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1 Kings 20:12–16

12 When Ben-hadad heard this message as xhe was drinking with the kings in the booths, he said to his men, “Take your positions.” And they took their positions against the city.

Ahab Defeats Ben-hadad

13 And behold, a prophet came near to Ahab king of Israel and said, “Thus says the Lord, Have you seen all this great multitude? Behold, yI will give it into your hand this day, zand you shall know that I am the Lord.” 14 And Ahab said, “By whom?” He said, “Thus says the Lord, By the servants of the governors of the districts.” Then he said, “Who shall begin the battle?” He answered, “You.” 15 Then he mustered the servants of the governors of the districts, and they were 232. And after them he mustered all the people of Israel, seven thousand.

16 And they went out at noon, while Ben-hadad xwas drinking himself drunk in the booths, he and the thirty-two kings who helped him.

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1 Kings 20:12–16 — The New International Version (NIV)

12 Ben-Hadad heard this message while he and the kings were drinking in their tents, and he ordered his men: “Prepare to attack.” So they prepared to attack the city.

13 Meanwhile a prophet came to Ahab king of Israel and announced, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Do you see this vast army? I will give it into your hand today, and then you will know that I am the Lord.’ ”

14 “But who will do this?” asked Ahab.

The prophet replied, “This is what the Lord says: ‘The junior officers under the provincial commanders will do it.’ ”

“And who will start the battle?” he asked.

The prophet answered, “You will.”

15 So Ahab summoned the 232 junior officers under the provincial commanders. Then he assembled the rest of the Israelites, 7,000 in all. 16 They set out at noon while Ben-Hadad and the 32 kings allied with him were in their tents getting drunk.

1 Kings 20:12–16 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

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.

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. 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. 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. 16 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.

1 Kings 20:12–16 — New Living Translation (NLT)

12 Ahab’s reply reached Ben-hadad and the other kings as they were drinking in their tents. “Prepare to attack!” Ben-hadad commanded his officers. So they prepared to attack the city.

13 Then a certain prophet came to see King Ahab of Israel and told him, “This is what the Lord says: Do you see all these enemy forces? Today I will hand them all over to you. Then you will know that I am the Lord.”

14 Ahab asked, “How will he do it?”

And the prophet replied, “This is what the Lord says: The troops of the provincial commanders will do it.”

“Should we attack first?” Ahab asked.

“Yes,” the prophet answered.

15 So Ahab mustered the troops of the 232 provincial commanders. Then he called out the rest of the army of Israel, some 7,000 men. 16 About noontime, as Ben-hadad and the thirty-two allied kings were still in their tents drinking themselves into a stupor,

1 Kings 20:12–16 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

12 And it happened when Ben-Hadad heard this message, as he and the kings were drinking at the command post, that he said to his servants, “Get ready.” And they got ready to attack the city.

13 Suddenly a prophet approached Ahab king of Israel, saying, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Have you seen all this great multitude? Behold, I will deliver it into your hand today, and you shall know that I am the Lord.’ ”

14 So Ahab said, “By whom?”

And he said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘By the young leaders of the provinces.’ ”

Then he said, “Who will set the battle in order?”

And he answered, “You.”

15 Then he mustered the young leaders of the provinces, and there were two hundred and thirty-two; and after them he mustered all the people, all the children of Israel—seven thousand.

16 So they went out at noon. Meanwhile Ben-Hadad and the thirty-two kings helping him were getting drunk at the command post.

1 Kings 20:12–16 — New Century Version (NCV)

12 Ben-Hadad was drinking in his tent with the other rulers when the message came from Ahab. Ben-Hadad commanded his men to prepare to attack the city, and they moved into place for battle.

13 At the same time a prophet came to Ahab king of Israel. The prophet said, “Ahab, the Lord says to you, ‘Do you see that big army? I will hand it over to you today so you will know I am the Lord.’ ”

14 Ahab asked, “Who will you use to defeat them?”

The prophet answered, “The Lord says, ‘The young officers of the district governors will defeat them.’ ”

Then the king asked, “Who will command the main army?”

The prophet answered, “You will.”

15 So Ahab gathered the young officers of the district governors, two hundred thirty-two of them. Then he called together the army of Israel, about seven thousand people in all.

16 They marched out at noon, while Ben-Hadad and the thirty-two rulers helping him were getting drunk in their tents.

1 Kings 20:12–16 — American Standard Version (ASV)

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.

13 And, behold, a prophet came near unto Ahab king of Israel, and said, Thus saith Jehovah, Hast thou seen all this great multitude? behold, I will deliver it into thy hand this day; and thou shalt know that I am Jehovah. 14 And Ahab said, By whom? And he said, Thus saith Jehovah, By the young men of the princes of the provinces. Then he said, Who shall begin the battle? And he answered, Thou. 15 Then he mustered the young men of the princes of the provinces, and they were two hundred and thirty-two: and after them he mustered all the people, even all the children of Israel, being seven thousand.

16 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.

1 Kings 20:12–16 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

12 And it came to pass when he heard this word, as he was drinking, he and the kings in the tents, that he said to his servants, Set yourselves. And they set themselves against the city. 13 And behold, a prophet drew near to Ahab king of Israel, and said, Thus saith Jehovah: Hast thou seen all this great multitude? behold, I will deliver it into thy hand this day; and thou shalt know that I am Jehovah. 14 And Ahab said, By whom? And he said, Thus saith Jehovah: By the servants of the princes of the provinces. Then he said, Who shall begin the battle? And he said, Thou. 15 And he numbered the servants of the princes of the provinces, and they were two hundred and thirty-two; and after them he numbered all the people, all the children of Israel, seven thousand. 16 And they went out at noon; and Ben-Hadad drank himself drunk in the tents, he and the kings, the thirty-two kings that helped him.

1 Kings 20:12–16 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

12 Benhadad heard this as he and his allies were drinking in their tents. He told his officers to get ready. So they got ready ⸤to attack⸥ the city. 

13 Then a prophet came to King Ahab of Israel and said, “This is what the Lord says: Have you seen this large army? I will hand it over to you today. Then you will know that I am the Lord.” 

14 Ahab asked, “How ⸤will this be done⸥?” 

The prophet answered, “This is what the Lord says: by using the young officers of the district governors.” 

“Who will start the battle?” Ahab asked. 

“You will,” the prophet answered. 

15 Ahab counted the young officers of the district governors. There were 232. After counting them, he counted all the Israelite soldiers. There were 7,000. 16 They attacked at noon, when Benhadad was in his tent getting drunk with the 32 kings who were his allies.

1 Kings 20:12–16 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

12 When Ben-hadad heard this response, while he and the kings were drinking in the tents, he said to his servants, “Take your positions.” So they took their positions against the city.

13 A prophet came to Ahab king of Israel and said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Do you see this entire great army? Watch, I am handing it over to you today so that you may know that I am Yahweh.’ ”

14 Ahab asked, “By whom?”

And the prophet said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘By the young men of the provincial leaders.’ ”

Then he asked, “Who is to start the battle?”

He said, “You.”

15 So Ahab counted the young men of the provincial leaders, and there were 232. After them he counted all the Israelite troops: 7,000. 16 They marched out at noon while Ben-hadad and the 32 kings who were helping him were getting drunk in the tents.

1 Kings 20:12–16 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

12 When Ben-hadad heard this message—now he had been drinking with the kings in the booths—he said to his men, “Take your positions!” And they took their positions against the city.

13 Then a certain prophet came up to King Ahab of Israel and said, “Thus says the Lord, Have you seen all this great multitude? Look, I will give it into your hand today; and you shall know that I am the Lord.” 14 Ahab said, “By whom?” He said, “Thus says the Lord, By the young men who serve the district governors.” Then he said, “Who shall begin the battle?” He answered, “You.” 15 Then he mustered the young men who served the district governors, two hundred thirty-two; after them he mustered all the people of Israel, seven thousand.

16 They went out at noon, while Ben-hadad was drinking himself drunk in the booths, he and the thirty-two kings allied with him.

1 Kings 20:12–16 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

12 It happened at the moment he heard this word, he and the kings were drinking in the tents. He said to his servants, “Get ready to attack.” So they got ready to attack the city.

13 Suddenly a certain prophet approached Ahab king of Israel and said, “Thus says Yahweh: ‘Have you seen all this great crowd? Behold, I am giving it into your hand today, that you may know that I am Yahweh.’ ” 14 Ahab said, “By whom?” And he said, “Thus says Yahweh: ‘By the servants of the commanders of the provinces.’ ” He asked, “Who will begin the battle?” And he said, “You.” 15 So he mustered the servants of the commanders of the provinces, and there were two hundred and thirty-two. After them he mustered all of the army, all the sons of Israel, seven thousand.

16 They went out at noon while Ben-Hadad was drinking himself drunk in the tents, he and the thirty-two kings helping him.

1 Kings 20:12–16 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

12 Ben-Hadad and the kings were in their tents drinking. That’s when he heard the message. He ordered his men, “Get ready to attack.” So they prepared to attack the city.

13 During that time a prophet came to Ahab, the king of Israel. He announced, “The Lord says, ‘Do you see this huge army? I will hand it over to you today. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’ ”

14 “But who will do it?” Ahab asked.

The prophet answered, “The Lord says, ‘The young officers who are under the area commanders will do it.’ ”

“And who will start the battle?” he asked.

The prophet answered, “You will.”

15 So Ahab sent for the young officers who were under the area commanders. The total number of officers was 232. Ahab gathered together the rest of the men of Israel. The total number of them was 7,000. 16 They started out at noon. At that time Ben-Hadad and the 32 kings who were helping him were in their tents. They were getting drunk.

1 Kings 20:12–16 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

12 When Ben-hadad heard this message, as he was drinking with the kings in the temporary shelters, he said to his servants, “Station yourselves.” So they stationed themselves against the city.

13 Now behold, a prophet approached Ahab king of Israel and said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Have you seen all this great multitude? Behold, I will deliver them into your hand today, and you shall know that I am the Lord.’ ”

14 Ahab said, “By whom?” So he said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘By the young men of the rulers of the provinces.’ ” Then he said, “Who shall begin the battle?” And he answered, “You.”

15 Then he mustered the young men of the rulers of the provinces, and there were 232; and after them he mustered all the people, even all the sons of Israel, 7,000.

16 They went out at noon, while Ben-hadad was drinking himself drunk in the temporary shelters with the thirty-two kings who helped him.


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