1 Kings 22
1 And they sit still three years, there is no war between Aram and Israel,
For three years Aram and Israel were not at war.
2 and it cometh to pass in the third year, that Jehoshaphat king of Judah cometh down unto the king of Israel,
But in the third year Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, went to visit the king of Israel.
3 and the king of Israel saith unto his servants, 'Have ye not known that ours [is] Ramoth-Gilead? and we are keeping silent from taking it out of 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 And he saith unto Jehoshaphat, 'Dost thou go with me to battle [to] Ramoth-Gilead?' and Jehoshaphat saith unto the king of Israel, 'As I am, so thou; as my people, so thy people; as my horses, so thy 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 And Jehoshaphat saith unto the king of Israel, 'Seek, I pray thee, to-day, the word of Jehovah;'
Then Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “But first though, please find out what the Lord says.”
6 and the king of Israel gathereth the prophets, about four hundred men, and saith unto them, 'Do I go against Ramoth-Gilead to battle, or do I forbear?' and they say, 'Go up, and the Lord doth 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 And Jehoshaphat saith, 'Is there not here a prophet of Jehovah besides, and we seek by him?'
But Jehoshaphat asked, “Isn't there another prophet of the Lord here that we can ask?”
8 And the king of Israel saith unto Jehoshaphat, 'Yet — one man to seek Jehovah by him, and I have hated him, for he doth not prophesy concerning me good, but evil — Micaiah son of Imlah;' and Jehoshaphat saith, 'Let not the king say so.'
“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 And the king of Israel calleth unto a certain eunuch, and saith, 'Hasten Micaiah son of Imlah.'
The king of Israel called over one of his officials and told him, “Bring me Micaiah, son of Imlah, right away.”
10 And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah are sitting, each on his throne, clothed with garments, in a threshing-floor, at the opening of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets are 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 And Zedekiah son of Chenaanah maketh for himself horns of iron, and saith, 'Thus said Jehovah, By these thou dost push the Aramaeans till 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 and all the prophets are prophesying so, saying, 'Go up to Ramoth-Gilead, and prosper, and Jehovah hath 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 And the messenger who hath gone to call Micaiah hath spoken unto him, saying, 'Lo, I pray thee, the words of the prophets, with one mouth, [are] good towards the king; let it be, I pray thee, thy word as the word of one of them — and thou hast spoken good.'
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 And Micaiah saith, 'Jehovah liveth; surely that which Jehovah saith unto me — it I speak.'
But Micaiah replied, “As the Lord lives, I can only say what my God tells me.”
15 And he cometh in unto the king, and the king saith unto him, 'Micaiah, do we go unto Ramoth-Gilead, to battle, or do we forbear?' and he saith unto him, 'Go up, and prosper, and Jehovah hath given [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 And the king saith unto him, 'How many times am I adjuring thee that thou speak nothing unto me but truth in the name of Jehovah?'
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 And he saith, 'I have seen all Israel scattered on the hills as sheep that have no shepherd, and Jehovah saith, These have no master; they turn back each 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 And the king of Israel saith unto Jehoshaphat, 'Have I not said unto thee, He doth not prophesy of me good, but evil?'
The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Didn't I tell you he never prophesies anything good for me, only bad?”
19 And he saith, 'Therefore, hear a word of Jehovah; I have seen Jehovah sitting on His throne, and all the host of the heavens standing by Him, on His right 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 and Jehovah saith, Who doth entice Ahab, and he doth go up and fall in Ramoth-Gilead? and this one saith thus, and that one is saying thus.
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 'And the spirit goeth out, and standeth before Jehovah, and saith, I — I do entice him; and Jehovah saith unto him, By what?
Finally a spirit came and approached the Lord and said, ‘I will trick him.’
22 and he saith, I go out, and have been a spirit of falsehood in the mouth of all his prophets; and He saith, Thou dost entice, and also thou art able; go out 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 And now, lo, Jehovah hath put a spirit of falsehood in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and Jehovah hath spoken concerning thee — evil.'
As you see, the Lord has put a lying spirit into these prophets of yours, and the Lord has pronounced your death sentence.”
24 And Zedekiah son of Chenaanah draweth nigh, and smiteth Micaiah on the cheek, and saith, 'Where [is] this — he hath passed over — the Spirit of Jehovah — from me to speak with thee?'
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 And Micaiah saith, 'Lo, thou art seeing on that day, when thou goest in to the innermost chamber to be hidden.'
“You'll soon find out when you try and find some secret place to hide!” Micaiah replied.
26 And the king of Israel saith, 'Take Micaiah, and turn him back unto Amon head of the city, and unto Joash son of the king,
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 and thou hast said, Thus said the king, Place ye this one in the house of restraint, and cause him to eat bread of oppression, and water of oppression, till my coming in peace.'
Tell them these are the king's instructions: ‘Put this man in jail. Give him only bread and water until my safe return.’”
28 And Micaiah saith, 'If thou at all return in peace — Jehovah hath not spoken by me;' and he saith, 'Hear, O peoples, all of them.'
“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 And the king of Israel goeth up, and Jehoshaphat king of Judah, to Ramoth-Gilead.
The king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, went to attack Ramoth-gilead.
30 And the king of Israel saith unto Jehoshaphat to disguise himself, and to go into battle, 'And thou, put on thy garments.' And the king of Israel disguiseth himself, and goeth into 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 And the king of Aram commanded the heads of the charioteers whom he hath — thirty and two — saying, 'Ye do not fight with small or with great, but with the king of Israel by himself.'
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 And it cometh to pass, at the heads of the charioteers seeing Jehoshaphat, that they said, 'He [is] only the king of Israel;' and they turn aside to him to fight, and Jehoshaphat crieth 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 and it cometh to pass, at the heads of the charioteers seeing that he [is] not the king of Israel, that they turn back from after him.
the chariot commanders saw it wasn't the king of Israel and stopped chasing him.
34 And a man hath drawn with a bow, in his simplicity, and smiteth the king of Israel between the joinings and the coat of mail, and he saith to his charioteer, 'Turn thy hand, and take me out from the camp, for I have become sick.'
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 And the battle increaseth on that day, and the king hath been caused to stand in the chariot, over-against Aram, and he dieth in the evening, and the blood of the wound runneth out unto the midst 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 and he causeth the cry to pass over through the camp, at the going in of the sun, saying, 'Each unto his city, and each unto his land.'
At sunset, a shout went out from the lines: “Retreat! Every man back to his town, every man back to his own country!”
37 And the king dieth, and cometh into Samaria, and they bury the king in Samaria;
So the king died. He was taken back to Samaria where they buried him.
38 and [one] rinseth the chariot by the pool of Samaria, and the dogs lick his blood — when the armour they had washed — according to the word of Jehovah that He spake.
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 And the rest of the matters 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 on the book of the Chronicles 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 And Ahab lieth with his fathers, and Ahaziah his son reigneth in his stead.
Ahab died and his son Ahaziah succeeded him as king.
41 And Jehoshaphat son of Asa hath reigned 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 [is] a son of thirty and five years in his reigning, and twenty and five years he hath reigned in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother [is] Azubah 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 And he walketh in all the way of Asa his father, he hath not turned aside from it, to do that which [is] right in the eyes of Jehovah; only the high places have not turned aside, yet are the people sacrificing and making perfume in 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 And Jehoshaphat maketh peace with the king of Israel;
Jehoshaphat also made peace with the king of Israel.
45 and the rest of the matters of Jehoshaphat, and his might that he got, and with which he fought, are they not written on the book of the Chronicles 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 And the remnant of the whoremongers who were left in the days of Asa his father he took away out of the land;
He expelled from the land any cult prostitutes who were left from the time of his father Asa.
47 and there is no king in Edom; he set up a king.
(At that time there was no king in Edom; only a deputy who served as king.)
48 Jehoshaphat made ships at Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold, and they went not, for the ships were broken in 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 said Ahaziah son of Ahab unto Jehoshaphat, 'Let my servants go with thy servants in the ships;' and Jehoshaphat was not willing.
During that time Ahaziah, son of Ahab, asked Jehoshaphat, “Let my men sail with your men,” but Jehoshaphat refused.
50 And Jehoshaphat lieth with his fathers, and is buried with his fathers in the city of David his father, and Jehoram his son reigneth in his stead.
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 hath reigned over Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigneth over Israel 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 and doth the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, and walketh 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,
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 and serveth the Baal, and boweth himself to it, and provoketh Jehovah, God of Israel, according to all that his father had done.
He served Baal and worshiped him, and angered the Lord, the God of Israel, just as his father had.
