8. All of the elders and all of the people said to him, “Do not listen and do not consent.”
9. So he said to the messengers of Ben-Hadad, “Say to my lord the king, ‘All that you demanded from your servant at the first, I will do, but this thing I am not able to do.’ ” Then the messengers went and made a report to him.
10. Then Ben-Hadad sent to him and said, “Thus may the gods do to me and thus may they add if the dust of Samaria is sufficient for the hollow of a hand for all of the people who are at my feet.”
11. The king of Israel answered and said, “Tell him, ‘Let not him who girds on his armor boast as one who takes off his armor.’ ”
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.
17. Then the servants of the commanders of the provinces went out first, and Ben-Hadad sent, and they reported to him, saying, “Men have come out from Samaria.”
18. Then he said, “If they have come out for peace, seize them alive; and if they have come out for war, seize them alive.”
19. But these had come out from the city, the servants of the commanders of the provinces, and the army that was after them.
20. Each man killed his man, and the Arameans fled, so Israel pursued them, but Ben-Hadad king of Aram escaped on a horse with cavalry.
21. The king of Israel went out and attacked the horses and the chariots and defeated Aram with a great blow.
22. Then the prophet came near to the king of Israel, and he said to him, “Go, strengthen yourself; consider well what you should do, for the king of Aram is coming against you at the turn of the year.”
23. The servants of the king of Aram said to him, “Their gods are gods of the mountains, therefore they were stronger than we. Let us fight with them in the plain; surely we will be stronger than they.
24. Do this thing: remove the kings each from his post, and put a governor in their place.
25. You must muster an army for yourself as the army you have lost, and horses and chariots as the horses and chariots you lost, then we will fight them in the plain. Surely we will be stronger than they.” So he listened to their voice and did so.
26. It happened at the turning of the year that Ben-Hadad mustered Aram and went up to Aphek for the war with Israel.