1 Kings 22
22
Jehoshaphat’s Alliance with Ahab
1There was # 2Ch 18:1-8 a lull of three years # 1Kg 20:1,26 without war between Aram and Israel. 2However, in the third year, Jehoshaphat # 1Kg 15:24 king of Judah went to visit the king of Israel. # 2Ch 18:2 3The king of Israel had said to his servants, “Don’t you know that Ramoth-gilead # Dt 4:43; Jos 20:8; 1Kg 4:13 is ours, but we have failed to take it from the hand of the king of Aram? ” 4So # 2Kg 3:7-8 he asked Jehoshaphat, “Will you go with me to fight Ramoth-gilead? ” # 2Kg 8:18,27
Jehoshaphat replied to the king of Israel, “I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.” # 2Kg 3:7 5But Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “First, please ask what the Lord’s will is.” # 1Sm 23:1-5; Jms 4:15
6So the king of Israel gathered the prophets, about 400 men, # 1Kg 18:19 and asked them, “Should I go against Ramoth-gilead for war or should I refrain? ”
They replied, “March up, and the Lord will hand it over to the king.” # 1Kg 13:18
7But Jehoshaphat asked, “Isn’t there a prophet of Yahweh here anymore? # 2Kg 1:3; 3:11; 5:8 Let’s ask him.”
8The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man who can ask Yahweh, but I hate him # 1Kg 18:17; 21:20 because he never prophesies good about me, # Am 5:10 but only disaster. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.”
“The king shouldn’t say that! ” Jehoshaphat replied.
9So the king of Israel called an officer and said, “Hurry and get Micaiah son of Imlah! ”
10Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah, # 2Ch 18:9-11 clothed in royal attire, were each sitting on his own throne. They were on the threshing floor # Jdg 6:37 at the entrance to Samaria’s gate, and all the prophets were prophesying in front of them. 11Then Zedekiah # 1Kg 22:24 son of Chenaanah made iron horns # Dt 33:17; Zch 1:18-21 and said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘You will gore the Arameans with these until they are finished off.’ ” 12And all the prophets were prophesying the same: “March up to Ramoth-gilead # 1Kg 4:13 and succeed, for the Lord will hand it over to the king.”
Micaiah’s Message of Defeat
13The messenger # 2Ch 18:12-27 who went to call Micaiah instructed him, “Look, the words of the prophets are unanimously favorable for the king. So let your words be like theirs, and speak favorably.”
14But Micaiah said, “As the Lord lives, # 1Kg 18:10,15 I will say whatever the Lord says to me.” # Nm 22:28; 24:13
15So he went to the king, and the king asked him, “Micaiah, should we go to Ramoth-gilead for war, or should we refrain? ”
Micaiah told him, “March up and succeed. Yahweh will hand it over to the king.”
16But the king said to him, “How many times must I make you swear not to tell me anything but the truth in the name of Yahweh? ”
17So Micaiah said:
I saw all Israel scattered on the hills
like sheep without a shepherd. # Nm 27:16-17; Mt 9:36; Mk 6:34
And the Lord said,
“They have no master;
let everyone return home in peace.” # 1Kg 22:35-36
18So the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Didn’t I tell you he never prophesies good about me, but only disaster? ”
19Then Micaiah said, “Therefore, hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, # Is 6:1; Dn 7:9 and the whole heavenly host # Jb 1:6; Dn 7:10; Heb 1:7 was standing by Him at His right hand and at His left hand. 20And the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab to march up and fall at Ramoth-gilead? ’ # 1Kg 22:4 So one was saying this and another was saying that.
21“Then a spirit came forward, stood before the Lord, and said, ‘I will entice him.’
22“The Lord asked him, ‘How? ’
“He said, ‘I will go and become a lying spirit # Jdg 9:23; 1Sm 16:14; Jr 20:7; Ezk 14:9 in the mouth of all his prophets.’
“Then He said, ‘You will certainly entice him and prevail. # 2Th 2:11 Go and do that.’
23“You see, the Lord has put a lying spirit into the mouth of all these prophets of yours, and the Lord has pronounced disaster against you.”
24Then Zedekiah # 1Kg 22:11 son of Chenaanah came up, hit Micaiah in the face, and demanded, “Did # Lit Which way did the Spirit of the Lord leave me to speak to you? ” # 2Ch 18:23
25Micaiah replied, “You will soon see when you go to hide yourself in an inner chamber on that day.” # 1Kg 20:30
26Then the king of Israel ordered, “Take Micaiah and return him to Amon, the governor of the city, and to Joash, the king’s son, # 1Kg 22:40 27and say, ‘This is what the king says: Put this guy in prison # 2Ch 16:10; Heb 11:36 and feed him only bread and water # Lit him on bread of oppression and water of oppression until I come back safely.’ ”
28But Micaiah said, “If you ever return safely, the Lord has not spoken through me.” # Dt 18:22 Then he said, “Listen, all you people! ” # LXX omits Then he said, “Listen, all you people!” # Mc 1:2
Ahab’s Death
29Then # 2Ch 18:28-32 the king of Israel and Judah’s King Jehoshaphat went up to Ramoth-gilead. # 1Kg 22:4 30But the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise # 1Sm 28:8 myself and go into battle, but you wear your royal attire.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle. # 2Ch 35:22
31Now the king of Aram had ordered his 32 chariot commanders, # 1Kg 20:1,16 “Do not fight with anyone at all except the king of Israel.” # 2Ch 18:30
32When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they shouted, “He must be the king of Israel! ” So they turned to fight against him, but Jehoshaphat cried out. 33When the chariot commanders saw that he was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him.
34But a man drew his bow # 2Kg 9:24 without taking special aim and struck the king of Israel through the joints of his armor. So he said to his charioteer, “Turn around and take me out of the battle, # LXX; MT reads camp for I am badly wounded! ” # 2Ch 35:23 35The battle raged throughout that day, and the king was propped up in his chariot facing the Arameans. He died that evening, # 1Kg 22:17,28; 2Ch 18:33-34 and blood from his wound flowed into the bottom of the chariot. 36Then the cry rang out in the army as the sun set, declaring:
Each man to his own city,
and each man to his own land! # 2Sm 20:1; 1Kg 12:16; 22:17; 2Kg 14:12
37So the king died and was brought to Samaria. They buried the king in Samaria. # 1Kg 16:28 38Then someone washed the chariot at the pool of Samaria. The dogs licked up his blood, and the prostitutes bathed in it, according to the word of the Lord that He had spoken. # 1Kg 21:19
39The rest of the events of Ahab’s reign, along with all his accomplishments, including the ivory palace # Am 3:15 he built, and all the cities he built, are written in the Historical Record of Israel’s Kings. # 1Kg 16:27 40Ahab rested with his fathers, # 1Kg 16:28 and his son Ahaziah # 2Kg 1:2 became king in his place.
Judah’s King Jehoshaphat
41Jehoshaphat # 2Ch 20:31 son of Asa became king over Judah in the fourth year of Israel’s King Ahab. 42Jehoshaphat was 35 years old when he became king; he reigned 25 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Azubah daughter of Shilhi. 43He walked in all the ways of his father Asa; # 1Kg 15:11 he did not turn away from them but did what was right in the Lord’s sight. However, the high places were not taken away; # LXX, Syr, Vg read he did not remove the high places the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. # 1Kg 15:14 44Jehoshaphat also made peace with the king of Israel. # 1Kg 22:2,4
45The rest of the events of Jehoshaphat’s reign, along with the might he exercised and how he waged war, are written in the Historical Record of Judah’s Kings. # 1Kg 15:23; 2Ch 20:34 46He removed from the land the rest of the male cult prostitutes who were left from the days of his father Asa. # 1Kg 15:12 47There was no king in Edom; # 2Sm 8:14; 2Kg 3:9 a deputy served as king. 48Jehoshaphat made ships of Tarshish # 1Kg 10:22 to go to Ophir # 1Kg 9:28 for gold, but they did not go because the ships were wrecked at Ezion-geber. # 1Kg 9:26 49At that time, Ahaziah # 1Kg 22:40,51 son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “Let my servants go with your servants in the ships,” but Jehoshaphat was not willing. 50Jehoshaphat rested with his fathers and was buried with them in the city of his ancestor David. # 1Kg 15:24; 2Ch 21:1 His son Jehoram # 2Kg 1:17 became king in his place.
Israel’s King Ahaziah
51Ahaziah # 1Kg 22:40 son of Ahab became king over Israel in Samaria # 1Kg 16:24 in the seventeenth year of Judah’s King Jehoshaphat # 1Kg 22:41-50 and reigned over Israel two years. 52He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight. # 1Kg 15:26 He walked in the way of his father, # 1Kg 21:25-26 in the way of his mother, # 1Kg 16:31; 18:4; 21:25 and in the way of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who had caused Israel to sin. # 1Kg 12:28-33 53He served Baal and worshiped him. # Jdg 2:11; 1Kg 16:32 He provoked the Lord God of Israel just as his father had done. # 1Kg 16:33; 21:25
Currently Selected:
1 Kings 22: HCSB
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
© 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee. 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.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Good News Bible with Deuterocanonicals/Apocrypha. 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.