The Syrian army attacked Israel

20 Ben-Hadad, the king of Syria, gathered all his army, and he persuaded 32 other kings to join him with their armies and horses and chariots. They marched to Samaria city, the capital of Israel, and surrounded it, and prepared to attack it. 2 Ben-Hadad sent messengers into the city to King Ahab, to say this to him: “This is what King Ben-Hadad says: 3 ‘You must give to me all your silver and gold, your ◄good-looking/most beautiful► wives/women and strongest children.’ ”

4 The king of Israel replied to them, “Tell this to King Ben-Hadad: ‘I agree to do what you requested. You can have me and everything that I own.’ ”

5 The messengers told that to Ben-Hadad, and he sent them back with another message: “I sent a message to you saying that you must give me all your silver and gold and your wives and your children. 6 But in addition to that, about this time tomorrow, I will send some of my officials to search your palace and the houses of your officials, and to bring to me everything that pleases them.”

7 King Ahab summoned all the leaders of Israel, and said to them, “You can see/realize for yourselves that this man is trying to cause much trouble. He sent me a message insisting that I must give him my wives and my children, my silver and my gold, and I agreed to do that.”

8 The leaders and all the other people said to him, “Do not pay any attention to him! Do not do what he is requesting!”

9 So Ahab said to Ben-Hadad’s messengers, “Tell the king that I agree to give him the things that he first requested, but I do not agree to allow his officials to take anything that they want from my palace and from the houses of my officials.” So the messengers reported that to King Ben-Hadad, and they returned with another message from Ben-Hadad.

10 In that message he said, “We will destroy your city completely, with the result that there will not be enough dust and rubble left for each of my soldiers to have one handful! I hope/wish that the gods will strike me dead if we do not do that!”

11 King Ahab replied to the messengers, “Tell King Ben-Hadad that a soldier who is putting on his armor preparing to fight a battle [MTY] should not boast at that time; he should wait until after he wins the battle.”

12 Ben-Hadad heard that message while he and the other rulers were drinking wine in their temporary shelters. He told his men to prepare to attack [MTY] the city. So his men did that.