Ii Paralipomenon 18
1 fuit ergo Iosaphat dives et inclitus multum et adfinitate coniunctus est Ahab
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 Ahab arietes et boves plurimos 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 Ahab rex Israhel 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 Israhel consule obsecro inpraesentiarum sermonem Domini
Then he added, “But we should ask Yahweh first, to find out what he wants us to do.”
5 congregavitque rex Israhel 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 Israhel ad Iosaphat est vir unus a quo possumus quaerere Domini voluntatem sed ego odi eum quia non prophetat mihi bonum sed malum omni tempore est autem Micheas filius Iembla 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 Israhel unum de eunuchis et dixit ei voca cito Micheam filium Iembla
So the king of Israel told one of his officials to summon Micaiah immediately.
9 porro rex Israhel et Iosaphat rex Iuda uterque sedebant in solio suo vestiti cultu regio sedebant autem in area iuxta portam Samariae omnesque prophetae 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 Chanana fecit sibi cornua ferrea et ait haec 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 prophetae 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 Micheam ait illi en verba omnium prophetarum uno ore bona regi adnuntiant quaeso 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 Micheas vivit Dominus quia quodcumque dixerit 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 Michea 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 non mihi 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 Israhel dispersum in montibus sicut oves absque pastore et dixit Dominus non habent isti dominos revertatur unusquisque ad 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 Israhel ad Iosaphat nonne dixi tibi quod non prophetaret iste mihi quicquam boni sed ea quae 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 caeli adsistentem ei a dextris et 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 Ahab regem Israhel 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 praevalebis 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 dedit Dominus 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 Chanana et percussit Micheae 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 Micheas 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 praecepit autem rex Israhel dicens tollite Micheam et ducite eum ad Amon principem civitatis et ad Ioas filium Ammelech
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 haec dicit rex mittite hunc in carcerem et date ei panis modicum et aquae 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 Micheas si reversus fueris in pace non est locutus Dominus in me et ait audite populi omnes
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 Israhel 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 Israhel ad Iosaphat mutabo habitum et sic ad pugnandum vadam tu autem induere vestibus tuis mutatoque rex Israhel 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 Syriae praeceperat ducibus equitatus sui dicens ne pugnetis contra minimum aut contra maximum nisi contra solum regem Israhel
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 Israhel iste est 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 Israhel 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 Israhel inter cervicem et scapulas at ille aurigae 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 Israhel 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.
