1 Kings 22:17-38

English Standard Version

¹⁷ And he said, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, ^(A)as sheep that have no shepherd. And the Lord said, ‘These have no master; let each return to his home in peace.’” ¹⁸ And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, ^(B)“Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?” ¹⁹ And Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: ^(C)I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, ^(D)and all the host of heaven standing beside him on his right hand and on his left; ²⁰ and the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one said one thing, and another said another. ²¹ Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, saying, ‘I will entice him.’ ²² And the Lord said to him, ‘By what means?’ And he said, ‘I will go out, and will be ^(E)a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And he said, ‘You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do so.’ ²³ Now therefore behold, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; the Lord has declared disaster for you.”

²⁴ Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near ^(F)and struck Micaiah on the cheek and said, “How did the Spirit of the Lord go from me to speak to you?” ²⁵ And Micaiah said, “Behold, you shall see on that day when you go ^(G)into an inner chamber to hide yourself.” ²⁶ And the king of Israel said, “Seize Micaiah, and take him back to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king's son, ²⁷ and say, ‘Thus says the king, ^(H)“Put this fellow in prison and feed him meager rations of bread and water, ^(I)until I come in peace.”’” ²⁸ And Micaiah said, “If you return in peace, ^(J)the Lord has not spoken by me.” And he said, ^(K)“Hear, all you peoples!”

Ahab Killed in Battle

²⁹ So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead. ³⁰ And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, ^(L)“I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you wear your robes.” And the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle. ³¹ Now the king of Syria had commanded ^(M)the thirty-two captains of his chariots, “Fight with neither small nor great, but only with the king of Israel.” ³² And when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, “It is surely the king of Israel.” So they turned to fight against him. And Jehoshaphat cried out. ³³ And when the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him. ³⁴ But a certain man drew his bow at random^[a] and struck the king of Israel between the scale armor and the breastplate. Therefore he said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn around and carry me out of the battle, ^(N)for I am wounded.” ³⁵ And the battle continued that day, and the king was propped up in his chariot facing the Syrians, until at evening he died. And the blood of the wound flowed into the bottom of the chariot. ³⁶ And about sunset a cry went through the army, “Every man to his city, and every man to his country!”

³⁷ So the king died, and was brought to Samaria. And they buried the king in Samaria. ³⁸ And they washed the chariot by the pool of Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood, and the prostitutes washed themselves in it, ^(O)according to the word of the Lord that he had spoken.