2 Chronicles 18
Legacy Standard Bible
Jehoshaphat Allies with Ahab
18 Now (A)Jehoshaphat had riches and honor in abundance; and he allied himself by marriage with Ahab. 2 (B)And some years later he went down to Ahab at Samaria. And Ahab sacrificed sheep and oxen in abundance for him and the people who were with him, and incited him to go up against Ramoth-gilead. 3 And Ahab king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, “Will you go with me against Ramoth-gilead?” And he said to him, “I am as you are, and my people as your people, and we will be with you in the battle.”
4 Moreover, Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Please inquire [a]first for the word of Yahweh.” 5 Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets, four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall we go against Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I refrain?” And they said, “Go up, for God will give it into the hand of the king.” 6 But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not yet a prophet of Yahweh here that we may inquire of him?” 7 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of Yahweh, but I hate him, because he never prophesies good concerning me but always evil. He is Micaiah, son of Imla.” But Jehoshaphat said, “Let not the king say so.”
Micaiah Prophesies Against Ahab
8 Then the king of Israel called an officer and said, “Hasten to bring Micaiah son of Imla.” 9 Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah were sitting each on his throne, clothed in their royal garments, and they were sitting (C)at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets were prophesying before them. 10 And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made horns of iron for himself and said, “Thus says Yahweh, ‘With these you shall gore the Arameans until they are consumed.’” 11 All the prophets were also prophesying thus, saying, “Go up to Ramoth-gilead and succeed, and Yahweh will give it into the hand of the king.”
12 Now the messenger who went to summon Micaiah spoke to him saying, “Behold, the words of the prophets, as if from one mouth, are good to the king. So please let your word be like one of them and speak that which is good.” 13 But Micaiah said, “As Yahweh lives, (D)what my God says, that I shall speak.”
14 Then he came to the king, and the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I refrain?” And he said, “Go up and succeed, and they will be given into your hand.” 15 Then the king said to him, “How many times must I make you swear to speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of Yahweh?” 16 So he said,
“I saw all Israel
Scattered on the mountains,
(E)Like sheep which have no shepherd;
And Yahweh said,
‘These have no master.
Let each of them return to his house in peace.’”
17 So the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not say to you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?”
18 Then Micaiah said, “Therefore, hear the word of Yahweh. (F)I saw Yahweh sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing on His right and on His left. 19 And Yahweh said, ‘Who will entice Ahab king of Israel so that he will go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one said this while another said that. 20 Then a (G)spirit came forward and stood before Yahweh and said, ‘I will entice him.’ And Yahweh said to him, ‘How?’ 21 And he said, ‘I will go out and be (H)a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ Then He said, ‘You shall entice him and also prevail. Go out and do so.’ 22 So now, behold, (I)Yahweh has put a lying spirit in the mouth of these your prophets, but Yahweh has spoken calamity against you.”
23 Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah approached and (J)struck Micaiah on the cheek and said, “[b]How did the Spirit of Yahweh pass from me to speak to you?” 24 And Micaiah said, “Behold, you will see on that day when you enter an inner room to hide.” 25 Then the king of Israel said, “(K)Take Micaiah and return him to Amon (L)the ruler of the city and to Joash the king’s son; 26 and say, ‘Thus says the king, “(M)Put this man in prison and feed him [c]sparingly with bread and water until I return safely.”’” 27 And Micaiah said, “If you indeed return safely, Yahweh has not spoken by me.” And he said, “(N)Listen, all you people.”
The Death of Ahab
28 So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up against Ramoth-gilead. 29 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you put on your garments.” So the king of Israel disguised himself, and they went into battle. 30 Now the king of Aram had commanded the commanders of his chariots, saying, “Do not fight with small or great, but with the king of Israel alone.” 31 Now it happened that when the commanders of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, “It is the king of Israel,” and they turned to fight against him. But Jehoshaphat (O)cried out, and Yahweh helped him, and God incited them away from him. 32 So it happened that when the commanders of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him. 33 Now a certain man drew his bow at random and struck the king of Israel [d]in a joint of the armor. So he said to the driver of the chariot, “Turn [e]around and take me out of the [f]fight, for I am severely wounded.” 34 Now the battle raged that day, and the king of Israel propped himself up in his chariot in front of the Arameans until the evening; and at sunset he died.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 18:4 Lit as the day
- 2 Chronicles 18:23 Lit Which way
- 2 Chronicles 18:26 Lit with bread of oppression and water of oppression
- 2 Chronicles 18:33 Lit between the scale-armor and the breastplate
- 2 Chronicles 18:33 Lit your hand
- 2 Chronicles 18:33 Lit camp
2 Chronicles 18
International Standard Version
Jehoshaphat Allies with Ahab(A)
18 After Jehoshaphat had become wealthy and was enjoying abundant honor, he allied himself to Ahab. 2 After a few years, he visited Ahab in Samaria. Ahab slaughtered lots of sheep and oxen for him, and the people who were with him persuaded Jehoshaphat to attack Ramoth-gilead. 3 King Ahab of Israel asked King Jehoshaphat of Judah, “Will you join me in attacking Ramoth-gilead?”
“I’m with you,” Jehoshaphat[a] replied. “and my army is with you. We’ll join you in the battle.” 4 But then Jehoshaphat asked the king of Israel, “Please ask for a message from the Lord, first.”
5 So the king of Israel gathered together 400 prophets and asked them, “Should we go attack Ramoth-gilead, or should I call off the attack?”[b]
“Go attack them,” they all said, “because God will drop them right in the king’s hand.”
6 But Jehoshaphat asked, “Isn’t there a prophet of the Lord left here that we could talk to?”
7 “There is still one man left by whom we could ask the Lord what to do,” the king of Israel replied to Jehoshaphat, “but I hate him because he won’t prophesy anything good about me. Instead, he always prophesies evil. He is Imla’s son Micaiah.”
But Jehoshaphat rebuked Ahab, “Kings[c] should never talk like that.”
8 Nevertheless, the king of Israel called an officer and ordered him, “Bring me Imla’s son Micaiah quickly.”
9 Now the king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah were each sitting on their own thrones, arrayed in their robes, and sitting on the threshing floor at the entrance to the city gate of Samaria, and all of the prophets were prophesying in front of them. 10 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!’”
11 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 the True Prophet Warns Ahab and Jehoshaphat(B)
12 Meanwhile, the messenger who had gone off to summon Micaiah advised him, “Look, everything that the other prophets were saying has been unanimously favorable to the king. So please, cooperate with them and speak favorably.”
13 “As the Lord lives,” Micaiah replied, “I’ll say what my God tells me to say.”
14 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!”
15 When he heard this, the king asked him, “How many times do I have to ask you? Tell me nothing but the truth, and do it in the name of the Lord!”
16 And 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.’”
17 Then the king of Israel told Jehoshaphat, “Didn’t I tell you that he wouldn’t prophesy anything good about me, but only evil?”
18 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 surrounding him on his right hand and on his left hand.
19 “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.
20 “But then a spirit approached, stood in front of the Lord, and said, ‘I will entice him.’
“And the Lord asked him, ‘How?’
21 “‘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.’
22 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.”
23 As if on cue, 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?”
24 Micaiah replied, “You’ll learn the answer to that question when the day comes that you run away to hide yourself in a closet!”
25 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. 26 Give him this order: ‘Place him in prison on survival rations only until I come back safely.’”
27 “If you return alive,” Micaiah responded, “then the Lord has not spoken by me.” Then he added, “Listen, everybody!”
Ahab’s Dies at Ramoth-gilead(C)
28 So the king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah both attacked Ramoth-gilead. 29 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.
30 Meanwhile, the king of Aram had issued these orders to his chariot commanders: “Don’t attack unimportant soldiers or ranking officers. Go after only the king of Israel.” 31 So when the chariot commanders observed Jehoshaphat, they said by mistake, “It’s the king of Israel!” and they turned aside to attack him. But Jehoshaphat cried out to the Lord, who helped him, and God diverted them from him. 32 When the chariot commanders saw that their target[f] was not the king of Israel, they stopped pursuing him.
33 Meanwhile, somebody drew his bow and struck the king of Israel at a weak spot where his armor plates joined, so he instructed his chariot driver, “Turn around and take me out of the battle, because I’ve been severely wounded.” 34 The battle continued on for the rest of the day while the king of Israel propped himself up in front of the Arameans until the sun set, at which time he died.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 18:3 Lit. he
- 2 Chronicles 18:5 The Heb. lacks the attack
- 2 Chronicles 18:7 Lit. The king
- 2 Chronicles 18:14 Lit. he
- 2 Chronicles 18:14 Lit. he
- 2 Chronicles 18:32 Lit. that he
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