1 Kings 21:17-22:12

English Standard Version

The Lord Condemns Ahab

^17 (A)Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ¹⁸ “Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who is in ^(B)Samaria; behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone to take possession. ¹⁹ And you shall say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Have you killed and also taken possession?”’ And you shall say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: ^(C)“In the place where dogs licked up the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick your own blood.”’”

²⁰ Ahab said to Elijah, ^(D)“Have you found me, O my enemy?” He answered, “I have found you, because ^(E)you have sold yourself to do what is evil in the sight of the Lord. ²¹ Behold, I will bring disaster upon you. I will utterly burn you up, and ^(F)will cut off from Ahab every male, bond or free, in Israel. ²² And I will make your house like ^(G)the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like ^(H)the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the anger to which you have provoked me, and because you ^(I)have made Israel to sin. ²³ And of Jezebel the Lord also said, ^(J)‘The dogs shall eat Jezebel within ^(K)the walls of Jezreel.’ ^24 (L)Anyone belonging to Ahab who dies in the city the dogs shall eat, and anyone of his who dies in the open country the birds of the heavens shall eat.”

Ahab's Repentance

²⁵ (^(M)There was none who sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of the Lord like Ahab, whom Jezebel his wife incited. ²⁶ He acted very abominably in going after ^(N)idols, as ^(O)the Amorites had done, whom the Lord cast out before the people of Israel.)

²⁷ And when Ahab heard those words, he ^(P)tore his clothes and ^(Q)put sackcloth on his flesh and ^(R)fasted and lay in sackcloth and went about dejectedly. ²⁸ And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ²⁹ “Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring the disaster in his days; ^(S)but in his son's days I will bring the disaster upon his house.”

Ahab and the False Prophets

22 For three years Syria and Israel continued without war. ^2 (T)But in the third year ^(U)Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came down to the king of Israel. ³ And the king of Israel said to his servants, “Do you know that ^(V)Ramoth-gilead belongs to us, and we keep quiet and do not take it out of the hand of the king of Syria?” ⁴ And he said to Jehoshaphat, “Will you go with me to battle at Ramoth-gilead?” And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, ^(W)“I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.”

⁵ And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Inquire first for the word of the Lord.” ⁶ Then the king of Israel ^(X)gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall I go to battle against Ramoth-gilead, or shall I refrain?” And they said, “Go up, for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.” ⁷ But ^(Y)Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not here another prophet of the Lord of whom we may inquire?” ⁸ And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord, Micaiah the son of Imlah, but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me, but evil.” And Jehoshaphat said, “Let not the king say so.” ⁹ Then the king of Israel summoned an officer and said, “Bring quickly Micaiah the son of Imlah.” ¹⁰ Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah were sitting on their thrones, arrayed in their robes, at the threshing floor ^(Z)at the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying before them. ¹¹ And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made for himself ^(AA)horns of iron and said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘With these ^(AB)you shall push the Syrians until they are destroyed.’” ¹² And all the prophets prophesied so and said, “Go up to Ramoth-gilead and triumph; the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.”