24. Also, don’t let the 32 kings command the armies. Put your commanders in charge of the armies.
25. Let’s gather an army like the one that was destroyed. Gather as many men, horses, and chariots as before, and fight the Israelites on level ground. Then we will win.” Ben-Hadad followed their advice and did what they said.
26. So in the spring, Ben-Hadad gathered the men of Aram and went to Aphek to fight against Israel.
27. The Israelites also prepared for war and went to fight the army of Aram. They made their camp opposite the camp of Aram. The Aramean soldiers filled the land, but Israel’s army looked like two small flocks of goats.
28. A man of God came to the king of Israel with this message: “The Lord said, ‘The people of Aram said that I, the Lord, am a god of the mountains and not a god of the valleys. So I will let you defeat this great army. Then all of you will know that I am the Lord, wherever you are!’”
29. The armies were camped across from each other for seven days. On the seventh day the battle began. The Israelites killed 100,000 Aramean soldiers in one day.
30. The survivors ran away to the city of Aphek. The wall of the city fell on 27,000 of those soldiers. Ben-Hadad also ran away to the city and hid in a room.
31. His servants said to him, “We heard that the kings of Israel are merciful. Let’s dress in rough cloth with ropes on our heads. Then let’s go to the king of Israel. Maybe he will let us live.”
32. They dressed in rough cloth with ropes on their heads. They came to the king of Israel. They said, “Your servant, Ben-Hadad, says, ‘Please let me live.’” Ahab said, “Is he still alive? He is my brother.”
33. Ben-Hadad’s men wanted King Ahab to say something to show that he would not kill King Ben-Hadad. When Ahab called Ben-Hadad his brother, the advisors quickly said, “Yes! Ben-Hadad is your brother.” Ahab said, “Bring him to me.” So Ben-Hadad came to King Ahab. King Ahab asked him to get in the chariot with him.
34. Ben-Hadad said to him, “Ahab, I will give you the towns that my father took from your father. And you can put shops in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria.” Ahab answered, “If you agree to this, I will let you go free.” So the two kings made a peace agreement. Then King Ahab let King Ben-Hadad go free.
35. One of the prophets told another prophet, “Hit me!” He said that because the Lord had commanded it. But the other prophet refused to hit him.
36. So the first prophet said, “You did not obey the Lord’S command. So a lion will kill you when you leave this place.” When the second prophet left, a lion killed him.
37. The first prophet went to another man and said, “Hit me!” This man hit him and hurt the prophet.
38. So the prophet wrapped his face with a cloth. This way no one could see who he was. The prophet went and waited for the king by the road.
39. The king came by and the prophet said to him, “I went to fight in the battle. One of our men brought an enemy soldier to me. The man said, ‘Guard this man. If he runs away, you will have to give your life in his place or you will have to pay a fine of 75 pounds of silver.’
40. While I was busy doing other things, the man ran away.” The king of Israel answered, “You admitted that you are guilty, so you know the answer. You must do what the man said.”