< 1 Kings 22 >
1 And they remained [at rest] three years, there being no war between Syria and Israel.
2 And it came to pass in the third year that Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came down to the king of Israel.
3 And the king of Israel said unto his servants, Know ye that Ramoth in Gil'ad is ours, and we remain idle, without taking it out of the hand of the king of Syria?
4 And he said unto Jehoshaphat, Wilt thou go with me to the battle against Ramoth-gil'ad? And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I [will be] like thee, my people like thy people, my horses like thy horses.
5 And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel, Inquire, I pray thee, today [first] of the word of the Lord.
6 Then assembled the king of Israel the prophets, about four hundred men, and said unto them, shall I go against Ramoth-gil'ad to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; and the Lord will deliver [it] into the hand of the king.
7 And Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the Eternal besides, that we might inquire of him?
8 And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, by whom we might inquire of the Lord; but I hate him; for he will never prophesy good concerning me, but evil: [it is] Michayhu the son of Yimlah. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.
9 Then called the king of Israel a certain officer, and said, Hasten hither Michayhu the son of Yimlah.
10 And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah were sitting each on his throne, dressed in their regal garments, in a threshing-floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them.
11 And Zedekiah the son of Kena'anah had made himself horns of iron; and he said, Thus hath said the Lord, With these shalt thou push the Syrians, until thou have made an end of them.
12 And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramoth-gil'ad, and prosper; and the Lord will deliver it into the king's hand.
13 And the messenger that went to call Michayhu spoke unto him, saying, Behold now, the words of the prophets are with one voice good for the king: do let thy word, I pray thee, be like the word of any one of them, and speak something good.
14 And Michayhu said, As the Lord liveth, truly, what the Lord may say unto me, that will I speak.
15 And when he was come to the king, the king said unto him, Michayhu, shall we go against Ramoth-gil'ad to battle, or shall we forbear? And he answered him, Go up, and prosper; and may the Lord deliver it into the hand of the king.
16 And the king said unto him, How many times yet must I adjure thee that thou shalt not speak to me anything but the truth in the name of the Lord?
17 And he said, I saw all Israel scattered over the mountains, as flocks that have not a shepherd: and the Lord said, These have no master; let them return every man to his house in peace.
18 And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, Did I not say unto thee that he would not prophesy concerning me any good, but [only] evil?
19 And he said, Therefore hear thou the word of the Lord, I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right and on his left.
20 And the Lord said, Who will persuade Achab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gil'ad! And one said, In this manner, and another said, In that manner.
21 And there came forth a spirit, and placed himself before the Lord, and said, I will persuade him. And the Lord said unto him, Wherewith?
22 And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou wilt persuade him, and also prevail: go forth, and do so.
23 And now, behold, the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets; but the Lord hath spoken evil concerning thee.
24 And Zedekiah, the son of Kena'anah, went near, and struck Michayhu on the cheek, and said, Which way passed the Spirit of the Lord away from me to speak with thee!
25 And Michayhu said, Behold, thou shalt see it on that day, when thou shalt go into the innermost chamber to hide thyself.
26 And the king of Israel said, Take Michayhu, and carry him back unto Amon the governor of the city, and unto Joash the king's son;
27 And say, Thus hath said the king, Put this man in the prison, and feed him with sparing bread and with sparing water, until I come home in peace.
28 And Michayhu said, If thou return at all in peace, then hath the Lord not spoken through me. And he said, Hear it, O all ye nations!
29 So the king of Israel went up with Jehoshaphat the king of Judah to Ramoth-gil'ad.
30 And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself, and enter into the battle; but do thou put on thy regal garments. And the king of Israel disguised himself, and went into the battle.
31 And the king of Syria had commanded the captains over his chariots, thirty-two [in number], saying, Fight neither with a small nor a great one, save only with the king of Israel alone.
32 And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, Surely this is the king of Israel. And they turned aside against him to fight: and Jehoshaphat cried out.
33 And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots perceived that it was not the king of Israel, that they turned back from following him.
34 But a man drew his bow at a venture, and struck the king of Israel between the joints and the armor; wherefore he said unto his chariot-driver. Turn about, and carry me out of the camp; for I am wounded.
35 And the battle increased on that day; and the king was stayed up in his chariot against the Syrians; but he died in the evening: and the blood of the wound flowed down into the hollow of the chariot.
36 And there went a proclamation throughout the camp at the going down of the sun, saying, Every man to his city, and every man to his own land.
37 So the king died, and was brought to Samaria; and they buried the king in Samaria.
38 And the chariot was washed out at the pool of Samaria; and the dogs licked up his blood, as they washed his armor: according to the word of the Lord which he had spoken.
39 Now the rest of the acts of Achab, and all that he did, and the ivory house which he built, and all the cities that he built, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.
40 So Achab slept with his fathers: and Achazyahu his son became king in his stead.
41 And Jehoshaphat the son of Assa became king over Judah in the fourth year of Achab the king of Israel.
42 Jehoshaphat was thirty and five years old when he became king, and twenty and five years did he reign in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was 'Azubah the daughter of Shilchi.
43 And he walked in all the ways of Assa his father; he turned not aside from it, doing what is right in the eyes of the Lord: Nevertheless the high-places were not removed; for the people still offered, and burnt incense on the high-places.
44 And Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel.
45 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, and his mighty deeds that he showed, and how he warred, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah.
46 And the remnant of the sodomites, that had been left in the days of his father Assa, did he put away out of the land.
47 There was then no king in Edom: a deputy was king.
48 Jehoshaphat made Tharshish-ships to go to Ophir for gold; but they went not; for the ships were wrecked at 'Ezyon-geber.
49 Then said Achazyahu the son of Achab unto Jehoshaphat, Let my servants go with thy servants in the ships. But Jehoshaphat would not.
50 And Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father: and Jehoram his son became king in his stead.
51 Achazyahu the son of Achab became king over Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah; and he reigned over Israel two years.
52 And he did what is evil in the eyes of the Lord, and walked in the way of his father, and in the way of his mother, and in the way of Jerobo'am the son of Nebat, who had induced Israel to sin.
53 And he served Ba'al, and bowed down to him, and he provoked to anger the Lord the God of Israel, all just as his father had done.
