this time tomorrow I am going to send my officials to search your palace and the houses of your officials. They will seize everything you value and carry it away.’ ”

1 Kings 20:1–6 — English Standard Version (ESV)

Ben-hadad the king of Syria gathered all his army together. Thirty-two kings were with him, and horses and chariots. And he went up and closed in on Samaria and fought against it. And he sent messengers into the city to Ahab king of Israel and said to him, “Thus says Ben-hadad: ‘Your silver and your gold are mine; your best wives and children also are mine.’ ” And the king of Israel answered, “As you say, my lord, O king, I am yours, and all that I have.” The messengers came again and said, “Thus says Ben-hadad: ‘I sent to you, saying, “Deliver to me your silver and your gold, your wives and your children.” Nevertheless I will send my servants to you tomorrow about this time, and they shall search your house and the houses of your servants and lay hands on whatever pleases you and take it away.’ ”

1 Kings 20:1–6 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

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 Samaria, and warred against it. And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel into the city, 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. And the king of Israel answered and said, My lord, O king, according to thy saying, I am thine, and all that I have. 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; 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.

1 Kings 20:1–6 — New Living Translation (NLT)

About that time King Ben-hadad of Aram mobilized his army, supported by the chariots and horses of thirty-two allied kings. They went to besiege Samaria, the capital of Israel, and launched attacks against it. Ben-hadad sent messengers into the city to relay this message to King Ahab of Israel: “This is what Ben-hadad says: ‘Your silver and gold are mine, and so are your wives and the best of your children!’ ”

“All right, my lord the king,” Israel’s king replied. “All that I have is yours!”

Soon Ben-hadad’s messengers returned again and said, “This is what Ben-hadad says: ‘I have already demanded that you give me your silver, gold, wives, and children. But about this time tomorrow I will send my officials to search your palace and the homes of your officials. They will take away everything you consider valuable!’ ”

1 Kings 20:1–6 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

Now Ben-Hadad the king of Syria gathered all his forces together; thirty-two kings were with him, with horses and chariots. And he went up and besieged Samaria, and made war against it. Then he sent messengers into the city to Ahab king of Israel, and said to him, “Thus says Ben-Hadad: ‘Your silver and your gold are mine; your loveliest wives and children are mine.’ ”

And the king of Israel answered and said, “My lord, O king, just as you say, I and all that I have are yours.”

Then the messengers came back and said, “Thus speaks Ben-Hadad, saying, ‘Indeed I have sent to you, saying, “You shall deliver to me your silver and your gold, your wives and your children”; but I will send my servants to you tomorrow about this time, and they shall search your house and the houses of your servants. And it shall be, that whatever is pleasant in your eyes, they will put it in their hands and take it.’ ”

1 Kings 20:1–6 — New Century Version (NCV)

Ben-Hadad king of Aram gathered together all his army. There were thirty-two kings with their horses and chariots who went with him and surrounded Samaria and attacked it. The king sent messengers into the city to Ahab king of Israel.

This was his message: “Ben-Hadad says, ‘Your silver and gold belong to me, as well as the best of your wives and children.’ ”

Ahab king of Israel answered, “My master and king, I agree to what you say. I and everything I have belong to you.”

Then the messengers came to Ahab again. They said, “Ben-Hadad says, ‘I told you before that you must give me your silver and gold, your wives and your children. About this time tomorrow I will send my men, who will search everywhere in your palace and in the homes of your officers. Whatever they want they will take and carry off.’ ”

1 Kings 20:1–6 — American Standard Version (ASV)

And Ben-hadad the king of Syria gathered all his host together; and there were thirty and two kings with him, and the horses, and the chariots: and he went up and besieged Samaria, and fought against it. And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel, into the city, 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. 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. 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; but I will send my servants unto thee to-morrow 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.

1 Kings 20:1–6 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

And Ben-Hadad king of Syria assembled all his host; and there were thirty-two kings with him, and horses and chariots; and he went up and besieged Samaria, and fought against it. And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel into the city, and said to him, Thus says Ben-Hadad: Thy silver and thy gold is mine; thy wives also and thy children, the goodliest, are mine. And the king of Israel answered and said, My lord, O king, according to thy saying, I am thine, and all that I have. And the messengers came again, and said, Thus speaks Ben-Hadad saying: I sent to thee indeed, saying, Thou shalt deliver me thy silver, and thy gold, and thy wives, and thy children; but to-morrow about this time I will send my servants to thee, and they shall search thy house, and the houses of thy servants; and it shall be, that whatsoever is pleasant in thy sight, they shall put in their hand and take away.

1 Kings 20:1–6 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

King Benhadad of Aram gathered together his whole army. With him were 32 kings along with their horses and chariots. He went to blockade Samaria and fight against it. He sent messengers into the city to King Ahab of Israel. They told Ahab, “This is what Benhadad says: Your silver and gold are mine. Your beloved wives and children are mine.” 

The king of Israel answered, “As you say, Your Majesty. I and everything I have are yours.” 

But Benhadad sent messengers back ⸤to Ahab⸥. They said, “Benhadad has sent this message to you: ‘Your silver, gold, wives, and children are mine. Give ⸤them to me⸥. At this time tomorrow I’m going to send my servants to search your palace and your servants’ houses. They will take anything that you consider valuable.’ ” 

1 Kings 20:1–6 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

Now Ben-hadad king of Aram assembled his entire army. Thirty-two kings, along with horses and chariots, were with him. He marched up, besieged Samaria, and fought against it. He sent messengers into the city to Ahab king of Israel and said to him, “This is what Ben-hadad says: ‘Your silver and your gold are mine! And your best wives and children are mine as well!’ ”

Then the king of Israel answered, “Just as you say, my lord the king: I am yours, along with all that I have.”

The messengers then returned and said, “This is what Ben-hadad says: ‘I have sent messengers to you, saying: You are to give me your silver, your gold, your wives, and your children. But at this time tomorrow I will send my servants to you, and they will search your palace and your servants’ houses. They will lay their hands on and take away whatever is precious to you.’ ”

1 Kings 20:1–6 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

King Ben-hadad of Aram gathered all his army together; thirty-two kings were with him, along with horses and chariots. He marched against Samaria, laid siege to it, and attacked it. Then he sent messengers into the city to King Ahab of Israel, and said to him: “Thus says Ben-hadad: Your silver and gold are mine; your fairest wives and children also are mine.” The king of Israel answered, “As you say, my lord, O king, I am yours, and all that I have.” The messengers came again and said: “Thus says Ben-hadad: I sent to you, saying, ‘Deliver to me your silver and gold, your wives and children’; nevertheless I will send my servants to you tomorrow about this time, and they shall search your house and the houses of your servants, and lay hands on whatever pleases them, and take it away.”

1 Kings 20:1–6 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

Ben-Hadad king of Aram gathered all of his army, and thirty-two kings were with him, and horses and chariots. He went up and laid siege against Samaria and fought with it. He sent messengers to the city to Ahab king of Israel. He said to him, “Thus says Ben-Hadad: ‘Your silver and your gold are mine, and your women and your best sons are mine.’ ” Then the king of Israel answered and said, “As your word, my master the king; I am yours, and all that is mine is yours.” The messengers returned and said, “Thus says Ben-Hadad, saying, ‘I sent to you saying, “Your silver and gold are mine, and your women and your best sons you must give to me.” So at this time tomorrow, I will send my servants to you that they might search your house and the houses of your servants. All the desire of your eyes they will lay hands on and take it away.’ ”

1 Kings 20:1–6 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

Ben-Hadad brought his whole army together. He was king of Aram. He went up to Samaria. He took 32 kings and their horses and chariots with him. All of them surrounded Samaria and attacked it.

Ben-Hadad sent messengers into the city. They spoke to Ahab, the king of Israel. They told him, “Ben-Hadad says, ‘Your silver and gold belong to me. The best of your wives and children also belong to me.’ ”

The king of Israel replied, “What you say is true. You are my king and master. I belong to you. And everything I have belongs to you.”

The messengers came again. They told Ahab, “Ben-Hadad says, ‘I commanded you to give me your silver and gold. I also commanded you to give me your wives and children. But now I’m going to send my officials to you. They will come about this time tomorrow. They’ll search your palace. They’ll search the houses of your officials. They’ll take everything you value. And they’ll carry all of it away.’ ”


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