2 Chronicles 18

1 Jehoshaphat became very wealthy and was greatly honored. But then he arranged for one of his family to marry someone from the family of King Ahab [of Israel].

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

2 Several years later, he went down [from Jerusalem] to Samaria to visit Ahab. Ahab welcomed him and the people who had come with him by slaughtering many sheep and cattle [for a feast].

And after a lapse of years he went down to Ahab to Samaria. And Ahab killed sheep and oxen for him in abundance, and for the people that were with him, and persuaded him to go up with him to Ramoth-gilead.

3 Then he asked Jehoshaphat, “Will you [and your army] go with my army to attack Ramoth [city] in [the] Gilead [region]?” Jehoshaphat replied, “My soldiers and I will go to the battle when you tell us to go.”

And Ahab king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat king of Judah: 'Wilt thou go with me to Ramoth-gilead?' 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 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: 'Inquire, I pray thee, at the word of the LORD today.'

5 So the king of Israel gathered all his 400 prophets and asked them, “Should we go to attack the people of Ramoth [city], or should we not do that?” They replied, “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 unto them: 'Shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I forbear?' And they said: 'Go up; for God will deliver it into the hand of the king.'

6 But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there no prophet of Yahweh here whom we can ask?”

But Jehoshaphat said: 'Is there not here besides a prophet of the LORD, that we might inquire of him?'

7 The king of Israel replied, “There is still one man here, whom we can ask to find out what Yahweh wants, his name is Micaiah, the son of Imlah. But I hate him because he never says anything good about 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: 'There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the LORD; but I hate him; for he never prophesieth good concerning me, but always evil; the same is Micaiah the son of Imla.' And Jehoshaphat said: 'Let not the king say so.'

8 So the king of Israel told one of his officials to summon Micaiah immediately.

Then the king of Israel called an officer, and said: 'Fetch quickly Micaiah the son of Imla.'

9 The king of Israel and the king of Judah were sitting there on their thrones, wearing their royal robes. They were at the place where people threshed grain, near the gate of Samaria [city]. All of [Ahab’s] prophets were standing in front of them, predicting what was going to happen.

Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah sat each on his throne, arrayed in their robes, and they sat in a threshing-floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets were prophesying before them.

10 [One of them whose name was] Zedekiah, the son of Kenaanah, had made from iron something that resembled the horns of a bull. He proclaimed to Ahab, “This is what Yahweh says: ‘With horns [like these], your [army] will keep attacking the army of Syria [like a bull attacks another animal], until you completely destroy them.’”

And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made him horns of iron, and said: 'Thus saith the LORD: With these shalt thou gore the Arameans, until they be consumed.'

11 All the other prophets [of Ahab] agreed. They said, “Yes! If you attack Ramoth [city] in [the] Gilead [region], you will be successful, because Yahweh will enable you to defeat them.”

And all the prophets prophesied so, saying: 'Go up to Ramoth-gilead, and prosper; for the LORD will deliver it into the hand of the king.'

12 The messenger who went to summon Micaiah said to him, “Listen to me! All the other prophets are unitedly predicting that the king will be successful [in the battle]. So be sure to agree with them and say that the king’s army will be successful!”

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 mouth; let thy word therefore, I pray thee, be like one of theirs, and speak thou good.'

13 But Micaiah said, “As surely as Yahweh lives, I will tell the king only what Yahweh tells me to say.”

And Micaiah said: 'As the LORD liveth, what my God saith, that will I speak.'

14 When Micaiah arrived, the king [of Israel] asked him, “Should we go to attack Ramoth, or not?” Micaiah replied, “Sure, go! Yahweh will enable your army to defeat them!”

And when he was come to the king, the king said unto him: 'Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I forbear?' And he said: 'Go ye up, and prosper; and they shall be delivered into your hand.'

15 But King Ahab [realized that Micaiah was lying, so he] said to Micaiah, “I have told you many times that you must always tell only the truth when you say what Yahweh [has revealed to you]!”

And the king said to him: 'How many times shall I adjure thee that thou speak unto me nothing but the truth in the name of the LORD.'

16 Then Micaiah replied, “[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 upon the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd; and the LORD said: These have no master, let them return every man to his house in peace.'

17 Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “I told you that he never predicts that anything good will happen to me! He [always] predicts that bad things will happen to me.”

And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat: 'Did I not tell thee that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?'

18 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 [standing around him], on his right side and on his left side.

And he said: 'Therefore hear ye 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 Yahweh said, ‘Who can persuade Ahab, the king of Israel, 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 the LORD said: who shall entice Ahab king of Israel, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead? And one spoke saying after this manner, and another saying after that manner.

20 “Finally one spirit, [having received a message from Satan], came to Yahweh and said, ‘I can do it!’ “Yahweh asked him, ‘How will you do it?’

And there came forth the spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said: I will entice him. And the LORD said unto him: Wherewith?

21 “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 he said: I will go forth, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And He said: Thou shalt entice him, and shalt prevail also; go forth, and do so.

22 “So now [I tell you that] Yahweh has caused your prophets to lie to you. Yahweh has decided that something terrible will happen to you.”

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

23 Then Zedekiah son of Kenaanah 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?”

Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near, and smote Micaiah upon the check, and said: 'Which way went the spirit of the LORD from me to speak unto thee?'

24 Micaiah replied, “You will find out for yourself [to which of us Yahweh’s Spirit has truly spoken] on the day when you go into a room of some house to hide [from the Syrian soldiers]!”

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

25 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 ye Micaiah; and carry him back unto Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king's son;

26 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 say: Thus saith the king: Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with scant bread and with scant water, until I return in peace.'

27 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]!”

And Micaiah said: 'If thou return at all in peace, the LORD hath not spoken by me.' And he said: 'Hear, ye peoples, all of you.'

28 So the king of Israel and the king of Judah [led their armies] to Ramoth, in [the] Gilead [region].

So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the kind of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead.

29 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.” So the king of Israel disguised himself, and they both went into the battle.

And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat: 'I will disguise myself, and go into the battle; but put thou on thy robes.' So the king of Israel disguised himself; and they went into the battle.

30 The King of Syria told his soldiers who were driving the chariots, “Attack only the king of Israel!”

Now the king of Aram had commanded the captains of his chariots, saying: 'Fight neither with small nor great, save only with the king of Israel.'

31 So when the soldiers who were driving the Syrian chariots saw Jehoshaphat [wearing the royal robes], they thought “He must be the king of Israel!”

And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said: 'It is the king of Israel.' Therefore they turned about to fight against him; but Jehoshaphat cried out, and the LORD helped him; and God moved them to depart from him.

32 So they turned to attack him. But when Jehoshaphat cried out, Yahweh helped him, and they realized that he was not the king of Israel. And God caused them to stop pursuing him.

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

33 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!”

And a certain man drew his bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the lower armour and the breastplate; wherefore he said to the driver of the chariot: 'Turn thy hand, and carry me out of the host; for I am sore wounded.'

34 The battle continued all that day. Ahab was sitting propped up in his chariot, facing the Syrian soldiers. And late in the afternoon, when the sun was setting, he died.

And the battle increased that day; howbeit the king of Israel stayed himself up in his chariot against the Arameans until the even; and about the time of the going down of the sun he died.