2 Chronicles 18:1-34
18 And Jehoshaphat had wealth and grandeur in great measure; and he connected himself by marriage with Ahab.
2 And he went down to Ahab to Samaria at the end of some years; and Ahab killed sheep and goats and cattle in great numbers for him and for the people he had with him; and he suggested to him that they go up to Ramoth-Gilead.
3 * And King Ahab of Israel said to King Jehoshaphat of Judah “Will you go up to Ramoth-Gilead with me?” and he told him “I am the same as you are, and my people the same as your people; and we are with you for the war.”
4 But Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel “First inquire of Jehovah’s word”;
5 and the king of Israel gathered the prophets, four hundred of them, and said to them “Shall we go against Ramoth-Gilead to war or shall I let it be?” and they said “Go up, and God will give it into your majesty’s hands.”
6 And Jehoshaphat said “Is there not any other prophet of Jehovah here for us to inquire from?”
7 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat “There is one other man to inquire of Jehovah from, but I hate him because he does not prophesy good luck for me but all the time bad; that is Micajah the son of Imla.” And Jehoshaphat said “Do not say such things, your majesty.”
8 And the king of Israel called to a eunuch and said “Hurry up with Micajah the son of Imla.”
9 And the king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah were sitting each on his throne, robed and enthroned on a threshing-floor at the gate of Samaria, with all the prophets under the power before them.
10 And Sidkijah the son of Kenaʽanah made himself iron horns, and said “Says Jehovah, With these you shall gore the Syrians till you have finished them”;
11 and all the prophets prophesied so, “Go up to Ramoth-Gilead and be successful, Jehovah will give it into your majesty’s hands.”
12 And the messenger who went to summon Micajah told him “Here the prophets’ words are unanimously good luck for the king; let your word be like the word of one of them, speak good luck”;
13 but Micajah said “By Jehovah, what Jehovah tells me, that I will speak.”
14 And he came to the king, and the king said to him “Micajah, shall we go to Ramoth-Gilead to war or shall we let it be?” and he said to him “Go up and be successful, they will be given into your hands.”
15 And the king said to him “How many times shall I adjure you not to speak anything at all but truth to me in Jehovah’s name?”
16 And he said “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains like sheep without a shepherd, and Jehovah said ‘These have no sovereign; let them go home in peace.’”
17 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat “Did I not tell you he would not prophesy good luck for me but bad?”
18 And he said “Hear Jehovah’s word, then! I saw Jehovah sitting on his throne, and all the legions of heaven stood by at his right and left,
19 and Jehovah said ‘Who will inveigle Ahab into going up and falling at Ramoth-Gilead?’ And one said this way and another that way;
20 * but the Spirit stood out before Jehovah and said ‘I will inveigle him,’ and Jehovah said ‘In what way?’
21 and it said ‘I will go out and be a spirit of falsehood in the mouths of all his prophets.’ And he said ‘You shall inveigle him and be successful in it; go out and do so.’
22 Now here has Jehovah put a spirit of falsehood in the mouths of these prophets of yours, but Jehovah proposes bad luck for you.”
23 And Sidkijah the son of Kenaʽanah came up and struck Micajah on the cheek and said “Which way did Jehovah’s spirit pass from me to speak with you?”
24 and Micajah said “You are going to see on that day, you will be getting into a closet to hide.”
25 And the king of Israel said “Take Micajah and take him back to City Captain Amon and Prince Joash
26 and say ‘By order of the king, put this fellow in jail and feed him half rations of bread and water till I come safe back.’”
27 And Micajah said “If you do come back safe, Jehovah did not speak in me.” And he said “Listen, all peoples.”
28 And the king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah went up to Ramoth-Gilead;
29 and the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat “I disguise myself and go into the fighting; but do you wear your robes”; and the king of Israel disguised himself and went into the fighting.
30 And the king of Syria had given his chariot-captains the order “Do not attack small or great but only the king of Israel”;
31 ** and when the chariot-captains saw Jehoshaphat, thinking it was the king of Israel, they surrounded him to attack him; but Jehoshaphat cried out, and Jehovah helped him, and God impelled them away from him,
32 and when the chariot-captains saw that it was not the king of Israel they turned back and left off following him.
33 ** And a man drew his bow at haphazard and hit the king of Israel between the tassets and the hauberk; and he said to the charioteer “Turn your ponies and take me out of the army, for I am hard hit”;
34 but the fight ran high that day, and the king of Israel was keeping on his feet in the chariot facing the Syrians till evening; and he died at the moment of sunset.
Footnotes
^ 18:3 Lit. and with you for
^ 18:20 Lit. came out and stood
^ 18:31 Or came round against him
^ 18:31 Var. God turned them away
^ 18:33 (at haphazard, lit. in ignorance) Unc.
^ 18:33 Lit. Turn your hand
