1 Kings 22

1For three years they remained without war between Aram and Israel.

2In the third year, Jehoshaphat king of Judah went down to the king of Israel.

3And the king of Israel said to his servants, “Do you know that Ramoth-gilead belongs to us, yet we are doing nothing to take it from the hand of the king of Aram?”

4And he said to Jehoshaphat, “Will you go with me to battle at Ramoth-gilead?” And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.”

5And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Please inquire today for the word of Yahweh.”

6Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets, about four hundred men, and said to them, “Should I go against Ramoth-gilead for battle, or should I refrain?” And they said, “Go up, and the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.”

7But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not still here a prophet of Yahweh, that we may inquire of him?”

8And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is still one more man through whom to inquire of Yahweh, but I hate him, because he does not prophesy good concerning me, but only evil: Micaiah son of Imlah.” And Jehoshaphat said, “Let not the king say so.”

9Then the king of Israel called one officer and said, “Bring Micaiah son of Imlah quickly.”

10The king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah were sitting, each on his throne, clothed in garments, at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying before them.

11Then Zedekiah son of Chenaanah made for himself horns of iron and said, “Thus says the LORD: With these you will gore Aram until you have finished them off.”

12And all the prophets were prophesying thus, saying, “Go up to Ramoth-gilead and succeed, and Yahweh will give it into the hand of the king.”

13And the messenger who had gone to summon Micaiah spoke to him, saying, “Look now, the words of the prophets are with one mouth favorable to the king. Please let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak favorably.”

14And Micaiah said, “As Yahweh lives, whatever Yahweh says to me, that I will speak.”

15So he came to the king, and the king said to him, “Micaiah, should we go to Ramoth-gilead for battle, or should we refrain?” And he said to him, “Go up and succeed, and Yahweh will give it into the hand of the king.”

16Then the king said to him, “How many times must I make you swear that you tell me nothing but the truth in the name of Yahweh?”

17And he said, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, like sheep that have no shepherd. And Yahweh said, ‘These have no master; let each man return to his house in peace.’”

18Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but only evil?”

19Then he said, “Therefore hear the word of Yahweh: I saw Yahweh sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him, on his right and on his left.”

20And Yahweh said, “Who will entice Ahab, so that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?” And this one said one thing, and that one said another.

21Then the spirit came forward and stood before Yahweh and said, ‘I will entice him.’ And Yahweh said to him, ‘By what means?’

22And he said, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And he said, ‘You will entice him, and you will also prevail. Go out and do so.’

23And now, behold, Yahweh has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these prophets of yours, and Yahweh has spoken disaster against you.

24Then Zedekiah son of Chenaanah came near and struck Micaiah on the cheek and said, “Which way did the Spirit of Yahweh pass from me to speak to you?”

25And Micaiah said, “Behold, you will see on that day when you go into an inner room to hide.”

26Then the king of Israel said, “Take Micaiah and return him to Amon, the governor of the city, and to Joash the king’s son.”

27and say, ‘Thus says the king: Put this man in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and water of affliction until I come in peace.’

28And Micaiah said, “If you indeed return in peace, Yahweh has not spoken by me.” And he said, “Hear, all you peoples!”

29So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead.

30Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Disguise yourself and go into the battle, but you, put on your robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into the battle.

31The king of Aram had commanded the thirty-two chariot commanders who belonged to him, saying, “Do not fight with either small or great, but only with the king of Israel alone.”

32And it happened, when the commanders of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, “Surely he is the king of Israel.” So they turned aside against him to fight, but Jehoshaphat cried out.

33And it happened, when the commanders of the chariots saw that he was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him.

34But a man drew his bow at random and struck the king of Israel between the scale armor and the breastplate. So he said to his charioteer, “Turn your hand and take me out of the camp, for I am wounded.”

35And the battle intensified that day, and the king remained standing in the chariot facing Aram, and he died in the evening; and the blood from the wound flowed into the bottom of the chariot.

36And a cry passed through the camp at sunset, saying, “Each man to his city, and each man to his land!”

37So the king died and was brought to Samaria, and they buried the king in Samaria.

38And they washed the chariot at the pool of Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood, and the prostitutes washed there, according to the word of Yahweh that he had spoken.

39The rest of the acts of Ahab, and all that he did, and the ivory house that he built, and all the cities that he built—are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

40And Ahab slept with his fathers, and Ahaziah his son became king in his place.

41And Jehoshaphat son of Asa became king over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel.

42Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Azubah daughter of Shilhi.

43He walked in all the ways of Asa his father; he did not turn aside from them, doing what was right in the eyes of Yahweh.

44However, the high places were not removed; the people still were sacrificing and burning incense on the high places.

45And Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel.

46The rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, and his might that he showed, and how he fought—are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

47And he removed from the land the rest of the cult prostitutes who remained in the days of Asa his father.

48And there was no king in Edom; a deputy was king.

49Jehoshaphat made ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold, but they did not go, because the ships were wrecked at Ezion-geber.

50Then Ahaziah son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “Let my servants go with your servants in the ships,” but Jehoshaphat was not willing.

51And Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father, and Jehoram his son became king in his place.

52Ahaziah son of Ahab became king over Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel two years.

53And he did what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh and walked in the way of his father, and in the way of his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin.

54He served Baal and bowed down to him, and he provoked Yahweh, the God of Israel, just as his father had done.