14. Ahab asked, “How ⌊will this be done⌋?”The prophet answered, “This is what the Lord says: by using the young officers of the district governors.”“Who will start the battle?” Ahab asked.“You will,” the prophet answered.
15. Ahab counted the young officers of the district governors. There were 232. After counting them, he counted all the Israelite soldiers. There were 7,000.
16. They attacked at noon, when Benhadad was in his tent getting drunk with the 32 kings who were his allies.
17. The young officers of the district governors went out first.Benhadad had sent men ⌊to watch the city⌋. They informed him that some men had come out of Samaria.
18. He said, “Take them alive, whether they have come out to make peace or to fight.”
19. The young officers of the district governors led an attack, and the troops followed them.
20. Each officer killed his opponent. The Arameans fled, and Israel pursued them. King Benhadad of Aram escaped on a horse with the cavalry.
21. The king of Israel went out and destroyed the horses and chariots and decisively defeated the Arameans.
22. Then the prophet came to the king of Israel and said, “Reinforce your army. Consider what you have to do. When spring comes, the king of Aram will attack ⌊again⌋.”
23. Meanwhile, the officers of King Benhadad of Aram told him, “Their god is a god of the hills. That is why they were stronger than we were. However, if we fight them on the plain, we will be stronger than they are.
24. This is what we must do: Remove all of the kings from their positions, and substitute governors for them.
25. Recruit an army with as many horses and chariots as the one which was defeated. Then, if we fight them on the plain, we will be stronger than they are.” He took their advice and followed it.
26. Spring came, and Benhadad organized the Aramean army and went to Aphek to fight Israel.
27. When the Israelite ⌊troops⌋ had been organized and given provisions, they went to meet the enemy. The Israelites, while camped opposite the Arameans who filled the country, seemed like two newborn goats.
28. The man of God came again. He said to the king of Israel, “This is what the Lord says: Because the Arameans said that the Lord is a god of the hills but not a god of the valleys, I will hand over their entire army to you. Then you will know that I am the Lord.”
29. They camped facing one another for seven days, and on the seventh day the battle started. The Israelites killed 100,000 Aramean foot soldiers in one day.
30. The survivors fled to Aphek, the city where the wall fell on 27,000 of them. Benhadad had also fled. He came to the city and hid in an inner room.
31. His officers told him, “We have heard that the kings of Israel are merciful. Allow us to dress in sackcloth, put ropes around our necks, and go to the king of Israel. Maybe he’ll let you live.”
32. So they dressed in sackcloth and put ropes around their necks. They went to the king of Israel and said, “Your servant Benhadad says, ‘Please let me live.’”Ahab asked, “He’s still alive? He’s my brother.”