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1 Kings 22:13-28
New American Standard Bible
1 Kings 22:13-28
New American Standard Bible
Micaiah Predicts Defeat
13 Then the messenger who went to summon Micaiah spoke to him saying, “Behold now, the words of the prophets are [a]unanimously favorable to the king. Please let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak favorably.” 14 But Micaiah said, “(A)As the Lord lives, whatever (B)the Lord says to me, I shall speak it.”
15 When he came to the king, the king said to him, “Micaiah, should we go to battle against Ramoth-gilead, or should we refrain?” And he said, “(C)Go up and succeed, for the Lord will hand it over to the king!” 16 Then the king said to him, “How many times must I make you swear that you will tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?” 17 So he said,
“I saw all Israel
Scattered on the mountains,
(D)Like sheep that have no shepherd.
And the Lord said,
‘These people have no master.
Each of them is to return to his house in peace.’”
18 Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “(E)Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy anything good regarding me, but only bad?”
19 And Micaiah said, “Therefore, hear the word of the Lord. (F)I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and (G)all the [b]angels of heaven standing by Him on His right and on His left. 20 And the Lord said, ‘Who will [c]entice Ahab to go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one spirit said this, while another said that. 21 Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, and said, ‘I will [d]entice him.’ 22 And the Lord said to him, ‘How?’ And he said, ‘I will go out and (H)be a deceiving spirit in the mouths of all his prophets.’ Then He said, ‘You shall [e]entice him, and you will also prevail. Go and do so.’ 23 Now then, behold, (I)the Lord has put a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all these prophets of yours; and the Lord has declared disaster against you.”
24 Then (J)Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah approached and struck Micaiah on the cheek; and he said, “(K)How did the Spirit of the Lord pass from me to speak to you?” 25 And Micaiah said, “Behold, you are going to see how on that day when you (L)go from one inner room to [f]another trying to hide yourself.” 26 Then the king of Israel said, “Take Micaiah and return him to Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king’s son; 27 and say, ‘This is what the king says: “(M)Put this man in prison, and feed him enough bread and water to survive until I [g]return safely.”’” 28 But Micaiah said, “(N)If you actually return [h]safely, the Lord has not spoken by me.” And he said, “(O)Listen, all you people!”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Kings 22:13 Lit of one mouth
- 1 Kings 22:19 Lit host
- 1 Kings 22:20 Or persuade
- 1 Kings 22:21 Or persuade
- 1 Kings 22:22 Or persuade
- 1 Kings 22:25 Lit inner room
- 1 Kings 22:27 Lit come in peace
- 1 Kings 22:28 Lit in peace
1 Kings 22:13-28
New International Version
1 Kings 22:13-28
New International Version
13 The messenger who had gone to summon Micaiah said to him, “Look, the other prophets without exception are predicting success for the king. Let your word agree with theirs, and speak favorably.”(A)
14 But Micaiah said, “As surely as the Lord lives, I can tell him only what the Lord tells me.”(B)
15 When he arrived, the king asked him, “Micaiah, shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or not?”
“Attack and be victorious,” he answered, “for the Lord will give it into the king’s hand.”
16 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?”
17 Then Micaiah answered, “I saw all Israel scattered(C) on the hills like sheep without a shepherd,(D) and the Lord said, ‘These people have no master. Let each one go home in peace.’”
18 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Didn’t I tell you that he never prophesies anything good about me, but only bad?”
19 Micaiah continued, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne(E) with all the multitudes(F) of heaven standing around him on his right and on his left. 20 And the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there?’
“One suggested this, and another that. 21 Finally, a spirit came forward, stood before the Lord and said, ‘I will entice him.’
22 “‘By what means?’ the Lord asked.
“‘I will go out and be a deceiving(G) spirit in the mouths of all his prophets,’ he said.
“‘You will succeed in enticing him,’ said the Lord. ‘Go and do it.’
23 “So now the Lord has put a deceiving(H) spirit in the mouths of all these prophets(I) of yours. The Lord has decreed disaster(J) for you.”
24 Then Zedekiah(K) son of Kenaanah went up and slapped(L) Micaiah in the face. “Which way did the spirit from[a] the Lord go when he went from me to speak(M) to you?” he asked.
25 Micaiah replied, “You will find out on the day you go to hide(N) in an inner room.”
26 The king of Israel then ordered, “Take Micaiah and send him back to Amon the ruler of the city and to Joash the king’s son 27 and say, ‘This is what the king says: Put this fellow in prison(O) and give him nothing but bread and water until I return safely.’”
28 Micaiah declared, “If you ever return safely, the Lord has not spoken(P) through me.” Then he added, “Mark my words, all you people!”
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 22:24 Or Spirit of
New American Standard Bible (NASB) 
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
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Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.