2 Chronicles 18

1 Now Josaphat was rich and very glorious, and was joined by affinity to Achab.

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 he went down to him after some years to Samaria: and Achab at his coming killed sheep and oxen in abundance for him and the people that came with him: and he persuaded him to go up to Ramoth Galaad.

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 And Achab king of Israel said to Josaphat king of Juda: Come with me to Ramoth Galaad. And he answered him: Thou art as I am, and my people as thy people, and we will be with thee 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 And Josaphat said to the king of Israel: Inquire, I beseech thee, at present 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 gathered together of the prophets four hundred men, and he said to them: Shall we go to Ramoth Galaad to fight, or shall we forbear? But they said: Go up, and God will deliver it into the king’s hand.

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 And Josaphat said: Is there not here a prophet of the Lord, that we may inquire also of him?

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

7 And the king of Israel said to Josaphat: There is one man, of whom we may ask the will of the Lord: but I hate him, for he never prophesieth good to me, but always evil: and it is Micheas the son of Jemla. And Josaphat said: Speak not thus, O king.

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 And the king of Israel called one of the eunuchs, and said to him: Call quickly Micheas the son of Jemla.

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

9 Now the king of Israel, and Josaphat king of Juda, both sat on their thrones, clothed in royal robes, and they sat in the open court by the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets prophesied 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 And Sedecias the son of Chanaana made him 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 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 prophesied in like manner, and said: Go up to Ramoth Galaad, and thou shalt prosper, and the Lord will deliver them into the king’s hand.

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 And the messenger that went to call Micheas, said to him: Behold the words of all the prophets with one mouth declare good to the king: I beseech thee therefore let not thy word disagree with them, and speak thou also good success.

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 And Micheas answered him: As the Lord liveth, whatsoever my God shall say to me, that will I speak.

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

14 So he came to the king: and the king said to him: Micheas, shall we go to Ramoth Galaad to fight, or forbear? And he answered him: Go up, for all shall succeed prosperously, and the enemies shall be delivered into your hands.

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 And the king said: I adjure thee again and again to say nothing but the truth to me, 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 Then he said: I saw all Israel scattered in the mountains, like sheep without a shepherd: and the Lord said: These have no masters: let every man return to his own house 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 And the king of Israel said to Josaphat: Did I not tell thee that this man would not prophesy me any good, but evil?

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 Then he said: Hear ye 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 [standing around him], on his right side and on his left side.

19 And the Lord said: Who shall deceive Achab king of Israel, that he may go up and fall in Ramoth Galaad? And when one spoke in this manner, and another otherwise:

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 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 wilt thou deceive him?

“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 answered: I will go out, and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And the Lord said: Thou shalt deceive, and shalt prevail: go out, and do so.

“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 Now therefore behold the Lord hath put a spirit of lying in the mouth of all thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil against thee.

“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 And Sedecias the son of Chanaana came, and struck Micheas on the cheek and said: Which way went the spirit of the Lord from me, to speak to thee?

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 And Micheas said: Thou thyself shalt see in that day, when thou shalt go in from chamber to chamber, to hide thyself.

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 commanded, saying: Take Micheas, and carry him to Amen the governor of the city, and to Joas the son of Amelech,

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

26 And say: Thus saith the king: Put this fellow in prison, and give him bread and water in a small quantity 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]!”

27 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]!”

28 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].

29 And the king of Israel said to Josaphat: I will change my dress, and so I will go to the battle, but put thou on thy own garments. And the king of Israel having changed his dress, went to 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.” So the king of Israel disguised himself, and they both went into the battle.

30 Now the king of Syria had commanded the captains of his cavalry, saying: Fight ye not with small, or great, but with the king of Israel only.

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

31 So when the captains of the cavalry saw Josaphat, they said: This is the king of Israel. And they surrounded him to attack him: but he cried to the Lord, and he helped him, and turned 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 For when the captains of the cavalry saw, that he was not the king of Israel, they left 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 And it happened that one of the people shot an arrow at a venture, and struck the king of Israel between the neck and the shoulders, and he said to his chariot man: Turn thy hand, and carry me out of the battle, for I am 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 And the fight was ended that day: but the king of Israel stood in his chariot against the Syrians until the evening, and died at the sunset.

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.