2 Chronicles 18

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

Now Jehoshaphat had riches and honour in abundance, and allied himself with Ahab by marriage.

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 after certain years he went down to Ahab to Samaria. And Ahab killed sheep and oxen for him in abundance, and for the people that he had with him, and persuaded him to go up with him to Ramothgilead.

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 Ahab king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, Wilt thou go with me to Ramothgilead? And he answered him, I am as thou art, and my people as thy people; and we will be with thee in the war.

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

And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, Enquire, I pray thee, at the word of the LORD to day.

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.”

Therefore the king of Israel gathered together of prophets four hundred men, and said to them, Shall we go to Ramothgilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for God will deliver it into the king’s hand.

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

But Jehoshaphat 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 Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, by whom we may enquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he never prophesieth good to me, but always evil: the same is Micaiah the son of Imla. And Jehoshaphat 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 of Israel called for one of his officers, and said, Bring quickly Micaiah the son of Imla.

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 Jehoshaphat king of Judah sat each of them on his throne, clothed in their robes, and they sat in an open place at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them.

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

And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah had made him horns of iron, and said, Thus saith the LORD, With these thou shalt push Syria until they shall 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 Ramothgilead, and prosper: for the LORD shall deliver it into the hand 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 Micaiah spoke to him, saying, Behold, the words of the prophets declare good to the king with one consent; let thy word therefore, I pray thee, be like one of theirs, and speak thou good.

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

And Micaiah said, As the LORD liveth, even what my God saith, 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 when he had come to the king, the king said to him, Micaiah, shall we go to Ramothgilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And he said, Go ye up, and prosper, and they shall be delivered into your hand.

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 many times shall I adjure thee that thou say nothing but the truth to me 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.”

Then he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd: and the LORD said, These have no master; let them return therefore every man to his house 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 Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would not prophesy good to me, 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;

Again he said, Therefore hear the word of the LORD; I saw the LORD sitting upon his throne, and all the host of heaven standing 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 shall entice Ahab king of Israel, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead? And one spoke saying after this manner, and another saying after that manner.

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

Then there came out a spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said, I will entice him. And the LORD said to him, How?

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 out, and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And the LORD said, Thou shalt entice him, and thou shalt also prevail: go out, and do even 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.”

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

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 Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near, and smote Micaiah upon the cheek, and said, Which way went the Spirit of the LORD from me to speak to thee?

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

And Micaiah said, Behold, thou shalt see on that day when thou shalt go into an inner chamber to hide thyself.

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,

Then the king of Israel said, Take ye Micaiah, and carry him back to Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash 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 say, Thus saith the king, Put this man in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with 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 Micaiah said, If thou shalt certainly return in peace, then hath not the LORD spoken by me. And he said, Hearken, all ye people.

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

So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramothgilead.

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 Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself, and will go to the battle; but put thou on thy robes. So the king of Israel disguised himself; and they went to 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 ye not with small or great, except only with 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 Jehoshaphat, that they said, It is the king of Israel. Therefore they surrounded him to fight: but Jehoshaphat cried out, and the LORD helped him; and God moved them to depart 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.

For it came to pass, that, when the captains of the chariots perceived that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back again from pursuing 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 certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the armour: therefore he said to his chariot man, Turn thy hand, that thou mayest carry me out of the host; 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 increased that day: yet the king of Israel held himself in his chariot against the Syrians until the evening: and about the time of the sun setting he died.