20
They hit hard in hand-to-hand combat. The Arameans scattered from the field, with Israel hard on their heels. But Ben-Hadad king of Aram got away on horseback, along with his cavalry.
21
The king of Israel cut down both horses and chariots - an enormous defeat for Aram.
22
Sometime later the prophet came to the king of Israel and said, "On the alert now - build up your army, assess your capabilities, and see what has to be done. Before the year is out, the king of Aram will be back in force."
23
Meanwhile the advisors to the king of Aram said, "Their god is a god of the mountains - we don't stand a chance against them there. So let's engage them on the plain where we'll have the advantage.
24
Here's the strategy: Remove each sheik from his place of leadership and replace him with a seasoned officer.
25
Then recruit a fighting force equivalent in size to the army that deserted earlier - horse for horse, chariot for chariot. And we'll fight them on the plain - we're sure to prove stronger than they are." It sounded good to the king; he did what they advised.
26
As the new year approached, Ben-Hadad rallied Aram and they went up to Aphek to make war on Israel.
27
The Israelite army prepared to fight and took the field to meet Aram. They moved into battle formation before Aram in two camps, like two flocks of goats. The plain was seething with Arameans.
28
Just then a holy man approached the king of Israel saying, "This is God's word: Because Aram said, 'God is a god of the mountains and not a god of the valleys,' I'll hand over this huge mob of an army to you. Then you'll know that I am God."
29
The two armies were poised in a standoff for seven days. On the seventh day fighting broke out. The Israelites killed 100,000 of the Aramean infantry in one day.
30
The rest of the army ran for their lives back to the city, Aphek, only to have the city wall fall on 27,000 of the survivors.