1 Kings 22:13-28

International Standard Version

Micaiah Predicts Failure^(A)

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^[a] approached the king, the king asked him, “Micaiah, should we go to war against Ramoth-gilead, or should I not?”

“Go to war,” Micaiah^[b] 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:

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!”