9. So Ahab told the messengers from Ben-hadad, “Say this to my lord the king: ‘I will give you everything you asked for the first time, but I cannot accept this last demand of yours.’” So the messengers returned to Ben-hadad with that response.
10. Then Ben-hadad sent this message to Ahab: “May the gods strike me and even kill me if there remains enough dust from Samaria to provide even a handful for each of my soldiers.”
11. The king of Israel sent back this answer: “A warrior putting on his sword for battle should not boast like a warrior who has already won.”
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,
17. the troops of the provincial commanders marched out of the city as the first contingent.As they approached, Ben-hadad’s scouts reported to him, “Some troops are coming from Samaria.”