1 Now Ben-hadad king of Aram assembled his entire army. Accompanied by thirty-two kings with their horses and chariots, he marched up, besieged Samaria, and waged war against it. 2Then he sent messengers into the city to Ahab king of Israel, 3saying, “This is what Ben-hadad says: ‘Your silver and gold are mine, and your best wives and children are mine!’”

4 And the king of Israel replied, “Just as you say, my lord the king: I am yours, along with all that I have.”

5 The messengers came back and said, “This is what Ben-hadad says: ‘I have sent to you to demand your silver, your gold, your wives, and your children. 6But about this time tomorrow I will send my servants to search your palace and the houses of your servants. They will seize and carry away all that is precious to you.’”

7 Then the king of Israel summoned all the elders of the land and said, “Please take note and see that this man is looking for trouble, for when he demanded my wives, my children, my silver, and my gold, I did not deny him.”

8 And the elders and the people all said, “Do not listen to him or consent to his terms.”

9 So Ahab answered the messengers of Ben-hadad, “Tell my lord the king, ‘All that you demanded of your servant the first time I will do, but this thing I cannot do.’”

So the messengers departed and relayed the message to Ben-hadad.

10 Then Ben-hadad sent another message to Ahab: “May the gods deal with me, and ever so severely, if enough dust remains of Samaria for each of my men to have a handful.”

11 And the king of Israel replied, “Tell him: ‘The one putting on his armor should not boast like one taking it off.’”

12 Ben-hadad received this message while he and the kings were drinking in their tents, and he said to his servants, “Take your positions.” So they stationed themselves against the city.

13 Meanwhile a prophet approached Ahab king of Israel and declared, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Do you see this entire great army? Behold, I will deliver it into your hand this very day, and you will know that I am the Lord.’”

14“By whom?” Ahab asked.

And the prophet replied, “This is what the Lord says: ‘By the young officers of the district governors.’”

“Who will start the battle?” asked Ahab.

“You will,” answered the prophet.

15 So Ahab assembled the young officers of the district governors, and there were 232 men. And after them, he assembled the rest of the Israelite troops, 7,000 in all.

16 They marched out at noon while Ben-hadad and the 32 kings allied with him were in their tents getting drunk. 17And the young officers of the district governors marched out first.

Now Ben-hadad had sent out scouts, who reported to him, “Men are marching out of Samaria.”

18“If they have marched out in peace,” he said, “take them alive. Even if they have marched out for war, take them alive.”

19 Meanwhile, these young officers of the district governors marched out of the city, with the army behind them, 20and each one struck down his opponent. So the Arameans fled, with the Israelites in pursuit. But Ben-hadad king of Aram escaped on horseback with the cavalry.

21 Then the king of Israel marched out and attacked the horses and chariots, inflicting a great slaughter on the Arameans.

22 Afterward, the prophet approached the king of Israel and said, “Go and strengthen your position, and take note what you must do, for in the spring the king of Aram will come up against you.”

23 Meanwhile, the servants of the king of Aram said to him, “Their gods are gods of the hills. That is why they prevailed over us. Instead, we should fight them on the plains; surely then we will prevail. 24So do this: Dismiss all the kings from their positions and replace them with other officers. 25And you must raise an army like the one you have lost— horse for horse and chariot for chariot— so we can fight the Israelites on the plain, where we will surely prevail.”

And the king approved their plan and acted accordingly.

26 In the spring, Ben-hadad mobilized the Arameans and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel. 27The Israelites also mobilized, gathered supplies, and marched out to meet them.

The Israelites camped before them like two small flocks of goats, while the Arameans covered the countryside.

28 Then the man of God approached the king of Israel and said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Because the Arameans have said that the Lord is a god of the hills and not of the valleys, I will deliver all this great army into your hand. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”

29 For seven days the armies camped opposite each other, and on the seventh day the battle ensued, and the Israelites struck down the Arameans— a hundred thousand foot soldiers in one day.

30 The rest of them fled into the city of Aphek, where the wall fell on twenty-seven thousand of the remaining men. Ben-hadad also fled to the city and hid in an inner room.

31 Then the servants of Ben-hadad said to him, “Look now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful. Let us go out to the king of Israel with sackcloth around our waists and ropes around our heads. Perhaps he will spare your life.”

32 So with sackcloth around their waists and ropes around their heads, they went to the king of Israel and said, “Your servant Ben-hadad says, ‘Please spare my life.’”

And the king answered, “Is he still alive? He is my brother.”

33 Now the men were looking for a sign of hope, and they quickly grasped at this word and replied, “Yes, your brother Ben-hadad.”

“Go and get him!” said the king.

Then Ben-hadad came out, and Ahab had him come up into his chariot.

34 Ben-hadad said to him, “I will restore the cities my father took from your father; you may set up your own marketplaces in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria.”

“By this treaty I release you,” Ahab replied. So he made a treaty with him and sent him away.

35 Meanwhile, by the word of the Lord, one of the sons of the prophets said to his companion, “Strike me, please!”

But the man refused to strike him.

36 Then the prophet said to him, “Because you have not obeyed the voice of the Lord, as soon as you depart from me a lion will kill you.”

And when he left, a lion found him and killed him.

37 Then the prophet found another man and said, “Strike me, please!”

So the man struck him and wounded him, 38and the prophet went and waited on the road for the king, disguising himself with a bandage over his eyes.

39 As the king passed by, he cried out to the king: “Your servant had marched out into the middle of the battle, when suddenly a man came over with a captive and told me, ‘Guard this man! If he goes missing for any reason, your life will be exchanged for his life, or you will weigh out a talent of silver.’ 40But while your servant was busy here and there, the man disappeared.”

And the king of Israel said to him, “So shall your judgment be; you have pronounced it on yourself.”

41 Then the prophet quickly removed the bandage from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets.

42 And the prophet said to the king, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Because you have let slip from your hand the man I had devoted to destruction, your life will be exchanged for his life, and your people for his people.’”

43 Sullen and angry, the king of Israel went home to Samaria.

1 Some time after these events, Naboth the Jezreelite owned a vineyard in Jezreel next to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. 2So Ahab said to Naboth, “Give me your vineyard to use as a vegetable garden, since it is next to my palace. I will give you a better vineyard in its place — or if you prefer, I will give you its value in silver.”

3 But Naboth replied, “The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers.”

4 So Ahab went to his palace, sullen and angry because Naboth the Jezreelite had told him, “I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.” He lay down on his bed, turned his face away, and refused to eat.

5 Soon his wife Jezebel came in and asked, “Why are you so sullen that you refuse to eat?”

6 Ahab answered, “Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite and told him, ‘Give me your vineyard for silver, or if you wish, I will give you another vineyard in its place.’ And he replied, ‘I will not give you my vineyard!’”

7 But his wife Jezebel said to him, “Do you not reign over Israel? Get up, eat some food, and be cheerful, for I will get you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”

8 Then Jezebel wrote letters in Ahab’s name, sealed them with his seal, and sent them to the elders and nobles who lived with Naboth in his city. 9In the letters she wrote:

11 So the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth’s city did as Jezebel had instructed in the letters she had written to them. 12They proclaimed a fast and gave Naboth a seat of honor among the people.

13 And the two scoundrels came in and sat opposite Naboth, and these men testified against him before the people, saying, “Naboth has cursed both God and the king!”

So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death. 14Then they sent word to Jezebel: “Naboth has been stoned to death.”

15 When Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned to death, she said to Ahab, “Get up and take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, who refused to give it to you for silver. For Naboth is no longer alive, but dead.”

16 And when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he got up and went down to take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.

17 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 18“Get up and go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who is in Samaria. See, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone to take possession of it.

19 Tell him that this is what the Lord says: ‘Have you not murdered a man and seized his land?’

Then tell him that this is also what the Lord says: ‘In the place where the dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, there also the dogs will lick up your blood — yes, yours!’”

20 When Elijah arrived, Ahab said to him, “So you have found me out, my enemy.”

He replied, “I have found you out because you have sold yourself to do evil in the sight of the Lord. 21This is what the Lord says:

23 And the Lord also speaks concerning Jezebel:

25(Surely there was never one like Ahab, who sold himself to do evil in the sight of the Lord, incited by his wife Jezebel. 26He committed the most detestable acts by going after idols, just like the Amorites whom the Lord had driven out before the Israelites.)

27 When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and fasted. He lay down in sackcloth and walked around meekly.

28 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying: 29“Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before Me? Because he has humbled himself before Me, I will not bring the calamity during his days, but I will bring it upon his house in the days of his son.”

24 But the word of God continued to spread and multiply.

25 When Barnabas and Saul had fulfilled their mission to Jerusalem, they returned, bringing with them John, also called Mark.

1 Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch), and Saul. 2While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3And after they had fasted and prayed, they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

4 So Barnabas and Saul, sent forth by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus. 5When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. And John was with them as their helper.

6 They traveled through the whole island as far as Paphos, where they found a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus, 7an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, a man of intelligence, summoned Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God. 8But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith.

9 Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked directly at Elymas 10and said, “O child of the devil and enemy of all righteousness, you are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery! Will you never stop perverting the straight ways of the Lord? 11Now look, the hand of the Lord is against you, and for a time you will be blind and unable to see the light of the sun.” Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand.

12 When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was astonished at the teaching about the Lord.

13 After setting sail from Paphos, Paul and his companions came to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them to return to Jerusalem. 14And from Perga, they traveled inland to Pisidian Antioch, where they entered the synagogue on the Sabbath and sat down. 15After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the synagogue leaders sent word to them: “Brothers, if you have a word of encouragement for the people, please speak.”