1 Kings 22 | King James Version

King James Version

1 And they continued three years without war between Syria and Israel. 2 And it came to pass in the third year, that Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came down to the king of Israel. 3 And the king of Israel said unto his servants, Know ye that Ramoth in Gilead is ours, and we be still, and take it not out of the hand of the king of Syria? 4 And he said unto Jehoshaphat, Wilt thou go with me to battle to Ramothgilead? And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I am as thou art , my people as thy people, my horses as thy horses. 5 And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel, Enquire, I pray thee, at the word of the LORD to day. 6 Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall I go against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king. 7 And Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD besides, that we might enquire of him? 8 And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may enquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so. 9 Then the king of Israel called an officer, and said, Hasten hither Micaiah the son of Imlah. 10 And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah sat each on his throne, having put on their robes, in a void place in the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them. 11 And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made him horns of iron: and he said, Thus saith the LORD, With these shalt thou push the Syrians, until thou have consumed them. 12 And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramothgilead, and prosper: for the LORD shall deliver it into the king' hand. 13 And the messenger that was gone to call Micaiah spake unto him, saying, Behold now, the words of the prophets declare good unto the king with one mouth: let thy word, I pray thee, be like the word of one of them, and speak that which is good. 14 And Micaiah said, As the LORD liveth, what the LORD saith unto me, that will I speak. 15 So he came to the king. And the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall we forbear? And he answered him, Go, and prosper: for the LORD shall deliver it into the hand of the king. 16 And the king said unto him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou tell me nothing but that which is true in the name of the LORD? 17 And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd: and the LORD said, These have no master: let them return every man to his house in peace. 18 And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would prophesy no good concerning me, but evil? 19 And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left. 20 And the LORD said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner. 21 And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said, I will persuade him. 22 And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him , and prevail also: go forth, and do so. 23 Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil concerning thee. 24 But Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near, and smote Micaiah on the cheek, and said, Which way went the Spirit of the LORD from me to speak unto thee? 25 And Micaiah said, Behold, thou shalt see in that day, when thou shalt go into an inner chamber to hide thyself. 26 And the king of Israel said, Take Micaiah, and carry him back unto Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king' son; 27 And say, Thus saith the king, Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I come in peace. 28 And Micaiah said, If thou return at all in peace, the LORD hath not spoken by me. And he said, Hearken, O people, every one of you. 29 So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramothgilead. 30 And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself, and enter into the battle; but put thou on thy robes. And the king of Israel disguised himself, and went into the battle. 31 But the king of Syria commanded his thirty and two captains that had rule over his chariots, saying, Fight neither with small nor great, save only with the king of Israel. 32 And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, Surely it is the king of Israel. And they turned aside to fight against him: and Jehoshaphat cried out. 33 And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots perceived that it was not the king of Israel, that they turned back from pursuing him. 34 And a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness: wherefore he said unto the driver of his chariot, Turn thine hand, and carry me out of the host; for I am wounded. 35 And the battle increased that day: and the king was stayed up in his chariot against the Syrians, and died at even: and the blood ran out of the wound into the midst of the chariot. 36 And there went a proclamation throughout the host about the going down of the sun, saying, Every man to his city, and every man to his own country. 37 So the king died, and was brought to Samaria; and they buried the king in Samaria. 38 And one washed the chariot in the pool of Samaria; and the dogs licked up his blood; and they washed his armour; according unto the word of the LORD which he spake. 39 Now the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all that he did, and the ivory house which he made, and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 40 So Ahab slept with his fathers; and Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead. 41 And Jehoshaphat the son of Asa began to reign over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel. 42 Jehoshaphat was thirty and five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother' name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. 43 And he walked in all the ways of Asa his father; he turned not aside from it, doing that which was right in the eyes of the LORD: nevertheless the high places were not taken away; for the people offered and burnt incense yet in the high places. 44 And Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel. 45 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, and his might that he shewed, and how he warred, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 46 And the remnant of the sodomites, which remained in the days of his father Asa, he took out of the land. 47 There was then no king in Edom: a deputy was king. 48 Jehoshaphat made ships of Tharshish to go to Ophir for gold: but they went not; for the ships were broken at Eziongeber. 49 Then said Ahaziah the son of Ahab unto Jehoshaphat, Let my servants go with thy servants in the ships. But Jehoshaphat would not. 50 And Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father: and Jehoram his son reigned in his stead. 51 Ahaziah the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned two years over Israel. 52 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father, and in the way of his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin: 53 For he served Baal, and worshipped him, and provoked to anger the LORD God of Israel, according to all that his father had done.

New International Reader’s Version

Micaiah prophesies against Ahab

1 For three years there wasn’t any war between Aram and Israel. 2 In the third year Jehoshaphat went down to see Ahab, the king of Israel. Jehoshaphat was king of Judah. 3 The king of Israel had spoken to his officials. He had said, ‘Don’t you know that Ramoth Gilead belongs to us? And we aren’t even doing anything to take it back from the king of Aram.’ 4 So Ahab asked Jehoshaphat, ‘Will you go with me to fight against Ramoth Gilead?’ Jehoshaphat replied to the king of Israel, ‘Yes. I’ll go with you. My men will go with you. My horses will also go with you.’ 5 Jehoshaphat continued, ‘First ask the LORD for advice.’ 6 So the king of Israel brought about 400 prophets together. He asked them, ‘Should I go to war against Ramoth Gilead? Or should I stay here?’ ‘Go’, they answered. ‘The Lord will hand it over to you.’ 7 But Jehoshaphat asked, ‘Is there no longer a prophet of the LORD here? If there is, ask him what we should do.’ 8 The king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat. He said, ‘There is still one other man we can go to. We can ask the LORD for advice through him. But I hate him. He never prophesies anything good about me. He only prophesies bad things. His name is Micaiah. He’s the son of Imlah.’ ‘You shouldn’t say bad things about him,’ Jehoshaphat replied. 9 So the king of Israel called for one of his officials. He told him, ‘Bring Micaiah, the son of Imlah, right away.’ 10 The king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, were wearing their royal robes. They were sitting on their thrones at the threshing-floor. It was near the entrance of the gate of Samaria. All the prophets were prophesying in front of them. 11 Zedekiah was the son of Kenaanah. Zedekiah had made horns out of iron. They looked like animal horns. He announced, ‘The LORD says, “With these horns you will drive back the men of Aram until they are destroyed.” ’ 12 All the other prophets were prophesying the same thing. ‘Attack Ramoth Gilead,’ they said. ‘Win the battle over it. The LORD will hand it over to you.’ 13 A messenger went to get Micaiah. He said to him, ‘Look. The other prophets agree. All of them are saying the king will have success. So agree with them. Say the same thing they do.’ 14 But Micaiah said, ‘You can be sure that the LORD lives. And here is something you can be just as sure of. I can only tell the king what the LORD tells me to say.’ 15 When Micaiah arrived, the king spoke to him. He asked, ‘Should we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or not?’ ‘Attack’, he answered. ‘You will win. The LORD will hand Ramoth Gilead over to you.’ 16 The king said to him, ‘I’ve made you promise to tell the truth many times before. So don’t tell me anything but the truth in the name of the LORD.’ 17 Then Micaiah answered, ‘I saw all the Israelites scattered on the hills. They were like sheep that didn’t have a shepherd. The LORD said, “These people do not have a master. Let each of them go home in peace.” ’ 18 The king of Israel spoke to Jehoshaphat. He said, ‘Didn’t I tell you he never prophesies anything good about me? He only prophesies bad things.’ 19 Micaiah continued, ‘Listen to the LORD’s message. I saw the LORD sitting on his throne. All the angels of heaven were standing around him. Some were standing at his right side. The others were standing at his left side. 20 The LORD said, “Who will get Ahab to attack Ramoth Gilead? I want him to die there.” ‘One angel suggested one thing. Another suggested something else. 21 Finally, a spirit came forward and stood in front of the LORD. The spirit said, “I’ll get Ahab to do it.” 22 ‘ “How?” the LORD asked. ‘The spirit said, “I’ll go out and put lies in the mouths of all his prophets.” ‘ “You will have success in getting Ahab to attack Ramoth Gilead,” said the LORD. “Go and do it.” 23 ‘So the LORD has put lies in the mouths of all your prophets. He has said that great harm will come to you.’ 24 Then Zedekiah, the son of Kenaanah, went up and slapped Micaiah in the face. Zedekiah asked Micaiah, ‘Do you think the spirit sent by the LORD left me? Do you think that spirit went to speak to you?’ 25 Micaiah replied, ‘You will find out on the day you go to hide in an inside room to save your life.’ 26 Then the king of Israel gave an order. He said, ‘Take Micaiah away. Send him back to Amon. Amon is the ruler of the city of Samaria. And send him back to Joash. Joash is a member of the royal court. 27 Tell him, “The king says, ‘Put this fellow in prison. Don’t give him anything but bread and water until I return safely.’ ” ’ 28 Micaiah announced, ‘Do you really think you will return safely? If you do, the LORD hasn’t spoken through me.’ He continued, ‘All of you people, remember what I’ve said!’

Ahab is killed at Ramoth Gilead

29 So the king of Israel went up to Ramoth Gilead. Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, went there too. 30 The king of Israel spoke to Jehoshaphat. He said, ‘I’ll go into battle wearing different clothes. Then people won’t recognise me. But you wear your royal robes.’ So the king of Israel put on different clothes. Then he went into battle. 31 The king of Aram had given an order to his 32 chariot commanders. He had said, ‘Fight only against the king of Israel. Don’t fight against anyone else.’ 32 The chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat. They thought, ‘That has to be the king of Israel.’ So they turned to attack him. But Jehoshaphat cried out. 33 Then the commanders saw he wasn’t the king of Israel after all. So they stopped chasing him. 34 But someone shot an arrow without taking aim. The arrow hit the king of Israel between the parts of his armour. The king told his chariot driver, ‘Turn the chariot around. Get me out of this battle. I’ve been wounded.’ 35 All day long the battle continued. The king kept himself standing up by leaning against the inside of his chariot. He kept his face towards the men of Aram. The blood from his wound ran down onto the floor of the chariot. That evening he died. 36 As the sun was setting, a cry spread through the army. ‘Every man must go to his own town!’ they said. ‘Every man must go to his own land!’ 37 So the king died. He was brought to Samaria. They buried him there. 38 They washed the chariot at a pool in Samaria. It was where the prostitutes took baths. The dogs licked up Ahab’s blood. It happened exactly as the LORD had said it would. 39 The other events of Ahab’s rule are written down. Everything he did is written down. That includes the palace he built and decorated with ivory. It also includes the cities he built up and put high walls around. All these things are written in the official records of the kings of Israel. 40 Ahab joined the members of his family who had already died. Ahab’s son Ahaziah became the next king after him.

Jehoshaphat king of Judah

41 Jehoshaphat began to rule over Judah. It was in the fourth year that Ahab was king of Israel. Jehoshaphat was the son of Asa. 42 Jehoshaphat was 35 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 25 years. His mother’s name was Azubah. She was the daughter of Shilhi. 43 Jehoshaphat followed all the ways of his father Asa. He didn’t wander away from them. He did what was right in the sight of the LORD. But the high places weren’t removed. The people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense at them. 44 Jehoshaphat was also at peace with the king of Israel. 45 The other events of Jehoshaphat’s rule are written down. The brave things he did in battle and everything else he accomplished are written down. All these things are written in the official records of the kings of Judah. 46 Jehoshaphat got rid of the rest of the male prostitutes who were at the temples. They had remained in the land even after the rule of his father Asa. 47 At that time Edom didn’t have a king. An area governor was in charge. 48 Jehoshaphat built many ships that he used to carry goods to be traded. The ships were supposed to go to Ophir for gold. But they never had a chance to sail. They were wrecked at Ezion Geber. 49 At that time Ahaziah, the son of Ahab, spoke to Jehoshaphat. He said, ‘Let my men sail with yours.’ But Jehoshaphat refused. 50 Jehoshaphat joined the members of his family who had already died. He was buried in the family tomb in the city of King David. Jehoshaphat’s son Jehoram became the next king after him.

Ahaziah king of Israel

51 Ahaziah became king of Israel in Samaria. It was in the 17th year that Jehoshaphat was king of Judah. Ahaziah ruled over Israel for two years. He was the son of Ahab. 52 Ahaziah did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. He lived the way his father and mother had lived. He lived the way Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, had lived. Jeroboam had caused Israel to sin. 53 Ahaziah served and worshipped the god named Baal. He made the LORD, the God of Israel, very angry. That’s exactly what Ahaziah’s father had done.