Jehoshaphat Joins Ahab
1Jehoshaphat had riches and honour in great measure, and he tied himself to Ahab by marriage. 2Some years later he went down to Ahab in Samaria, and Ahab slaughtered sheep and cattle in quantity for him and for the people with him, and talked him into marching against Ramoth-gilead. 3Ahab king of Israel put it to Jehoshaphat king of Judah: “Will you go with me to Ramoth-gilead?” He answered him, “I am as you are, my people as your people; we are with you in the war.” 4But Jehoshaphat added to the king of Israel, “First, please, seek out the word of Yahweh.” 5So the king of Israel assembled the prophets, four hundred men, and asked them, “Shall we march on Ramoth-gilead for battle, or shall I hold back?” “March,” they said, “and God will hand it over to the king.” 6Jehoshaphat said, “Is there no other prophet of Yahweh here, that we might inquire through him?” 7The king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man through whom we could inquire of Yahweh — but I hate him, because he never prophesies good about me, only evil, all his days. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.” Jehoshaphat said, “The king should not talk like that.” 8So the king of Israel called one of his court officers and said, “Fetch Micaiah son of Imlah, and be quick.” 9Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah were seated, each on his throne, dressed in their robes; they were sitting on a threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria, with all the prophets prophesying in front of them. 10Zedekiah son of Chenaanah had made himself horns of iron, and he announced, “This is what Yahweh says: With these you will gore Aram until you finish them.” 11All the prophets were prophesying the same thing: “March on Ramoth-gilead and win. Yahweh will hand it over to the king.”
Micaiah Son of Imlah
12The messenger who had gone to summon Micaiah said to him, “Listen, with one mouth the prophets are promising the king success. Let your word be like theirs, please; speak well of it.” 13But Micaiah said, “As Yahweh lives, whatever my God tells me, that is what I will say.” 14When he reached the king, the king asked him, “Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead for battle, or shall I hold back?” He answered, “March and win. They will be handed over to you.” 15The king said to him, “How many times must I put you under oath to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of Yahweh?” 16Then he said, “I saw all Israel scattered over the hills like sheep with no shepherd, and Yahweh said, ‘These have no master. Let each of them go home in peace.’” 17The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you? He never prophesies good about me, only harm.” 18Micaiah went on: “Then hear the word of Yahweh. I saw Yahweh seated on his throne, and the whole army of heaven standing at his right hand and at his left. 19And Yahweh said, ‘Who will lure Ahab king of Israel into marching up and falling at Ramoth-gilead?’ One said this and another said that, 20until a spirit came forward, stood before Yahweh and said, ‘I will lure him.’ Yahweh asked him, ‘How?’ 21He answered, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ Yahweh said, ‘You will lure him, and you will succeed. Go out and do it.’ 22So here it is: Yahweh has put a lying spirit in the mouths of these prophets of yours, and Yahweh has pronounced disaster over you.” 23At that Zedekiah son of Chenaanah stepped up and struck Micaiah across the face. “Which way,” he said, “did the spirit of Yahweh cross over from me to speak with you?” 24Micaiah replied, “You will see it for yourself on the day you slip from room to room to hide.” 25The king of Israel ordered, “Take Micaiah and hand him back to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king’s son, 26and say: This is the king’s command — put this man in the prison house and feed him a prisoner’s bread and a prisoner’s water until I come back safe.” 27Micaiah said, “If you ever come back safe, Yahweh has not spoken through me.” And he added, “Hear it, all you peoples!”
The Arrow at Ramoth-gilead
28So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah marched up to Ramoth-gilead. 29The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will go into the battle in disguise, but you wear your own robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself, and they went into the battle. 30Now the king of Aram had given his chariot commanders this order: “Engage no one, small or great, except the king of Israel alone.” 31When the chariot commanders caught sight of Jehoshaphat, they said, “That is the king of Israel,” and they wheeled around to fight him. But Jehoshaphat cried out, and Yahweh helped him; God drew them away from him. 32As soon as the chariot commanders saw that he was not the king of Israel, they broke off the pursuit. 33Then a man drew his bow without aiming and hit the king of Israel between the fastenings and the body armour. The king told his driver, “Turn your hand and get me out of the camp; I am wounded.” 34The fighting grew fiercer all that day, and the king of Israel had himself propped upright in his chariot facing Aram until evening. At sunset he died.
