1 Kings 20:23

THE MESSAGE

Meanwhile the advisors to the king of Aram said, "Their god is a god of the mountains—we don't stand a chance against them there. So let's engage them on the plain where we'll have the advantage. Here's the strategy: Remove each sheik from his place of leadership and replace him with a seasoned officer. Then recruit a fighting force equivalent in size to the army that deserted earlier—horse for horse, chariot for chariot. And we'll fight them on the plain—we're sure to prove stronger than they are." It sounded good to the king; he did what they advised.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Now the king of Aram’s servants said to him, “Their gods are gods of the hill country. That’s why they were stronger than we were. Instead, we should fight with them on the plain; then we will certainly be stronger than they are.

Hebrew Names Version
The servants of the king of Aram said to him, Their god is a god of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we: but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.

King James Version
And the servants of the king of Syria said unto him, Their gods are gods of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.

English Standard Version
And the servants of the king of Syria said to him, "Their gods are gods of the hills, and so they were stronger than we. But let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.

New Century Version
Meanwhile the officers of Ben-Hadad king of Aram said to him, "The gods of Israel are mountain gods. Since we fought in a mountain area, Israel won. Let's fight them on the flat land, and then we will win.

New English Translation
Now the advisers of the king of Syria said to him: "Their God is a god of the mountains. That's why they overpowered us. But if we fight them in the plains, we will certainly overpower them.

Amplified Bible
Now the servants of the king of Aram said to him, "Israel's god is a god of the hills; that is why they were stronger than we. But let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we will be stronger than they.

New American Standard Bible
Now the servants of the king of Aram said to him, "Their gods are gods of the mountains; for that reason they were stronger than we. But let us fight them in the plain, and we will certainly be stronger than they.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Then the seruants of the King of Aram said vnto him, Their gods are gods of the moutaines, and therefore they ouercame vs: but let vs fight against them in the playne, and doubtlesse we shal ouercome them.

Legacy Standard Bible
Now the servants of the king of Aram said to him, "Their gods are gods of the mountains, therefore they were stronger than we; but rather let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we will be stronger than they.

Contemporary English Version
Meanwhile, Benhadad's officials went to him and explained: Israel's gods are mountain gods. We fought Israel's army in the hills, and that's why they defeated us. But if we fight them on flat land, there's no way we can lose.

Complete Jewish Bible
Meanwhile, the servants of the king of Aram said to him, "Their God is a God of the hills; that's why they were stronger than we were. But if we fight them on level ground, we will certainly be stronger than they are.

Darby Translation
And the servants of the king of Syria said to him, Their gods are gods of the mountains; therefore they were stronger than we; but if we fight against them on the plateau, shall we not be stronger than they?

Easy-to-Read Version
King Ben-Hadad's officers said to him, "The gods of Israel are mountain gods. We fought in a mountain area, so the Israelites won. If we fight them on level ground, we will win.

George Lamsa Translation
And the servants of the king of Aram said to him, Their god is a god of the mountains; this is why they triumphed over us; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall triumph over them.

Good News Translation
King Benhadad's officials said to him, "The gods of Israel are mountain gods, and that is why the Israelites defeated us. But we will certainly defeat them if we fight them in the plains.

Lexham English Bible
The servants of the king of Aram said to him, "Their gods are gods of the mountains, therefore they were stronger than we. Let us fight with them in the plain; surely we will be stronger than they.

Literal Translation
And the king of Syria's servants said to him, Their god is a god of the hills; on account of this they were stronger than us; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely, we shall be stronger than them,

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
For the kynge of ye Syrians seruauntes sayde vnto him: Their goddes are goddes of the mountaynes, therfore haue they gotten the victory. But let vs fyghte with them on the playne, and thou shalt se that we shal ouercome them.

American Standard Version
And the servants of the king of Syria said unto him, Their god is a god of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we: but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.

Bible in Basic English
Then the king of Aram's servants said to him, Their god is a god of the hills; that is why they were stronger than we: but if we make an attack on them in the lowlands, we will certainly be stronger than they.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And the seruauntes of the king of Syria sayde vnto him: The gods of the hilles are their gods, and therefore they had the better of vs: but let vs fight against them in the playne, and [for what ye will] we shall haue the better of them.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And the servants of the king of Aram said unto him: 'Their God is a God of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.

King James Version (1611)
And the seruants of the King of Syria said vnto him, Their gods are gods of the hilles, therefore they were stronger then wee: but let vs fight against them in the plaine, and surely we shall be stronger then they.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the Lord spoke of Jezabel, saying, The dogs shall devour her within the fortification of Jezrael.

English Revised Version
And the servants of the king of Syria said unto him, Their god is a god of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we: but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.

Berean Standard Bible
Meanwhile, the servants of the king of Aram said to him, "Their gods are gods of the hills. That is why they prevailed over us. Instead, we should fight them on the plains; surely then we will prevail.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Sotheli the seruauntis of the kyng of Sirie seiden to hym, The Goddis of hillis ben the Goddis of the sones of Israel, therfor thei ouercamen vs; but it is betere that we fiyte ayens hem in feeldi placis, and we schulen geet hem.

Young's Literal Translation
And the servants of the king of Aram said unto him, `Gods of hills [are] their gods, therefore they were stronger than we; and yet, we fight with them in the plain -- are we not stronger than they?

Update Bible Version
And the slaves of the king of Syria said to him, Their god is a god of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we: but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.

Webster's Bible Translation
And the servants of the king of Syria said to him, Their gods [are] gods of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.

World English Bible
The servants of the king of Syria said to him, Their god is a god of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we: but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.

New King James Version
Then the servants of the king of Syria said to him, "Their gods are gods of the hills. Therefore they were stronger than we; but if we fight against them in the plain, surely we will be stronger than they.

New Living Translation
After their defeat, Ben-hadad's officers said to him, "The Israelite gods are gods of the hills; that is why they won. But we can beat them easily on the plains.

New Life Bible
Now the servants of the king of Syria said to him, "Israel's gods are gods of the mountains. So they were stronger than we. But let us fight against them in the plain, and for sure we will be stronger than they.

New Revised Standard
The servants of the king of Aram said to him, "Their gods are gods of the hills, and so they were stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And, the servants of the king of Syria, said unto him, - Gods of the mountains, are their gods, for this cause, prevailed they against us, - but, only let us fight with them in the plain, and verily we shall prevail against them.

Douay-Rheims Bible
But the servants of the king of Syria said to him: Their gods are gods of the hills, therefore they have overcome us: but it is better that we should fight against them in the plains, and we shall overcome them.

Revised Standard Version
And the servants of the king of Syria said to him, "Their gods are gods of the hills, and so they were stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Now the servants of the king of Aram said to him, "Their gods are gods of the mountains, therefore they were stronger than we; but rather let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we will be stronger than they.

Contextual Overview

²² Sometime later the prophet came to the king of Israel and said, "On the alert now—build up your army, assess your capabilities, and see what has to be done. Before the year is out, the king of Aram will be back in force." ²³Meanwhile the advisors to the king of Aram said, "Their god is a god of the mountains—we don't stand a chance against them there. So let's engage them on the plain where we'll have the advantage. Here's the strategy: Remove each sheik from his place of leadership and replace him with a seasoned officer. Then recruit a fighting force equivalent in size to the army that deserted earlier—horse for horse, chariot for chariot. And we'll fight them on the plain—we're sure to prove stronger than they are." It sounded good to the king; he did what they advised. ²⁶As the new year approached, Ben-Hadad rallied Aram and they went up to Aphek to make war on Israel. The Israelite army prepared to fight and took the field to meet Aram. They moved into battle formation before Aram in two camps, like two flocks of goats. The plain was seething with Arameans. ²⁸ Just then a holy man approached the king of Israel saying, "This is God 's word: Because Aram said, ‘ God is a god of the mountains and not a god of the valleys,' I'll hand over this huge mob of an army to you. Then you'll know that I am God ." ²⁹The two armies were poised in a standoff for seven days. On the seventh day fighting broke out. The Israelites killed 100,000 of the Aramean infantry in one day. The rest of the army ran for their lives back to the city, Aphek, only to have the city wall fall on 27,000 of the survivors. Ben-Hadad escaped into the city and hid in a closet. Then his advisors told him, "Look, we've heard that the kings of Israel play by the rules; let's dress in old gunnysacks, carry a white flag of truce, and present ourselves to the king of Israel on the chance that he'll let you live." So that's what they did. They dressed in old gunnysacks and carried a white flag, and came to the king of Israel saying, "Your servant Ben-Hadad said, ‘Please let me live.'" Ahab said, "You mean to tell me that he's still alive? If he's alive, he's my brother." The men took this as a good sign and concluded that everything was going to be all right: "Ben-Hadad is most certainly your brother!" The king said, "Go and get him." They went and brought him back by chariot. Ahab said, "I am prepared to return the cities that my father took from your father. And you can set up your headquarters in Damascus just as my father did in Samaria; I'll send you home under safe conduct." Then he made a covenant with him and sent him off. A man who was one of the prophets said to a bystander, "Hit me; wound me. Do it for God 's sake—it's his command. Hit me; wound me." But the man wouldn't do it. So he told him, "Because you wouldn't obey God 's orders, as soon as you leave me a lion will attack you." No sooner had the man left his side than a lion met him and attacked. He then found another man and said, "Hit me; wound me." That man did it—hit him hard in the face, drawing blood. Then the prophet went and took a position along the road, with a bandage over his eyes, waiting for the king. It wasn't long before the king happened by. The man cried out to the king, "Your servant was in the thick of the battle when a man showed up and turned over a prisoner to me, saying, ‘Guard this man with your life; if he turns up missing you'll pay dearly.' But I got busy doing one thing after another and the next time I looked he was gone." The king of Israel said, "You've just pronounced your own verdict." At that, the man ripped the bandage off his eyes and the king recognized who he was—one of the prophets! The man said to the king, " God 's word: Because you let a man go who was under sentence by God , it's now your life for his, your people for his." The king of Israel went home in a sulk. He arrived in Samaria in a very bad mood.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Their gods: It was the general belief in the heathen world, that each district had its tutelary and protecting deity, who could do nothing out of his own province. 1 Kings 20:28, 1 Kings 14:23, 1 Samuel 4:8, 2 Kings 19:12, 2 Chronicles 32:13-19, Psalms 50:21, Psalms 50:22, Psalms 121:1, Psalms 121:2, Isaiah 42:8

Reciprocal: Numbers 23:13 - unto 1 Kings 20:31 - his servants 2 Kings 5:13 - his servants 2 Kings 6:8 - took Jeremiah 23:23 - General

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And the servants of the king of Syria said unto him,.... His ministers of state, his privy counsellors:

their gods are gods of the hills, therefore they were stronger than we; and beat them in the last battle; this notion they might receive from what they had heard of Jehovah delivering the law on Mount Sinai to Moses, and of the miraculous things done lately on Mount Carmel, as well as of their worship being in high places, especially at Jerusalem, the temple there being built on an hill, as was Samaria itself, near to which they had their last defeat; and this notion of topical deities very much obtained among the Heathens in later times, some of which they supposed presided over rivers, others over woods, and others over hills and mountains e: so Nemestinus the god of woods, Collina the goddess of hills, and Vallina of valleys f; and Arnobins g makes mention of the god Montinus, and Livy h of the god Peninus, who had his name from a part of the Alps, so called where he was worshipped; and there also the goddess Penina was worshipped; and Lactantius i speaks of the gods of the mountains the mother of Maximilian was a worshipper of; and even Jupiter had names from mountains, as Olympius, Capitolinus, c. and such was the great god Pan, called mountainous Pan k:

but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they and prevail over them, and conquer them.

e "Dii fumus agrestes, et qui dominemur in altis montibus.----" Ovid. Fast. l. 3. f Vid. D. Herbert de Cherbury de Relig. Gent. c. 12. p. 198, 112. g Adv. Gentes, l. 4. h Hist. l. 21. c. 38. i De Mort. Persecutor. c. 11. p. 22. Vid. Ovid. Metamorph. l. 1. Fab. 8. ver. 320. "Et numina montis adorant". See Ep. 4. ver. 171. k Sophoclis Oedipus Tyr. ver. 1110.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Their gods are gods of the hills - The local power and influence of deities was a fixed principle of the ancient polytheism. Each country was considered to have its own gods; and wars were regarded as being to a great extent struggles between the gods of the nations engaged in them. This is apparent throughout the Assyrian inscriptions. Compare also 2 Kings 18:33-35; 2 Kings 19:12. The present passage gives an unusual modification of this view. The suggestion of the Syrian chiefs may have been a mere politic device - they being really anxious, “an military grounds,” to encounter their enemy on the plain, where alone their chariots would be of much service. In the plain the Israelites had always fought at a disadvantage, and had proved themselves weaker than on the hills (see Judges 1:19, Judges 1:27, Judges 1:34).

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 23. Their gods are gods of the hills — It is very likely that the small Israelitish army availed itself of the heights and uneven ground, that they might fight with greater advantage against the Syrian cavalry, for Ben-hadad came up against Samaria with horses and chariots, 1 Kings 20:1. These therefore must be soon thrown into confusion when charging in such circumstances; indeed, the chariots must be nearly useless.

Let us fight against them in the plain — There our horses and chariots will all be able to bear on the enemy, and there their gods, whose influence is confined to the hills, will not be able to help them. It was a general belief in the heathen world that each district had its tutelary and protecting deity, who could do nothing out of his own sphere.