CHAPTER 18

¹And Jehoshaphat had wealth and honor in abundance, and he married into the family of Ahab. ²And he went down at the end of some years to Ahab in Samaria, and Ahab slaughtered sheep and cattle in abundance for him and for the people with him, and he enticed him to go up to Ramoth-Gilead. ³And Ahab king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, “Will you go with me to Ramoth-Gilead?” And he said to him, “I am like you, my people like your people in battle.” ⁴And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Inquire, pray, this day, the word of the LORD.” ⁵And the king of Israel gathered the prophets, four hundred men, and he said to them, “Shall we go against Ramoth-Gilead for battle, or shall I desist?” And they said, “Go up, that God may give it into the king’s hand.” ⁶And Jehoshaphat said, “Is there still here any prophet of the LORD, that we might inquire of him?” ⁷And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man through whom to inquire of the LORD, but I hate him, for he does not prophesy good about me but all his days, evil. He is Michaiah son of Imla.” And Jehoshaphat said, “Let not the king say thus.” ⁸And the king of Israel called to a certain eunuch and said, “Hurry here Micaiah son of Imla.” ⁹And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah were each sitting on his throne dressed in royal garb, sitting on the threshing floor at the entrance gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying before them. ¹⁰And Zedekiah son of Chenaanah made himself iron horns and said, “Thus says the LORD: ‘With these you shall gore the Arameans until you destroy them.’” ¹¹And all the prophets were prophesying thus, saying, “Go up to Ramoth-Gilead and prosper, and the LORD shall give it into the hand of the king.” ¹²And the messenger who had gone to call Michaiah spoke to him, saying, “Look, the words of the prophets with one mouth are good for the king. Let your word, pray, be like one of them, and you should speak good things.” ¹³And Michaiah said, “As the LORD lives, that which my God says will I speak.” ¹⁴And he came to the king, and the king said to him, “Michaiah, shall we go up to Ramoth-Gilead to battle, or shall I refrain?” and he said to him, “Go up and prosper, and they shall be given into your hand.” ¹⁵And the king said to him, “How many times must I make you swear that you shall speak to me only truth in the name of the LORD?” ¹⁶And he said, “I saw all Israel scattered over the mountains like sheep that have no shepherd. And the LORD said, ‘These have no master. Let each go back home in peace.’” ¹⁷And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not say to you that he will not prophesy good about me but evil?” ¹⁸And he said, “Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on His throne with all the army of the heavens standing in attendance at His right hand and His left. ¹⁹And the LORD said, ‘Who will entice Ahab king of Israel, that he go up and fall at Ramoth-Gilead?’ And one said this way and one said another way. ²⁰And a spirit came out and stood before the LORD and said, ‘I will entice him.’ And the LORD said to him, ‘How?’ ²¹And it said, ‘I will go out and become a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And he said, ‘You shall entice and you shall also prevail. Go forth and thus do.’ ²²And now, look, the LORD has placed a lying spirit in the mouth of these prophets, but the LORD has spoken evil against you.” ²³And Zedekiah son of Chenaanah approached and struck Michaiah on the cheek and said, “In what way has the spirit of the LORD passed from me to speak to you?” ²⁴And Michaiah said, “You are about to see on that day when you will enter the innermost chamber to hide.” ²⁵And the king of Israel said, “Take Michaiah and bring him back to Amon the commander of the town and to Joash the king’s son. ²⁶And say, ‘Thus said the king: Put this fellow in the prison-house and feed him meager bread and meager water until I return safe and sound.” ²⁷And Michaiah said, “If you really return safe and sound, the LORD has not spoken through me.” ²⁸And the king of Israel went up, and Jehoshaphat king of Judah with him, to Ramoth-Gilead. ²⁹And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you, don your royal garb.” ³⁰And the king of Aram had charged his chariot commanders, saying, “You shall battle against neither small nor great but against the king of Israel alone.” ³¹And it happened, when the commanders of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, “He must be the king of Israel,” and they swerved against him to do battle. And Jehoshaphat cried out, and the LORD aided him, and God drew them away from him. ³²And it happened, when the commanders of the chariots saw that he was not the king of Israel, they turned back from him. ³³And a man drew the bow unwitting and struck the king of Israel between the joints of the armor. And he said to the charioteer, “Turn back your hand and take me out of the fray, for I am wounded.” ³⁴And the battle surged on that day, and the king of Israel was propped up in the chariot facing Aram till evening, and he died as the sun went down.