³¹His officials said to him, “Look, we’ve heard that the kings of Israel’s royal house often show mercy. So let’s go to the king of Israel. Let’s wear black clothes. Let’s tie ropes around our heads. Perhaps Ahab will spare your life.”

³²So they wore black clothes. They tied ropes around their heads. Then they went to the king of Israel. They told him, “Your servant Ben-Hadad says, ‘Please let me live.’ ”

The king answered, “Is he still alive? He used to be my friend.”

³³The men thought that was good news. So they quickly used the word Ahab had used. “Yes! Your friend Ben-Hadad!” they said.

“Go and get him,” the king said.

Ben-Hadad came out of the secret room. Then Ahab had him get into his chariot.

³⁴“I’ll return the cities my father took from your father,” Ben-Hadad offered. “You can set up your own market areas in Damascus. That’s what my father did in Samaria.”

Ahab said, “If we sign a peace treaty, I’ll set you free.”

So he made a treaty with him. Then Ahab let him go.

A Prophet Brings Charges Against Ahab

³⁵There was a group that was called the company of the prophets. A message from the Lord came to one of their members. He said to his companion, “Strike me down with your weapon.” But the man wouldn’t do it.

³⁶The prophet said, “You haven’t obeyed the Lord. So as soon as you leave me, a lion will kill you.”

The companion went away. And a lion found him and killed him.

³⁷The prophet found another man. He said, “Please strike me down.”

So the man struck him down and wounded him.

³⁸Then the prophet went and stood by the road. He waited for the king to come by. He pulled his headband down over his eyes so no one would recognize him.

³⁹The king passed by. Then the prophet called out to him. He said, “I went into the middle of the battle. Someone came to me with a prisoner. He said, ‘Guard this man. Don’t let him get away. If he does, you will pay for his life with yours. Or you can pay 75 pounds of silver.’ ⁴⁰While I was busy here and there, the man disappeared.”

“That’s your sentence,” the king of Israel told him. “You have said so yourself.”

⁴¹Then the prophet quickly removed the headband from his eyes. The king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets. ⁴²He told the king, “The Lord says, ‘You have set a man free. But I had said he should be set apart to the Lord in a special way to be destroyed. So you must pay for his life with yours. You must pay for his people’s lives with the lives of your people.’ ”

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