1 Kings 22
1 And there passed three years without war between Syria and Israel.
For almost three years there was no war between Syria and Israel.
2 And in the third year, Josaphat king of Juda came down to the king of Israel.
Then King Jehoshaphat, who ruled Judah, went to [visit] King Ahab, who ruled Israel.
3 (And the king of Israel said to his servants: Know ye not-that Ramoth Galaad is ours, and we neglect to take it out of the hand of the king of Syria?)
[While they were talking, ] Ahab said to his officials, “Do you realize that the Syrians are still occupying our city of Ramoth in [the] Gilead [region]? And we are doing nothing to retake that city!”
4 And he said to Josaphat: Wilt thou come with me to battle to Ramoth Galaad?
Then he turned to Jehoshaphat and asked, “Will your [army] join my [army] to fight against the people of Ramoth [and retake that city]?” Jehoshaphat replied, “[Certainly] I [will do whatever] you [want], and you may command my troops. You may take my horses into battle, also.”
5 And Josaphat said to the king of Israel: As I am, so art thou: my people and thy people are one: and my horsemen, thy horsemen. And Josaphat said to the king of Israel: Inquire, I beseech thee, this day, the word of the Lord.
Then he added, “But we should ask Yahweh first, to find out what he wants us to do.”
6 Then the king of Israel assembled the prophets, about four hundred men, and he said to them: Shall I go to Ramoth Galaad to fight, or shall I forbear? They answered: Go up, and the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king.
So Ahab summoned about 400 of his prophets together, and he asked them, “Should my [army] go to fight the people in Ramoth and retake that city, or not?” They answered, “Yes, go [and attack them], because God will enable your [army] to defeat them.”
7 And Josaphat said: Is there not here some prophet of the Lord, that we may inquire by him?
But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there no prophet of Yahweh here whom we can ask?”
8 And the king of Israel said to Josaphat: There is one man left, by whom we may inquire of the Lord: Micheas the son of Jemla; but I hate him, for he doth not prophesy good to me, but evil. And Josaphat said: Speak not so, O king.
The King of Israel replied, “There is one man we can talk to. We can ask him if he can find out what Yahweh wants. His name is Micaiah; he is the son of Imlah. But I hate him, because when he (prophesies/tells what God says to him) he never says [that] anything good [will happen] to me. He always predicts [that] bad things [will happen to me].” Jehoshaphat replied, “King Ahab, you should not say that!”
9 Then the king of Israel called an eunuch, and said to him: Make haste, and bring hither Micheas the son of Jemla.
So the king of Israel told one of his officers to summon Micaiah immediately.
10 Then the king of Israel, and Josaphat king of Juda, sat each on his throne clothed with royal robes, in a court by the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets prophesied before them.
The king of Israel and the king of Judah were wearing their (royal robes/robes that showed that they were kings). They were sitting on thrones at the place where people threshed grain, near the gate of Samaria [city]. All of Ahab’s prophets were standing in front of the kings, (prophesying/predicting what was going to happen).
11 And Sedecias the son of Chanaana made himself horns of iron, and said: Thus saith the Lord: With these shalt thou push Syria, till thou destroy it.
One of them, whose name was Zedekiah, the son of Kenaanah, had made from iron [something that resembled] horns of a bull. Then he proclaimed [to Ahab], “This is what Yahweh says: ‘With horns like these your [army] will keep attacking the Syrians [like a bull attacks another animal] [MET], until you completely destroy them!’”
12 And all the prophets prophesied in like manner, saying: Go up to Ramoth Galaad, and prosper, for the Lord will deliver it into the king’s hands.
All the [other] prophets [of Ahab] agreed. They said, “Yes! If you go up to attack Ramoth [city] in [the] Gilead [region], you will be successful, because Yahweh will enable you to defeat them!”
13 And the messenger, that went to call Micheas, spoke to him, saying: Behold the words of the prophets with one month declare good things to the king: let thy word therefore be like to theirs, and speak that which is good.
Meanwhile, the messenger who went to summon Micaiah said to him, “Listen to me! All the other prophets are predicting that the king’s army will defeat the Syrians. So be sure that you agree with them and say (what will be favorable/that the king’s army will be successful).”
14 But Micheas said to him: As the Lord liveth, whatsoever the Lord shall say to me, that will I speak.
But Micaiah replied, “As surely as Yahweh lives, I will tell him only what Yahweh tells me to say.”
15 So he came to the king, and the king said to him: Micheas, shall we go to Ramoth Galaad to battle, or shall we forbear? He answered him: Go up, and prosper, and the Lord shall deliver it into the king’s hands.
When Micaiah came to Ahab, Ahab asked him, “Micaiah, should we go to fight against [the people of] Ramoth, or not?” Micaiah replied, “Sure, go! Yahweh will enable your army to defeat them!”
16 But the king said to him: I adjure thee again and again, that thou tell me nothing but that which is true in the name of the Lord.
But King Ahab [realized that Micaiah was (lying/being sarcastic), so he] said to Micaiah, “I have told you [RHQ] many times that you must always tell only the truth when you say what Yahweh [has revealed to you]!”
17 And he said: I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, like sheep that have no shepherd: and the Lord said: These have no master: let every man of them return to his house in peace.
So Micaiah said to him, “[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.’”
18 (Then the king of Israel said to Josaphat: Did I not tell thee, that he prophesieth no good to me, but always evil?)
Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “I told you [RHQ] that he never predicts [that] anything good [will happen to me]! He [always] predicts [that] bad things [will happen to me].”
19 And he added and said: Hear thou therefore the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the army of heaven standing by him on the right hand and on the 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 surrounding him, on his right side and on his left side.
20 And the Lord said: Who shall deceive Achab king of Israel, that he may go up, and fall at Ramoth Galaad? And one spoke words of this manner, and another otherwise.
And Yahweh said, ‘Who can persuade Ahab 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.
21 And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the Lord, and said: I will deceive him. And the Lord said to him: By what means?
Finally one [evil] spirit came to Yahweh and said, ‘I can do it!’
22 And he said: I will go forth, and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And the Lord said: Thou shalt deceive him, and shalt prevail: a go forth, and do so.
Yahweh asked him, ‘How will you 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!’
23 Now therefore behold the Lord hath given a lying spirit in the mouth of all thy prophets that are here, and the Lord hath spoken evil against thee.
So now [I tell you that] Yahweh has caused all of your prophets to lie to you. Yahweh has decided that something terrible will happen to you.”
24 And Sedecias the son of Chanaana came, and struck Micheas on the cheek, and said: Hath then the spirit of the Lord left me, and spoken to thee?
Then Zedekiah 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?” [RHQ]
25 And Micheas said: Thou shalt see in the day when thou shalt go into a chamber within a chamber to hide thyself.
Micaiah replied, “You will find out for yourself [which of us Yahweh’s Spirit has truly spoken to] on the day when you go into a room of some house to hide [from the Syrian troops]!”
26 And the king of Israel said: Take Micheas, and let him abide with Ammon the governor of the city, and with Joas the son of Amalech.
King Ahab commanded [his soldiers], “Seize Micaiah and take him to Amon, the governor of this city, and to my son Joash.
27 And tell them: Thus saith the king: Put this man in prison, and feed him with bread of affliction, and water of distress, till I return in peace.
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!”
28 And Micheas said: If thou return in peace, the Lord hath not spoken by me. And he said: Hear, all ye 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]!”
29 So the king of Israel, and Josaphat king of Juda went up to Ramoth Galaad.
So the King of Israel and the King of Judah [led their armies] to Ramoth, in [the] Gilead [region].
30 And the king of Israel said to Josaphat: Take armour, and go into the battle, and put on thy own garments. But the king of Israel changed his dress, and went into the 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/robe that shows that you are a king).” So Ahab disguised himself, and they both went into the battle.
31 And the king of Syria had commanded the two and thirty captains of the chariots, saying: You shall not fight against any, small or great, but against the king of Israel only.
The King of Syria told this to his thirty-two men who were driving the chariots: “Attack only the king of Israel!”
32 So when the captains of the chariots saw Josaphat, they suspected that he was the king of Israel, and making a violent assault they fought against him: and Josaphat cried out.
So when the men who were driving the Syrian chariots saw Jehoshaphat [wearing (his royal robes/clothes that showed he was the king)], they pursued him. They shouted, “There is the king of Israel!” But when Jehoshaphat cried out,
33 And the captains of the chariots perceived that he was not the king of and they turned away from him.
they realized that he was not the king of Israel. So they stopped pursuing him.
34 And a certain man bent his bow, shooting at a venture, and chanced to strike the king of Israel between the lungs and the stomach. But he said to the driver of his chariot: Turn thy hand, and carry me out of the army, for I am grievously 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!”
35 And the battle was fought that day, and the king of Israel stood in his chariot against the Syrians, and he died in the evening: and the blood ran out of the wound into the midst of the chariot.
The battle continued all the day. Ahab was sitting propped up in his chariot, facing the Syrian troops. The blood from his wound ran down to the floor of the chariot. And late in the afternoon he died.
36 And the herald proclaimed through all the army before the sun set, saying: Let every man return to his own city, and to his own country.
Just as the sun was going down, someone among the Israeli troops shouted, “[The battle is ended!] Everyone should return home!”
37 And the king died, and was carried into Samaria: and they buried the king in Samaria.
So king Ahab died, and they took his body [in the chariot] to Samaria [city] and buried his body there.
38 And they washed his chariot in the pool of Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood, and they washed the reins, according to the word of the Lord which he had spoken.
They washed his chariot alongside the pool in Samaria, a pool where the prostitutes bathed. And dogs [came and] licked the king’s blood, just like Yahweh had predicted would happen.
39 But the rest of the acts of Achab, and all that he did, and the house of ivory that he made, and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel?
The account/record of the other things that happened while Ahab was ruling, and about the palace decorated with much ivory [that they built for him], and the cities that were built for him, was written in the scroll called ‘The History of the Kings of Israel’.
40 So Achab slept with his fathers, and Ochozias his son reigned in his stead.
When Ahab died, his body was buried where his ancestors were buried. Then his son Ahaziah became king.
41 But Josaphat the son of Asa began to reign over Juda in the fourth year of Achab king of Israel.
Before King Ahab died, when he had been ruling in Israel for four years, Asa’s son Jehoshaphat started to rule in Judah.
42 He was five and thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned five and twenty years in Jerusalem: the name of his mother was Azuba the daughter of Salai.
Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he started to rule, and he ruled in Jerusalem for twenty-five years. His mother was Azubah, the daughter of Shilhi.
43 And he walked in all the way of Asa his father, and he declined not from it: and he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord. Nevertheless he took not away the high places: for as Set the people offered sacrifices and burnt incense in the high places.
Jehoshaphat was a good king, just like his father Asa had been. He did things that pleased Yahweh. But while he was king, he did not remove all the pagan altars [that the people had built] on the hilltops. So the people continued to offer sacrifices [to idols] on those altars and burned incense there.
44 And Josaphat had peace with the king of Israel.
Jehoshaphat also made [a] peace [agreement] with the king of Israel.
45 But the rest of the acts of Josaphat, and his works which he did, and his batties, are they not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Juda?
All the other things that happened while Jehoshaphat was ruling, and the great things that he did and the victories his [troops] won, are written in the scroll called ‘The History of the Kings of Judah’.
46 And the remnant also of the effeminate, who remained in the days of Asa his father, he took out of the land.
Jehoshaphat’s father Asa [had tried to expel] the male prostitutes that stayed at the pagan shrines, but some of them were still there. Jehoshaphat got rid of them.
47 And there was then no king appointed in Edom.
At that time, there was no king in Edom; a ruler who had been appointed by Jehoshaphat ruled there.
48 But king Josaphat made navies on the sea, to sail into Ophir for gold: but they could not go, for the ships were broken in Asiongaber.
Jehoshaphat [ordered some Israeli men to] build a fleet/group of ships to sail [south] to [the] Ophir [region] to get gold. But they were wrecked at Ezion-Geber/Elath, so the ships never sailed.
49 Then Ochozias the ton of Achab said to Josaphat: Let my servants go with thy servants in the ships. And Josaphat would not.
Before the ships were wrecked, Ahab’s son Ahaziah suggested to Jehoshaphat, “Allow my sailors to go with your sailors,” but Jehoshaphat refused.
50 And Josaphat slept with his fathers. and was buried with them in the city of David his father: and Joram his son reigned in his stead.
When Jehoshaphat died, his [body] was buried where his ancestors were buried in [Jerusalem, ] the city where King David [had ruled]. Then Jehoshaphat’s son Jehoram became king.
51 And Ochozias the son of Achab began to reign over Israel in Samaria, in the seventeenth gear of Josaphat king of Juda, and he reigned over Israel two years,
Before King Jehoshaphat died, when he had been ruling in Judah for 17 years, Ahab’s son Ahaziah began to rule in Israel. Ahaziah ruled in Samaria for two years.
52 And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way of his father and his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nabat, who made Israel to sin.
He did many things that Yahweh considered to be evil, doing the [evil] things that his father and mother had done and the evil things that Jeroboam had done—the king who had led all the Israeli people to sin [by worshiping idols].
53 He served also Baal, and worshipped him, and provoked the Lord the God of Israel, according to all that his father had done.
Ahaziah bowed in front of Baal’s idol and worshiped it. That caused Yahweh, the God who was the true God of the Israeli people, to become very angry, just as Ahaziah’s father had caused Yahweh to become angry.
