Ii Paralipomenon 18
1 Fuit ergo Iosaphat dives et inclytus multum, et affinitate coniunctus est Achab.
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].
2 Descenditque post annos ad eum in Samariam: ad cuius adventum mactavit Achab arietes, et boves plurimos ipsi, et populo qui venerat cum eo: persuasitque illi ut ascenderet in Ramoth Galaad.
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].
3 Dixitque Achab rex Israel ad Iosaphat regem Iuda: Veni mecum in Ramoth Galaad. Cui ille respondit: Ut ego, et tu: sicut populus tuus, sic et populus meus: tecumque erimus in bello.
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.”
4 Dixitque Iosaphat ad regem Israel: Consule obsecro impræsentiarum sermonem Domini.
Then he added, “But we should ask Yahweh first, to find out what he wants us to do.”
5 Congregavit igitur rex Israel prophetarum quadringentos viros, et dixit ad eos: In Ramoth Galaad ad bellandum ire debemus an quiescere? At illi, Ascende, inquiunt, et tradet Deus in manu regis.
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.”
6 Dixitque Iosaphat: Numquid non est hic prophetes Domini, ut ab illo etiam requiramus?
But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there no prophet of Yahweh here whom we can ask?”
7 Et ait rex Israel ad Iosaphat: Est vir unus, a quo possumus quærere Domini voluntatem: sed ego odi eum, quia non prophetat mihi bonum, sed malum omni tempore: est autem Michæas filius Iemla. Dixitque Iosaphat: Ne loquaris rex hoc modo.
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!”
8 Vocavit ergo rex Israel unum de eunuchis, et dixit ei: Voca cito Michæam filium Iemla.
So the king of Israel told one of his officials to summon Micaiah immediately.
9 Porro rex Israel, et Iosaphat rex Iuda uterque sedebant in solio suo, vestiti cultu regio: sedebant autem in area iuxta portam Samariæ, omnesque prophetæ vaticinabantur coram eis.
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.
10 Sedecias vero filius Chanaana fecit sibi cornua ferrea, et ait: Hæc dicit Dominus: His ventilabis Syriam, donec conteras eam.
[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.’”
11 Omnesque prophetæ similiter prophetabant, atque dicebant: Ascende in Ramoth Galaad, et prosperaberis, et tradet eos Dominus in manu regis.
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.”
12 Nuntius autem, qui ierat ad vocandum Michæam, ait illi: En verba omnium prophetarum uno ore bona regi annunciant: quæso ergo te ut et sermo tuus ab eis non dissentiat, loquarisque prospera.
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!”
13 Cui respondit Michæas: Vivit Dominus, quia quodcumque dixerit mihi Deus meus, hoc loquar.
But Micaiah said, “As surely as Yahweh lives, I will tell the king only what Yahweh tells me to say.”
14 Venit ergo ad regem. Cui rex ait: Michæa, ire debemus in Ramoth Galaad ad bellandum, an quiescere? Cui ille respondit: Ascendite: cuncta enim prospera evenient, et tradentur hostes in manus vestras.
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!”
15 Dixitque rex: Iterum, atque iterum te adiuro, ut mihi non loquaris, nisi quod verum est in nomine Domini.
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]!”
16 At ille ait: Vidi universum Israel dispersum in montibus, sicut oves absque pastore: et dixit Dominus: Non habent isti dominos: revertatur unusquisque in domum suam in pace.
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.’”
17 Et ait rex Israel ad Iosaphat: Nonne dixi tibi, quod non prophetaret iste mihi quidquam boni, sed ea, quæ mala sunt?
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.”
18 At ille, Idcirco, ait, audite verbum Domini: Vidi Dominum sedentem in solio suo, et omnem exercitum cæli assistentem ei a dextris et a sinistris.
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.
19 Et dixit Dominus: Quis decipiet Achab regem Israel ut ascendat et corruat in Ramoth Galaad? Cumque diceret unus hoc modo, et alter alio:
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.
20 processit spiritus, et stetit coram Domino, et ait: Ego decipiam eum. Cui Dominus, In quo, inquit, decipies?
“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?’
21 At ille respondit: Egrediar, et ero spiritus mendax in ore omnium prophetarum eius. Dixitque Dominus: Decipies, et prævalebis: egredere, et fac ita.
“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!’
22 Nunc igitur, ecce Dominus dedit spiritum mendacii in ore omnium prophetarum tuorum, et Dominus locutus est de te mala.
“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.”
23 Accessit autem Sedecias filius Chanaana, et percussit Michææ maxillam, et ait: Per quam viam transivit Spiritus Domini a me, ut loqueretur tibi?
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?”
24 Dixitque Michæas: Tu ipse videbis in die illo, quando ingressus fueris cubiculum de cubiculo ut abscondaris.
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]!”
25 Præcepit autem rex Israel, dicens: Tollite Michæam, et ducite eum ad Amon principem civitatis, et ad Ioas filium Amelech.
King Ahab commanded [his soldiers], “Seize Micaiah and take him to Amon, the governor of this city, and to my son Joash.
26 Et dicetis: Hæc dicit rex: Mittite hunc in carcerem, et date ei panis modicum, et aquæ pauxillum, donec revertar in pace.
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]!”
27 Dixitque Michæas: Si reversus fueris in pace, non est locutus Dominus in me. Et ait: Audite omnes populi.
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]!”
28 Igitur ascenderunt rex Israel et Iosaphat rex Iuda in Ramoth Galaad.
So the king of Israel and the king of Judah [led their armies] to Ramoth, in [the] Gilead [region].
29 Dixitque rex Israel ad Iosaphat: Mutabo habitum, et sic ad pugnam vadam, tu autem induere vestibus tuis. Mutatoque rex Israel habitu, venit ad bellum.
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.
30 Rex autem Syriæ præceperat ducibus equitatus sui, dicens: Ne pugnetis contra minimum, aut contra maximum, nisi contra solum regem Israel.
The King of Syria told his soldiers who were driving the chariots, “Attack only the king of Israel!”
31 Itaque cum vidissent principes equitatus Iosaphat, dixerunt: Rex Israel est iste. Et circumdederunt eum dimicantes: at ille clamavit ad Dominum, et auxiliatus est ei, atque avertit eos ab illo.
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!”
32 Cum enim vidissent duces equitatus, quod non esset rex Israel, reliquerunt eum.
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.
33 Accidit autem ut unus e populo sagittam in incertum iaceret, et percuteret regem Israel inter cervicem et scapulas, at ille aurigæ suo ait: Converte manum tuam, et educ me de acie, quia vulneratus sum.
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!”
34 Et finita est pugna in die illo: porro rex Israel stabat in curru suo contra Syros usque ad vesperam, et mortuus est occidente sole.
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.
