2 Chronicles 18

1 Now Jehoshaphat had riches and honor in abundance, and he allied himself with Ahab by marriage.

Jehoshaphat became very wealthy and was greatly honored. But then he arranged for one of his family to marry someone from the family of King Ahab [of Israel].

2 And some years later he went down to visit Ahab in Samaria, where Ahab sacrificed many sheep and cattle for him and the people with him, and urged him to march up to Ramoth-gilead.

Several years later, he went down [from Jerusalem] to Samaria to visit Ahab. Ahab welcomed him and the people who had come with him by slaughtering many sheep and cattle [for a feast].

3 Ahab king of Israel asked Jehoshaphat king of Judah, “Will you go with me against Ramoth-gilead?” And Jehoshaphat replied, “I am like you, and my people are your people; we will join you in the war.”

Then he asked Jehoshaphat, “Will you [and your army] go with my army to attack Ramoth [city] in [the] Gilead [region]?” Jehoshaphat replied, “My soldiers and I will go to the battle when you tell us to go.”

4 But Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, “Please inquire first for the word of the LORD.”

Then he added, “But we should ask Yahweh first, to find out what he wants us to do.”

5 So the king of Israel assembled the prophets, four hundred men, and asked them, “Should we go to war against Ramoth-gilead, or should we refrain?” “Go up,” they replied, “and God will deliver it into the hand of the king.”

So the king of Israel gathered all his 400 prophets and asked them, “Should we go to attack the people of Ramoth [city], or should we not do that?” They replied, “Yes, go [and attack them] because God will enable your army to defeat them.”

6 But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there not still a prophet of the LORD here of whom we can inquire?”

But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there no prophet of Yahweh here whom we can ask?”

7 The king of Israel answered, “There is still one man who can ask the LORD, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good for me, but only bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.” “The king should not say that!” Jehoshaphat replied.

The king of Israel replied, “There is still one man here, whom we can ask to find out what Yahweh wants, his name is Micaiah, the son of Imlah. But I hate him because he never says anything good about me. He always predicts [that] bad [things will happen to me].” Jehoshaphat replied, “King Ahab, you should not say that!”

8 So the king of Israel called one of his officials and said, “Bring Micaiah son of Imlah at once.”

So the king of Israel told one of his officials to summon Micaiah immediately.

9 Dressed in royal attire, the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah were sitting on their thrones at the threshing floor by the entrance of the gate of Samaria, with all the prophets prophesying before them.

The king of Israel and the king of Judah were sitting there on their thrones, wearing their royal robes. They were at the place where people threshed grain, near the gate of Samaria [city]. All of [Ahab’s] prophets were standing in front of them, predicting what was going to happen.

10 Now Zedekiah son of Chenaanah had made for himself iron horns and declared, “This is what the LORD says: ‘With these you shall gore the Arameans until they are finished off.’”

[One of them whose name was] Zedekiah, the son of Kenaanah, had made from iron something that resembled the horns of a bull. He proclaimed to Ahab, “This is what Yahweh says: ‘With horns [like these], your [army] will keep attacking the army of Syria [like a bull attacks another animal], until you completely destroy them.’”

11 And all the prophets were prophesying the same, saying, “Go up to Ramoth-gilead and prosper, for the LORD will deliver it into the hand of the king.”

All the other prophets [of Ahab] agreed. They said, “Yes! If you attack Ramoth [city] in [the] Gilead [region], you will be successful, because Yahweh will enable you to defeat them.”

12 Then the messenger who had gone to call Micaiah instructed him, “Behold, with one accord the words of the prophets are favorable to the king. So please let your words be like theirs, and speak favorably.”

The messenger who went to summon Micaiah said to him, “Listen to me! All the other prophets are unitedly predicting that the king will be successful [in the battle]. So be sure to agree with them and say that the king’s army will be successful!”

13 But Micaiah said, “As surely as the LORD lives, I will speak whatever my God tells me.”

But Micaiah said, “As surely as Yahweh lives, I will tell the king only what Yahweh tells me to say.”

14 When Micaiah arrived, the king asked him, “Micaiah, should we go to war against Ramoth-gilead, or should we refrain?” “Go up and triumph,” Micaiah replied, “for they will be given into your hand.”

When Micaiah arrived, the king [of Israel] asked him, “Should we go to attack Ramoth, or not?” Micaiah replied, “Sure, go! Yahweh will enable your army to defeat them!”

15 But the king said to him, “How many times must I make you swear not to tell me anything but the truth in the name of the LORD?”

But King Ahab [realized that Micaiah was lying, so he] said to Micaiah, “I have told you many times that you must always tell only the truth when you say what Yahweh [has revealed to you]!”

16 So Micaiah declared: “I saw all Israel scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd. And the LORD said, ‘These people have no master; let each one return home in peace.’”

Then Micaiah replied, “[The truth is that in a vision] I saw all the troops of Israel scattered on the mountains. They seemed to be like sheep that did not have a shepherd. And Yahweh said, ‘Their master has been killed. So tell them all to go home peacefully.’”

17 Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you that he never prophesies good for me, but only bad?”

Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “I told you that he never predicts that anything good will happen to me! He [always] predicts that bad things will happen to me.”

18 Micaiah continued, “Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing on His right and on His left.

But Micaiah continued, saying, “Listen to what Yahweh showed to me! [In a vision] I saw Yahweh sitting on his throne, with all the armies of heaven [standing around him], on his right side and on his left side.

19 And the LORD said, ‘Who will entice Ahab king of Israel to march up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one suggested this, and another that.

And Yahweh said, ‘Who can persuade Ahab, the king of Israel, to go to fight against the people of Ramoth, in order that he may be killed there?’ “Some suggested one thing, and others suggested something else.

20 Then a spirit came forward, stood before the LORD, and said, ‘I will entice him.’ ‘By what means?’ asked the LORD.

“Finally one spirit, [having received a message from Satan], came to Yahweh and said, ‘I can do it!’ “Yahweh asked him, ‘How will you do it?’

21 And he replied, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets.’ ‘You will surely entice him and prevail,’ said the LORD. ‘Go and do it.’

“The spirit replied, ‘I will go and inspire all of Ahab’s prophets to tell lies.’ Yahweh said, ‘You will be successful; go and do it!’

22 So you see, the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouths of these prophets of yours, and the LORD has pronounced disaster against you.”

“So now [I tell you that] Yahweh has caused your prophets to lie to you. Yahweh has decided that something terrible will happen to you.”

23 Then Zedekiah son of Chenaanah went up, struck Micaiah in the face, and demanded, “Which way did the Spirit of the LORD go when He departed from me to speak with you?”

Then Zedekiah son of Kenaanah walked over to Micaiah and slapped him on his face. He said, “Do you think that Yahweh’s Spirit left me in order to speak to you?”

24 Micaiah replied, “You will soon see, on that day when you go and hide in an inner room.”

Micaiah replied, “You will find out for yourself [to which of us Yahweh’s Spirit has truly spoken] on the day when you go into a room of some house to hide [from the Syrian soldiers]!”

25 And the king of Israel declared, “Take Micaiah and return him to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king’s son,

King Ahab commanded [his soldiers], “Seize Micaiah and take him to Amon, the governor of this city, and to my son Joash.

26 and tell them that this is what the king says: ‘Put this man in prison and feed him only bread and water until I return safely.’”

Tell them that I have commanded that they should put this man in prison and give him only bread and water. Do not give him anything else to eat until I return safely [from the battle]!”

27 But Micaiah replied, “If you ever return safely, the LORD has not spoken through me.” Then he added, “Take heed, all you people!”

Micaiah replied, “If you return safely, [it will be clear that] it was not Yahweh who told me what to say to you!” Then he said [to all those who were standing there], “Do not forget what I have said [to King Ahab]!”

28 So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead.

So the king of Israel and the king of Judah [led their armies] to Ramoth, in [the] Gilead [region].

29 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you wear your royal robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle.

King Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “I will put on different clothes, [in order that no one will recognize that I am the king.] But you should wear your royal robe.” So the king of Israel disguised himself, and they both went into the battle.

30 Now the king of Aram had ordered his chariot commanders, “Do not fight with anyone, small or great, except the king of Israel.”

The King of Syria told his soldiers who were driving the chariots, “Attack only the king of Israel!”

31 When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they said, “This is the king of Israel!” So they turned to fight against him, but Jehoshaphat cried out, and the LORD helped him. God drew them away from him.

So when the soldiers who were driving the Syrian chariots saw Jehoshaphat [wearing the royal robes], they thought “He must be the king of Israel!”

32 And when the chariot commanders saw that he was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him.

So they turned to attack him. But when Jehoshaphat cried out, Yahweh helped him, and they realized that he was not the king of Israel. And God caused them to stop pursuing him.

33 However, a certain man drew his bow without taking special aim, and he struck the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. So the king said to his charioteer, “Turn around and take me out of the battle, for I am badly wounded!”

But one [Syrian] soldier shot an arrow at Ahab, without knowing that it was Ahab. The arrow struck Ahab between the places where the parts of his armor joined together. Ahab told the driver of his chariot, “Turn the chariot around and take me out of here! I have been [severely] wounded!”

34 The battle raged throughout that day, and the king of Israel propped himself up in his chariot facing the Arameans until evening. And at sunset he died.

The battle continued all that day. Ahab was sitting propped up in his chariot, facing the Syrian soldiers. And late in the afternoon, when the sun was setting, he died.