1 Kings 22:29-40
New Living Translation
The Death of Ahab
29 So King Ahab of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah led their armies against Ramoth-gilead. 30 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “As we go into battle, I will disguise myself so no one will recognize me, but you wear your royal robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself, and they went into battle.
31 Meanwhile, the king of Aram had issued these orders to his thirty-two chariot commanders: “Attack only the king of Israel. Don’t bother with anyone else!” 32 So when the Aramean chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat in his royal robes, they went after him. “There is the king of Israel!” they shouted. But when Jehoshaphat called out, 33 the chariot commanders realized he was not the king of Israel, and they stopped chasing him.
34 An Aramean soldier, however, randomly shot an arrow at the Israelite troops and hit the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. “Turn the horses[a] and get me out of here!” Ahab groaned to the driver of his chariot. “I’m badly wounded!”
35 The battle raged all that day, and the king remained propped up in his chariot facing the Arameans. The blood from his wound ran down to the floor of his chariot, and as evening arrived he died. 36 Just as the sun was setting, the cry ran through his troops: “We’re done for! Run for your lives!”
37 So the king died, and his body was taken to Samaria and buried there. 38 Then his chariot was washed beside the pool of Samaria, and dogs came and licked his blood at the place where the prostitutes bathed,[b] just as the Lord had promised.
39 The rest of the events in Ahab’s reign and everything he did, including the story of the ivory palace and the towns he built, are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Israel. 40 So Ahab died, and his son Ahaziah became the next king.
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1 Kings 22:29-40
New English Translation
29 The king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah attacked Ramoth Gilead. 30 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and then enter[a] into the battle, but you wear your royal robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and then entered into the battle. 31 Now the king of Syria had ordered his thirty-two chariot commanders, “Do not fight common soldiers or high-ranking officers;[b] fight only the king of Israel.” 32 When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they said, “He must be the king of Israel.” So they turned and attacked him, but Jehoshaphat cried out. 33 When the chariot commanders realized he was not the king of Israel, they turned away from him. 34 Now an archer shot an arrow at random,[c] and it struck the king of Israel between the plates of his armor. The king[d] ordered his charioteer, “Turn around and take me from the battle line,[e] because I’m wounded.” 35 While the battle raged throughout the day, the king stood propped up in his chariot opposite the Syrians. He died in the evening; the blood from the wound ran down into the bottom of the chariot. 36 As the sun was setting, a cry went through the camp, “Each one should return to his city and to his homeland.” 37 So the king died and was taken to Samaria, where they buried him.[f] 38 They washed off the chariot at the pool of Samaria. Then the dogs licked his blood, while the prostitutes bathed, in keeping with the Lord’s message that he had spoken.[g]
39 The rest of the events of Ahab’s reign, including a record of his accomplishments and how he built a luxurious palace and various cities, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Israel.[h] 40 Ahab passed away.[i] His son Ahaziah replaced him as king.
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- 1 Kings 22:30 tn The Hebrew verbal forms could be imperatives (“Disguise yourself and enter”), but this would make no sense in light of the immediately following context. The forms are better interpreted as infinitives absolute functioning as cohortatives. See IBHS 594 §35.5.2a. Some prefer to emend the forms to imperfects.
- 1 Kings 22:31 tn Heb “small or great.”
- 1 Kings 22:34 tn Heb “now a man drew a bow in his innocence” (i.e., with no specific target in mind, or at least without realizing his target was the king of Israel).
- 1 Kings 22:34 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- 1 Kings 22:34 tn Heb “camp.”
- 1 Kings 22:37 tn Heb “and the king died and he came to Samaria, and they buried the king in Samaria.”
- 1 Kings 22:38 sn See 1 Kgs 21:19.
- 1 Kings 22:39 tn Heb “As for the rest of the acts of Ahab and all that he did, and the house of ivory which he built and all the cities which he built, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Israel?”
- 1 Kings 22:40 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
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