1Ki 22:2-35 | NASB1995 | STEP | In the third year Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came down to the king of Israel .

1 Kings 22:2-35

2 ^aIn the third year ^bJehoshaphat the king of Judah came down to the king of Israel. 3 Now the king of Israel said to his servants, “Do you know that ^cRamoth-gilead belongs to us, and we ^{▼▼ Lit are silent so as not}are still doing nothing to take it out of the hand of the king of Aram?” 4 And he said to Jehoshaphat, “Will you go with me to battle at Ramoth-gilead?” And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, ^e“I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.”

5 Moreover, Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Please inquire ^{▼▼ Lit as the day}first for the word of the Lord.” 6 Then ^gthe king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall I go against Ramoth-gilead to battle or shall I refrain?” And they said, “Go up, for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.” 7 But ^hJehoshaphat said, “Is there not yet a prophet of the Lord here that we may inquire of him?” 8 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord, but I hate him, because he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.” But Jehoshaphat said, “Let not the king say so.” 9 Then the king of Israel called an officer and said, ^{▼▼ Lit Hasten Micaiah}“Bring quickly Micaiah son of Imlah.” 10 Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah were sitting each on his throne, arrayed in their robes, at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and ^jall the prophets were prophesying before them. 11 Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made ^khorns of iron for himself and said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘ ^lWith these you will gore the Arameans until they are consumed.’” 12 All the prophets were prophesying thus, saying, “Go up to Ramoth-gilead and prosper, for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.”

Micaiah Predicts Defeat

13 Then the messenger who went to summon Micaiah spoke to him saying, “Behold now, the words of the prophets are uniformly favorable to the king. Please let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak favorably.” 14 But Micaiah said, ^m“As the Lord lives, what ⁿthe Lord says to me, that I shall speak.”

15 When he came to the king, the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall we refrain?” And he ^{▼▼ Lit said to}answered him, ^p“Go up and succeed, and the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.” 16 Then the king said to him, “How many times must I adjure you to speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?” 17 So he said, “I saw all Israel
Scattered on the mountains,
^qLike sheep which have no shepherd.
And the Lord said, ‘These have no master.
Let each of them return to his house in peace.’”

18 Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, ^r“Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?”

19 ^{▼▼ Lit he}Micaiah said, “Therefore, hear the word of the Lord. ^tI saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and ^uall the host of heaven standing by Him on His right and on His left. 20 “The Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab to go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one said this while 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?’ And he said, ‘I will go out and ^vbe a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ Then He said, ‘You are to entice him and also prevail. Go and do so.’ 23 “Now therefore, behold, ^wthe Lord has put a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; and the Lord has proclaimed disaster against you.”

24 Then ^xZedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near and struck Micaiah on the cheek and said, ^y“How did the Spirit of the Lord pass from me to speak to you?” 25 Micaiah said, “Behold, you shall see on that day when you ^zenter an inner room 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, ‘Thus says the king, ^aa“Put this man in prison and feed him ^{▼▼ Lit with bread of affliction and water of affliction}sparingly with bread and water until I return safely.”’” 28 Micaiah said, ^ac“If you indeed return safely the Lord has not spoken by me.” And he said, ^ad“Listen, all you people.”

Defeat and Death of Ahab

29 So ^aethe king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up against Ramoth-gilead. 30 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, ^af“I will disguise myself and go into the battle, but you put on your robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into the battle. 31 Now ^agthe king of Aram had commanded the thirty-two captains of his chariots, saying, “Do not fight with small or great, but with the king of Israel alone.” 32 So when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, “Surely it is the king of Israel,” and they turned aside to fight against him, and Jehoshaphat cried out. 33 When the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him.

34 Now a certain man drew his bow at random and struck the king of Israel ^{▼▼ Lit between the scale-armor and the breastplate}in a joint of the armor. So he said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn ^{▼▼ Lit your hand}around and take me out of the ^{▼▼ Lit camp}fight; ^akfor I am severely wounded.” 35 The battle ^{▼▼ Lit went up}raged that day, and the king was propped up in his chariot in front of the Arameans, and died at evening, and the blood from the wound ran into the bottom of the chariot.