1 Kings 22
22
Micaiah Warns Ahab about Disaster
(2 Chronicles 18.2-27)
1For the next three years there was peace between Israel and Syria. 2During the third year King Jehoshaphat of Judah went to visit King Ahab of Israel.
3Ahab asked his officials, “Why haven't we tried to get Ramoth in Gilead back from the Syrians? It belongs to us.” 4Then he asked Jehoshaphat, “Would you go to Ramoth with me and attack the Syrians?”
“Just tell me what to do,” Jehoshaphat answered. “My army and horses are at your command. 5But first, let's ask the Lord.”
6Ahab sent for about 400 prophets and asked, “Should I attack the Syrians at Ramoth?”
“Yes!” the prophets answered. “The Lord will help you defeat them.”
7But Jehoshaphat said, “Just to make sure, is there another of the Lord's prophets we can ask?”
8“We could ask Micaiah son of Imlah,” Ahab said. “But I hate Micaiah. He always has bad news for me.”
“Don't say that!” Jehoshaphat replied. 9Then Ahab sent someone to bring Micaiah as soon as possible.
10All this time, Ahab and Jehoshaphat were dressed in their royal robes and were seated on their thrones at the threshing place near the gate of Samaria. They were listening to the prophets tell them what the Lord had said.
11Zedekiah son of Chenaanah was one of the prophets. He had made some horns out of iron and shouted, “Ahab, the Lord says you will attack the Syrians like a bull with iron horns and wipe them out!”
12All the prophets agreed that Ahab should attack the Syrians at Ramoth, and they promised that the Lord would help him defeat them.
13Meanwhile, the messenger who went to get Micaiah whispered, “Micaiah, all the prophets have good news for Ahab. Now go and say the same thing.”
14“I'll say whatever the living Lord tells me to say,” Micaiah replied.
15Then Micaiah went to Ahab, and Ahab asked, “Micaiah, should I attack the Syrians at Ramoth?”
“Yes!” Micaiah answered. “The Lord will help you defeat them.”
16“Micaiah, I've told you over and over to tell me the truth!” Ahab shouted. “What does the Lord really say?”
17 #
Nu 27.17; Mt 9.36; Mk 6.34. He answered, “In a vision#22.17 vision: In ancient times, prophets often told about future events from what they had seen in visions or dreams. I saw Israelite soldiers walking around in the hills like sheep without a shepherd to guide them. The Lord said, ‘This army has no leader. They should go home and not fight.’ ”
18Ahab turned to Jehoshaphat and said, “I told you he would bring bad news!”
19 #
Job 1.6; Is 6.1. Micaiah replied:
Listen to this! I also saw the Lord seated on his throne with every creature in heaven gathered around him. 20The Lord asked, “Who can trick Ahab and make him go to Ramoth where he will be killed?”
They talked about it for a while, 21then finally a spirit came forward and said to the Lord, “I can trick Ahab.”
“How?” the Lord asked.
22“I'll make Ahab's prophets lie to him.”
“Good!” the Lord replied. “Now go and do it.”
23This is exactly what has happened, Ahab. The Lord made all your prophets lie to you, and he knows you will soon be destroyed.
24Zedekiah walked up to Micaiah and slapped him on the face. Then he asked, “Do you really think the Lord would speak to you and not to me?”
25Micaiah answered, “You'll find out on the day you have to hide in the back room of some house.”
26Ahab shouted, “Arrest Micaiah! Take him to Prince Joash and Governor Amon of Samaria. 27Tell them to put him in prison and to give him nothing but bread and water until I come back safely.”
28Micaiah said, “If you do come back, I was wrong about what the Lord wanted me to say.” Then he told the crowd, “Don't forget what I said!”
Ahab Dies at Ramoth
(2 Chronicles 18.28-34)
29Ahab and Jehoshaphat led their armies to Ramoth in Gilead. 30Before they went into battle, Ahab said, “Jehoshaphat, I'll disguise myself, but you wear your royal robe.” Then Ahab disguised himself and went into battle.
31The king of Syria had ordered his 32 chariot commanders to attack only Ahab. 32So when they saw Jehoshaphat in his robe, they thought he was Ahab and started to attack him. But when Jehoshaphat shouted out to them, 33they realized he wasn't Ahab, and they left him alone.
34However, during the fighting a soldier shot an arrow without even aiming, and it hit Ahab where two pieces of his armor joined. He shouted to his chariot driver, “I've been hit! Get me out of here!”
35The fighting lasted all day, with Ahab propped up in his chariot so he could see the Syrian troops. He bled so much that the bottom of the chariot was covered with blood, and by evening he was dead.
36As the sun was going down, someone in Israel's army shouted to the others, “Retreat! Go back home!”
37Ahab's body was taken to Samaria and buried there. 38Some workers washed his chariot near a spring in Samaria, and prostitutes washed themselves in his blood.#22.38 in his blood: One ancient translation; these words are not in the Hebrew text. Dogs licked Ahab's blood off the ground, just as the Lord had warned.
39Everything else Ahab did while he was king, including the towns he strengthened and the palace he built and furnished with ivory, is written in The History of the Kings of Israel. 40Ahab died, and his son Ahaziah became king.
King Jehoshaphat of Judah
(2 Chronicles 20.31—21.1)
41Jehoshaphat son of Asa became king of Judah in Ahab's fourth year as king of Israel. 42Jehoshaphat was 35 years old when he became king, and he ruled from Jerusalem for 25 years. His mother was Azubah daughter of Shilhi.
43-46Jehoshaphat obeyed the Lord, just as his father Asa had done, and during his rule he was at peace with the king of Israel.
He got rid of the rest of the prostitutes#22.43-46 prostitutes: See the note at 14.24. from the local shrines, but he did not destroy the shrines, and they were still used as places for offering sacrifices.
Everything else Jehoshaphat did while he was king, including his brave deeds and military victories, is written in The History of the Kings of Judah.
47The country of Edom had no king at the time, so a lower official ruled the land.
48Jehoshaphat had seagoing ships#22.48 seagoing ships: See the note at 10.22. built to sail to Ophir for gold. But they were wrecked at Ezion-Geber and never sailed. 49Ahaziah son of Ahab offered to let his sailors go with Jehoshaphat's sailors, but Jehoshaphat refused.
50Jehoshaphat died and was buried beside his ancestors in Jerusalem,#22.50 Jerusalem: Hebrew “the city of his ancestor David.” and his son Jehoram became king.
King Ahaziah of Israel
51Ahaziah son of Ahab became king of Israel in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat's rule in Judah, and he ruled two years from Samaria.
52Ahaziah disobeyed the Lord, just as his father, his mother, and Jeroboam had done. They all led Israel to sin. 53Ahaziah worshiped Baal and made the Lord God of Israel very angry, just as his father had done.
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
1 Kings 22
22
The Prophet Micaiah Warns Ahab
(2 Chr 18.2–27)
1There was peace between Israel and Syria for the next two years, 2but in the third year King Jehoshaphat of Judah went to see King Ahab of Israel.
3Ahab asked his officials, “Why is it that we have not done anything to get back Ramoth in Gilead from the king of Syria? It belongs to us!” 4And Ahab asked Jehoshaphat, “Will you go with me to attack Ramoth?”
“I am ready when you are,” Jehoshaphat answered, “and so are my soldiers and my cavalry. 5But first let's consult the LORD.”
6So Ahab called in the prophets, about 400 of them, and asked them, “Should I go and attack Ramoth, or not?”
“Attack it,” they answered. “The Lord will give you victory.”
7But Jehoshaphat asked, “Isn't there another prophet through whom we can consult the LORD?”
8Ahab answered, “There is one more, Micaiah son of Imlah. But I hate him, because he never prophesies anything good for me; it's always something bad.”
“You shouldn't say that!” Jehoshaphat replied.
9Then Ahab called in a court official and told him to go and fetch Micaiah at once.
10The two kings, dressed in their royal robes, were sitting on their thrones at the threshing place just outside the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying in front of them. 11One of them, Zedekiah son of Chenaanah, made iron horns and said to Ahab, “This is what the LORD says: ‘With these you will fight the Syrians and totally defeat them.’ ” 12All the other prophets said the same thing. “March against Ramoth and you will win,” they said. “The LORD will give you victory.”
13Meanwhile, the official who had gone to get Micaiah said to him, “All the other prophets have prophesied success for the king, and you had better do the same.”
14But Micaiah answered, “By the living LORD I promise that I will say what he tells me to!”
15When he appeared before King Ahab, the king asked him, “Micaiah, should King Jehoshaphat and I go and attack Ramoth, or not?”
“Attack!” Micaiah answered. “Of course you'll win. The LORD will give you victory.”
16But Ahab replied, “When you speak to me in the name of the LORD, tell the truth! How many times do I have to tell you that?”
17 #
Num 27.17; Mt 9.36; Mk 6.34 Micaiah answered, “I can see the army of Israel scattered over the hills like sheep without a shepherd. And the LORD said, ‘These men have no leader; let them go home in peace.’ ”
18Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “Didn't I tell you that he never prophesies anything good for me? It's always something bad!”
19 #
Is 6.1; Job 1.6 Micaiah went on: “Now listen to what the LORD says! I saw the LORD sitting on his throne in heaven, with all his angels standing beside him. 20The LORD asked, ‘Who will deceive Ahab so that he will go and be killed at Ramoth?’ Some of the angels said one thing, and others said something else, 21until a spirit stepped forward, approached the LORD, and said, ‘I will deceive him.’ 22‘How?’ the LORD asked. The spirit replied, ‘I will go and make all Ahab's prophets tell lies.’ The LORD said, ‘Go and deceive him. You will succeed.’ ”
23And Micaiah concluded: “This is what has happened. The LORD has made these prophets of yours lie to you. But he himself has decreed that you will meet with disaster!”
24Then the prophet Zedekiah went up to Micaiah, slapped his face, and asked, “Since when did the LORD's spirit leave me and speak to you?”
25“You will find out when you go into some back room to hide,” Micaiah replied.
26Then King Ahab ordered one of his officers, “Arrest Micaiah and take him to Amon, the governor of the city, and to Prince Joash. 27Tell them to throw him in prison and to put him on bread and water until I return safely.”
28“If you return safely,” Micaiah exclaimed, “then the LORD has not spoken through me!” And he added, “Listen, everyone, to what I have said!”
The Death of Ahab
(2 Chr 18.28–34)
29Then King Ahab of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah went to attack the city of Ramoth in Gilead. 30Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “As we go into battle, I will disguise myself, but you wear your royal garments.” So the king of Israel went into battle in disguise.
31The king of Syria had ordered his 32 chariot commanders to attack no one else except the king of Israel. 32So when they saw King Jehoshaphat, they all thought that he was the king of Israel, and they turned to attack him. But when he cried out, 33they realized that he was not the king of Israel, and they stopped their attack. 34By chance, however, a Syrian soldier shot an arrow which struck King Ahab between the joints of his armour. “I'm wounded!” he cried out to his chariot driver. “Turn round and pull out of the battle!”
35While the battle raged on, King Ahab remained propped up in his chariot, facing the Syrians. The blood from his wound ran down and covered the bottom of the chariot, and at evening he died. 36Near sunset the order went out through the Israelite ranks: “Every man go back to his own country and city!”
37So died King Ahab. His body was taken to Samaria and buried. 38His chariot was cleaned up at the pool of Samaria, where dogs licked up his blood and prostitutes washed themselves, as the LORD had said would happen.
39Everything else that King Ahab did, including an account of his palace decorated with ivory and all the cities he built, is recorded in The History of the Kings of Israel. 40At his death his son Ahaziah succeeded him as king.
King Jehoshaphat of Judah
(2 Chr 20.31—21.1)
41In the fourth year of the reign of King Ahab of Israel, Jehoshaphat son of Asa became king of Judah 42at the age of 35, and he ruled in Jerusalem for 25 years. His mother was Azubah, the daughter of Shilhi. 43Like his father Asa before him, he did what was right in the sight of the LORD; but the places of worship were not destroyed, and the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there. 44Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel.
45Everything else that Jehoshaphat did, all his bravery and his battles, are recorded in The History of the Kings of Judah. 46He got rid of all the male and female prostitutes serving at the pagan altars who were still left from the days of his father Asa.
47The land of Edom had no king; it was ruled by a deputy appointed by the king of Judah.
48King Jehoshaphat built ocean-going ships to sail to the land of Ophir for gold; but they were wrecked at Eziongeber and never sailed. 49Then King Ahaziah of Israel offered to let his men sail with Jehoshaphat's men, but Jehoshaphat refused the offer.
50Jehoshaphat died and was buried in the royal tombs in David's City, and his son Jehoram succeeded him as king.
King Ahaziah of Israel
51In the seventeenth year of the reign of King Jehoshaphat of Judah, Ahaziah son of Ahab became king of Israel, and he ruled in Samaria for two years. 52He sinned against the LORD, following the wicked example of his father Ahab, his mother Jezebel, and King Jeroboam, who had led Israel into sin. 53He worshipped and served Baal, and like his father before him, he aroused the anger of the LORD, the God of Israel.
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.