1 Kings 22

¹ They stayed three years without war between Aram and Israel.

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

³ The king of Israel said to his servants, "Do you know that Ramoth-gilead belongs to us? Yet we are doing nothing to take it from the hand of the king of Aram."

⁴ He said to Jehoshaphat, "Will you go with me to battle at Ramoth-gilead?" 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, "First seek the word of the LORD."

⁶ The king of Israel gathered the prophets—about four hundred men—and said to them, "Shall I go to battle against Ramoth-gilead, or shall I refrain?" They said, "Go up, and the Lord will give it into the hand of the king."

⁷ But Jehoshaphat said, "Is there not here another prophet of the LORD of whom we may inquire?"

⁸ The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "There is still one man through whom we can inquire of the LORD, but I hate him because he never prophesies good about me, only bad—Micaiah son of Imlah." Jehoshaphat said, "The king should not say that."

⁹ The king of Israel summoned an officer and said, "Bring Micaiah son of Imlah quickly."

¹⁰ Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah were sitting, each on his throne, dressed in their robes, at the threshing floor by the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying before them.

¹¹ Zedekiah son of Chenaanah had made iron horns for himself and said, "This is what the LORD says: With these you will gore Aram until they are finished."

¹² All the prophets were prophesying the same: "Go up to Ramoth-gilead and succeed! The LORD will give it into the hand of the king."

¹³ The messenger who had gone to summon Micaiah said to him, "Look, the words of the prophets are unanimously favorable to the king. Let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak favorably."

¹⁴ Micaiah said, "As the LORD lives, what the LORD says to me, that I will speak."

¹⁵ He came to the king, and the king said to him, "Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall we refrain?" He said to him, "Go up and succeed! The LORD will give it into the hand of the king."

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 He said, "I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains like sheep that have no shepherd. And the LORD said, 'These have no master. Let each return to his house in peace.'"

¹⁸ The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "Did I not tell you he would not prophesy good about me, only bad?"

¹⁹ Micaiah said, "Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, with all the host of heaven standing beside him on his right and on his left.

²⁰ The LORD said, 'Who will entice Ahab so that he will go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?' One said this and another said that.

²¹ Then a spirit came forward and stood before the LORD and said, 'I will entice him.'

²² The LORD said to him, 'How?' He said, 'I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.' He said, 'You will entice him, and you will also succeed. Go out and do so.'

²³ So now—the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these prophets of yours, and the LORD has spoken disaster against you."

²⁴ Zedekiah son of Chenaanah came up and struck Micaiah on the cheek. He said, "Which way did the Spirit of the LORD pass from me to speak to you?"

²⁵ Micaiah said, "You will find out on the day you go into an inner room to hide."

²⁶ 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 Say: This is what the king says: Put this man in prison and feed him meager bread and meager water until I return in peace."

²⁸ Micaiah said, "If you indeed return in peace, the LORD has not spoken through me." Then he said, "Hear, all you peoples!"

²⁹ The king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead.

³⁰ The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you—wear your robes." So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle.

³¹ The king of Aram had commanded his thirty-two chariot commanders: "Do not fight with anyone small or great, but only with the king of Israel."

³² When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they said, "Surely this is the king of Israel!" They turned to fight against him, and Jehoshaphat cried out.

³³ When the chariot commanders saw that he was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him.

³⁴ A man drew his bow at random and struck the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. He said to his charioteer, "Turn around and get me out of the battle, for I am wounded."

³⁵ The battle raged that day, and the king was propped up in his chariot facing the Arameans. He died in the evening, and the blood from the wound flowed into the bottom of the chariot.

³⁶ A cry passed through the camp as the sun set: "Every man to his city! Every man to his land!"

³⁷ The king died and was brought to Samaria, and they buried the king in Samaria.

³⁸ They washed the chariot at the pool of Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood (and the prostitutes bathed in it), according to the word of the LORD that he had spoken.

³⁹ As for the rest of the acts of Ahab—all that he did, the ivory house he built, and all the cities he built—are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

⁴⁰ Ahab rested with his ancestors, and his son Ahaziah reigned in his place.

⁴¹ Jehoshaphat son of Asa became king over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel.

⁴² Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Azubah daughter of Shilhi.

⁴³ He walked in all the ways of Asa his father. He did not turn from them, doing what was right in the eyes of the LORD. However, the high places were not removed; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.

⁴⁴ Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel.

⁴⁵ As for the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat—the might he showed and how he waged war—are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

⁴⁶ The remnant of the male cult prostitutes who remained in the days of his father Asa, he removed from the land.

⁴⁷ There was no king in Edom; a deputy served as king.

⁴⁸ Jehoshaphat made ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold, but they did not go, for the ships were wrecked at Ezion-geber.

⁴⁹ Then Ahaziah son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, "Let my servants go with your servants on the ships." But Jehoshaphat was unwilling.

⁵⁰ Jehoshaphat rested with his ancestors and was buried with his ancestors in the city of David his ancestor. His son Jehoram reigned in his place.

⁵¹ Ahaziah son of Ahab became king over Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel two years.

⁵² He did what was evil in the eyes of the LORD and walked in the way of his father, in the way of his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin.

⁵³ He served Baal and worshiped him, provoking the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger, just as his father had done.