1 Kings 22New International Version (NIV)
Micaiah Prophesies Against Ahab
22 For three years there was no war between Aram
and Israel. 2 But in the third year Jehoshaphat
king of Judah went down to see the king of Israel. 3 The
king of Israel had said to his officials, “Don’t you know that Ramoth
Gileadbelongs to us and yet we are doing nothing to retake it from the king of
Aram?”
4 So he asked Jehoshaphat, “Will you
go with me to fight against Ramoth Gilead?”
Jehoshaphat replied to the king of Israel, “I am as you are,
my people as your people, my horses as your horses.” 5 But
Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, “First seek the counsel of
the Lord.”
6 So the king of Israel brought
together the prophets—about four hundred men—and asked them, “Shall I go to war
against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain?”
“Go,” they answered, “for the Lord will give it into
the king’s hand.”
7 But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there no
longer a prophet of the Lord here whom we can inquire of?”
8 The king of Israel answered
Jehoshaphat, “There is still one prophet through whom we can inquire of
the Lord, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything
good about me, but always bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.”
“The king should not say such a thing,” Jehoshaphat replied.
9 So the king of Israel called one of
his officials and said, “Bring Micaiah son of Imlah at once.”
10 Dressed in their royal robes, the
king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah were sitting on their thrones at
the threshing floor by the entrance of the gate of Samaria, with all the
prophets prophesying before them. 11 Now
Zedekiah son of Kenaanah had made iron horns and he declared, “This
is what the Lord says: ‘With these you will gore the Arameans until
they are destroyed.’”
12 All the other prophets were
prophesying the same thing. “Attack Ramoth Gilead and be victorious,” they
said, “for the Lord will give it into the king’s hand.”
13 The messenger who had gone to
summon Micaiah said to him, “Look, the other prophets without exception are
predicting success for the king. Let your word agree with theirs, and speak
favorably.”
14 But Micaiah said, “As surely as
the Lord lives, I can tell him only what the Lord tells
me.”
15 When he arrived, the king asked
him, “Micaiah, shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or not?”
“Attack and be victorious,” he answered, “for
the Lord will give it into the king’s hand.”
16 The king said to him, “How many
times must I make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of
the Lord?”
17 Then Micaiah answered, “I saw all
Israel scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd, and
the Lord said, ‘These people have no master. Let each one go home in
peace.’”
18 The king of Israel said to
Jehoshaphat, “Didn’t I tell you that he never prophesies anything good about
me, but only bad?”
19 Micaiah continued, “Therefore hear
the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his
throne with all the multitudes of heaven standing around him on his
right and on his left. 20 And
the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab into attacking Ramoth Gilead and
going to his death there?’
“One suggested this, and another that. 21 Finally,
a spirit came forward, stood before the Lord and said, ‘I will entice
him.’
22 “‘By what means?’
the Lord asked.
“‘I will go out and be a deceiving spirit in the mouths
of all his prophets,’ he said.
“‘You will succeed in enticing him,’ said the Lord. ‘Go
and do it.’
23 “So now the Lord has put
a deceiving spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours.
The Lord has decreed disaster for you.”
24 Then Zedekiah son of Kenaanah
went up and slapped Micaiah in the face. “Which way did the spirit from[a] the Lord go
when he went from me to speak to you?” he asked.
25 Micaiah replied, “You will find
out on the day you go to hide in an inner room.”
26 The king of Israel then ordered,
“Take Micaiah and send him back to Amon the ruler of the city and to Joash the
king’s son 27 and say, ‘This is what the king says:
Put this fellow in prison and give him nothing but bread and water until I
return safely.’”
28 Micaiah declared, “If you ever
return safely, the Lord has not spoken through me.” Then he
added, “Mark my words, all you people!”
Ahab Killed at Ramoth Gilead
29 So the king of Israel and
Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up to Ramoth Gilead. 30 The
king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will enter the battle in
disguise, but you wear your royal robes.” So the king of Israel disguised
himself and went into battle.
31 Now the king of Aram had
ordered his thirty-two chariot commanders, “Do not fight with anyone, small or
great, except the king of Israel.” 32 When the
chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they thought, “Surely this is the king of
Israel.” So they turned to attack him, but when Jehoshaphat cried out, 33 the
chariot commanders saw that he was not the king of Israel and stopped pursuing
him.
34 But someone drew his bow at
random and hit the king of Israel between the sections of his armor. The king
told his chariot driver, “Wheel around and get me out of the fighting. I’ve
been wounded.” 35 All day long the battle raged,
and the king was propped up in his chariot facing the Arameans. The blood from
his wound ran onto the floor of the chariot, and that evening he died. 36 As
the sun was setting, a cry spread through the army: “Every man to his town.
Every man to his land!”
37 So the king died and was brought
to Samaria, and they buried him there.38 They washed the
chariot at a pool in Samaria (where the prostitutes bathed),[b]and the dogs licked up
his blood, as the word of the Lord had declared.
39 As for the other events of Ahab’s
reign, including all he did, the palace he built and adorned with
ivory, and the cities he fortified, are they not written in the book of
the annals of the kings of Israel? 40 Ahab rested
with his ancestors. And Ahaziah his son succeeded him as king.
Jehoshaphat King of Judah
41 Jehoshaphat son of Asa became king
of Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel. 42 Jehoshaphat
was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem
twenty-five years. His mother’s name was Azubah daughter of Shilhi. 43 In
everything he followed the ways of his father Asa and did not stray from
them; he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. The high
places, however, were not removed, and the people continued to offer
sacrifices and burn incense there.[c] 44 Jehoshaphat
was also at peace with the king of Israel.
45 As for the other events of
Jehoshaphat’s reign, the things he achieved and his military exploits, are they
not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? 46 He
rid the land of the rest of the male shrine prostitutes who remained there
even after the reign of his father Asa. 47 There was
then no kingin Edom; a provincial governor ruled.
48 Now Jehoshaphat built a fleet of
trading ships[d] to go to Ophir for
gold, but they never set sail—they were wrecked at Ezion Geber. 49 At
that time Ahaziah son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “Let my men sail with
yours,” but Jehoshaphat refused.
50 Then Jehoshaphat rested with his
ancestors and was buried with them in the city of David his father. And Jehoram
his son succeeded him as king.
Ahaziah King of Israel
51 Ahaziah son of Ahab became king of
Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he
reigned over Israel two years. 52 He did
evil in the eyes of the Lord, because he followed the ways of his
father and mother and of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin. 53 He
served and worshiped Baal and aroused the anger of the Lord, the God
of Israel, just as his father had done.
2 Chronicles 18New International Version (NIV)
Micaiah Prophesies Against Ahab
18 Now Jehoshaphat had great wealth and
honor, and he allied himself with Ahab by marriage. 2 Some
years later he went down to see Ahab in Samaria. Ahab slaughtered many sheep
and cattle for him and the people with him and urged him to attack Ramoth
Gilead. 3 Ahab king of Israel asked Jehoshaphat
king of Judah, “Will you go with me against Ramoth Gilead?”
Jehoshaphat replied, “I am as you are, and my people as your
people; we will join you in the war.” 4 But
Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, “First seek the counsel of
the Lord.”
5 So the king of Israel brought
together the prophets—four hundred men—and asked them, “Shall we go to war
against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I not?”
“Go,” they answered, “for God will give it into the king’s
hand.”
6 But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there no
longer a prophet of the Lord here whom we can inquire of?”
7 The king of Israel answered
Jehoshaphat, “There is still one prophet through whom we can inquire of
the Lord, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about
me, but always bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.”
“The king should not say such a thing,” Jehoshaphat replied.
8 So the king of Israel called one of
his officials and said, “Bring Micaiah son of Imlah at once.”
9 Dressed in their royal robes, the
king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah were sitting on their thrones at
the threshing floor by the entrance of the gate of Samaria, with all the
prophets prophesying before them. 10 Now Zedekiah
son of Kenaanah had made iron horns, and he declared, “This is what
the Lord says: ‘With these you will gore the Arameans until they are
destroyed.’”
11 All the other prophets were
prophesying the same thing. “Attack Ramoth Gilead and be victorious,” they
said, “for the Lord will give it into the king’s hand.”
12 The messenger who had gone to
summon Micaiah said to him, “Look, the other prophets without exception are
predicting success for the king. Let your word agree with theirs, and speak
favorably.”
13 But Micaiah said, “As surely as
the Lord lives, I can tell him only what my God says.”
14 When he arrived, the king asked
him, “Micaiah, shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I not?”
“Attack and be victorious,” he answered, “for they will be
given into your hand.”
15 The king said to him, “How many
times must I make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of
the Lord?”
16 Then Micaiah answered, “I saw all
Israel scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd, and
the Lord said, ‘These people have no master. Let each one go home in
peace.’”
17 The king of Israel said to
Jehoshaphat, “Didn’t I tell you that he never prophesies anything good about
me, but only bad?”
18 Micaiah continued, “Therefore hear
the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his
throne with all the multitudes of heaven standing on his right and on his
left. 19 And the Lord said, ‘Who will
entice Ahab king of Israel into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death
there?’
“One suggested this, and another that. 20 Finally,
a spirit came forward, stood before the Lord and said, ‘I will entice
him.’
“‘By what means?’ the Lord asked.
21 “‘I will go and be a deceiving
spirit in the mouths of all his prophets,’ he said.
“‘You will succeed in enticing him,’ said the Lord. ‘Go
and do it.’
22 “So now the Lord has put
a deceiving spirit in the mouths of these prophets of
yours. The Lord has decreed disaster for you.”
23 Then Zedekiah son of Kenaanah went
up and slapped Micaiah in the face. “Which way did the spirit from[a] the Lord go
when he went from me to speak to you?” he asked.
24 Micaiah replied, “You will find
out on the day you go to hide in an inner room.”
25 The king of Israel then ordered,
“Take Micaiah and send him back to Amon the ruler of the city and to Joash the
king’s son, 26 and say, ‘This is what the king
says: Put this fellow in prison and give him nothing but bread and water
until I return safely.’”
27 Micaiah declared, “If you ever
return safely, the Lord has not spoken through me.” Then he added,
“Mark my words, all you people!”
Ahab Killed at Ramoth Gilead
28 So the king of Israel and
Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up to Ramoth Gilead. 29 The
king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will enter the battle in disguise, but
you wear your royal robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and
went into battle.
30 Now the king of Aram had ordered
his chariot commanders, “Do not fight with anyone, small or great, except the
king of Israel.” 31 When the chariot commanders saw
Jehoshaphat, they thought, “This is the king of Israel.” So they turned to
attack him, but Jehoshaphat cried out, and the Lord helped him.
God drew them away from him, 32 for when the
chariot commanders saw that he was not the king of Israel, they stopped
pursuing him.
33 But someone drew his bow at random
and hit the king of Israel between the breastplate and the scale armor. The
king told the chariot driver, “Wheel around and get me out of the fighting.
I’ve been wounded.” 34 All day long the battle
raged, and the king of Israel propped himself up in his chariot facing the
Arameans until evening. Then at sunset he died.
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