2 Chronicles 18

1Now Jehoshaphat had riches and honour in abundance, and joined affinity with Ahab.

2And after certain years he went down to Ahab to Samaria. And Ahab killed sheep and oxen for him in abundance, and for the people that he had with him, and persuaded him to go up with him to Ramoth-gilead.footnote a

3And Ahab king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat king of Judah, Wilt thou go with me to Ramoth-gilead? And he answered him, I am as thou art, and my people as thy people; and we will be with thee in the war.

4And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel, Enquire, I pray thee, at the word of the LORD to day.

5Therefore the king of Israel gathered together of prophets four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for God will deliver it into the king’s hand.

6But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD besides, that we might enquire of him?footnote b

7And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, by whom we may enquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he never prophesied good unto me, but always evil: the same is Micaiah the son of Imla. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.

8And the king of Israel called for one of his officers, and said, Fetch quickly Micaiah the son of Imla.footnote cfootnote d

9And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah sat either of them on his throne, clothed in their robes, and they sat in a void place at the entering in of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them.footnote e

10And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah had made him horns of iron, and said, Thus saith the LORD, With these thou shalt push Syria until they be consumed.footnote f

11And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramoth-gilead, and prosper: for the LORD shall deliver it into the hand of the king.

12And the messenger that went to call Micaiah spake to him, saying, Behold, the words of the prophets declare good to the king with one assent; let thy word therefore, I pray thee, be like one of theirs, and speak thou good.footnote g

13And Micaiah said, As the LORD liveth, even what my God saith, that will I speak.

14And when he was come to the king, the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And he said, Go ye up, and prosper, and they shall be delivered into your hand.

15And the king said to him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou say nothing but the truth to me in the name of the LORD?

16Then he said, I did see all Israel scattered upon the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd: and the LORD said, These have no master; let them return therefore every man to his house in peace.

17And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would not prophesy good unto me, but evil?footnote h

18Again he said, Therefore hear the word of the LORD; I saw the LORD sitting upon his throne, and all the host of heaven standing on his right hand and on his left.

19And the LORD said, Who shall entice Ahab king of Israel, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead? And one spake saying after this manner, and another saying after that manner.

20Then there came out a spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said, I will entice him. And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith?

21And he said, I will go out, and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And the Lord said, Thou shalt entice him, and thou shalt also prevail: go out, and do even so.

22Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil against thee.

23Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near, and smote Micaiah upon the cheek, and said, Which way went the Spirit of the LORD from me to speak unto thee?

24And Micaiah said, Behold, thou shalt see on that day when thou shalt go into an inner chamber to hide thyself.footnote i

25Then the king of Israel said, Take ye Micaiah, and carry him back to Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king’s son;

26And 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 return in peace.

27And Micaiah said, If thou certainly return in peace, then hath not the LORD spoken by me. And he said, Hearken, all ye people.

28So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead.

29And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself, and will go to the battle; but put thou on thy robes. So the king of Israel disguised himself; and they went to the battle.

30Now the king of Syria had commanded the captains of the chariots that were with him, saying, Fight ye not with small or great, save only with the king of Israel.

31And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, It is the king of Israel. Therefore they compassed about him to fight: but Jehoshaphat cried out, and the LORD helped him; and God moved them to depart from him.

32For it came to pass, that, when the captains of the chariots perceived that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back again from pursuing him.footnote j

33And a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness: therefore he said to his chariot man, Turn thine hand, that thou mayest carry me out of the host; for I am wounded.footnote kfootnote lfootnote m

34And the battle increased that day: howbeit the king of Israel stayed himself up in his chariot against the Syrians until the even: and about the time of the sun going down he died.

Jehoshaphat Allies with Ahab

1Now Jehoshaphat had an abundance of riches and honor, and he allied himself with Ahab by marriage. 2And some years later he went down to visit Ahab in Samaria, where Ahab sacrificed many sheep and cattle for him and the people with him and urged him to march up to Ramoth-gilead.

3Ahab king of Israel asked Jehoshaphat king of Judah, “Will you go with me against Ramoth-gilead?”
And Jehoshaphat replied, “I am as you are, and my people are your people; we will join you in the war.”

4But Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, “Please inquire first for the word of the LORD.”

5So the king of Israel assembled the prophets, four hundred men, and asked them, “Should we go to war against Ramoth-gilead, or should we refrain?”
“Go up,” they replied, “and God will deliver it into the hand of the king.”

6But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there not still a prophet of the LORD here of whom we can inquire?”

7The king of Israel answered, “There is still one man through whom we can inquire of the LORD, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good for me, but only bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.”
“The king should not say that!” Jehoshaphat replied.

8So the king of Israel called one of his officials and said, “Bring Micaiah son of Imlah at once.”

9Dressed in royal attire, the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah were sitting on their thrones at the threshing floor by the entrance of the gate of Samaria, with all the prophets prophesying before them.

10Now Zedekiah son of Chenaanah had made for himself iron horns and declared, “This is what the LORD says: ‘With these you shall gore the Arameans until they are finished off.’”

11And all the prophets were prophesying the same, saying, “Go up to Ramoth-gilead and triumph, for the LORD will deliver it into the hand of the king.”

Micaiah Prophesies against Ahab

12Then the messenger who had gone to call Micaiah instructed him, “Behold, with one accord the words of the prophets are favorable to the king. So please let your words be like theirs, and speak favorably.”

13But Micaiah said, “As surely as the LORD lives, I will speak whatever my God tells me.”

14When Micaiah arrived, the king asked him, “Micaiah, should we go to war against Ramoth-gilead, or should we refrain?”
“Go up and triumph,” Micaiah replied, “for they will be delivered into your hand.”

15But 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 the LORD?”

16So Micaiah declared:“I saw all Israel scattered on the hillslike sheep without a shepherd.And the LORD said, ‘These people have no master;let each one return home in peace.’”

17Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you that he never prophesies good for me, but only bad?”

18Micaiah continued, “Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing on His right and on His left.

19And the LORD said, ‘Who will entice Ahab king of Israel to march up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’
And one suggested this, and another that.

20Then a spirit came forward, stood before the LORD, and said, ‘I will entice him.’
‘By what means?’ asked the LORD.

21And he replied, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets.’
‘You will surely entice him and prevail,’ said the LORD. ‘Go and do it.’

22So you see, the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouths of these prophets of yours, and the LORD has pronounced disaster against you.”

23Then Zedekiah son of Chenaanah went up, struck Micaiah in the face, and demanded, “Which way did the Spirit of the LORD go when He departed from me to speak with you?”

24Micaiah replied, “You will soon see, on that day when you go and hide in an inner room.”

25And the king of Israel declared, “Take Micaiah and return him to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king’s son, 26and tell them that this is what the king says: ‘Put this man in prison and feed him only bread and water until I return safely.’”

27But Micaiah replied, “If you ever return safely, the LORD has not spoken through me.” Then he added, “Take heed, all you people!”

Ahab’s Defeat and Death

28So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead. 29And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you wear your royal robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle.

30Now the king of Aram had ordered his chariot commanders, “Do not fight with anyone, small or great, except the king of Israel.”

31When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they said, “This is the king of Israel!” So they turned to fight against him, but Jehoshaphat cried out, and the LORD helped him. God drew them away from him. 32And when the chariot commanders saw that he was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him.

33However, a certain man drew his bow without taking special aim, and he struck the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. So the king said to his charioteer, “Turn aroundfootnote a and take me out of the battle, for I am badly wounded!”

34The battle raged throughout that day, and the king of Israel propped himself up in his chariot facing the Arameans until evening. And at sunset he died.