Albert Barnes Commentary 1 Kings 20:32

"So they girded sackcloth on their loins, and [put] ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said, Thy servant Ben-hadad saith, I pray thee, let me live. And he said, Is he yet alive? he is my brother." — 1 Kings 20:32 (ASV)

Ben-hadad is now as humble as Ahab had been a year before (1 Kings 20:9). He professes himself the mere “slave” of his conqueror.