1 Kings 20:8-18

8 All the elders and all the people said to him, "Do not listen or consent."

9 So he said to the messengers of Ben-hadad, "Tell my lord the king, 'All that you sent for to your servant at the first I will do, but this thing I cannot * do.' " And the messengers departed and brought him word again.

10 Ben-hadad sent to him and said, "May ¹the gods do so to me and more also, if the dust of Samaria will suffice for handfuls for all the people who follow me."

11 Then the king of Israel replied, "Tell him, '²Let not him who girds on his armor boast like him who takes it off.' "

12 When Ben-hadad heard this message, as ³he was drinking with the kings in the temporary shelters, he said to his servants, "Station yourselves." So they stationed themselves against the city.

Ahab Victorious

13 Now behold, a prophet approached Ahab king of Israel and said, "Thus says the LORD, 'Have you seen all this great multitude? Behold, ⁴I will deliver them into your hand today, and ⁵you shall know that I am the LORD.' "

14 Ahab said, "By whom?" So he said, "Thus says the LORD, 'By the young men of the rulers of the provinces.' " Then he said, "Who shall begin the battle?" And he answered, "You."

15 Then he mustered the young men of the rulers of the provinces, and there were 232 * *; and after them he mustered all the people, even all the sons of Israel, 7,000 *.

16 They went out at noon, while ⁶Ben-hadad was drinking himself drunk in the temporary shelters with the thirty-two * kings who helped him.

17 The young men of the rulers of the provinces went out first; and Ben-hadad sent out and they told him, saying, "Men have come out from Samaria."

18 ⁷Then he said, "If they have come out for peace, take them alive; or if they have come out for war, take them alive."

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1 Kings 20:8-18 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO 1 KINGS 20

This chapter relates the siege of Samaria by the king of Syria, and his insolent demand of Ahab's wives, children, and riches, 1Ki 20:1-12, the sally made out upon him, at the direction of the prophet, and the route made of the Syrian army, 1Ki 20:13-21, the return of the Syrian army the next year, when there was a pitched battle between them and Israel, in which the former were entirely defeated, 1Ki 20:22-30, the peace Ahab made with the king of Syria, 1Ki 20:31-34, and the reproof one of the sons of the prophets gave him for it, which made him very uneasy, 1Ki 20:35-43.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Cross References 7

1. 1 Kings 19:2; 2 Kings 6:31
2. Proverbs 27:1
3. 1 Kings 16:9; Proverbs 31:4, 5
4. 1 Kings 20:28
5. 1 Kings 18:36
6. 1 Kings 16:9; 1 Kings 20:12; Proverbs 20:1
7. 2 Kings 14:8-12

Footnotes 7

[a]. Lit "are at my feet"
[b]. Lit "he and"
[c]. Or "booths"
[d]. Lit "bind"
[e]. Lit "said"
[f]. Or "booths"
[g]. Lit "he and the 32 kings"