歷代志下 18
Chinese Contemporary Bible (Traditional)
米該雅先知警告亞哈
18 約沙法極有財富和尊榮，他與亞哈結為姻親。 2 幾年後，約沙法下到撒瑪利亞拜訪亞哈。亞哈宰了很多牛羊款待他和他的隨從，又遊說他與自己一起去攻打基列的拉末。 3 以色列王亞哈對猶大王約沙法說：「你願意與我一起去攻打基列的拉末嗎？」約沙法回答說：「你我不分彼此，我的民就是你的民，我必與你同去。」 4 約沙法又對以色列王說：「你要先求問耶和華。」
5 於是，以色列王召來四百名先知，問他們：「我可以去攻打基列的拉末嗎？」他們說：「可以去，上帝必把那城交在王手中。」 6 但約沙法問：「這裡沒有耶和華的先知供我們求問嗎？」 7 以色列王回答說：「還有一個人，是音拉的兒子米該雅，我們可以託他求問耶和華。可是我厭惡他，因為他給我的預言都是有凶無吉。」約沙法說：「王不要這樣說。」 8 以色列王召來一名內侍，說：「你快把音拉的兒子米該雅帶來。」
9 以色列王和猶大王約沙法身穿朝服，坐在撒瑪利亞城門前麥場的寶座上，眾先知都在他們面前說預言。 10 基拿拿的兒子西底迦造了兩隻鐵角，說：「耶和華這樣說，『你必用這鐵角牴亞蘭人，直到毀滅他們。』」 11 所有的先知也都預言說：「去攻打基列的拉末吧，一定得勝，耶和華必將那城交在王的手中。」
12 去召米該雅的使者對米該雅說：「眾先知都異口同聲地向王說吉言，你也像他們一樣說些吉言吧。」 13 米該雅回答說：「我憑永活的耶和華起誓，我的上帝對我說什麼，我就說什麼。」 14 米該雅來到王面前，王就問他：「米該雅啊，我們可不可以去攻打基列的拉末？」米該雅回答說：「上去攻打吧，一定得勝，敵人必被交在你們手中。」 15 王卻說：「我要囑咐你多少次，你才肯奉耶和華的名對我說實話呢？」 16 米該雅說：「我看見所有以色列人四散在山上，好像沒有牧人的羊群一樣。耶和華說，『這些人沒有主人，讓他們各自平安地回家去吧。』」
17 以色列王對約沙法說：「我不是告訴過你嗎？他給我的預言都是有凶無吉。」 18 米該雅說：「你們要聽耶和華的話。我看見耶和華坐在寶座上，眾天軍侍立在祂左右。 19 耶和華說，『誰願意去引誘以色列王亞哈到基列的拉末去送死呢？』眾天軍議論紛紛。 20 後來，有一個靈站出來對耶和華說他願意去。耶和華問他用什麼方法， 21 他說，『我要做謊言之靈，進入他眾先知的口中。』耶和華說，『你必能成功，就這樣做吧。』 22 現在，耶和華已經把謊言之靈放進這些先知口中，耶和華已決意降禍給你。」
23 基拿拿的兒子西底迦聽了米該雅的話就上前打他的臉，說：「耶和華的靈怎會離開我向你說話呢？」 24 米該雅說：「你躲進密室的那天就知道了。」 25 以色列王下令說：「把米該雅交給亞們總督和約阿施王子， 26 告訴他們，『王說，要把這人關進監牢，只給他一些餅和水，直到我平安地回來。』」 27 米該雅說：「你若能夠平安回來，耶和華就沒有藉著我說話。」他又說：「眾民啊，你們都要記住我的話。」
亞哈之死
28 以色列王和猶大王約沙法出兵攻打基列的拉末。 29 以色列王對約沙法說：「我要改裝上陣，你就穿王袍吧。」以色列王改裝後，他們就上陣去了。 30 亞蘭王已經吩咐戰車長不要與對方的大小軍兵交鋒，只攻擊以色列王。 31 戰車長看見約沙法，以為他就是以色列王，便轉身攻擊他。約沙法高聲喊叫，耶和華上帝就幫助他，使敵人離開他。 32 戰車長見他不是以色列王，便不再追殺他。 33 有人隨手放了一箭，射進了以色列王的鎧甲縫中。王對駕車的說：「調轉車頭拉我離開戰場吧，我受了重傷。」 34 那天的戰事非常激烈，以色列王勉強支撐著站在車上迎戰亞蘭人，直到黃昏。太陽下山的時候，他就死了。
2 Chronicles 18
Common English Bible
Jehoshaphat and Ahab
18 Even though Jehoshaphat already had great wealth and honor, he allied himself with Ahab through marriage. 2 A few years later, while Jehoshaphat was visiting Ahab in Samaria, Ahab slaughtered many sheep and oxen for Jehoshaphat and those who were with him in order to persuade him to attack Ramoth-gilead. 3 “Will you go with me to Ramoth-gilead?” Israel’s King Ahab asked Judah’s King Jehoshaphat.
Jehoshaphat replied, “I and my people will be united with you and your people in battle. 4 But,” Jehoshaphat said to Israel’s king, “first, let’s see what the Lord has to say.” 5 So Israel’s king gathered four hundred prophets and asked them, “Should we go to war with Ramoth-gilead or not?”
“Attack!” the prophets answered. “God will hand it over to the king.”
6 But Jehoshaphat said, “Isn’t there any other prophet of the Lord around whom we could ask?”
7 “There’s one other man who could ask the Lord for us,” Israel’s king told Jehoshaphat, “but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, only bad. His name is Micaiah, Imlah’s son.”
“The king shouldn’t speak like that!” Jehoshaphat said.
8 So Israel’s king called an officer and ordered, “Bring Micaiah, Imlah’s son, right away.”
9 Now Israel’s king and Judah’s King Jehoshaphat were sitting on their thrones dressed in their royal robes at the threshing floor beside the entrance to the gate of Samaria. All the prophets were prophesying in front of them. 10 Zedekiah, Chenaanah’s son, made iron horns for himself and said, “This is what the Lord says: With these horns you will gore the Arameans until there’s nothing left of them!”
11 The other prophets agreed: “Attack Ramoth-gilead and win! The Lord will hand it over to the king!”
12 Meanwhile, the messenger who had gone to summon Micaiah said to him, “Listen, the prophets all agree that the king will succeed. You should say the same thing they say and prophesy success.”
13 But Micaiah answered, “As surely as the Lord lives, I will say only what God tells me to say.”[a]
14 When Micaiah arrived, the king asked him, “Micaiah, should we go to war with Ramoth-gilead or not?”
“Attack and win!” Micaiah answered. “The Lord will hand it over to the king.”
15 But the king said, “How many times must I demand that you tell me the truth when you speak in the Lord’s name?”
16 Then Micaiah replied, “I saw all Israel scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd! And then the Lord said: ‘They have no master. Let them return safely to their own homes.’”
17 Then Israel’s king said to Jehoshaphat, “Didn’t I tell you? He never prophesies anything good about me, only bad.”
18 Then Micaiah said, “Listen now to the Lord’s word: I saw the Lord enthroned with all the heavenly forces stationed at his right and at his left. 19 The Lord said, ‘Who will persuade Israel’s King Ahab so that he attacks Ramoth-gilead and dies there?’ There were several suggestions, 20 until one particular spirit approached the Lord and said, ‘I will persuade him.’ ‘How?’ the Lord asked. 21 ‘I will be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets,’ he said. The Lord agreed: ‘You will succeed in persuading him! Go ahead!’ 22 So now, since the Lord placed a lying spirit in the mouths of these prophets of yours, it is the Lord who has pronounced disaster against you!”
23 Zedekiah, Chenaanah’s son, approached Micaiah and slapped him on the cheek. “Just how did the Lord’s spirit leave me to speak to you?” he asked.
24 Micaiah answered, “You will find out on the day you try to hide in an inner room.”
25 “Arrest him,” ordered Israel’s king, “and turn him over to Amon the city governor and to Joash the king’s son. 26 Tell them, ‘The king says: Put this man in prison and feed him minimum rations of bread and water until I return safely.’”
27 “If you ever return safely,” Micaiah replied, “then the Lord wasn’t speaking through me.” Then he added, “Mark my words, every last one of you!”
28 So Israel’s king and Judah’s King Jehoshaphat attacked Ramoth-gilead. 29 Israel’s king said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself when we go into battle, but you should wear your royal attire.” When the king of Israel had disguised himself, they entered the battle.
30 Meanwhile, Aram’s king had commanded his chariot officers, “Don’t bother with anyone big or small. Fight only with Israel’s king.” 31 When the chariot officers saw Jehoshaphat, they assumed that he must be Israel’s king, so they turned to attack him. But when Jehoshaphat cried out, the Lord helped him, and God lured them away from him. 32 When the chariot officers realized that he wasn’t Israel’s king, they stopped chasing him.
33 Someone, however, randomly shot an arrow that struck Israel’s king between the joints in his armor. “Turn around and get me out of the battle,” the king told his chariot driver. “I’ve been hit!” 34 While the battle raged all that day, Israel’s king stood propped up in his chariot facing the Arameans. But that evening he died, just as the sun was going down.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 18:13 LXX, 1 Kgs 22:14; MT omits me.
2 Chronicles 18
King James Version
18 Now Jehoshaphat had riches and honour in abundance, and joined affinity with Ahab.
2 And after certain years he went down to Ahab to Samaria. And Ahab killed sheep and oxen for him in abundance, and for the people that he had with him, and persuaded him to go up with him to Ramothgilead.
3 And Ahab king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat king of Judah, Wilt thou go with me to Ramothgilead? And he answered him, I am as thou art, and my people as thy people; and we will be with thee in the war.
4 And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel, Enquire, I pray thee, at the word of the Lord to day.
5 Therefore the king of Israel gathered together of prophets four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall we go to Ramothgilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for God will deliver it into the king's hand.
6 But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the Lord besides, that we might enquire of him?
7 And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, by whom we may enquire of the Lord: but I hate him; for he never prophesied good unto me, but always evil: the same is Micaiah the son of Imla. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.
8 And the king of Israel called for one of his officers, and said, Fetch quickly Micaiah the son of Imla.
9 And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah sat either of them on his throne, clothed in their robes, and they sat in a void place at the entering in of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them.
10 And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah had made him horns of iron, and said, Thus saith the Lord, With these thou shalt push Syria until they be consumed.
11 And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramothgilead, and prosper: for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king.
12 And the messenger that went to call Micaiah spake to him, saying, Behold, the words of the prophets declare good to the king with one assent; let thy word therefore, I pray thee, be like one of their's, and speak thou good.
13 And Micaiah said, As the Lord liveth, even what my God saith, that will I speak.
14 And when he was come to the king, the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go to Ramothgilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And he said, Go ye up, and prosper, and they shall be delivered into your hand.
15 And the king said to him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou say nothing but the truth to me in the name of the Lord?
16 Then he said, I did see all Israel scattered upon the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd: and the Lord said, These have no master; let them return therefore every man to his house in peace.
17 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would not prophesy good unto me, but evil?
18 Again he said, Therefore hear the word of the Lord; I saw the Lord sitting upon his throne, and all the host of heaven standing on his right hand and on his left.
19 And the Lord said, Who shall entice Ahab king of Israel, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead? And one spake saying after this manner, and another saying after that manner.
20 Then there came out a spirit, and stood before the Lord, and said, I will entice him. And the Lord said unto him, Wherewith?
21 And he said, I will go out, and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And the Lord said, Thou shalt entice him, and thou shalt also prevail: go out, and do even so.
22 Now therefore, behold, the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of these thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil against thee.
23 Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near, and smote Micaiah upon the cheek, and said, Which way went the Spirit of the Lord from me to speak unto thee?
24 And Micaiah said, Behold, thou shalt see on that day when thou shalt go into an inner chamber to hide thyself.
25 Then the king of Israel said, Take ye Micaiah, and carry him back to Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king's son;
26 And say, Thus saith the king, Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I return in peace.
27 And Micaiah said, If thou certainly return in peace, then hath not the Lord spoken by me. And he said, Hearken, all ye people.
28 So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramothgilead.
29 And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself, and I will go to the battle; but put thou on thy robes. So the king of Israel disguised himself; and they went to the battle.
30 Now the king of Syria had commanded the captains of the chariots that were with him, saying, Fight ye not with small or great, save only with the king of Israel.
31 And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, It is the king of Israel. Therefore they compassed about him to fight: but Jehoshaphat cried out, and the Lord helped him; and God moved them to depart from him.
32 For it came to pass, that, when the captains of the chariots perceived that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back again from pursuing him.
33 And a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness: therefore he said to his chariot man, Turn thine hand, that thou mayest carry me out of the host; for I am wounded.
34 And the battle increased that day: howbeit the king of Israel stayed himself up in his chariot against the Syrians until the even: and about the time of the sun going down he died.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible