³⁹ As the king passed by, the prophet called out to him, “Your servant went into the thick of the battle, and someone came to me with a captive and said, ‘Guard this man. If he is missing, it will be your life for his life,^(A) or you must pay a talent^[a] of silver.’ ⁴⁰ While your servant was busy here and there, the man disappeared.”

“That is your sentence,”^(B) the king of Israel said. “You have pronounced it yourself.”

⁴² He said to the king, “This is what the Lord says: ‘You^(A) have set free a man I had determined should die.^[a](B) Therefore it is your life for his life,^(C) your people for his people.’”

¹⁹ The man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck the ground five or six times; then you would have defeated Aram and completely destroyed it. But now you will defeat it only three times.”^(A)