November 5, 2019

1 KINGS 20:31-43
20:31 And his servants said to him, Look now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings. We beg you, let us put sackcloth on our loins and ropes upon our heads, and go out to the king of Israel. Perhaps he will preserve your life.
20:32 And they girded sackcloth on their loins and ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel and said, Your servant Ben-hadad says, I beg you, preserve my life. And he said, Is he still alive? He is my brother.
20:33 And the men were looking for some sign and quickly caught what came from him; and they said, Ben-hadad is your brother. And he said, Go and bring him. And Ben-hadad came forth to him, and he brought him up into the chariot.
20:34 And Ben-hadad said to him, The cities that my father took from your father I will restore; and you shall make streets for yourself in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria. And I, said Ahab, will send you away with this treaty. So he made a treaty with him and sent him away.
20:35 And a certain one of the sons of the prophets said to his companion by the word of Jehovah, Strike me. But the man refused to strike him.
20:36 Then he said to him, Because you have not listened to the voice of Jehovah, as soon as you depart from me, the lion will strike you down. And when he had departed from him, the lion found him and struck him down.
20:37 Then he found another man and said, Strike me. And the man struck him violently and wounded him.
20:38 And the prophet departed and waited for the king by the way, and he disguised himself with a bandage over his eyes.
20:39 And when the king passed by, he cried out to the king and said, Your servant went out into the midst of the battle; and then a man turned aside and brought another man to me and said, Guard this man; if he is missing at all, your life will be for his life, or you will pay a talent of silver.
20:40 And because your servant was doing things here and there, he got away. And the king of Israel said to him, So be your judgment; you have determined it yourself.
20:41 Then he quickly took the bandage away from over his eyes; and the king of Israel recognized that he was one of the prophets.
20:42 And he said to him, Thus says Jehovah, Because you have released out of your hand the man whom I had devoted to destruction, your life shall be for his life, and your people for his people.
20:43 And the king of Israel went to his house sullen and vexed, and he came to Samaria.