1 Then Benhadad, the king of Syria, gathered all his host together; and there were thirty-two kings with him and horses and chariots; and he went up and besieged Samaria and warred against it. 2 And he sent messengers to Ahab, king of Israel, into the city and said unto him, Thus hath Benhadad said, 3 Thy silver and thy gold is mine; thy wives also and thy children, even the goodliest, are mine. 4 And the king of Israel answered and said, My lord, O king, according to thy word, I am thine and all that I have. 5 And the messengers came again and said, Thus hath Benhadad said, Although I have sent unto thee, saying, Thou shalt deliver me thy silver and thy gold and thy wives and thy children, 6 yet I will send my slaves unto thee tomorrow about this time, and they shall search thy house and the houses of thy slaves; and it shall be that whatever is precious in thine eyes, they shall put it in their hand and take it away.
7 Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land and said, Understand, I pray you, and see how this man seeks only evil, for he sent unto me for my wives and for my children and for my silver and for my gold, and I denied him not. 8 And all the elders and all the people said unto him, Hearken not unto him, nor consent. 9 So he said unto the messengers of Benhadad, Tell my lord the king, All that thou didst send for to thy slave at the first I will do, but this thing I may not do. And the messengers departed and brought him word again. 10 And Benhadad sent unto him again and said, The gods do so unto me, and more also, that the dust of Samaria shall not be enough for the open hands of all the people that follow me. 11 And the king of Israel answered and said, Tell him, Let not him that girds on his harness boast as he that puts it off. 12 And when he heard this word, as he was drinking with the kings in the pavilions, he said unto his slaves, Set yourselves in array. And they set themselves in array against the city.