2 Chronicles 18

1 And Jehoshaphat has riches and honor in abundance, and joins affinity to Ahab,

And Josaphat had yet great wealth and glory, and he connected himself by marriage with the house of Achaab.

2 and goes down at the end of [certain] years to Samaria to [visit] Ahab, and Ahab sacrifices sheep and oxen in abundance for him and for the people who [are] with him, and persuades him to go up to Ramoth-Gilead.

And he went down after a term of years to Achaab to Samaria: and Achaab killed for him sheep and calves, in abundance, and for the people with him, and he much desired him to go up with him to Ramoth of the country of Galaad.

3 And Ahab king of Israel says to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, “Do you go with me [to] Ramoth-Gilead?” And he says to him, “As I—so you, and as your people—my people, and [we go] with you into the battle.”

And Achaab king of Israel said to Josaphat king of Juda, Will you go with me to Ramoth of the country of Galaad? And he said to him, As I [am], so also [are] you, as your people, [so] also [is] my people with you for the war.

4 And Jehoshaphat says to the king of Israel, “Please seek the word of YHWH this day.”

And Josaphat said to the king of Israel, Seek, I pray you, the Lord today.

5 And the king of Israel gathers the prophets, four hundred men, and says to them, “Do we go to Ramoth-Gilead to battle, or do I refrain?” And they say, “Go up, and God gives [it] into the hand of the king.”

And the king of Israel gathered the prophets, four hundred men, and said to them, Shall I go to Ramoth Galaad to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up, and God shall deliver [it] into the hands of the king.

6 And Jehoshaphat says, “[Is there] not still a prophet of YHWH here, and we seek from him?”

And Josaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the Lord besides, that we may enquire of him?

7 And the king of Israel says to Jehoshaphat, “[There is] still one man to seek YHWH from him, and I have hated him, for he is not prophesying of good concerning me, but of evil [for] all his days, he [is] Micaiah son of Imlah”; and Jehoshaphat says, “Do not let the king say so.”

And the king of Israel said to Josaphat, There is yet one man by whom to enquire of the Lord; but I hate him, for he does not prophesy concerning me for good, for all his days [are] for evil: this [is] Michaias the son of Jembla. And Josaphat said, Let not the king say so.

8 And the king of Israel calls to a certain officer and says, “Hurry Micaiah son of Imlah.”

And the king called an eunuch, and said, [Fetch] quickly Michaias the son of Jembla.

9 And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah are sitting, each on his throne, clothed with garments, and they are sitting in a threshing-floor at the opening of the Gate of Samaria, and all the prophets are prophesying before them.

And the king of Israel and Josaphat king of Juda were sitting each on his throne, and clothed in their robes, sitting in the open space at the entrance of the gate of Samaria: and all the prophets were prophesying before them.

10 And Zedekiah son of Chenaanah makes horns of iron for himself and says, “Thus said YHWH:

And Sedekias son of Chanaan made for himself iron horns, and said, Thus says the Lord, With these you shall thrust Syria until it be consumed.

11 With these you push Aram until you have consumed them.” And all the prophets are prophesying so, saying, “Go up [to] Ramath-Gilead and prosper, and YHWH has given [it] into the hand of the king.”

And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramoth Galaad, and you shall prosper; and the Lord shall deliver it into the hands of the king.

12 And the messenger who has gone to call for Micaiah has spoken to him, saying, “Behold, the words of the prophets [as] one mouth [are] good toward the king, and please let your word be like one of theirs: and you have spoken good.”

And the messenger that went to call Michaias spoke to him, saying, Behold, the prophets have spoken favourably concerning the king with one mouth; let now, I pray you, your words be as [the words] of one of them, and do you speak good things.

13 And Micaiah says “YHWH lives, surely that which my God says, I speak it.”

And Michaias said, [As] the Lord lives, whatever God shall say to me, that will I speak.

14 And he comes to the king, and the king says to him, “Micaiah, do we go to Ramoth-Gilead to battle, or do I refrain?” And he says, “Go up, and prosper, and they are given into your hand.”

And he came to the king, and the king said to him, Michaias, shall I go up to Ramoth Galaad to battle, or shall I forbear? And he said, Go up, and you shall prosper, and they shall be given into your hands.

15 And the king says to him, “How many times am I adjuring you that you speak to me only truth in the Name of YHWH?”

And the king said to him, How often shall I solemnly charge you that you speak to me nothing but truth in the name of the Lord?

16 And he says, “I have seen all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd, and YHWH says, There are no masters for these, they each return to his house in peace.”

And he said, I saw Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep without a shepherd: and the Lord said, These have no commander; let each return to his home in peace.

17 And the king of Israel says to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not say to you [that] he does not prophesy good concerning me, but rather of evil?”

And the king of Israel said to Josaphat, Said I not to you, that he would not prophesy concerning me good, but evil?

18 And [Micaiah] says, “Therefore, hear a word of YHWH: I have seen YHWH sitting on His throne, and all the host of the heavens standing on His right and His left;

But he said, Not so. Hear you the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven stood by on his right hand and on his left.

19 and YHWH says, Who entices Ahab king of Israel, and he goes up and falls in Ramoth-Gilead? And this speaker says thus, and that speaker thus.

And the Lord said, Who will deceive Achaab king of Israel, that he may go up, and fall in Ramoth Galaad? And one spoke this way, and another spoke that way.

20 And the spirit goes out, and stands before YHWH, and says, I entice him; and YHWH says to him, With what?

And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the Lord, and said, I will deceive him. And the Lord said, Whereby?

21 And he says, I go out, and have become a spirit of falsehood in the mouth of all his prophets. And He says, You entice, and also, you are able; go out and do so.

And he said, I will go forth, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And [the Lord] said, You shall deceive [him], and shall prevail: go forth, and do so.

22 And now, behold, YHWH has put a spirit of falsehood in the mouth of these prophets of yours, and YHWH has spoken calamity concerning you.”

And now, behold, the Lord has put a false spirit in the mouth of these your prophets, and the Lord has spoken evil against you.

23 And Zedekiah son of Chenaanah comes near and strikes Micaiah on the cheek, and says, “Where [is] this—the way the spirit [from] YHWH passed over from me to speak with you?”

Then Sedekias the son of Chanaan drew near, and struck Michaias on the cheek, and said to him, By what way passed the Spirit of the Lord from me to speak to you?

24 And Micaiah says, “Behold, you see in that day that you enter into the innermost chamber to be hidden.”

And Michaias said, Behold, you shall see in that day, when you shall go from chamber to chamber to hide yourself.

25 And the king of Israel says, “Take Micaiah, and turn him back to Amon head of the city, and to Joash son of the king,

And the king of Israel said, Take Michaias, and carry him back to Emer the governor of the city, and to Joas the captain, the king's son;

26 and you have said, Thus said the king: Put this [one] in the house of restraint, and cause him to eat bread of oppression, and water of oppression, until my return in peace.”

and you shall say, Thus said the king, Put this fellow into the prison house, and let him eat the bread of affliction, and [drink] the water of affliction, until I return in peace.

27 And Micaiah says, “If you certainly return in peace, YHWH has not spoken by me”; and he says, “Hear, O peoples, all of them!”

And Michaias said, If you do at all return in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me. And he said, Hear, all you people.

28 And the king of Israel goes up—and Jehoshaphat king of Judah—to Ramoth-Gilead;

So the king of Israel, and Josaphat king of Juda, went up to Ramoth Galaad.

29 and the king of Israel says to Jehoshaphat to disguise himself, and to go into battle, “And you, put on your garments.” And the king of Israel disguises himself, and they go into battle.

And the king of Israel said to Josaphat, Disguise me, and I will enter into the battle: and do you put on my raiment. so the king of Israel disguised himself, and entered into the battle.

30 And the king of Aram has commanded the heads of the charioteers whom he has, saying, “You do not fight with small or with great, except with the king of Israel by himself.”

Now the king of Syria had commanded the captains of the chariots that were with him, saying, Fight neither against small nor great, but only against the king of Israel.

31 And it comes to pass at the heads of the charioteers seeing Jehoshaphat, that they have said, “He is the king of Israel,” and they turn around against him to fight, and Jehoshaphat cries out, and YHWH has helped him, and God entices them from him;

And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Josaphat, that they said, It is the king of Israel: and they compassed him about to fight against him: and Josaphat cried out, and the Lord delivered him; and God turned them away from him.

32 indeed, it comes to pass, at the heads of the charioteers seeing that it has not been the king of Israel—they turn back from after him.

And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, that they turned away from him.

33 And a man has drawn with a bow in his simplicity, and strikes the king of Israel between the joinings and the coat of mail, and he says to the charioteer, “Turn your hand, and you have brought me out of the camp, for I have become [gravely] sick.”

And a man drew a bow with a good aim, and struck the king of Israel between the lungs and the breast-plate: and he said to the charioteer, Turn your hand, drive me out of the battle, for I am wounded.

34 And the battle increases on that day, and the king of Israel has been propped up in the chariot in front of Aram until the evening, and he dies at the time of the going in of the sun.

And the battle turned in that day; and the king of Israel remained on the chariot against Syria until evening, and died at sunset.