37. Then this same prophet went to another man and said, “Hit me!” This man did so; he hit him a hard blow and hurt him.
38. The prophet bandaged his face with a cloth, to disguise himself, and went and stood by the road, waiting for the king of Israel to pass.
39. As the king was passing by, the prophet called out to him and said, “Your Majesty, I was fighting in the battle when a soldier brought a captured enemy to me and said, ‘Guard this man; if he escapes, you will pay for it with your life or else pay a fine of 3,000 pieces of silver.’
40. But I got busy with other things, and the man escaped.”The king answered, “You have pronounced your own sentence, and you will have to pay the penalty.”
41. The prophet tore the cloth from his face, and at once the king recognized him as one of the prophets.
42. The prophet then said to the king, “This is the word of the Lord: ‘Because you allowed the man to escape whom I had ordered to be killed, you will pay for it with your life, and your army will be destroyed for letting his army escape.’ ”
43. The king went back home to Samaria, worried and depressed.