¹² Then the Lord said to Moses, Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come up on the land of Egypt and eat all the vegetation of the land, all that the hail has left.

¹³ And Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought an east wind upon the land all that day and all that night; when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts.

¹⁴ And the locusts came up over all the land of Egypt and settled down on the whole country of Egypt, a very dreadful mass of them; never before were there such locusts as these, nor will there ever be again.

¹⁵ For they covered the whole land, so that the ground was darkened, and they ate every bit of vegetation of the land and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left; there remained not a green thing of the trees or the plants of the field in all the land of Egypt.

¹⁶ Then Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron in haste. He said, I have sinned against the Lord your God and you.

¹⁷ Now therefore forgive my sin, I pray you, only this once, and entreat the Lord your God only that He may remove from me this [plague of] death.

¹⁸ Then Moses left Pharaoh and entreated the Lord.

¹⁹ And the Lord turned a violent west wind, which lifted the locusts and drove them into the Red Sea; not one locust remained in all the country of Egypt.

²⁰ But the Lord made Pharaoh’s heart more strong and obstinate, and he would not let the Israelites go.

²¹ And the Lord said to Moses, Stretch out your hand toward the heavens, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness which may be felt.

²² So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and for three days a thick darkness was all over the land of Egypt.

²³ The Egyptians could not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days; but all the Israelites had natural light in their dwellings.

²⁴ And Pharaoh called to Moses, and said, Go, serve the Lord; let your little ones also go with you; it is only your flocks and your herds that must not go.

²⁵ But Moses said, You must give into our hand also sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.

²⁶ Our livestock also shall go with us; there shall not a hoof be left behind; for of them must we take to serve the Lord our God, and we know not with what we must serve the Lord until we arrive there.

²⁷ But the Lord made Pharaoh’s heart stronger and more stubborn, and he would not let them go.

²⁸ And Pharaoh said to Moses, Get away from me! See that you never enter my presence again, for the day you see my face again you shall die!

²⁹ And Moses said, You have spoken truly; I will never see your face again.

22 Syria and Israel continued without war for three years.

² In the third year Jehoshaphat king of Judah came down to the king of Israel.

³ And [Ahab] king of Israel said to his servants, Do you know that Ramoth in Gilead is ours, and we keep silence and do not take it from the king of Syria?

⁴ And [Ahab] said to Jehoshaphat, Will you go with me to Ramoth-gilead to battle? Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.

⁵ But Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, Inquire first, I pray you, for the word of the Lord today.

⁶ Then [Ahab] king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about 400 men, and said to them, Shall I go against Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I hold back? And they said, Go up, for the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king.

⁷ Jehoshaphat said, Is there not another prophet of the Lord here whom we may ask?

⁸ [Ahab] king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire of the Lord, but I hate him, for he never prophesies good for me, but evil. Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say that.

⁹ Then [Ahab] king of Israel told an officer, Bring quickly Micaiah son of Imlah.

¹⁰ Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah were sitting in [royal] robes [or armor], each on his throne in an open place [on a threshing floor] at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them.

¹¹ And Zedekiah son of Chenaanah made him horns of iron and said, Thus says the Lord: With these you shall push the Syrians until they are destroyed.

¹² And all the prophets agreed, saying, Go up to Ramoth-gilead and prosper, for the Lord will deliver it into the king’s hand.

¹³ The messenger who went to call Micaiah said to him, Behold now, the prophets unanimously declare good to the king. Let your answer, I pray you, be like theirs, and say what is good.

¹⁴ But Micaiah said, As the Lord lives, I will speak what the Lord says to me.

¹⁵ So he came to the king. King [Ahab] said, Micaiah, shall we go against Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall we hold back? And he answered, Go and prosper, for the Lord will deliver it into the king’s hand.

¹⁶ And the king said to him, How many times must I charge you to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?

¹⁷ And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills as sheep that have no shepherd, and the Lord said, These have no master. Let them return every man to his house in peace.

¹⁸ Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell you that he would prophesy no good concerning me, but evil?

¹⁹ And Micaiah said, Hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by Him on His right hand and on His left.

²⁰ And the Lord said, Who will entice Ahab to go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead? One said this way, another said that way.

²¹ Then there came forth a spirit [of whom I am about to tell] and stood before the Lord and said, I will entice him.

²² The Lord said to him, By what means? And he said, I will go forth and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets. [The Lord] said, You shall entice him and succeed also. Go forth and do it.

²³ So the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouths of all these prophets; and the Lord has spoken evil concerning you.

²⁴ But Zedekiah son of Chenaanah went near and struck Micaiah on the cheek and said, Which way went the Spirit of the Lord from me to speak to you?

²⁵ Micaiah said, Behold, you shall see on that day when you go into an inner chamber to hide yourself.

²⁶ [Ahab] king of Israel said, Take Micaiah, carry him back to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king’s son,

²⁷ And say, The king says, Put this fellow in prison and feed him with bread and water of affliction until I come in peace.

²⁸ Micaiah said, If you return at all in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me. He [added], Hear, O people, every one of you!