1 Kings 20:12
Verse 12 of 43. The 20th of 22 chapters in 1 Kings, in History.
8And all the elders and all the people said unto him, Hearken not unto him, nor consent.
9Wherefore he said unto the messengers of Ben–hadad, Tell my lord the king, All that thou didst send for to thy servant at the first I will do: but this thing I may not do. And the messengers departed, and brought him word again.
10And Ben–hadad sent unto him, and said, The gods do so unto me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me.
11And the king of Israel answered and said, Tell him, Let not him that girdeth on his harness boast himself as he that putteth it off.
12And it came to pass, when Ben–hadad heard this message, as he was drinking, he and the kings in the pavilions, that he said unto his servants, Set yourselves in array. And they set themselves in array against the city.
13And, behold, there came a prophet unto Ahab king of Israel, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Hast thou seen all this great multitude? behold, I will deliver it into thine hand this day; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord.
14And Ahab said, By whom? And he said, Thus saith the Lord, Even by the young men of the princes of the provinces. Then he said, Who shall order the battle? And he answered, Thou.
15Then he numbered the young men of the princes of the provinces, and they were two hundred and thirty two: and after them he numbered all the people, even all the children of Israel, being seven thousand.
16And they went out at noon. But Ben–hadad was drinking himself drunk in the pavilions, he and the kings, the thirty and two kings that helped him.
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1 Kings 20:12 in the World English Bible
When Ben Hadad heard this message as he was drinking, he and the kings in the pavilions, he said to his servants, “Prepare to attack!” So they prepared to attack the city.Read 1 Kings 20:12 in the WEB
Matthew Henry on 1 Kings 20:12
The Syrians, the besiegers, had their directions from a drunken king, who gave orders over his cups, as he was drinking (v. 12), drinking himself drunk (v. 16) with the kings in the pavilions, and this at noon. Drunkenness is a sin which armies and their officers have of old been addicted to. Say not thou then that the former days were, in this respect, better than these, though these are bad enough.
Read Matthew Henry on 1 Kings 20:12–21: Ben-hadad's Defeat. (b. c. 900.)
Pray 1 Kings 20:12 with someone reading it aloud.
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King James Version. Public domain. Set as prose throughout, including the poetry, because the text is published to us without its lines.