1 Kings 20:42
And he said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Because thou hast let go out of thy hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people. And he said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Because thou hast let go out of thy hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people for his people.
The pronouncement declares the Lord's judgment upon Ahab for letting go out of his hand Ben-hadad, a man appointed to utter destruction, so that Ahab's life would go for his life and Ahab's people for his people. The defeat of the Syrian king in the surrounding chapter was another effort by God to win the weak Ahab. The incident belongs to a sad historical record that teaches the downward moral course of Israel and Judah and the responsibility of their leaders, for when leaders failed to lead rightly the people failed also. The keeper who was charged with a prisoner let him escape while busy here and there, showing that neglecting an assigned duty through occupation with other concerns brings grave consequences, and warning each person not to neglect the work entrusted to him.