Ahab’s Death

29 Then(A) the king of Israel and Judah’s King Jehoshaphat went up to Ramoth-gilead.(B) 30 But the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise(C) myself and go into battle, but you wear your royal attire.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle.(D)

31 Now the king of Aram had ordered his thirty-two chariot commanders,(E) “Do not fight with anyone at all[a] except the king of Israel.”(F)

32 When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they shouted, “He must be the king of Israel!” So they turned to fight against him, but Jehoshaphat cried out. 33 When the chariot commanders saw that he was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him.

34 But a man drew his bow(G) without taking special aim and struck the king of Israel through the joints of his armor. So he said to his charioteer, “Turn around and take me out of the battle,[b] for I am badly wounded!” (H) 35 The battle raged throughout that day, and the king was propped up in his chariot facing the Arameans. He died that evening,(I) and blood from his wound flowed into the bottom of the chariot. 36 Then the cry rang out in the army as the sun set, declaring:

Each man to his own city,
and each man to his own land!(J)

37 So the king died and was brought to Samaria. They buried the king in Samaria.(K) 38 Then someone washed the chariot at the pool of Samaria. The dogs licked up his blood, and the prostitutes bathed in it, according to the word of the Lord that he had spoken.(L)

39 The rest of the events of Ahab’s reign, along with all his accomplishments, including the ivory palace(M) he built, and all the cities he built, are written in the Historical Record of Israel’s Kings.(N) 40 Ahab rested with his ancestors,(O) and his son Ahaziah(P) became king in his place.

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Footnotes

  1. 22:31 Lit with small or with great
  2. 22:34 LXX; MT reads camp

Defeat and Death of Ahab

29 So (A)the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up against Ramoth-gilead. 30 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “(B)I will disguise myself and go into the battle, but you put on your robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into the battle. 31 Now (C)the king of Aram had commanded the thirty-two commanders of his chariots, saying, “Do not fight with the small or great, but only with the king of Israel.” 32 So when the commanders of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, “Surely he is the king of Israel!” And they turned aside to fight against him, and Jehoshaphat cried out. 33 Then, when the commanders of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him.

34 Now one man drew his bow at random and struck the king of Israel [a]in a joint of the armor. So he said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn [b]around and take me out of the battle, (D)for I am severely wounded.” 35 The battle [c]raged on that day, and the king was propped up in his chariot in front of the Arameans, and he died at evening, and the blood from the wound ran into the bottom of the chariot. 36 (E)Then the word passed throughout the army close to sunset, saying, “Every man to his city, and every man to his [d]country!”

37 So the king died and was brought to Samaria, and they buried the king in Samaria. 38 They washed out the chariot by the pool of Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood (it was there that the prostitutes bathed themselves) (F)in accordance with the word of the Lord which He had spoken. 39 Now as for the rest of the acts of Ahab and everything that he did, and (G)the ivory house which he built and all the cities which he built, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 40 So Ahab [e]lay down with his fathers, and his son Ahaziah became king in his place.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 22:34 Lit between the scales and the scale armor
  2. 1 Kings 22:34 Lit your hand
  3. 1 Kings 22:35 Lit went up
  4. 1 Kings 22:36 Lit land
  5. 1 Kings 22:40 I.e., died