34. Ben-hadad said to the king, "I will return the towns that my father took from your father. Furthermore, you can set up markets for yourself in Damascus just as my father did in Samaria."The king replied, "On the basis of this covenant, I will let you go." So he made a covenant with Ben-hadad and set him free.
35. At the Lord’s command a certain man who belonged to a prophetic group said to his friend: "Please strike me." But his friend refused to hit him.
36. So he said to his friend, "Because you didn’t obey the Lord’s voice, a lion will attack you as soon as you leave me." And as the friend left the prophet, a lion found him and attacked him.
37. Then the prophet found another man and said, "Please strike me." He hit the prophet, and the attack left a wound.
38. The prophet went and stood before the king by the road. He disguised himself by putting a bandage over his eyes.
39. When the king passed by, the prophet called out to the king, "Your servant was in the middle of the battle when someone brought a prisoner. ‘Guard this man,’ he said. ‘If he escapes it will be your life for his—that, or you will owe me a kikkar of silver.’
40. Your servant got busy doing this and that, and the prisoner disappeared."Israel’s king replied, "It appears you have decided your own fate."
41. The prophet quickly tore the bandage from over his eyes, and Israel’s king recognized him as one of the prophets.
42. Then the prophet said to the king, "This is what the Lord says: Because you freed a man I condemned to die, it will be your life for his life, and your people for his people."
43. So Israel’s king went to his palace at Samaria, irritated and upset.