Chronological

22 And they continued three years without war between Aram and Yisroel.

² And it came to pass in the third year, that Yehoshaphat Melech Yehudah came down to Melech Yisroel.

³ And Melech Yisroel said unto his avadim, Know ye that Ramot-Gil‘ad is ours, and we hesitate, and take it not out of the hand of HaMelech Aram?

⁴ And he said unto Yehoshaphat, Wilt thou go with me to battle to Ramot-Gil`ad? And Yehoshaphat said to the Melech Yisroel, I am as thou art, my people as thy people, my susim as thy susim.

⁵ And Yehoshaphat said unto the Melech Yisroel, Inquire for the Devar Hashem today.

⁶ Then the Melech Yisroel gathered the nevi’im together, about 400 men, and said unto them, Shall I go against Ramot-Gil‘ad to battle, or shall I refrain? And they said, Go up; for Hashem shall deliver it into the hand of HaMelech.

⁷ And Yehoshaphat said, Is there not here a navi of Hashem besides, that we might inquire of him?

⁸ And the Melech Yisroel said unto Yehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Mikhay’hu ben Yimlah, by whom we may inquire of Hashem: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy tov concerning me, but rah. And Yehoshaphat said, Let not HaMelech say such.

⁹ Then HaMelech Yisroel called an officer, and said, Hasten here Mikhay’hu ben Yimlah.

¹⁰ And the Melech Yisroel and Yehoshaphat Melech Yehudah sat each on his kisse, having put on their robes, at the threshing floor in the entrance of sha’ar Shomron; all the nevi’im prophesied before them.

¹¹ Tzidkiyah ben Kenaanah made him [goring] horns of barzel: and said, Thus saith Hashem, With these shalt thou push Aram until thou have consumed them.

¹² And all the nevi’im prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramot-Gil‘ad, and succeed: for Hashem shall deliver it into the yad HaMelech.

¹³ And the malach that was gone to summon Mikhay’hu spoke unto him, saying, Hinei now, the words of the nevi’im declare tov unto HaMelech with one mouth: let thy word be like the word of one of them, speak that which is tov.

¹⁴ And Mikhay’hu said, As Hashem liveth, what Hashem saith unto me, that will I speak.

¹⁵ So he came to HaMelech. And HaMelech said unto him, Mikhay’hu, shall we go against Ramot-Gil‘ad to battle, or shall we refrain? And he answered him, Go, and succeed: for Hashem shall deliver it into the yad HaMelech.

¹⁶ And HaMelech said unto him, How many times shall I adjure thee [i.e., make thee swear] that thou tell me nothing but that which is true in the Shem of Hashem?

¹⁷ And he said, I saw kol Yisroel scattered upon the hills, as Tzon that have not a Ro’eh: and Hashem said, These have no adonim: let them return every man to his bais in shalom.

¹⁸ And the Melech Yisroel said unto Yehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would prophesy no tov concerning me, but rah?

¹⁹ And he said, Shema Devar Hashem: I saw Hashem sitting on his kisse, and all the Tzva HaShomayim standing by Him on His right hand and on His left.

²⁰ And Hashem said, Who shall persuade Ach’av, that he may go up and fall at Ramot-Gil`ad? And one said one thing, and one said another.

²¹ And there came forth the ruach, and stood before Hashem, and said, I will persuade him.

²² And Hashem said unto him, By what means? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a ruach sheker in the mouth of all his nevi’im. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also; go forth, do so.

²³ Now therefore, hinei, Hashem hath put a ruach sheker in the mouth of all these thy nevi’im, and Hashem hath spoken ra’ah concerning thee.

²⁴ But Tzidkiyah ben Kena’anah went near, and struck Mikhay’hu on the cheek, and said, Which way did the Ruach Hashem go when he went from me to speak to you?

²⁵ And Mikhay’hu said, Hinei, thou shalt see in that yom, when thou shalt go into a cheder b’cheder (inner room) to hide thyself.

²⁶ And the Melech Yisroel said, Take Mikhay’hu, and carry him back unto Amon Sar HaIr, and to Yoash ben HaMelech;

²⁷ And say, Thus saith HaMelech, Put this fellow in the bais hakeleh, and feed him with lechem lachatz (bread of affliction) and with mayim lachatz (water of affliction), until I come in shalom.

²⁸ And Mikhay’hu said, If thou return at all in shalom, Hashem hath not spoken by me. And he said, Pay heed, O people, every one of you.

²⁹ So the Melech Yisroel and Yehoshaphat Melech Yehudah went up to Ramot-Gil`ad.

³⁰ And the Melech Yisroel said unto Yehoshaphat, I will disguise myself, and enter into the milchamah; but put thou on thy robes. And the Melech Yisroel disguised himself, and went into the milchamah.

³¹ But HaMelech Aram commanded his 32 captains that had rule over his chariots, saying, Fight neither with katan nor gadol, save only with the Melech Yisroel.

³² And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Yehoshaphat, that they said, Surely it is the Melech Yisroel. And they turned aside to fight against him. Yehoshaphat cried out.

³³ And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots perceived that it was not Melech Yisroel, they turned from pursuing him.

³⁴ And a certain man drew a keshet (bow) at random, and struck Melech Yisroel between the joints of his armor; wherefore he said unto the driver of his merkavah, Turn around thine hand, and carry me out of the battle; for I am wounded.

³⁵ And the milchamah increased that yom; and HaMelech was propped up in his merkavah against the Syrians, and died at erev; and the dahm ran out of the wound onto the floor of the merkavah.

³⁶ And there went a proclamation throughout the host about the going down of the shemesh, saying, Every man to his city, and every man to his own country.

³⁷ So Melech [Ahab] died, and was brought to Shomron; and they buried HaMelech in Shomron.

³⁸ And one washed the merkavah in the pool of Shomron; and the kelavim licked up his dahm while the zonot bathed; according unto the Devar Hashem which he spoke.

³⁹ Now the rest of the acts of Ach’av (Ahab), and all that he did, and the Bais HaShen (House of Ivory) which he made, and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the Sefer Divrei HaYamim l’Malkhei Yisroel?

⁴⁰ So Ach’av slept with his avot; and Achazyahu beno (his son) reigned in his place.

⁴¹ And Yehoshaphat ben Asa began to reign over Yehudah in the fourth year of Ach’av Melech Yisroel.

⁴² Yehoshaphat was 35 shanah when he began to reign; and he reigned 25 shanah in Yerushalayim. And the shem immo was Azuvah bat Shilchi.

⁴³ And he walked in kol derech Asa aviv; he turned not aside from it, doing that which was yashar in the eyes of Hashem; nevertheless the high places (places of pagan worship) were not taken away; for HaAm offered and burned incense yet in the high places.

^44 (45) And Yehoshaphat made peace with Melech Yisroel.

^45 (46) Now the rest of the acts of Yehoshaphat, and his gevurah that he showed, and how he warred, are they not written in the Sefer Divrei HaYamim l’Malkhei Yehudah?

^46 (47) And the remnant of the kadesh (male and female cult prostitutes), which remained in the days of Asa aviv, he took out of HaAretz.

^47 (48) There was then no melech in Edom; a deputy was melech.

^48 (49) Yehoshaphat made [merchant] oniyot (ships) of Tarshish to go to Ophir for zahav; but they went not; for the oniyot were shipwrecked at Etzyon-Gever.

^49 (50) Then said Achazyahu ben Ach’av unto Yehoshaphat, Let my avadim go with thy avadim in the oniyot. But Yehoshaphat would not.

^50 (51) And Yehoshaphat slept with his avot, and was buried with his avot in the Ir Dovid aviv; and Yehoram bno reigned in his place.

^51 (52) Achazyahu ben Ach’av began to reign over Yisroel in Shomron the seventeenth year of Yehoshaphat Melech Yehudah, and reigned two years over Yisroel.

^52 (53) And he did rah in the sight of Hashem, walked in the derech aviv, and in the derech immo, and in the derech Yarov‘am ben Nevat, who made Yisroel to sin;

^53 (54) For he served HaBa’al, and worshiped him, and provoked to anger Hashem Elohei Yisroel, according to all that aviv had done.

18 Now Yehoshaphat had osher and kavod in abundance, and allied himself with Ach’av.

² And l’ketz shanim he went down to Ach’av in Shomron. And Ach’av killed tzon and bakar for him in abundance, and for HaAm that he had with him, and persuaded him to go up with him to Ramot Gil’ad.

³ And Ach’av Melech Yisroel said unto Yehoshaphat Melech Yehudah, Wilt thou go with me to Ramot Gil’ad? And he answered him, I am as thou art, and my people as thy people; and we will be with thee in the milchamah.

⁴ And Yehoshaphat said unto the Melech Yisroel, Inquire, now at the Devar Hashem today.

⁵ Therefore the Melech Yisroel gathered together of nevi’im four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall we go to war against Ramot Gil’ad, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for HaElohim will deliver it into the yad HaMelech.

⁶ But Yehoshaphat said, Is there not here a navi of Hashem, that we might inquire of him?

⁷ And the Melech Yisroel said unto Yehoshaphat, There is yet ish echad (one man), by whom we may inquire of Hashem, but I hate him because he never prophesied for tov about me, but always ra’ah; the same is Mikhay’hu ben Imla. And Yehoshaphat said, HaMelech should not say that.

⁸ And the Melech Yisroel called for one of his officials, and said, Bring at once Mikhay’hu ben Imla.

⁹ And the Melech Yisroel and Yehoshaphat Melech Yehudah sat either of them on his kisse, clothed in their begadim, and they sat in the goren (threshing floor) at the petach (entrance) Sha’ar Shomron; and all the nevi’im prophesied before them.

¹⁰ And Tzidkiyahu ben Kena’anah had made him karnayim of barzel, and said, Thus saith Hashem, With these thou shalt gore Aram (Syria) until they be consumed.

¹¹ And all the nevi’im prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramot Gil’ad, and be victorious, for Hashem shall deliver it into the yad HaMelech.

¹² And the malach that went to call Mikhay’hu spoke to him, saying, Hinei, the divrei hanevi’im declare tov to HaMelech with peh echad (one mouth); let thy word therefore, now, be like one of theirs, and speak thou tov.

¹³ And Mikhay’hu said, As Hashem liveth, only what Elohai saith, that will I speak.

¹⁴ And when he was come to HaMelech, HaMelech said unto him, Mikhay’hu, shall we go to war against Ramot Gil’ad, or shall I forbear? And he said, Go ye up, and be victorious, and they shall be delivered into your yad.

¹⁵ And HaMelech said to him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou say nothing but the emes to me in the Shem of Hashem?

¹⁶ Then he said, I saw kol Yisroel scattered upon the mountains, like tzon that have no ro’eh, and Hashem said, These have no adonim; let them return therefore every ish to his bais in shalom.

¹⁷ And the Melech Yisroel said to Yehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would not prophesy tov unto me, but rah?

¹⁸ Again he said, Therefore hear the Devar Hashem: I saw Hashem sitting upon His Kisse, and all Tzva HaShomayim standing on his right and on his left.

¹⁹ And Hashem said, Who shall entice Ach’av Melech Yisroel, that he may go up and fall at Ramot Gil’ad? And one spoke saying after this manner, and another saying after that manner.

²⁰ Then there came out a ruach, and stood before Hashem, and said, I will entice him. And Hashem said unto him, How?

²¹ And he said, I will go out, and be a ruach sheker (lying spirit) in the mouth of all his nevi’im. And Hashem said, Thou shalt entice him, and thou shalt also succeed; go out, and do even so.

²² Now therefore, hinei, Hashem hath put a ruach sheker in the mouth of these thy nevi’im, and Hashem hath decreed ra’ah against thee.

²³ Then Tzidkiyahu ben Kena’anah came near, and struck Mikhay’hu upon the lechi (cheek), and said, Which way went the Ruach Hashem from me to speak unto thee?

²⁴ And Mikhay’hu said, Thou shalt find out on that yom when thou shalt go into cheder b’cheder (inner chamber) to hide thyself.

²⁵ Then the Melech Yisroel said, Take ye Mikhay’hu, and carry him back to Amon Sar HaIr, and to Yoash ben HaMelech,

²⁶ And say, Thus saith HaMelech, Put this in the bais hakeleh, and feed him with only a scanty prison diet of lechem and only mayim, until I return b’shalom.

²⁷ And Mikhay’hu said, If thou certainly return in shalom, then hath not Hashem spoken by me. And he said, Mark words, all ye people.

²⁸ So the Melech Yisroel and Yehoshaphat Melech Yehudah went up to Ramot Gil’ad.

²⁹ And the Melech Yisroel said unto Yehoshaphat, I will disguise myself, and I will go to the milchamah; but put thou on thy robes. So the Melech Yisroel disguised himself; and they went to the milchamah.

³⁰ Now Melech Aram had commanded the commanders of the chariots that were with him, saying, Fight ye not with katon or gadol, only with the Melech Yisroel.

³¹ And it came to pass, when the commanders of the chariots saw Yehoshaphat, that they said, It is the Melech Yisroel. Therefore they surrounded him to fight, but Yehoshaphat cried out, and Hashem helped him; and Elohim moved them away from him.

³² For it came to pass, that, when the commanders of the chariots perceived that it was not Melech Yisroel, they turned back from pursuing him.

³³ And an ish drew a keshet at random, and struck Melech Yisroel between the devakim (joints) of the shiryon (armor); therefore he said to his chariot driver, Turn thine yad, that thou mayest take me out of the machaneh, for I am wounded.

³⁴ And the milchamah increased that day. Howbeit the Melech Yisroel propped himself up in his merkavah facing Aram (the Syrians) until the erev; and about the time of the shemesh going down he died. [T.N. This story illustrates the great difficulty in being a preacher that people will listen to: they want to hear what they want to hear, and, being set in their ways, have decided to mold the House of G-d to their stubbornness, rather than change or grow in the L-rd]