They dressed in rough cloth with ropes on their heads. [224] They came to the king of Israel. They said, “Your servant, Ben Hadad, says, ‘Please let me live.’”
His servants said to him, “We heard that the kings of Israel are merciful. Let’s dress in rough cloth with ropes on our heads. [223] Then let’s go to the king of Israel. Maybe he will let us live.”
Ben Hadad’s men wanted King Ahab to say something to show that he would not kill King Ben Hadad. When Ahab called Ben Hadad his brother, the advisers quickly said, “Yes! Ben Hadad is your brother.”
Then the prophet said to the king, “The Lord says to you, ‘You set free the man that I said should die. So you will take his place—you will die! And your people will take the enemies’ place—your people will die!’”
The man that took care of Ahab’s house, the man that controlled the city, the elders, and the people who raised {Ahab’s children} sent a message to Jehu. “We are your servants. We will do anything you tell us. We will not make any man king. Do what you think is good.”
My Master will finish doing the things he planned to Jerusalem and Mount Zion. {\cf2\super [116]} Then the Lord will punish Assyria. {\cf2\super [117]} The king of Assyria is very proud. His pride made him do many bad things. So God will punish him.