1 Kings 22
1 Three years passed without war between Aram and Israel.
And he rested three years, and there was no war between Syria and Israel.
2 Then it came about that in the third year, Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went down to the king of Israel.
And it came to pass in the third year, that Josaphat king of Juda went down to 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?”
And the king of Israel said to his servants, Know ye that Remmath Galaad [is] ours, and we are slow to take it out of the hand of the king of Syria?
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.”
And the king of Israel said to Josaphat, Wilt thou go up with us to Remmath Galaad to battle?
5 Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Please seek direction from the word of Yahweh for what you should do first.”
And Josaphat said, As I [am], so [art] thou also; as my people, [so is] thy people; as my horses, [so are] thy horses. And Josaphat king of Juda said to the king of Israel, Enquire, I pray thee, of the Lord to-day.
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.”
And the king of Israel gathered all the prophets together, about four hundred men; and the king said to them, Shall I go up to Remmath Galaad to battle, or shall I forbear? and they said, Go up, and the Lord will surely give [it] into the hands of the king.
7 But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not here yet another prophet of Yahweh from whom we might seek advice?”
And Josaphat said to the king of Israel, Is there not here a prophet of the Lord, that we may enquire of the Lord by him?
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.”
And the king of Israel said to Josaphat, There is one man here [for us] to enquire of the Lord by; but I hate him, for he does not speak good of me, but only evil; Michaias son of Jemblaa. And Josaphat king of Juda said, Let not the king say so.
9 Then the king of Israel called an officer and commanded, “Bring Micaiah son of Imlah, right away.”
And the king of Israel called a eunuch and said, [Bring hither] quickly Michaias son of Jemblaa.
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.
And the king of Israel and Josaphat king of Juda sat, each on his throne, armed in the gates of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before 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.'”
And Sedekias son of Chanaan made for himself iron horns, and said, Thus saith the Lord, With these thou shalt push Syria, until it be consumed.
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.”
And all the prophets prophesied in like manner, saying, Go up to Remmath Galaad, and [the thing] shall prosper, and the Lord shall deliver it and the king of Syria into thine hands.
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.”
And the messenger that went to call Michaias spoke to him, saying, Behold now, all the prophets speak with one mouth good concerning the king, let now thy words be like the words of one of them, and speak good things.
14 Micaiah replied, “As Yahweh lives, it is what Yahweh says to me that I will say.”
And Michaias said, [As] the Lord lives, whatsoever the Lord shall say to me, that will I speak.
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.”
And he came to the king: and the king said to him, Michaias, shall I go up to Remmath Galaad to battle, or shall I forbear? and he said, Go up, and the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king.
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?”
And the king said to him, How often shall I adjure thee, that thou speak to me 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.'”
And he said, Not so. I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains as a flock without a shepherd: and the Lord said, [Is] not God lord of these? let each one return to his 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?”
And the king of Israel said to Josaphat king of Juda, Did I not say to thee that this man does not prophesy good to me, for [he speaks] nothing but evil?
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.
And Michaias said, Not so, [it is] not I: hear the word of the Lord; [it is] not so. I saw the God of Israel sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven stood about him on his right hand and on 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.
And the Lord said, Who will deceive Achaab king of Israel, that he may go up and fall in Remmath Galaad? and one spoke one way, and another another way.
21 Then a spirit came forward, stood before Yahweh, and said, 'I will entice him.' Yahweh said to him, 'How?'
And there came forth a spirit and stood before the Lord, and said, I will deceive 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.'
And the Lord said to him, Whereby? And he said, I will go forth, and will be a false spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt deceive him, yea, and shalt prevail: go forth, and do so.
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.”
And now, behold, the Lord has put a false spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the Lord has spoken evil against thee.
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?”
And Sedekias the son of Chanaan came near and smote Michaias on the cheek, and said, What sort of a spirit of the Lord [has] spoken in thee?
25 Micaiah said, “Look, you will see on that day when you will go to hide in an inner room.”
And Michaias said, Behold, thou shalt see in that day, when thou shalt go into an innermost chamber to hide thyself there.
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.
And the king of Israel said, Take Michaias, and convey him away to Semer the keeper of the city;
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.'”
and tell Joas the king's son to put this [fellow] in prison, and to feed him with bread of affliction and water of affliction until I return in peace.
28 Then Micaiah said, “If you return safely, then Yahweh has not spoken by me.” Then he added, “Listen to this, all you people.”
And Michaias said, If thou return at all in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me.
29 So Ahab, the king of Israel, and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, went up to Ramoth Gilead.
So the king of Israel went up, and Josaphat king of Juda with him to Remmath Galaad.
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.
And the king of Israel said to Josaphat king of Juda, I will disguise myself, and enter into the battle, and do thou put on my raiment. So the king of Israel disguised himself, and went into the 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.”
And the king of Syria had charged the thirty-two captains of his chariots, saying, Fight not [against] small or great, but against the king of Israel only.
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.
And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Josaphat king of Juda, that they said, this seems [to be] the king of Israel. And they compassed him about to fight [against] him; and Josaphat cried out.
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.
And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw that this was not the king of Israel, that they returned from 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.”
And one drew a bow with a good aim, and smote the king of Israel between the lungs and the breast-plate: and he said to his charioteer, Turn thine hands, and carry me away out of the battle, for I am 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.
And the war was turned in that day, and the king was standing on the chariot, against Syria from morning till evening; and he shed the blood out of his wound, into the bottom of the chariot, and died at even, and the blood ran out of the wound into the bottom 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!”
And the herald of the army stood at sunset, saying, Let every man go to his own city and his own land,
37 So King Ahab died and was brought to Samaria, and they buried him in Samaria.
for the king is dead. And they came to Samaria, and buried the king in Samaria.
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.
And they washed the chariot at the fountain of Samaria; and the swine and the dogs licked up the blood, and the harlots washed themselves in the blood, according to the word of the Lord which he spoke.
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?
And the rest of the acts of Achaab, and all that he did, and the ivory house which he built, and all the cities which he built, behold, [are] not these things written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
40 So Ahab slept with his ancestors, and Ahaziah his son became king in his place.
And Achaab slept with his fathers, and Ochozias his son reigned in his stead.
41 Then Jehoshaphat son of Asa began to reign over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel.
And Josaphat the son of Asa reigned over Juda: in the fourth year of Achaab king of Israel began Josaphat to reign.
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.
Thirty and five years old [was he] when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty and five years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name [was] Azuba daughter of Salai.
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.
And he walked in all the way of Asa his father: he turned not from it, even from doing that which was right in the eyes of the Lord. Only he took not away [any] of the high places: the people still sacrificed and burnt incense on the high places.
44 Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel.
And Josaphat was at 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?
And the rest of the acts of Josaphat, and his mighty deeds, whatever he did, behold, [are] not these things written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Juda?
46 He removed from the land the rest of the cultic prostitutes who had remained in the days of his father Asa.
47 There was no king in Edom, but a deputy ruled there.
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.
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.
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.
And Josaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried by his fathers in the city of David his father, and Joram his son reigned in his stead.
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.
And Ochozias son of Achaab reigned over Israel in Samaria: in the seventeenth year of Josaphat king of Juda, Ochozias son of Achaab reigned over Israel in Samaria 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.
And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way of Achaab his father, and in the way of Jezabel his mother, and in the sins of the house of Jeroboam the son of Nabat, who caused Israel to 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.
And he served Baalim, and worshipped them, and provoked the Lord God of Israel, according to all that had been done before him.
