13And behold, a certain prophet approached Ahab king of Israel and said, "Thus says the LORD: 'Have you seen all this great multitude? Behold, I am giving it into your hand today, and you shall know that I am the LORD.'"14And Ahab said, "By whom?" And he said, "Thus says the LORD: 'By the young men of the provincial governors.'" And he said, "Who shall muster the army?" And he said, "You."15So he mustered the young men of the provincial governors, and they numbered two hundred and thirty-two; and after them he mustered all the people, all the sons of Israel—seven thousand.16And they went out at noon, while Ben-hadad was drinking himself drunk in the booths—he and the thirty-two kings who were helping him.17And the young men of the provincial governors went out first; and Ben-hadad sent messengers, and they reported to him, saying, "Men have come out from Samaria."18And he said, "If they have come out for peace, take them alive; and if they have come out for battle, take them alive."19And these men came out from the city—the young men of the provincial governors—and the force that followed them.20And each man struck down his opponent, so that Aram fled and Israel pursued them; and Ben-hadad king of Aram escaped on horseback with horsemen.21And the king of Israel went out and struck the horses and the chariots and inflicted a great defeat on Aram.22And the prophet approached the king of Israel and said to him, "Go, strengthen yourself, and consider what you must do, for at the turn of the year the king of Aram will come up against you."23And the servants of the king of Aram said to him, "Their gods are gods of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they."24And carry out this plan: remove the kings, each from his post, and appoint governors in their place.25And you shall muster an army for yourself like the army that deserted you, and horses like horses and chariots like chariots; and let us fight them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. And he listened to their voice and did so.26And at the turn of the year Ben-hadad mustered Aram and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel.27And the sons of Israel were mustered and provisioned and advanced to meet them; and the sons of Israel encamped opposite them like two small flocks of goats, while Aram filled the land.28And the man of God approached and spoke to the king of Israel, saying, "Thus says the LORD: 'Because Aram has said, "The LORD is a god of the hills but he is not a god of the valleys," therefore I will give all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the LORD.'"29And they encamped opposite each other for seven days; and on the seventh day the battle was joined, and the sons of Israel struck down one hundred thousand Aramean foot soldiers in a single day.30And the survivors fled to Aphek, into the city; and the wall fell on twenty-seven thousand of the remaining men; and Ben-hadad fled and entered the city, going from one inner room to another.31And his servants said to him, "Behold, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings; let us put sackcloth around our waists and cords on our heads and go out to the king of Israel; perhaps he will spare your life."32So they girded sackcloth around their waists and cords on their heads and came to the king of Israel and said, "Your servant Ben-hadad says, 'Please let me live.'" And he said, "Is he still alive—my brother?"33And the men took this as an omen and quickly seized on the word, saying, "Your brother Ben-hadad." And he said, "Go, bring him." So Ben-hadad came out to him, and he brought him up into the chariot.34And Ben-hadad said to him, "The cities that my father took from your father I will restore, and you may establish bazaars for yourself in Damascus, just as my father did in Samaria; and I will dismiss you with a covenant." So he made a covenant with him and sent him away.