1 Kings 22:1-53
22 And they remained three years without war between Syria and Israel;
2 but in the third year King Jehoshaphat of Judah came down to the king of Israel,
3 and the king of Israel said to his officers “Do you know that Ramoth-Gilead belongs to us? and we are lying stir instead of taking it out of the king of Syria’s hands.”
4 And he said to Jehoshaphat “Will you go with me to Ramoth-Gilead to war?” and Jehoshaphat said “I will do the same as you do, my people the same as your people, my ponies the same as your ponies.”
5 And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel “First inquire for Jehovah’s word”;
6 and the king of Israel gathered the prophets, about four hundred of them, and said to them “Shall I go against Ramoth-Gilead to war or shall I let it be?” and they said “Go up and Jehovah will give it into your majesty’s hands.”
7 And Jehoshaphat said “Is there not any other prophet of Jehovah here for us to inquire from?”
8 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat “There is one other man to inquire of Jehovah from, but I hate him because he does not prophesy good luck for me but bad—Micajah the son of Imlah.” And Jehoshaphat said “Do not say such things, your majesty.”
9 And the king of Israel called to a eunuch and said “Hurry up with Micajah the son of Imlah.”
10 * And the king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah were sitting each on his throne, clad in robes of state, at the gate of Samaria, with all the prophets under the power before them.
11 And Sidkijah the son of Kenaʽanah made himself iron horns, and said “Says Jehovah, With these you shall gore the Syrians till you have finished them”;
12 and all the prophets prophesied so, “Go up to Ramoth-Gilead and be successful, Jehovah will give it into your majesty’s hands.”
13 And the messenger who went to summon Micajah told him “Here the prophets have unanimously spoken good luck for the king; let your word be like the word of one of them, speak good luck”;
14 but Micajah said “By Jehovah, what Jehovah tells me, that I will speak.”
15 And he came to the king, and the king said to him “Micajah, shall I go to Ramoth-Gilead to war or shall I let it be?” and he said to him “Go up and be successful, Jehovah will give it into your majesty’s hands.”
16 And the king said to him “How many times shall I adjure you not to speak anything at all but truth to me in Jehovah’s name?”
17 And he said “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains like sheep without a shepherd, and Jehovah said ‘These have no sovereign; let them go home in peace.’”
18 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat “Did I not tell you he would not prophesy good luck for me but bad?”
19 And he said “Hear Jehovah’s word, then! I saw Jehovah sitting on his throne, and all the legions of heaven stood by at his right and left,
20 and Jehovah said ‘Who will inveigle Ahab into going up and falling at Ramoth-Gilead?’ And one said this way and another that way;
21 * but the Spirit stood out before Jehovah and said ‘I will inveigle him,’
22 and Jehovah said ‘In what ways? and it said ‘I will go out and be a spirit of falsehood in the mouths of all his prophets.’ And he said ‘You shall inveigle him and be successful in it; go out and do so.’
23 Now here has Jehovah put a spirit of falsehood in the mouths of all these prophets of yours, but Jehovah proposes bad luck for you.”
24 And Sidkijah the son of Kenaʽanah came up and struck Micajah on the cheek and said “Where did Jehovah’s spirit pass from me to speak with you?”
25 and Micajah said “You are going to see on that day, you will be getting into a closet to hide.”
26 And the king of Israel said “Take Micajah and take him back to City Captain Amon and Prince Joash
27 and say ‘By order of the king, put this fellow in jail and feed him half rations of bread and water till I come safe here.’”
28 And Micajah said “If you do come back safe, Jehovah did not speak in me.”
29 And the king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah went up to Ramoth-Gilead;
30 * and the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat “I disguise myself and go into the fighting; but do you wear your robes of state”; and the king of Israel disguised himself and went into the fighting.
31 And the king of Syria had given his chariot-captains, thirty-two of them, the order “Do not attack small or great but only the king of Israel”;
32 and when the chariot-captains saw Jehoshaphat, thinking it must be the king of Israel, they turned off against him to attack him; and Jehoshaphat called out,
33 and when the chariot-captains saw that it was not the king of Israel they turned back and left off following him.
34 ** And a man drew his bow at haphazard and hit the king of Israel between the tassets and the hauberk; and he said to his charioteer “Turn your ponies and take me out of the army, for I am hard hit”;
35 but the fight ran high that day, and the king was kept standing in the chariot facing the Syrians till evening, and the blood ran down into the bottom of the chariot; and at evening he died.
36 And a cry went through the army at sunset “Every man to his own city, and each to his own country;
37 for the king is dead!” And they came to Samaria, and buried the king at Samaria.
38 And the chariot was washed at the reservoir of Samaria; and the dogs lapped up his blood, and the prostitutes bathed, in accordance with Jehovah’s prediction which he had made.
39 And as to the rest of the history of Ahab, and all that he did, and the ivory house that he built, and all the cities he fortified, they are recorded in the chronicles of the kings of Israel.
40 And Ahab went to rest with his fathers, and his son Ahaziah succeeded him.
41 * And Jehoshaphat the son of Asa became king over Judah in the year four of King Ahab of Israel;
42 Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old at his accession to the throne, and reigned twenty-five years at Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi.
43 And he walked altogether in the path of his father Asa, never turned from it, doing what Jehovah approved;22:44only the heights were not removed, the people still sacrificed and made burnings on the heights.
44 22:45 And Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel.
45 22:46* And as to the rest of the history of Jehoshaphat, and the exploits he performed, they are recorded in the chronicles of the kings of Judah.
46 22:47 And Jehoshaphat routed out from the country the rest of the religious prostitutes that had been left in the days of his father Asa.
47 22:48 And there was no king in Edom;
48 22:49* and King Jehoshaphat’s commissioner made a Spain-ship to go to Ophir for gold, but did not go, because the ship was wrecked at Ghesjon-Geber.
49 22:50 Then Ahaziah the son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat “Let my officers go with yours in the ship,” but Jehoshaphat would not consent.
50 22:51 And Jehoshaphat went to rest with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in David’s City, and his son Jehoram succeeded him.
51 22:52 Ahaziah the son of Ahab became king over Israel at Samaria in the year twenty-four of King Jehoshaphat of Judah, and he reigned over Israel two years.
52 22:53 And he did what displeased Jehovah, and followed his father’s path and his mother’s, and the path of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin,
53 22:54 and worshiped the Baal and did reverence to him, and provoked Israel’s God Jehovah just as his father had done.
Footnotes
^ 22:10 (of state) Unc.
^ 22:21 Lit. came out and stood before
^ 22:30 (of state) Unc.
^ 22:34 (at haphazard, lit. in ignorance) Unc.
^ 22:34 Lit. Turn your hand
^ 22:41-51 Var. puts these verses after 16:28 instead of here
^ 22:46 Var. the exploits he performed, and the fighting he did,
^ 22:49 (King Jehoshaphat’s commissioner) Susp.
