1 Kings 22
1 For almost three years there was no war between Syria and Israel.
And there continued three years without war between Syria and Israel.
2 Then King Jehoshaphat, who ruled Judah, went to [visit] King Ahab, who ruled Israel.
But it came to pass, in the third year, that Jehoshaphat king of Judah went down unto 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!”
And the king of Israel said unto his servants, Know ye that, ours, is Ramoth-gilead, —yet, we, are too idle to take it out of the hand of the king of Syria?
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.”
And he said unto Jehoshaphat, Wilt thou go with me to make war upon Ramoth-gilead?
5 Then he added, “But we should ask Yahweh first, to find out what he wants us to do.”
And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel, I am as thou art, my people are us thy people, my horses as thy horses.
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.”
Then said Jehoshaphat unto the king of Israel, —Seek, I pray thee, at once, the word of Yahweh. So the king of Israel gathered together the prophets, about four hundred men, and said unto them—Shall I go against Ramoth-gilead, to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said—Go up, that the Lord may deliver it into the hand of the king.
7 But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there no prophet of Yahweh here whom we can ask?”
Then said Jehoshaphat, Is there not here a prophet of Yahweh, besides, —that we may seek, from him?
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!”
And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, Besides, is a certain man, by whom we might seek Yahweh, but, I, hate him, for he is never moved to prophesy concerning me anything good, only evil, Micaiah, son of Imlah. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.
9 So the king of Israel told one of his officers to summon Micaiah immediately.
Then the king of Israel called a certain courtier, —and said, Hasten Micaiah son of Imlah.
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).
Now, the king of Israel, and Jehoshaphat king of Judah, were sitting—each man upon his throne, having put on robes, in a level place, at the entrance of the gate of Samaria, —and, all the prophets, were being moved to prophesy before 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!’”
when Zedekiah son of Chenaanah made himself horns of iron, —and said—Thus, saith Yahweh, —With these, shalt thou push down the Syrians, until thou hast consumed them.
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!”
And, all the prophets, were being moved to prophesy, in like manner, saying, —Go up to Ramoth-gilead, and thou shalt prosper, and Yahweh will deliver it, into the hand of 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).”
Now, the messenger who went to call Micaiah, spake unto him, saying, Behold, I pray thee, the words of the prophets, with one mouth, are good, as touching the king, let thy word, I pray thee, be as the word of one of them, so wilt thou speak that which is good.
14 But Micaiah replied, “As surely as Yahweh lives, I will tell him only what Yahweh tells me to say.”
And Micaiah said, —By the life of Yahweh, what Yahweh saith unto me, that, will I, speak.
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!”
So he came unto the king, and the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go against Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall we forbear? And he said unto him—Go up and prosper, and Yahweh will deliver it into the hand of the king.
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]!”
And the king said unto him, How many times must, I, adjure thee, —that thou speak unto me nothing but truth, in the name of Yahweh?
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.’”
And he said—I saw all Israel, scattered among the mountains, like sheep that have no shepherd, —so Yahweh said, These have, no masters, let them return every man unto his own house, 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].”
Then said the king of Israel, unto Jehoshaphat, —Did I not say unto thee, He will not be moved to prophesy concerning me anything good, only calamity.
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.
Then he said, Therefore, hear thou the word of Yahweh, —I saw Yahweh, sitting upon his throne, and all the host of the heavens, standing by him, on his right hand, and on 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.
And Yahweh said, Who will persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall, at Ramoth-gilead? And, one, said in this manner, and, another, said in that manner.
21 Finally one [evil] spirit came to Yahweh and said, ‘I can do it!’
Then came forth a spirit, and stood before Yahweh, and said—I, will persuade 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!’
And Yahweh said unto him—Wherewith? And he said—I will go forth, and become a spirit of falsehood in the mouth of all his prophets, —So he said, —Thou mayest persuade, yea and prevail, go forth, and do so.
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.”
Now, therefore, lo! Yahweh hath suffered a spirit of falsehood to be put into the mouth of all these thy prophets. But, Yahweh himself, hath spoken concerning thee, calamity.
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 drew near Zedekiah, son of Chenaanah, and smote Micaiah on the cheek, —and said—Where then passed the Spirit of Yahweh, from me, to speak unto thee?
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]!”
Then said Micaiah, Lo! thou art about to see, on that day, —when thou enterest a chamber within a chamber, to hide thyself.
26 King Ahab commanded [his soldiers], “Seize Micaiah and take him to Amon, the governor of this city, and to my son Joash.
And the king of Israel said, Take Micaiah, and carry him back unto Amon captain of the city, —and unto Joash son of the king;
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!”
and thou shalt say—Thus, saith the king, Put this man into the prison, —and let him eat the bread of oppression, with the water of oppression, until I enter in peace.
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]!”
Then said Micaiah, If thou, return, in peace, Yahweh hath not spoken by me. And he said, Hear, ye peoples, all of you!
29 So the King of Israel and the King of Judah [led their armies] to Ramoth, in [the] Gilead [region].
So the king of Israel went up, with Jehoshaphat king of Judah, unto 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.
And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat—I am about to disguise myself, and enter into the battle, thou, therefore, put on thy robes. So the king of Israel disguised himself, and entered into the battle.
31 The King of Syria told this to his thirty-two men who were driving the chariots: “Attack only the king of Israel!”
Now, the king of Syria, had commanded the captains of chariots which he had, thirty and two, saying, Ye shall not fight with small or great, —save with the king of Israel alone.
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,
And it came to pass, when the chariot-captains saw Jehoshaphat, that, they, said: Surely it is, the king of Israel! But, when they turned aside against him to fight, Jehoshaphat cried out.
33 they realized that he was not the king of Israel. So they stopped pursuing him.
And it came to pass, when the chariot-captains saw that it was, not the king of Israel, that they turned back, from pursuing 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!”
But, a certain man, drawing a bow in his innocence, smote the king of Israel, between the shoulder-joints and the coat of mail, —wherefore he said to his charioteer—Turn thy hand, and convey me out of the host, for I am sore 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.
But the battle increased that day, and, the king, was propped up in the chariot, before the Syrians, —and died in the evening, and so the blood of the wound ran out into the hollow 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!”
And a loud cry went through the host, at the going in of the sun, saying—Every man to his own city! and every man to his own land!
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, and was brought into Samaria, —and they buried the king, in Samaria.
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.
And, when the chariot was washed out at the pool of Samaria, the dogs lapped up his blood, also, the harlots, bathed [there], —according to the word of Yahweh which he had spoken.
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’.
Now, the rest of the story of Ahab, and all that he did, and the house of ivory that he built, and all the cities that he built, are, they, not written in the book of the 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.
So Ahab slept with his fathers, —and, Ahaziah his son, reigned, in his stead.
41 Before King Ahab died, when he had been ruling in Israel for four years, Asa’s son Jehoshaphat started to rule in Judah.
Now, Jehoshaphat son of Asa, began to reign over Judah, —in the fourth year 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 years old when he began to reign, and, twenty-five years, reigned he in Jerusalem, —and, the name of his mother, 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.
And he walked in all the way of Asa his father, he turned not aside therefrom, —doing that which was right in the eyes of Yahweh: nevertheless, the high places, were not taken away, —still were the people offering sacrifices and burning incense in the high places.
44 Jehoshaphat also made [a] peace [agreement] with the king of Israel.
And Jehoshaphat 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’.
Now, the rest of the story of Jehoshaphat, and his might that he shewed, and how he warred, are, they, not written in the book of the 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.
Moreover, the rest of the male devotees who remained in the days of Asa his father, he consumed out of the land.
47 At that time, there was no king in Edom; a ruler who had been appointed by Jehoshaphat ruled there.
And, king, was there none in Edom, a prefect, was 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, made ships of Tarshish, to go to Ophir, for gold; but they went not, —for ships had been broken to pieces in 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.
Then, said Ahaziah son of Ahab, unto Jehoshaphat, Let, my servants, go with, thy servants, in the ships, —but Jehoshaphat did not consent.
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.
So Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers, in the city of David his father, —and, Jehoram his son, reigned, in his stead.
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, began to reign over Israel, in Samaria, in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, —and reigned over Israel, 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].
And he did the thing that was wicked in the eyes of Yahweh, —and went in the way of his father, and in the way of his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who caused, Israel, to 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.
Yea he served Baal, and bowed down to him, —and provoked to anger Yahweh, God of Israel, according to all that his father had done.
