1 Kings 22
1 And they continued three years without war between Syria and Israel.
For three years Aram and Israel were not at war.
2 And it came to pass in the third year, that Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came down to 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 said to his servants, Know ye that Ramoth in Gilead is ours, and we are still, and take it not out of the hand of the king of Syria?
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 said to Jehoshaphat, Wilt thou go with me to battle to Ramothgilead? And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I am as thou art, my people as thy people, my horses as 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 said to the king of Israel, Enquire, I pray thee, at the word of the LORD to day.
Then Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “But first though, please find out what the Lord says.”
6 Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said to them, Shall I go against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for the Lord shall deliver 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 said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD besides, that we may enquire of him?
But Jehoshaphat asked, “Isn't there another prophet of the Lord here that we can ask?”
8 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may enquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, 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 Then the king of Israel called an officer, and said, Hasten here Micaiah the 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 the king of Judah sat each on his throne, having put on their robes, in a threshingfloor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied 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 the son of Chenaanah made him horns of iron: and he said, Thus saith the LORD, With these shalt thou push the Syrians, until thou hast consumed them.
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 prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramothgilead, and prosper: for the LORD shall deliver it into the king’s hand.
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 that went to call Micaiah spoke to him, saying, Behold now, the words of the prophets declare good to the king with one mouth: let thy word, I pray thee, be like the word of one of them, and speak that which is 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 said, As the LORD liveth, what the LORD saith to me, that will I speak.
But Micaiah replied, “As the Lord lives, I can only say what my God tells me.”
15 So he came to the king. And the king said to him, Micaiah, shall we go against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall we forbear? And he answered him, Go, and prosper: for the LORD shall deliver 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 said to him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou tell me nothing but that which is true in the name of the LORD?
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 said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd: and the LORD said, These have no master: let them return every man 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 said to Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would prophesy no good concerning me, 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 said, Hear thou therefore the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand 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 the LORD said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead? And one said in this manner, and another said in that manner.
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 there came forth a spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said, I will persuade him.
Finally a spirit came and approached the Lord and said, ‘I will trick him.’
22 And the LORD said to him, How? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, 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 Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil concerning thee.
As you see, the Lord has put a lying spirit into these prophets of yours, and the Lord has pronounced your death sentence.”
24 But Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near, and smote Micaiah on the cheek, and said, Which way went the Spirit of the LORD from me to speak to 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 said, Behold, thou shalt see in that day, when thou shalt go into an inner chamber to hide thyself.
“You'll soon find out when you try and find some secret place to hide!” Micaiah replied.
26 And the king of Israel said, Take Micaiah, and carry him back to Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king’s son;
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 say, Thus saith the king, Put this man in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I come 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 said, If thou shalt return at all in peace, the LORD hath not spoken by me. And he said, Hearken, O people, each one of you.
“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 So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramothgilead.
The king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, went to attack Ramoth-gilead.
30 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself, and enter into the battle; but put thou on thy robes. And the king of Israel disguised himself, and went into the 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 But the king of Syria commanded his thirty and two captains that had rule over his chariots, saying, Fight neither with small nor great, except only with the king of Israel.
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 came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, Surely this is the king of Israel. And they turned aside to fight against him: and Jehoshaphat cried 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 came to pass, when the captains of the chariots perceived that he was not the king of Israel, that they turned back from pursuing him.
the chariot commanders saw it wasn't the king of Israel and stopped chasing him.
34 And a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of his armour: therefore he said to the driver of his chariot, Turn thy hand, and carry me out of the host; for I am wounded.
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 increased that day: and the king was held up in his chariot against the Syrians, and died at evening: and the blood ran out of the wound into the inside 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 there went a proclamation throughout the host about the setting of the sun, saying, Every man to his city, and every man to his own country.
At sunset, a shout went out from the lines: “Retreat! Every man back to his town, every man back to his own country!”
37 So the king died, and was brought to Samaria; and they buried the king in Samaria.
So the king died. He was taken back to Samaria where they buried him.
38 And one washed the chariot in the pool of Samaria; and the dogs licked up his blood; and they washed his armour; according to the word of the LORD which he spoke.
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 Now the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all that he did, and the ivory house which he made, and all the cities that he built, are they not written in 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 So Ahab slept with his fathers; and Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead.
Ahab died and his son Ahaziah succeeded him as king.
41 And Jehoshaphat the son of Asa began to reign 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 was thirty and five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Azubah the 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 walked in all the ways of Asa his father; he turned not aside from it, doing that which was right in the eyes of the LORD: nevertheless the high places were not taken away; for the people offered and burnt incense yet in the 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 made peace with the king of Israel.
Jehoshaphat also made peace with the king of Israel.
45 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, and his might that he showed, and how he warred, are they not written in 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 sodomites, which remained in the days of his father Asa, he removed from the land.
He expelled from the land any cult prostitutes who were left from the time of his father Asa.
47 There was then no king in Edom: a deputy was king.
(At that time there was no king in Edom; only a deputy who served as king.)
48 Jehoshaphat made ships of Tharshish to go to Ophir for gold: but they went not; for the ships were broken at Eziongeber.
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 the son of Ahab to Jehoshaphat, Let my servants go with thy servants in the ships. But Jehoshaphat would not.
During that time Ahaziah, son of Ahab, asked Jehoshaphat, “Let my men sail with your men,” but Jehoshaphat refused.
50 And Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father: and Jehoram his son reigned 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 the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned two years over Israel.
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 he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father, and in the way of his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made 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 For he served Baal, and worshipped him, and provoked to anger the LORD 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.
