1 Kings 22
1 Three years passed without war between Aram and Israel.
For three years Aram and Israel were not at war.
2 Then it came about that in the third year, Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went down to the king of Israel.
But in the third year Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, went to visit the king of Israel.
3 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?”
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 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.”
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 Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Please seek direction from the word of Yahweh for what you should do first.”
Then Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “But first though, please find out what the Lord says.”
6 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.”
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 said, “Is there not here yet another prophet of Yahweh from whom we might seek advice?”
But Jehoshaphat asked, “Isn't there another prophet of the Lord here that we can ask?”
8 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.”
“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 Then the king of Israel called an officer and commanded, “Bring Micaiah son of Imlah, right away.”
The king of Israel called over one of his officials and told him, “Bring me Micaiah, son of Imlah, right away.”
10 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.
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 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.'”
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 Then all the prophets prophesied the same, saying, “Attack Ramoth Gilead and win, for Yahweh has given it into the hand of the king.”
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 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.”
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 Micaiah replied, “As Yahweh lives, it is what Yahweh says to me that I will say.”
But Micaiah replied, “As the Lord lives, I can only say what my God tells me.”
15 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.”
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 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?”
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, “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.'”
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 So the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but only disaster?”
The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Didn't I tell you he never prophesies anything good for me, only bad?”
19 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.
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 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.
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 Then a spirit came forward, stood before Yahweh, and said, 'I will entice him.' Yahweh said to him, 'How?'
Finally a spirit came and approached the Lord and said, ‘I will trick him.’
22 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.'
‘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 Now see, Yahweh has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these prophets of yours, and Yahweh has decreed disaster for 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 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?”
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 said, “Look, you will see on that day when you will go to hide in an inner room.”
“You'll soon find out when you try and find some secret place to hide!” Micaiah replied.
26 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.
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 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.'”
Tell them these are the king's instructions: ‘Put this man in jail. Give him only bread and water until my safe return.’”
28 Then Micaiah said, “If you return safely, then Yahweh has not spoken by me.” Then he added, “Listen to this, all you people.”
“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 Ahab, the king of Israel, and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, went up to Ramoth Gilead.
The king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, went to attack Ramoth-gilead.
30 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.
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 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.”
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 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.
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 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.
the chariot commanders saw it wasn't the king of Israel and stopped chasing him.
34 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.”
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 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.
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 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!”
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 was brought to Samaria, and they buried him in Samaria.
So the king died. He was taken back to Samaria where they buried him.
38 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.
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 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?
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 So Ahab slept with his ancestors, and Ahaziah his son became king in his place.
Ahab died and his son Ahaziah succeeded him as king.
41 Then Jehoshaphat son of Asa began to reign over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel.
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 began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-five years. His mother's name 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 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.
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 made peace with the king of Israel.
Jehoshaphat also made peace with the king of Israel.
45 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?
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 He removed from the land the rest of the cultic prostitutes who had remained in the days of his father Asa.
He expelled from the land any cult prostitutes who were left from the time of his father Asa.
47 There was no king in Edom, but a deputy ruled there.
(At that time there was no king in Edom; only a deputy who served as king.)
48 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.
Jehoshaphat built sea-going ships to go to Ophir for gold, but they went because they were wrecked at Ezion-geber.
49 Then Ahaziah son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “Let my servants sail with your servants in the ships.” But Jehoshaphat would not allow it.
During that time Ahaziah, son of Ahab, asked Jehoshaphat, “Let my men sail with your men,” but Jehoshaphat refused.
50 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.
Jehoshaphat died and was buried with his forefathers in the City of David. His son Jehoram succeeded him as king.
51 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.
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 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.
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 He served Baal and worshiped him and so he provoked Yahweh, the God of Israel, to anger, just as his father had done.
He served Baal and worshiped him, and angered the Lord, the God of Israel, just as his father had.
