¹³ So Joab and the people who were with him moved forward into battle against the Arameans, and they fled before him.^(A)

Prophetic Opposition to Ahab

¹³ Then a certain prophet came up to King Ahab of Israel and said, “Thus says the Lord: Have you seen all this great multitude? Look, I will give it into your hand today, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”^{(A) 14} Ahab said, “By whom?” He said, “Thus says the Lord: By the young men who serve the district governors.” Then he said, “Who shall begin the battle?” He answered, “You.” ¹⁵ Then he mustered the young men who served the district governors, two hundred thirty-two; after them he mustered all the people of Israel, seven thousand.

¹⁶ They went out at noon, while Ben-hadad was drinking himself drunk in the booths, he and the thirty-two kings allied with him.^{(B) 17} The young men who served the district governors went out first. Ben-hadad had sent out scouts,^[a] and they reported to him, “Men have come out from Samaria.” ¹⁸ He said, “If they have come out for peace, take them alive; if they have come out for war, take them alive.”^(C)

¹⁹ But these had already come out of the city: the young men who served the district governors and the army that followed them. ²⁰ Each killed his man; the Arameans fled, and Israel pursued them, but King Ben-hadad of Aram escaped on a horse with the cavalry. ²¹ The king of Israel went out, attacked the horses and chariots, and inflicted a massive defeat on the Arameans.

⁵ Do you not know that the Lord God of Israel gave the kingship over Israel forever to David and his sons by a covenant of salt?^{(A) 6} Yet Jeroboam son of Nebat, a servant of Solomon son of David, rose up and rebelled against his lord,^{(B) 7} and certain worthless scoundrels gathered around him and defied Rehoboam son of Solomon when Rehoboam was young and irresolute and could not withstand them.

⁸ “And now you think that you can withstand the kingdom of the Lord in the hand of the sons of David, because you are a great multitude and have with you the golden calves that Jeroboam made as gods for you.^{(C) 9} Have you not driven out the priests of the Lord, the descendants of Aaron, and the Levites and made priests for yourselves like the peoples of other lands? Whoever comes to be consecrated with a young bull or seven rams becomes a priest of what are no gods.^{(D) 10} But as for us, the Lord is our God, and we have not abandoned him. We have priests ministering to the Lord who are descendants of Aaron and Levites for their service. ¹¹ They offer to the Lord every morning and every evening burnt offerings and fragrant incense, set out the rows of bread on the table of pure gold, and care for the golden lampstand so that its lamps may burn every evening, for we keep the charge of the Lord our God, but you have abandoned him.^{(E) 12} See, God is with us at our head, and his priests have their battle trumpets to sound the call to battle against you. O Israelites, do not fight against the Lord, the God of your ancestors, for you cannot succeed.”^(F)

¹³ Jeroboam had sent an ambush around to come on them from behind; thus his troops^[a] were in front of Judah, and the ambush was behind them. ¹⁴ When Judah turned, the battle was in front of them and behind them. They cried out to the Lord, and the priests blew the trumpets.^{(G) 15} Then the people of Judah raised the battle shout. And when the people of Judah shouted, God defeated Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.^{(H) 16} The Israelites fled before Judah, and God gave them into their hands.^(I)

¹⁴ So Joab and the troops who were with him advanced toward the Arameans for battle, and they fled before him.^{(A) 15} When the Ammonites saw that the Arameans fled, they likewise fled before Abishai, Joab’s brother, and entered the city. Then Joab came to Jerusalem.

²⁸ A man of God approached and said to the king of Israel, “Thus says the Lord: Because the Arameans have said, ‘The Lord is a god of the hills, but he is not a god of the valleys,’ therefore I will give all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”^{(A) 29} They encamped opposite one another seven days. Then on the seventh day the battle began; the Israelites killed one hundred thousand Aramean foot soldiers in one day. ³⁰ The rest fled into the city of Aphek, and the wall fell on twenty-seven thousand men who were left.

Ben-hadad also fled and entered the city to hide.^(B)