2 Chronicles 18
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Micaiah Predicts Failure
18 Now Jehoshaphat had great riches and honor, and he made a marriage alliance with Ahab.(A) 2 After some years he went down to Ahab in Samaria. Ahab slaughtered an abundance of sheep and oxen for him and for the people who were with him and induced him to go up against Ramoth-gilead.(B) 3 King Ahab of Israel said to King Jehoshaphat of Judah, “Will you go with me to Ramoth-gilead?” He answered him, “I am as you are; my people are your people. We will be with you in the war.”
4 But Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, “Inquire first for the word of the Lord.”(C) 5 Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, four hundred of them, and said to them, “Shall we go to battle against Ramoth-gilead, or shall I refrain?” They said, “Go up, for God will give it into the hand of the king.” 6 But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there no other prophet of the Lord here of whom we may inquire?” 7 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is still one other by whom we may inquire of the Lord, Micaiah son of Imlah, but I hate him, for he never prophesies anything favorable about me but only disaster.” Jehoshaphat said, “Let the king not say such a thing.”(D) 8 Then the king of Israel summoned an officer and said, “Bring quickly Micaiah son of Imlah.” 9 Now the king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah were sitting on their thrones, arrayed in their robes, and they were sitting at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying before them.(E) 10 Zedekiah son of Chenaanah made for himself horns of iron, and he said, “Thus says the Lord: With these you shall gore the Arameans until they are destroyed.” 11 All the prophets were prophesying the same and saying, “Go up to Ramoth-gilead and triumph; the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.”(F)
12 The messenger who had gone to summon Micaiah said to him, “Look, the words of the prophets with one accord are favorable to the king; let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak favorably.” 13 But Micaiah said, “As the Lord lives, whatever my God says, that I will speak.”(G)
14 When he had come to the king, the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I refrain?” He answered, “Go up and triumph; they will be given into your hand.” 15 But the king said to him, “How many times must I make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?” 16 Then Micaiah[a] said, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains like sheep without a shepherd, and the Lord said, ‘These have no master; let each one go home in peace.’ ”(H) 17 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy anything favorable about me but only disaster?”
18 Then Micaiah[b] said, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, with all the host of heaven standing to the right and to the left of him. 19 And the Lord said, ‘Who will entice King Ahab of Israel, so that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ Then one said one thing, and another said another, 20 until a certain spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, saying, ‘I will entice him.’ The Lord asked him, ‘How?’(I) 21 He replied, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ Then the Lord[c] said, ‘You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do it.’ 22 So you see, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of these your prophets; the Lord has decreed disaster for you.”(J)
23 Then Zedekiah son of Chenaanah came up to Micaiah, slapped him on the cheek, and said, “Which way did the spirit of the Lord pass from me to speak to you?”(K) 24 Micaiah replied, “You will find out on that day when you go in to hide in an inner chamber.” 25 The king of Israel then ordered, “Take Micaiah, and return him to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king’s son,(L) 26 and say: Thus says the king: Put this fellow in prison, and feed him on reduced rations of bread and water until I return in peace.”(M) 27 Micaiah said, “If you return in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me.” And he said, “Hear, you peoples, all of you!”(N)
Defeat and Death of Ahab
28 So the king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead. 29 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you wear your robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself, and they went into battle. 30 Now the king of Aram had commanded the captains of his chariots, “Fight with no one small or great but only with the king of Israel.” 31 When the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, “It is the king of Israel.” So they turned to fight against him, and Jehoshaphat cried out, and the Lord helped him. God drew them away from him,(O) 32 for when the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him. 33 But a certain man drew his bow and unknowingly struck the king of Israel between the scale armor and the breastplate, so he said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn around, and carry me out of the battle, for I am wounded.”(P) 34 The battle grew hot that day, and the king of Israel propped himself up in his chariot facing the Arameans until evening; then at sunset he died.
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
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.
