1 Kings 22
1 For almost three years there was no war between Syria and Israel.
For three years Aram and Israel were not at war.
2 Then King Jehoshaphat, who ruled Judah, went to [visit] King Ahab, who ruled Israel.
But in the third year Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, went to visit the king of Israel.
3 [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!”
The king of Israel had said to his officers, “Aren't you aware that Ramoth-gilead really belongs to us and yet we haven't done anything to take it back from the king of Aram?”
4 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.”
So he asked Jehoshaphat, “Will you join me in an attack to recapture Ramoth-gilead?” Jehoshaphat replied to the king of Israel, “You and I are as one, my men and your men are as one, and my horses and your horses are as one.”
5 Then he added, “But we should ask Yahweh first, to find out what he wants us to do.”
Then Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “But first though, please find out what the Lord says.”
6 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.”
So the king of Israel brought out the prophets—four hundred of them—and he asked them, “Should I go up and attack Ramoth-gilead, or should I not?” “Yes, go ahead,” they replied, “for the Lord will hand it over to the king.”
7 But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there no prophet of Yahweh here whom we can ask?”
But Jehoshaphat asked, “Isn't there another prophet of the Lord here that we can ask?”
8 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!”
“Yes, there's another man who could consult the Lord,” the king of Israel replied, “but I don't like him because he never prophesies anything good for me—it's always bad! His name is Micaiah, son of Imlah.” “You shouldn't talk like that,” said Jehoshaphat.
9 So the king of Israel told one of his officers to summon Micaiah immediately.
The king of Israel called over one of his officials and told him, “Bring me Micaiah, son of Imlah, right away.”
10 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).
Dressed in their royal robes, the king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah, were sitting on their thrones at the threshing floor beside the gate of Samaria, with all of the prophets prophesying in front of them.
11 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!’”
One of them, Zedekiah, son of Chenaanah, had made himself iron horns. He announced, “This is what the Lord says: ‘With these horns you will gore the Arameans until they're dead!”
12 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!”
All the prophets were prophesying the same thing, saying, “Go ahead, attack Ramoth-gilead; you will be successful, for the Lord will hand it over to the king.”
13 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).”
The messenger who went to call Micaiah told him, “Look, all the prophets are unanimous in prophesying positively to the king. So please make sure to speak positively like them.”
14 But Micaiah replied, “As surely as Yahweh lives, I will tell him only what Yahweh tells me to say.”
But Micaiah replied, “As the Lord lives, I can only say what my God tells me.”
15 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!”
When he came before the king, the king asked him, “Should we go up and attack Ramoth-gilead, or should we not?” “Yes, go ahead and be victorious,” Micaiah replied, “for the Lord will give it into the king's hand.”
16 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]!”
But the king said to him, “How many times must I make you swear to tell me only the truth in the name of the Lord?”
17 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.’”
So Micaiah answered, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains like sheep without a shepherd. The Lord said, ‘These people have no master; let each of them go home in peace.’”
18 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].”
The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Didn't I tell you he never prophesies anything good for me, only bad?”
19 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.
Micaiah went on to say, “So listen to what the Lord says. I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, surrounded by the whole army of heaven standing to his right and to his left.
20 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.
The Lord asked, ‘Who will trick Ahab, king of Israel, into attacking Ramoth-gilead so he will be killed there?’ One said this, another said that, and another said something else.
21 Finally one [evil] spirit came to Yahweh and said, ‘I can do it!’
Finally a spirit came and approached the Lord and said, ‘I will trick him.’
22 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!’
‘How are you going to do that?’ the Lord asked. ‘I will go and be a lying spirit and make all his prophets tell lies,’ the spirit replied. ‘That will work,’ the Lord responded. ‘Go and do it.’
23 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.”
As you see, the Lord has put a lying spirit into these prophets of yours, and the Lord has pronounced your death sentence.”
24 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]
Then Zedekiah, son of Chenaanah, went and slapped Micaiah in the face, and demanded, “Which way did the Spirit of the Lord go when he left me to speak to you?”
25 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]!”
“You'll soon find out when you try and find some secret place to hide!” Micaiah replied.
26 King Ahab commanded [his soldiers], “Seize Micaiah and take him to Amon, the governor of this city, and to my son Joash.
The king of Israel ordered, “Place Micaiah under arrest and take him back to Amon the governor of the city and to my son Joash.
27 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!”
Tell them these are the king's instructions: ‘Put this man in jail. Give him only bread and water until my safe return.’”
28 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]!”
“If you do in fact return safely then the Lord has not spoken through me,” Micaiah declared. “Pay attention everyone to all I've said!”
29 So the King of Israel and the King of Judah [led their armies] to Ramoth, in [the] Gilead [region].
The king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, went to attack Ramoth-gilead.
30 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.
The king of Israel told Jehoshaphat, “When I go into battle I will be in disguise, but you should wear your royal robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle.
31 The King of Syria told this to his thirty-two men who were driving the chariots: “Attack only the king of Israel!”
The king of Aram had already given these orders to his chariot commanders: “Head straight for the king of Israel alone. Don't fight with anyone else, whoever they are.”
32 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,
So when the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they shouted, “This must be the king of Israel!” So they turned to attack him, but when Jehoshaphat called out for help,
33 they realized that he was not the king of Israel. So they stopped pursuing him.
the chariot commanders saw it wasn't the king of Israel and stopped chasing him.
34 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!”
However, an enemy archer shot an arrow at random, hitting the king of Israel between the joints of his armor by his breastplate. The king told his charioteer, “Turn around and get me out of the fight, because I've been wounded!”
35 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.
The battle lasted all day. The king of Israel was propped up in his chariot to face the Arameans, but in the evening he died. The blood had poured out of his wound onto the floor of the chariot.
36 Just as the sun was going down, someone among the Israeli troops shouted, “[The battle is ended!] Everyone should return home!”
At sunset, a shout went out from the lines: “Retreat! Every man back to his town, every man back to his own country!”
37 So king Ahab died, and they took his body [in the chariot] to Samaria [city] and buried his body there.
So the king died. He was taken back to Samaria where they buried him.
38 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.
They washed his chariot at a pool in Samaria where the prostitutes came to bathe, and dogs licked up his blood, just as the Lord had said.
39 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’.
The rest of what happened in Ahab's reign, all that he did, the ivory palace he constructed and all the cities he built are recorded in the Book of Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.
40 When Ahab died, his body was buried where his ancestors were buried. Then his son Ahaziah became king.
Ahab died and his son Ahaziah succeeded him as king.
41 Before King Ahab died, when he had been ruling in Israel for four years, Asa’s son Jehoshaphat started to rule in Judah.
Jehoshaphat, son of Asa, became king of Judah in the fourth year of the reign of Ahab, king of Israel.
42 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.
Jehoshaphat was thirty-five when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for twenty-five years. His mother's name was Azubah, daughter of Shilhi.
43 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.
He followed all the ways of his father; he did not depart from them, and he did what was right in the Lord's sight. However, the high places were not removed and the people still sacrificed and presented offerings there.
44 Jehoshaphat also made [a] peace [agreement] with the king of Israel.
Jehoshaphat also made peace with the king of Israel.
45 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’.
The rest of what happened in Jehoshaphat's reign, his great achievements and the wars he fought are recorded in the Book of Chronicles of the Kings of Judah.
46 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.
He expelled from the land any cult prostitutes who were left from the time of his father Asa.
47 At that time, there was no king in Edom; a ruler who had been appointed by Jehoshaphat ruled there.
(At that time there was no king in Edom; only a deputy who served as king.)
48 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.
Jehoshaphat built sea-going ships to go to Ophir for gold, but they went because they were wrecked at Ezion-geber.
49 Before the ships were wrecked, Ahab’s son Ahaziah suggested to Jehoshaphat, “Allow my sailors to go with your sailors,” but Jehoshaphat refused.
During that time Ahaziah, son of Ahab, asked Jehoshaphat, “Let my men sail with your men,” but Jehoshaphat refused.
50 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.
Jehoshaphat died and was buried with his forefathers in the City of David. His son Jehoram succeeded him as king.
51 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.
Ahaziah, son of Ahab, became king of Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel for two years.
52 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].
He did what was evil in the Lord's sight and followed the ways of his father and mother, and of Jeroboam, son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin.
53 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.
He served Baal and worshiped him, and angered the Lord, the God of Israel, just as his father had.
