1   Moreover Benadad the king of Syria, gathered together al his host, & two & thirtie kinges with him, & horses, and chariotes: and going vp fought agaynst Samaria, and besieged it.

2   And sending messengers to Achab the king of Israal into the citie,

3   he said: Thus saith Benadad: Thy siluer, and thy gold is mine: and thy wiues, and thy principal children be mine.

4   And the king of Israel answered: According to thy word my lord king, I am thine, and al that is mine.

5   And the messengers returning, said: Thus saith Benadad, which sent vs vnto thee: Thy siluer, and thy gold, and thy wiues, and thy children thou shalt geue me.

6   To morow therfore this verie houre I wil send my seruantes to thee, and they shal search thy house, and the house of thy seruantes: and al that pleaseth them, they shal put in their handes, and take away.

7   And the king of Israel called al the ancientes of the land, and said: Marke, and see that he seeketh to intrappe vs. for he sent to me for my wiues, and children, and for the siluer and gold: and I said not nay.

8   And al the ancientes, and al the people said to him: Heare not, neither agree vnto him.

9   He therfore answered the messengers of Benadad: Tel my Lord the king: Al thinges for the which thou didst send to me thy seruant in the beginning I wil doe: but this thing I can not doe.

10   And the messengers returning made report vnto him, who sent againe, and sayd: These thinges doe the goddes to me, and these adde they, if the dust of Samaria shal suffice for the hanfulles of al the people, that foloweth me.

11   And the king of Israel answering, sayd: Tel him ^note Let not the girded glorie as the vngirded.

12   And it came to passe, when Benadad had heard this word, himself and the kinges dranke in pauilions, and he sayd to his seruantes: Besette the citie, and they did besette it.

13   And behold a prophete coming to Achab the king of Israel, said to him: Thus sayth our Lord: Hast thou in dede sene al this exceding great multitude?

of Israel Achab. behold, I wil deliuer them into thy hand this day: that thou mayst know, that I am the Lord.

14   And Achab said: By whom? And he said to him: Thus saith our Lord: By the seruantes of the princes of the prouinces. And he said: Who shal begin to fight? And he said: Thou.

15   He therfore mustered the seruantes of the princes of the prouinces, and he found the number of two hundred thirtie two: and he mustered after them the people, al the children of Israel, seuen thousand.

16   And they went forth at noone. But Benadad dranke al dronken in his tent, and two and thirtie kinges with him, which were come to ayde him.

17   The seruantes therfore of the princes of the prouinces issued forth in the forefront. Benadad therfore sent. Who told him, saying: Men are come forth out of Samaria.

18   And he said: Whether they come for peace, take them aliue: or els to fight, aliue take ye them.

19   The seruantes therfore of the princes of the prouinces issued forth, and the rest of the armie folowed:

20   and euerie one stroke the man, that came against him: and the Syrians fled, and Israel pursued them. Benadad also the king of Syria fled on horsebacke with his horsemen.

21   Moreouer the king of Israel issuing forth stroke the horses and chariotes, and he stroke Syria with a great slaughter.

22   And a prophet coming to the king of Israel, said to him: Goe, and take courage, and know, and see what thou doest: for the yeare folowing the king of Syria wil come vp against thee.)

23   But the seruantes of the king of Syria said to him: The goddes of the mountaynes be their goddes, therfore haue they ouercome vs: but it is better that we fight against them in the champaine, & we shal ouercome them.

24   Thou therfore do this word: Remoue al the kinges from thine armie, and put captaines for them:

25   and repaire the number of souldiars, that are slaine of thine, and horses according to the old horses; & chariotes according to the chariotes, which thou hadst before: and we wil fight against them in the champaine, and thou shalt see that we shal ouercome them. He beleued their counsel, and did so.

26   Therfore after a yeare was passed, Benadad mustered the Syrians, and went vp into Aphec, to fight against Israel.

27   Moreouer the children of Israel were mustered, and taking victuals they went forth on the contrarie side, and camped against them, as it were two litle flockes of goates: but the Syrians filled the land.

28   (And a man of God coming, said to the king of Israel:

of Israel Achab. Thus saith our Lord: Because the Syrians haue said: The Lord is God of the mountaines, and is not God of the Valleis: I wil geue al this great multitude into thy hand, and ^note you shal know that I am the Lord.)

29   And seuen dayes did these, and they direct their armies one against the other, and in the seuenth day was the battel fought: and the children of Israel stroke of the Syrians an hundred thousand footemen in one day.

30   And they that remained in Aphec, fled into the citie: and the wal fel vpon seuen and twentie thousand men, that were leaft. Moreouer Benadad fleing entered the citie into a chamber that was within a chamber,

31   and his seruantes said to him: Behold, we haue heard that the kinges of the house of Israel are merciful: Let vs therfore put sackeclothes on our loynes, and cordes on our heades, and goe forth to the king of Israel: perhaps he wil saue our liues.

32   They girded their loines with sackclothes, and put cordes on their heades, and came to the king of Israel, and said to him: Thy seruant saith: Let my soule liue, I besech thee. And he said: If he be yet aliue he is my brother.

33   Which the men tooke for good lucke: and in hast caught the word of his mouth, and said: Thy brother Benadad. And he said to them: Goe and bring him to me. Benadad therfore came out to him, and he lifted him vp into his chariote.

34   Who said to him: The cities which my father tooke from thy father, I wil render: doe thou make thee stretes in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria, and I confederate wil depart from thee. He therfore made a league, and dimissed him.

35   Then a certaine man of the children of the prophetes sayd to his felow in the word of our Lord: Strike me. But he would not strike.

36   To whom he said: Because thou wouldest not heare the word of our Lord, behold thou shalt depart from me, and a lion shal strike thee. And when he was departed a litle from him, a lyon found him, and slew him.

37   But finding also an other man, he said to him: Strike me. Who stroke him, and wounded him.

38   The prophete therfore went, and mette the king in the way, and with sprinkling of dust changed his face and his eies.

39   And when the king passed by, he cried to the king, and said: Thy seruant went forth to fight hand strokes: and when a certaine man was fled, one brought him to me, and said: Keepe this man: who if he shal slippe away, thy life shal be for his life, or thou shalt pay a talent of siluer.

40   And

Achab. Naboth. Iezabel. whiles I being trubled turned hither and thither, sodenly he appeared not. And the king of Israel sayd to him: This is thy iudgement, which thy self hast decreed.

41   But he forthwith wyped of the dust from his face, and the king of Israel knew him, that he was of the prophetes.

42   Who sayd to him: Thus sayth our Lord: ^note Because thou hast let goe out of thy hand a man worthie to die, thy life shal be for his life, and thy people for his people.

43   The king of Israel therfore returned into his house, contemning to heare, & raging came into Samaria.

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