37. The prophet found another man. He said, "Please strike me down." So the man struck him down and wounded him.
38. Then the prophet went and stood by the road. He waited for the king to come by. He pulled his headband down over his eyes so no one would recognize him.
39. The king passed by. Then the prophet called out to him. He said, "I went into the middle of the battle. Someone came to me with a prisoner. He said, 'Guard this man. Don't let him get away. If he does, you will pay for his life with yours. Or you can pay 75 pounds of silver.'
40. While I was busy here and there, the man disappeared." "That's your sentence," the king of Israel told him. "You have said so yourself."
41. Then the prophet quickly removed the headband from his eyes. The king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets.
42. He told the king, "The Lord says, 'You have set a man free. But I had said he should be set apart to the Lord in a special way to be destroyed. So you must pay for his life with yours. You must pay for his people's lives with the lives of your people.' "