The In-Dept Study of the Bible
Kings 22
1 They continued three years without
war between Syria and Israel.
2 In the third year, Jehoshaphat the king
of Judah came down to the king of Israel.
3 The king of Israel said to his servants,
“You know that Ramoth Gilead is ours, and
we do nothing, and don’t take it out of the
hand of the king of Syria?”
4 He said to Jehoshaphat, “Will you go
with me to battle to Ramoth Gilead?”
Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “I
am as you are, my people as your people,
my horses as your horses.”
5 Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel,
“Please inquire first for Yahweh’s word.”
6 Then the king of Israel gathered the
prophets together, about four hundred
men, and said to them, “Should I go against
Ramoth Gilead to battle, or should I refrain?”
They said, “Go up; for the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king.”
7 But Jehoshaphat said, “Isn’t there here
a prophet of Yahweh, that we may inquire
of him?”
8 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat,
“There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of Yahweh, Micaiah the son ofImlah;
but I hate him, for he does not prophesy
good concerning me, but evil.”
Jehoshaphat said, “Don’t let the king say
so.”
9 Then the king of Israel called an officer,
and said, “Quickly get Micaiah the son of
Imlah.”
10 Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah were sitting
each on his throne, arrayed in their robes, in an open place at the entrance of the
gate of Samaria; and all the prophets were
prophesying before them.
11 Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made
himself horns of iron, and said, “Yahweh
says, ‘With these you will push the Syrians,
until they are consumed.’ ”
12 All the prophets prophesied so, saying,
“Go up to Ramoth Gilead and prosper; for
Yahweh will deliver it into the hand of the
king.”
13 The messenger who went to call Micaiah spoke to him, saying, “See now, the
prophets declare good to the king with one
mouth. Please let your word be like the
word of one of them, and speak good.”
14 Micaiah said, “As Yahweh lives, what
Yahweh says to me, that I will speak.”
15 When he had come to the king, the
king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go
to Ramoth Gilead to battle, or shall we
forbear?” He answered him, “Go up and prosper;
and Yahweh will deliver it into the hand of
the king.”
16 The king saidtohim, “Howmany times
do I have to adjure you that you speak
to me nothing but the truth in Yahweh’s
name?”
17 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.’ ”
18 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat,
“Didn’t I tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?”
19 Micaiah said, “Therefore hear Yahweh’s word. I saw Yahweh sitting on his
throne, and all the army of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left.
20 Yahweh said, ‘Who will entice Ahab,
that he may go up and fall at Ramoth
Gilead?’ One said one thing, and another
said another.
21 A spirit came out and stood before
Yahweh, and said, ‘I will entice him.’
22 Yahweh said to him, ‘How?’
He said, ‘I will go out and will be a lying
spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’
He said, ‘You will entice him, and will
also prevail. Go out and do so.’
23 Now therefore, behold, Yahweh has
put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these
your prophets; and Yahweh has spoken
evil concerning you.”
24 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?”
25 Micaiah said, “Behold, you will see on
that day when you go into an inner room
to hide yourself.”
26 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.
27 Say, ‘The king says, “Put this fellow
in the prison, and feed him with bread of
affliction and with water of affliction, until
I come in peace.” ’ ”
28 Micaiah said, “If you return at all in
peace, Yahweh has not spoken by me.” He
said, “Listen, all you people!”
29 So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat
the king of Judah went up to Ramoth
Gilead.
30 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat,
“I will disguise myself and go into the battle, but you put on your robes.” The king of
Israel disguised himself and went into the
battle.
31 Now the king of Syria had commanded
the thirty-two captains of his chariots, saying, “Don’t fight with small nor great, except only with the king of Israel.”
32 When the captains of the chariots saw
Jehoshaphat, they said, “Surely that is the
king of Israel!” and they came over to fight
against him. Jehoshaphat cried out.
33 When the captains of the chariots saw
that it was not the king of Israel, they
turned back from pursuing him.
34 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 his chariot, “Turn around,
and carry me out of the battle, for I am
severely wounded.”
35 The battle increased that day. The king
was propped up in his chariot facing the
Syrians, and died at evening. The blood
ran out ofthe wound into the bottom ofthe
chariot. 36A cry went throughout the army about
the going down of the sun, saying, “Every
man to his city, and every man to his country!”
37 So the king died, and was brought
to Samaria; and they buried the king in
Samaria.
38 They washed the chariot by the pool
of Samaria; and the dogs licked up his
blood where the prostitutes washed themselves, according to Yahweh’s word which
he spoke.
39 Now the rest ofthe acts of Ahab, andall
that he did, and the ivory house which he
built, and all the cities that he built, aren’t
they 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 place.
41 Jehoshaphat the son of Asa began to
reignover Judahinthe fourthyear of Ahab
king of Israel.
42 Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old
when he began to reign; and he reigned
twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His
mother’s name was Azubah the daughter
of Shilhi.
43 He walked in all the way of Asa his
father. He didn’t turn away from it, doing
that which was right in Yahweh’s eyes.
However, the high places were not taken
away. The people still sacrificed and
burned incense on the high places.
44 Jehoshaphat made peace with the king
of Israel.
45 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, and his might that he showed,
and how he fought, aren’t they written in
the book of the chronicles of the kings of
Judah?
46 The remnant of the sodomites, that
remained in the days of his father Asa, he
put away out of the land.
47 There was no king in Edom. A deputy
ruled.
48 Jehoshaphat made ships of Tarshish to
go to Ophir for gold, but they didn’t go, for
the ships wrecked at Ezion Geber.
49 Then Ahaziah the son of Ahab said
to Jehoshaphat, “Let my servants go with
your servants in the ships.” But Jehoshaphat would not.
50 Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers,
and was buried with his fathers in his father David’s city. Jehoram his son reigned
in his place.
51 Ahaziah the son of Ahab began to
reign over Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah,
and he reigned two years over Israel.
52 He did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, 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,
in which he made Israel to sin.
53 He served Baal and worshiped him,
and provoked Yahweh, the God of Israel,
to anger in all the ways that his father had
done so.