2 Chronicles 18

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BBE WEB

Jehoshaphat's alliance with Ahab

Now Jehoshaphat had great wealth and honour, and his son was married to Ahab's daughter. Now Jehoshaphat had riches and honor in abundance; and he joined affinity with Ahab.
And after some years he went down to Samaria to see Ahab. And Ahab made a feast for him and the people who were with him, putting to death great numbers of sheep and oxen; and he got Jehoshaphat to go with him to Ramoth-gilead. After certain years he went down to Ahab to Samaria. Ahab killed sheep and cattle for him in abundance, and for the people who were with him, and moved him to go up with him to Ramoth Gilead.
For Ahab, king of Israel, said to Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, Will you go with me to Ramoth-gilead? And he said, I am as you are, and my people as your people; we will be with you in the war. Ahab king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, “Will you go with me to Ramoth Gilead?” He answered him, “I am as you are, and my people as your people. We will be with you in the war.”
Then Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, Let us now get directions from the Lord. Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Please inquire first for the word of Yahweh.”
So the king of Israel got together all the prophets, four hundred men, and said to them, Am I to go to Ramoth-gilead to make war or not? And they said, Go up: for God will give it into the hands of the king. Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall we go to Ramoth Gilead to battle, or shall I forbear?” They said, “Go up; for God will deliver it into the hand of the king.”
But Jehoshaphat said, Is there no other prophet of the Lord here from whom we may get directions? But Jehoshaphat said, “Isn’t there here a prophet of Yahweh besides, that we may inquire of him?”
And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, There is still one man by whom we may get directions from the Lord, but I have no love for him, because he has never been a prophet of good to me, but only of evil: he is Micaiah, the son of Imla. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so. The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of Yahweh; but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me, but always evil. He is Micaiah the son of Imla.” Jehoshaphat said, “Don’t let the king say so.”
Then the king of Israel sent for one of his unsexed servants and said, Go quickly and come back with Micaiah, the son of Imla. Then the king of Israel called an officer, and said, “Get Micaiah the son of Imla quickly.”
Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, were seated on their seats of authority, dressed in their robes, by the doorway into Samaria; and all the prophets were acting as prophets before them. Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah sat each on his throne, arrayed in their robes, and they were sitting in an open place at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets were prophesying before them.
And Zedekiah, the son of Chenaanah, made himself iron horns and said, The Lord says, Pushing back the Aramaeans with these, you will put an end to them completely. Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made him horns of iron, and said, “Thus says Yahweh, ‘With these you shall push the Syrians, until they are consumed.’”
And all the prophets said the same thing, saying, Go up to Ramoth-gilead, and it will go well for you, for the Lord will give it into the hands of the king. All the prophets prophesied so, saying, “Go up to Ramoth Gilead, and prosper; for Yahweh will deliver it into the hand of the king.”
Now the servant who had gone to get Micaiah said to him, See now, all the prophets with one voice are saying good things to the king; so let your words be like theirs, and say good things. The messenger who went to call Micaiah spoke to him, saying, “Behold, the words of the prophets declare good to the king with one mouth. Let your word therefore, please be like one of theirs, and speak good.”
And Micaiah said, By the living Lord, whatever the Lord says to me I will say. Micaiah said, “As Yahweh lives, what my God says, that will I speak.”
When he came to the king, the king said to him, Micaiah, are we to go to Ramoth-gilead to make war or not? And he said, Go up, and it will go well for you; and they will be given up into your hands. When he had come to the king, the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth Gilead to battle, or shall I forbear?” He said, “Go up, and prosper. They shall be delivered into your hand.”
And the king said to him, Have I not, again and again, put you on your oath to say nothing to me but what is true in the name of the Lord? The king said to him, “How many times shall I adjure you that you speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of Yahweh?”
Then he said, I saw all Israel wandering on the mountains like sheep without a keeper; and the Lord said, These have no master: let them go back, every man to his house in peace. He said, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd. Yahweh said, ‘These have no master. Let them return every man to his house in peace.’”
And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, Did I not say that he would not be a prophet of good to me, but of evil? The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Didn’t I tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?”
Then he said, Give ear now to the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord seated on his seat of power, and all the army of heaven in their places, at his right hand and at his left. Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of Yahweh: I saw Yahweh sitting on his throne, and all the army of heaven standing on his right hand and on his left.
And the Lord said, How may Ahab, king of Israel, be tricked into going up to Ramoth-gilead to his death? And one said one thing and one another. Yahweh said, ‘Who shall entice Ahab king of Israel, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth Gilead?’ One spoke saying in this way, and another saying in that way.
Then a spirit came forward and took his place before the Lord and said, I will get him to do it by a trick. And the Lord said to him, How? A spirit came out, stood before Yahweh, and said, ‘I will entice him.’ “Yahweh said to him, ‘How?’
And he said, I will go out and be a spirit of deceit in the mouth of all his prophets. And the Lord said, Your trick will have its effect on him: go out and do so. “He said, ‘I will go forth, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ “He said, ‘You will entice him, and will prevail also. Go forth, and do so.’
And now, see, the Lord has put a spirit of deceit in the mouth of these prophets of yours; and the Lord has said evil against you. “Now therefore, behold, Yahweh has put a lying spirit in the mouth of these your prophets; and Yahweh has spoken evil concerning you.”
Then Zedekiah, the son of Chenaanah, came near and gave Micaiah a blow on the side of his face, saying, Where is the spirit of the Lord whose word is in you? Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near, and struck Micaiah on the cheek, and said, “Which way did the Spirit of Yahweh go from me to speak to you?”
And Micaiah said, Truly, you will see on that day when you go into an inner room to keep yourself safe. Micaiah said, “Behold, you shall see on that day, when you shall go into an inner room to hide yourself.”
And the king of Israel said, Take Micaiah and send him back to Amon, the ruler of the town, and to Joash, the king's son; 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;
And say, By the king's order this man is to be put in prison, and given prison food till I come back in peace. and say, ‘Thus says 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.”’”
And Micaiah said, If you come back at all in peace, the Lord has not sent his word by me. Micaiah said, “If you return at all in peace, Yahweh has not spoken by me.” He said, “Listen, you peoples, all of you!”
So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, went up to Ramoth-gilead. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth Gilead.
And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, I will make a change in my clothing, so that I do not seem to be the king, and will go into the fight; but do you put on your robes. So the king of Israel made a change in his dress, and they went to the fight. The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself, and go into the battle; but you put on your robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself; and they went into the battle.
Now the king of Aram had given orders to the captains of his war-carriages, saying, Make no attack on small or great, but only on the king of Israel. Now the king of Syria had commanded the captains of his chariots, saying, “Fight neither with small nor great, except only with the king of Israel.”
So when the captains of the war-carriages saw Jehoshaphat, they said, It is the king of Israel. And turning about, they came round him, but Jehoshaphat gave a cry, and the Lord came to his help, and God sent them away from him. It happened, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, “It is the king of Israel!” Therefore they turned around to fight against him. But Jehoshaphat cried out, and Yahweh helped him; and God moved them to depart from him.
Now when the captains of the war-carriages saw that he was not the king of Israel, they went back from going after him. It happened, when the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, that they turned back from pursuing him.
And a certain man sent an arrow from his bow without thought of its direction, and gave the king of Israel a wound where his breastplate was joined to his clothing; so he said to the driver of his war-carriage, Go to one side and take me away out of the army, for I am badly wounded. 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 the chariot, “Turn your hand, and carry me out of the army; for I am severely wounded.”
But the fight became more violent while the day went on; and the king of Israel was supported in his war-carriage facing the Aramaeans till the evening; and by sundown he was dead. The battle increased that day. However the king of Israel propped himself up in his chariot against the Syrians until the evening; and about the time of the going down of the sun, he died.
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