1 Kings 22
International Standard Version
King Ahab Invites Jehoshaphat to Invade Aram(A)
22 Three years passed without war between Aram and Israel. 2 During that third year, King Jehoshaphat of Judah went to visit the king of Israel. 3 The king of Israel asked his servants, “Were you aware that Ramoth-gilead belongs to us, but we aren’t doing anything to remove it from the control of the king of Aram?”
4 Then he asked Jehoshaphat, “Will you join me in battle against Ramoth-gilead?”
“I’m with you,” Jehoshaphat answered the king of Israel. “My army will join yours, and my cavalry will be your cavalry.” 5 But Jehoshaphat also asked the king of Israel, “Please ask for a message from the Lord, first.”
6 So the king of Israel called in about 400 prophets and asked them, “Should we go attack Ramoth-gilead, or should I call off the attack?”[a]
“Go attack them,” they all said, “because the Lord will drop them right into the king’s hand!”
7 But Jehoshaphat asked, “Isn’t there a prophet of the Lord left here that we could talk to?”
8 “There is still one man left by whom we could ask the Lord what to do,”[b] the king of Israel replied to Jehoshaphat, “but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me. Instead, he prophesies evil. He is Imla’s son Micaiah.”
But Jehoshaphat rebuked Ahab, “Kings[c] should never talk like that.”
9 Nevertheless, the king of Israel called one of his officers and ordered him, “Bring me Imla’s son Micaiah quickly.”
10 Now the king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah were each sitting on their respective thrones, arrayed in their robes, on the threshing floor at the entrance to the city gate of Samaria, and all of the prophets were prophesying in front of them. 11 Chenaanah’s son Zedekiah made iron horns for himself and told them, “This is what the Lord says, ‘With these horns you are to gore the Arameans until they are eliminated!’”
12 All the other prophets were saying similar things, like “Go up to Ramoth-gilead and you will be successful, because the Lord will hand it over to the king!”
Micaiah Predicts Failure(B)
13 Meanwhile, the messenger who had gone off to summon Micaiah advised him, “Look, everything that the other prophets were saying was unanimously favorable to the king. So please, cooperate with them and speak favorably.”
14 “As the Lord lives,” Micaiah replied, “I’ll say what my God tells me to say.”
15 When Micaiah[d] approached the king, the king asked him, “Micaiah, should we go to war against Ramoth-gilead, or should I not?”
“Go to war,” Micaiah[e] replied, “and you will be successful, because the Lord will hand it over to the king!”
16 When he heard this, the king asked him, “How many times do I have to make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth? Now do it in the name of the Lord!”
17 So Micaiah replied:
“I saw all of Israel
scattered on the mountains
like sheep without a shepherd.
And the Lord told me,
‘These have no master,
so let them each return to his own home in peace.’”
18 Then the king of Israel told Jehoshaphat, “Didn’t I tell you that he wouldn’t prophesy anything good about me, but only evil?”
19 But Micaiah responded, “Therefore, listen to what the Lord has to say. I saw the Lord, sitting on his throne, and the entire Heavenly Army was standing around him on his right hand and on his left hand.
20 “The Lord asked, ‘Who will tempt King Ahab of Israel to attack Ramoth-gilead, so that he will die there?’ And one was saying one thing and one was saying another.
21 “But then a spirit approached, stood in front of the Lord, and said, ‘I will entice him.’
22 “And the Lord asked him, ‘How?’
“‘I will go,’ he announced, ‘and I will be a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all of his prophets!’
“So the Lord said, ‘You’re just the one to deceive him. You will be successful. Go and do it.’
23 “Now therefore, listen! The Lord has placed a lying spirit in the mouth of all of these prophets of yours, because the Lord has determined to bring disaster upon you.”
24 Right then, Chenaanah’s son Zedekiah approached Micaiah and struck him on the cheek. Then he asked him, “How did the Spirit of the Lord move from me to speak to you?”
25 Micaiah replied, “You’ll see how when the day comes that you run away to hide yourself in a closet!”
26 Then the king of Israel ordered, “Take Micaiah and place him in the custody of Amon, the city governor. Hand him over to Joash, the king’s son. 27 Give him this order: ‘Place him in prison on survival rations of bread and water only until I come back safely.’”
28 “If you return alive,” Micaiah responded, “then the Lord has not spoken by me.” Then he added, “Listen, all you people!”
Ahab Dies at Ramoth-gilead(C)
29 So the king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah both attacked Ramoth-gilead. 30 The king of Israel suggested to Jehoshaphat, “I’ll go into battle in disguise, but you keep your royal uniform on.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and they both went into the battle.
31 Meanwhile, the king of Aram had issued these orders to 32 of his chariot commanders: “Don’t attack unimportant soldiers or ranking officers. Go after only the king of Israel.”
32 So when the chariot commanders observed Jehoshaphat, they said by mistake,[f] “It’s the king of Israel!” and they turned aside to attack him. But Jehoshaphat cried out. 33 When the chariot commanders saw that their target[g] was not the king of Israel, they stopped pursuing him.
34 Meanwhile, somebody drew his bow aimlessly and struck the king of Israel between the scales where his armor breastplates joined, so he instructed his chariot driver, “Turn around and take me out of the battle, because I’ve been severely wounded.” 35 The battle continued on for the rest of the day while the king of Israel was propped up in front of the Arameans until the sun set, at which time he died. The blood from Ahab’s wound ran down into the bottom of the chariot.
36 As the day drew to a close, this order was circulated throughout the army telling the soldiers, “Everybody go back to his city and to his own land.” 37 So the king died and was brought back to Samaria, and they buried the king in Samaria. 38 They washed the chariot by the reservoir of Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood near where the prostitutes went to bathe, in keeping with the message that the Lord had spoken.
39 Now as to the rest of Ahab’s accomplishments, everything that he undertook, the ivory palace he built, and the cities that he built, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel, are they not? 40 That’s how Ahab died, just as his ancestors had, and his son Ahaziah became king in his place.
Jehoshaphat Reigns over Judah
41 Asa’s son Jehoshaphat became king over Judah during the fourth year of the reign of[h] King Ahab of Israel. 42 Jehoshaphat was 35 years old when he became king. He reigned 25 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Azubah. She was the daughter of Shilhi. 43 He lived like his father Asa and never abandoned that life. He did what the Lord considered to be right. Nevertheless, the high places were not demolished, and the people continued to sacrifice and burn incense on the high places.[i] 44 Jehoshaphat also made a peace treaty with the king of Israel.
45 Now the rest of Jehoshaphat’s accomplishments, the power that he demonstrated, and how he waged war are written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah, are they not? 46 He also eliminated the male cult prostitutes who still remained from the time of his father Asa.
47 There was no king reigning in Edom; there was only a stand-in[j] king. 48 Jehoshaphat had ocean-going vessels from Tarshish sail to Ophir[k] for gold, but they never made it because they were shipwrecked at Ezion-geber. 49 Ahab’s son Ahaziah had offered to go. “Let my servants go with your servants in the ships!” he said. But Jehoshaphat was not willing. 50 Later, Jehoshaphat died, as did his ancestors, and he was buried alongside his ancestors in the City of David. Jehoram his son became king in his place.
Ahaziah Reigns over Israel
51 Ahab’s son Ahaziah became king over Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of King Jehoshaphat of Judah. He reigned for two years over Israel. 52 He practiced what the Lord considered to be evil by living life like his father and mother did. He lived like Nebat’s son Jeroboam, who led Israel into sin. 53 He served Baal, worshipped him, and provoked the Lord God of Israel to anger, in accordance with everything his father had done.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 22:6 The Heb. lacks the attack
- 1 Kings 22:8 The Heb. lacks what to do
- 1 Kings 22:8 Lit. The king
- 1 Kings 22:15 Lit. he
- 1 Kings 22:15 Lit. he
- 1 Kings 22:32 The Heb. lacks by mistake
- 1 Kings 22:33 Lit. that he
- 1 Kings 22:41 The Heb. lacks the reign of
- 1 Kings 22:43 This last sentence of v 43 is v44 in MT, v44 is v45 in MT, and so through the rest of the chapter.
- 1 Kings 22:47 Or deputy
- 1 Kings 22:48 Or a source of fine gold; cf. 1Chr 29:4
1 Kings 22
Lexham English Bible
Jehoshaphat of Judah Allies with Ahab of Israel
22 They lived three years, and there was no war between Aram and Israel. 2 It happened in the third year, Jehoshaphat king of Judah went down to the king of Israel, 3 and the king of Israel said to his servants, “Do you know Ramoth-Gilead belongs to us, and we are doing nothing about taking it from the hand of the king of Aram?” 4 Then he said to Jehoshaphat, “Will you go with me to the battle for Ramoth-Gilead?” Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “I am like you;[a] my people are like your people;[b] my horses are like your horses.”[c]
5 Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, “Please inquire for the word of Yahweh today.” 6 Then the king of Israel assembled the prophets, about four hundred men, and he said to them, “Shall I go against Ramoth-Gilead for the battle, or should I refrain?” Then they said, “Go up, for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.” 7 So Jehoshaphat said, “Is there no prophet of Yahweh here that we might still inquire from him?” 8 Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man to inquire from Yahweh, but I despise him, for he never prophesies anything good concerning me, but only bad: Micaiah the son of Imlah.” Then Jehoshaphat said, “The king should not say so.” 9 The king of Israel summoned a certain court official, and he said, “Quickly fetch Micaiah son of Imlah.” 10 The king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah were each sitting on his throne, dressed in their robes, at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria, with all the prophets prophesying before them. 11 Zedekiah son of Kenaanah made horns of iron for himself and said, “Thus says Yahweh: ‘With these you shall gore the Arameans until finishing them.’” 12 All of the prophets were likewise prophesying, saying, “Go up to Ramoth-Gilead and triumph, and Yahweh will give it into the hand of the king.”
13 Then the messenger who had gone to summon Micaiah said to him, “Please now, the words of the prophet are unanimously[d] favorable to the king. Please let your words be as one word with them, and speak favorably.” 14 Then Micaiah said, “As Yahweh lives,[e] surely only as Yahweh speaks to me, that will I speak.” 15 When he came to the king, the king asked him, “Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-Gilead to the battle, or shall we refrain?” He said to him, “Go up and triumph, and Yahweh will give it into the hand of the king.” 16 Then the king said to him, “How many times must I make you swear that you shall not tell me anything but truth in the name of Yahweh?” 17 So he said, “I saw all of Israel scattering to the mountains, like the sheep without a shepherd. Yahweh also said, ‘There are no masters for these, let them return in peace, each to his house.’” 18 Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not say to you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but disaster?”
19 And he[f] said, “Therefore, hear the word of Yahweh. I saw Yahweh sitting on his throne with all the hosts of heaven standing beside him from his right hand and from his left hand. 20 And Yahweh said, ‘Who will entice Ahab so that he will go up and fall at Ramoth-Gilead?’ Then this one was saying one thing and the other one was saying another.[g] 21 Then a spirit came out and stood before Yahweh and said, ‘I will entice him,’ and Yahweh said to him, ‘How?’ 22 He said, ‘I will go out and I will be a false spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And he[h] said, ‘You shall entice and succeed, go out and do so.’ 23 So then, see that Yahweh has placed a false spirit in the mouth of all of these your prophets, and Yahweh has spoken disaster concerning you.”
24 Then Zedekiah son of Kenaanah came near and slapped Micaiah on the cheek and said, “When did the Spirit of Yahweh pass from me to speak with you?” 25 Then Micaiah said, “Behold, you are about to see on that day when you go from room to room[i] to hide.” 26 The king of Israel said, “Take Micaiah and return him to Amon the commander of the city and to Jehoash the son of the king; 27 and say, ‘Thus says the king: “Put this fellow in the house of imprisonment and feed him reduced rations of food and water until I come in peace.”’” 28 Then Micaiah said, “If you indeed return in peace, then Yahweh has not spoken with me.” Then he said, “Let all the peoples hear!”
29 Then the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up to Ramoth-Gilead. 30 Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into the battle, but you wear your robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself, and he went into the battle. 31 The king of Aram commanded his thirty-two chariot commanders, saying, “You shall not fight with small or great, but only against the king of Israel, him alone!” 32 When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they said, “Surely he is the king of Israel,” and they turned to fight against him, so Jehoshaphat called out. 33 When the chariot commanders saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned away from him. 34 But another man drew his bow fully and struck the king of Israel between the armor scales and the breastplate; so he said to his chariot driver, “Turn the chariot[j] and bring me out from the camp, for I am wounded.”
35 The battle intensified on that day, and the king was being propped up in the chariot opposite Aram, but he died in the evening, and the blood of the wound ran out to the floor of the chariot. 36 Then the shout passed through the camp about sunset, saying, “Each man to his city and each to his land!” 37 So the king died, and they brought him[k] to Samaria, and they buried the king in Samaria. 38 They washed the chariot by the pool of Samaria, and the dogs licked his blood (now, the prostitutes washed themselves there) according to the word of Yahweh which he had spoken. 39 The remainder of the acts of Ahab and all that he did, and the ivory palace and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel? 40 So Ahab slept with his ancestors,[l] and Ahaziah his son became king in his place.
King Jehoshaphat of Judah
41 Jehoshaphat the son of Asa became king over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel. 42 Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. The name of his mother was Azubah daughter of Shilhi. 43 He walked in all of the way of Asa his father, and he did not turn aside from it, doing right in the eyes of Yahweh.[m] Only he did not remove the high places; the people were still sacrificing and burning incense on the high places. 44 [n] But, Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel. 45 The remainder of the acts of Jehoshaphat, his powerful deeds he did, and how he fought, are they not written in the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah? 46 The remainder of the male shrine prostitutes who were left over in the days of Asa his father he exterminated from the land. 47 There was not a king in Edom; a governor served as king. 48 Jehoshaphat built[o] ships of the Tarshish type to go to Ophir for the gold; but he did not go because the ships were destroyed at Ezion-Geber. 49 Then Ahaziah son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “Let my servants go with your servants in the ships,” but Jehoshaphat was not willing. 50 And Jehoshaphat slept with his ancestors[p] and was buried with his ancestors[q] in the city of David his ancestor,[r] and Joram his son became king in his place.
King Ahaziah of Israel
51 Ahaziah 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. 52 He did evil in the eyes of Yahweh, and he went in the way of his father and his mother and in the way of Jeroboam son of Nebat who caused Israel to sin. 53 He served Baal and bowed down to him; and he provoked Yahweh the God of Israel according to all that his father did.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 22:4 Literally “Like I am, like you are”
- 1 Kings 22:4 Literally “like my people, like your people”
- 1 Kings 22:4 Literally “like my horses, like your horses”
- 1 Kings 22:13 Literally “one mouth”
- 1 Kings 22:14 Literally “The life of Yahweh”
- 1 Kings 22:19 That is, Micaiah
- 1 Kings 22:20 Literally “this one said in thus and this one was saying in thus”
- 1 Kings 22:22 That is, Yahweh
- 1 Kings 22:25 Literally “private room in private room”
- 1 Kings 22:34 Literally “your hand”
- 1 Kings 22:37 Literally “and he went”
- 1 Kings 22:40 Or “fathers”
- 1 Kings 22:43 1 Kings 22:44 begins here in the Hebrew Bible
- 1 Kings 22:44 1 Kings 22:44– 53 in the English Bible is 22:45–54 in the Hebrew Bible
- 1 Kings 22:48 According to the reading tradition(Qere); what is written (Kethib) is “ten”
- 1 Kings 22:50 Or “fathers”
- 1 Kings 22:50 Or “fathers”
- 1 Kings 22:50 Or “father”
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