18
Now Jehoshaphat had riches and honor in abundance; and he allied himself with Ahab. After some years, he went down to Ahab to Samaria. Ahab killed sheep and cattle for him in abundance, and for the people who were with him, and moved him to go up with him to Ramoth Gilead. Ahab king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, “Will you go with me to Ramoth Gilead?”
He answered him, “I am as you are, and my people as your people. We will be with you in the war.” Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Please inquire first for Yahweh’s word.”
Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall we go to Ramoth Gilead to battle, or shall I forbear?”
They said, “Go up; for God will deliver it into the hand of the king.”
But Jehoshaphat said, “Isn’t there here a prophet of Yahweh besides, that we may inquire of him?”
The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of Yahweh; but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me, but always evil. He is Micaiah the son of Imla.”
Jehoshaphat said, “Don’t let the king say so.”
Then the king of Israel called an officer, and said, “Get Micaiah the son of Imla quickly.”
Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah each sat on his throne, arrayed in their robes, and they were sitting in an open place at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets were prophesying before them. 10 Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made himself horns of iron and said, “Yahweh says, ‘With these you shall push the Syrians, until they are consumed.’”
11 All the prophets prophesied so, saying, “Go up to Ramoth Gilead, and prosper; for Yahweh will deliver it into the hand of the king.”
12 The messenger who went to call Micaiah spoke to him, saying, “Behold, the words of the prophets declare good to the king with one mouth. Let your word therefore, please be like one of theirs, and speak good.”
13 Micaiah said, “As Yahweh lives, what my God says, that will I speak.”
14 When he had come to the king, the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth Gilead to battle, or shall I forbear?”
He said, “Go up, and prosper. They shall be delivered into your hand.”
15 The king said to him, “How many times shall I adjure you that you speak to me nothing but the truth in Yahweh’s name?”
16 He said, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd. Yahweh said, ‘These have no master. Let them each return to his house in peace.’”
17 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Didn’t I tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?”
18 Micaiah said, “Therefore hear Yahweh’s word: I saw Yahweh sitting on his throne, and all the army of heaven standing on his right hand and on his left. 19 Yahweh said, ‘Who will entice Ahab king of Israel, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth Gilead?’ One spoke saying in this way, and another saying in that way. 20 A spirit came out, stood before Yahweh, and said, ‘I will entice him.’
“Yahweh said to him, ‘How?’
21 “He said, ‘I will go, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’
“He said, ‘You will entice him, and will prevail also. Go and do so.’
22 “Now therefore, behold, Yahweh has put a lying spirit in the mouth of these your prophets; and Yahweh has spoken evil concerning you.”
23 Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near, and struck Micaiah on the cheek, and said, “Which way did Yahweh’s Spirit go from me to speak to you?”
24 Micaiah said, “Behold, you shall see on that day, when you go into an inner room to hide yourself.”
25 The king of Israel said, “Take Micaiah, and carry him back to Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king’s son; 26 and say, ‘Thus says the king, “Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I return in peace.”’”
27 Micaiah said, “If you return at all in peace, Yahweh has not spoken by me.” He said, “Listen, you people, all of you!”
28 So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth Gilead. 29 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself, and go into the battle; but you put on your robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself; and they went into the battle. 30 Now the king of Syria had commanded the captains of his chariots, saying, “Don’t fight with small nor great, except only with the king of Israel.”
31 When the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, “It is the king of Israel!” Therefore they turned around to fight against him. But Jehoshaphat cried out, and Yahweh helped him; and God moved them to depart from him. 32 When the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him. 33 A certain man drew his bow at random, and struck the king of Israel between the joints of the armor. Therefore he said to the driver of the chariot, “Turn your hand, and carry me out of the army; for I am severely wounded.” 34 The battle increased that day. However the king of Israel propped himself up in his chariot against the Syrians until the evening; and at about sunset, he died.
+1:1“Yahweh” is God’s proper Name, sometimes rendered “LORD” (all caps) in other translations.+1:1The Hebrew word rendered “God” is “אֱלֹהִ֑ים” (Elohim).+1:17The pieces of silver were probably shekels, so 600 pieces would be about 13.2 lbs. or 6 kg. of silver, and 150 would be about 3.3 lbs. or 1.5 kg. of silver.+1:17or, Aramean+2:4“Behold”, from “הִנֵּה”, means look at, take notice, observe, see, or gaze at. It is often used as an interjection.+2:101 cor is the same as a homer, or about 55.9 U. S. gallons (liquid) or 211 liters or 6 bushels, so 20,000 cors of wheat would weigh about 545 metric tons+2:101 bath is one tenth of a cor, or about 5.6 U. S. gallons or 21 liters or 2.4 pecks 20,000 baths of barley would weigh about 262 metric tons.+3:3A cubit is the length from the tip of the middle finger to the elbow on a man’s arm, or about 18 inches or 46 centimeters.+3:8A talent is about 30 kilograms or 66 pounds or 965 Troy ounces, so 600 talents is about 18 metric tons+3:9A shekel is about 10 grams or about 0.32 Troy ounces, so 50 shekels was about 0.5 kilograms or about 16 Troy ounces.+4:1A cubit is the length from the tip of the middle finger to the elbow on a man’s arm, or about 18 inches or 46 centimeters.+4:2or, pool, or, reservoir+4:5A bath is about 5.6 U. S. gallons or 21.1 liters, so 3,000 baths is about 16,800 gallons or 63.3 kiloliters.+6:13A cubit is the length from the tip of the middle finger to the elbow on a man’s arm, or about 18 inches or 46 centimeters.+8:13or, booths (sukkot)+8:18A talent is about 30 kilograms or 66 pounds or 965 Troy ounces, so 450 talents is about 13.5 metric tons+9:4or, she was breathless.+9:9A talent is about 30 kilograms or 66 pounds or 965 Troy ounces, so 120 talents is about 3.6 metric tons+9:10possibly Indian sandalwood, which has nice grain and a pleasant scent and is good for woodworking+9:13A talent is about 30 kilograms or 66 pounds or 965 Troy ounces, so 666 talents is about 20 metric tons+9:15A shekel is about 10 grams or about 0.32 Troy ounces, so 600 shekels was about 6 kilograms or about 192 Troy ounces.+9:16A shekel is about 10 grams or about 0.32 Troy ounces, so 300 shekels was about 3 kilograms or about 96 Troy ounces.