1 Kings 22
1 For almost three years there was no war between Syria and Israel.
Three years passed without war between Aram and Israel.
2 Then King Jehoshaphat, who ruled Judah, went to [visit] King Ahab, who ruled Israel.
Then it came about that in the third year, Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went down to 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!”
Now the king of Israel had said to his servants, “Do you know that Ramoth Gilead is ours, but that we are doing nothing to take it from the hand of 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 said to Jehoshaphat, “Will you go with me to war at Ramoth Gilead?” Jehoshaphat replied to the king of Israel, “I am like you, my people are like your people, and my horses are like your horses.”
5 Then he added, “But we should ask Yahweh first, to find out what he wants us to do.”
Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Please seek direction from the word of Yahweh for what you should do first.”
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 the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, four hundred men, and said to them, “Should I go to Ramoth Gilead to battle, or should I not?” They said, “Attack, for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.”
7 But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there no prophet of Yahweh here whom we can ask?”
But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not here yet another prophet of Yahweh from whom we might seek advice?”
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!”
The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man by whom we may seek advice from Yahweh to help, Micaiah son of Imlah, but I hate him because he does not prophesy anything good about me, but only hardships.” But Jehoshaphat said, “May the king not say that.”
9 So the king of Israel told one of his officers to summon Micaiah immediately.
Then the king of Israel called an officer and commanded, “Bring 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).
Now Ahab the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah were sitting each on a throne, clothed in their robes, in an open place at the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying 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!’”
Zedekiah son of Kenaanah made himself horns of iron and said, “Yahweh says this: 'With these you will push the Arameans until they are consumed.'”
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!”
Then all the prophets prophesied the same, saying, “Attack Ramoth Gilead and win, for Yahweh has given 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).”
The messenger who went to call Micaiah spoke to him, saying, “Now look, the words of the prophets declare good things to the king with one mouth. Please let your word be like one of them and say good things.”
14 But Micaiah replied, “As surely as Yahweh lives, I will tell him only what Yahweh tells me to say.”
Micaiah replied, “As Yahweh lives, it is what Yahweh says to me that I will say.”
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 to the king, the king said to him, “Micaiah, should we go to Ramoth Gilead for battle, or not?” Micaiah answered him, “Attack and win. Yahweh will give 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]!”
Then the king said to him, “How many times must I require you to swear to tell me nothing but the 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.’”
So Micaiah said, “I saw all Israel scattered to the mountains, like sheep who have no shepherd, and Yahweh said, 'These have no shepherd. Let every man return to his 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].”
So the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but only disaster?”
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 Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of Yahweh: I saw Yahweh sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven were 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.
Yahweh said, 'Who will entice Ahab, so that he may go up and fall at Ramoth Gilead?' One of them said this and another one said that.
21 Finally one [evil] spirit came to Yahweh and said, ‘I can do it!’
Then a spirit came forward, stood before Yahweh, and said, 'I will entice him.' Yahweh said to him, 'How?'
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!’
The spirit replied, 'I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.' Yahweh replied, 'You will entice him, and you will also be successful. Go now 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 see, Yahweh has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these prophets of yours, and Yahweh has decreed disaster for you.”
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 Kenaanah, came up, slapped Micaiah on the cheek, and said, “Which way did the Spirit of Yahweh take to go from 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]!”
Micaiah said, “Look, you will see on that day when you will go to hide in an inner room.”
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 said to his servant, “Seize Micaiah and take him to Amon, the governor of the city, and to Joash, my son.
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!”
Say to him, 'The king says, Put this man in prison and feed him with only a little bread and only a little water, until I come safely.'”
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 Micaiah said, “If you return safely, then Yahweh has not spoken by me.” Then he added, “Listen to this, all you people.”
29 So the King of Israel and the King of Judah [led their armies] to Ramoth, in [the] Gilead [region].
So Ahab, the king of Israel, and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, went up to 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 said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into the battle, but you put on your royal robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and went 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 Aram had commanded the thirty-two captains of his chariots, saying, “Do not attack unimportant or important soldiers. Instead, attack only the king of Israel.”
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,
It came about that when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat they said, “Surely that is the king of Israel.” They turned to attack him, so Jehoshaphat cried out.
33 they realized that he was not the king of Israel. So they stopped pursuing him.
It came about that when the commanders of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, 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 drew his bow at random and shot the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. Then Ahab said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn around and carry me out of the battle, for I am badly 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 grew worse that day and the king was held up in his chariot facing the Arameans. He died in the evening. The blood ran out from his wound into the bottom 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!”
Then about the time the sun was going down, a cry went up throughout the army, saying, “Every man should go back to his city; and every man should go back to his region!”
37 So king Ahab died, and they took his body [in the chariot] to Samaria [city] and buried his body there.
So King Ahab died and was brought to Samaria, and they buried him 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.
They washed the chariot by the pool of Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood (this was where the prostitutes bathed), just as the word of Yahweh had declared.
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’.
As for the other matters concerning Ahab, all that he did, the ivory house that he built, and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the events 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 ancestors, and Ahaziah his son became king in his place.
41 Before King Ahab died, when he had been ruling in Israel for four years, Asa’s son Jehoshaphat started to rule in Judah.
Then 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 he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-five years. His mother's name was Azubah, the 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 walked in the ways of Asa, his father; he did not turn away from them; he did what was right in the eyes of Yahweh. Yet the high places were not taken away. The people were still sacrificing and burning incense on the high places.
44 Jehoshaphat also made [a] peace [agreement] with the king of Israel.
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’.
As for the other matters concerning Jehoshaphat, and the might that he showed, and how he waged war, are they not written in the book of the events 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 removed from the land the rest of the cultic prostitutes who had remained in the days of his father Asa.
47 At that time, there was no king in Edom; a ruler who had been appointed by Jehoshaphat ruled there.
There was no king in Edom, but a deputy ruled there.
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 oceangoing ships; they were to go to Ophir for gold, but they did not go because the ships 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.
Then Ahaziah son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “Let my servants sail with your servants in the ships.” But Jehoshaphat would not allow it.
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 slept with his ancestors and was buried with them in the city of David, his ancestor; Jehoram his son became king in his place.
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 he reigned two years over Israel.
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 sight of Yahweh and walked in the way of his father, in the way of his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam son of Nebat, by which he led 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.
He served Baal and worshiped him and so he provoked Yahweh, the God of Israel, to anger, just as his father had done.
