1 Reis 22

¹ And they continuedBen-hadad the king of Syria, and Ahab made a peace which endured three years.three years without war between Syria and Israel.

² And it came to pass in the third year, that Jehoshaphat the king of JudahTo see and visit him.came down to the king of Israel.

³ And the king of Israel said unto his servants, Know ye thatThe kings of Syria kept Ramoth before this league was made by Benhadad: therefore he did not think he was bound by it to restore it.Ramoth in Gilead [is] ours, and we [be] still, [and] take it not out of the hand of the king of Syria?

⁴ And he said unto Jehoshaphat, Wilt thou go with me to battle to Ramothgilead? And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel,I am ready to join and go with you, and all of mine is at your command.I [am] as thou [art], my people as thy people, my horses as thy horses.

⁵ And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel,He seemed that he would not go to war unless God approved it, yet when Michaiah advised the opposite he would not obey.Enquire, I pray thee, at the word of the LORD to day.

⁶ Then the king of Israel gathered theMeaning the false prophets, who were liars and served for money whom Jezebel had assembled and kept after the death of those whom Elijah slew.prophets together, about four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall I go against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for the Lord shall deliver [it] into the hand of the king.

⁷ And Jehoshaphat said, [Is there] not here a prophet of theJehoshaphat did not acknowledge the false prophets to be God's ministers, but contemned them.LORD besides, that we might enquire of him?

⁸ And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, [There is] yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may enquire of the LORD: butBy which we see that the wicked cannot abide to hear the truth, but hate the prophets of God and molest them.I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.

⁹ Then the king of Israel called anRead (Gen_37:36).officer, and said, Hasten [hither] Micaiah the son of Imlah.

¹⁰ And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah sat each on his throne, having put on theirIn their kingly apparel.robes, in a void place in the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them.

¹¹ And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made himThe true prophets of God were accustomed to use signs for the confirmation of their doctrine, (Isa_20:2; Jer_7:2) in which the false prophets imitated them, thinking by it to make their doctrine more believable.horns of iron: and he said, Thus saith the LORD, With these shalt thou push the Syrians, until thou have consumed them.

¹² And all the prophets prophecied so, saying, Goe vp to Ramoth Gilead, and prosper: for the Lord shall deliuer it into the Kings hand.

¹³ And the messenger that was gone to call Micaiah spake unto him, saying, Behold now, the words of the prophets [declare] good unto the king withThis is the common argument of the wicked, who think that no one should speak against anything if the majority approves of it, be they ever so ungodly.one mouth: let thy word, I pray thee, be like the word of one of them, and speak [that which is] good.

¹⁴ And Michaiah saide, As the Lord liueth, whatsoeuer the Lord sayth vnto me, that will I speake.

¹⁵ So he came to the king. And the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall we forbear? And he answered him,He speaks this in derision, because the king attributed so much to the false prophets, meaning that by experience he should discern that they were liars.Go, and prosper: for the LORD shall deliver [it] into the hand of the king.

¹⁶ And the King said vnto him, How oft shall I charge thee, that thou tell me nothing but that which is true in the Name of the Lord?

¹⁷ And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd: and the LORD said,It is better for them to return home than to be punished and scattered because they go to war without God's counsel and approval.These have no master: let them return every man to his house in peace.

¹⁸ (And the King of Israel saide vnto Iehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee, that he would prophecie no good vnto me, but euill?)

¹⁹ And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all theMeaning, his angels.host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left.

²⁰ And the Lord sayd, Who shall entise Ahab that he may go and fall at Ramoth Gilead? And one said on this maner, and another sayd on that maner.

²¹ And there came forth a spirit, andHere we see that though the devil is always ready to bring us to destruction, yet he has no more power than God gives him.stood before the LORD, and said, I will persuade him.

²² And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be aI will cause all his prophets to tell lies.lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade [him], and prevail also: go forth, and do so.

²³ Now therefore behold, the Lord hath put a lying spirite in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the Lord hath appoynted euill against thee.

²⁴ But Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near, and smote Micaiah on the cheek, and said,Thus the wicked would that none were in the favour of God but they, and that God has given his graces to none so much as to them.Which way went the Spirit of the LORD from me to speak unto thee?

²⁵ And Michaiah saide, Behold, thou shalt see in that day, when thou shalt goe from chamber to chamber to hide thee.

²⁶ And the King of Israel sayd, Take Michaiah, and cary him vnto Amon the gouernour of the citie, and vnto Ioash the Kings sonne,

²⁷ And say, Thus saith the king, Put this [fellow] in the prison, and feed him withLet him waste away with hunger and be fed with a small portion of bread and water.bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I come in peace.

²⁸ And Micaiah said, If thou return at all in peace, the LORD hath not spoken by me. And he said,That when you see these things come to pass you may give God the glory, and know that I am his true prophet.Hearken, O people, every one of you.

²⁹ So the King of Israel and Iehoshaphat the King of Iudah went vp to Ramoth Gilead.

³⁰ And the King of Israel sayde to Iehoshaphat, I will change mine apparell, and will enter into the battell, but put thou on thine apparell; the King of Israel changed himselfe, and went into the battel.

³¹ And the King of Aram commaunded his two and thirtie captaines ouer his charets, saying, Fight neither with small, nor great, saue onely against the King of Israel.

³² And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, Surely it [is] the king of Israel. And they turned aside to fight against him: and JehoshaphatThat is, to the Lord for help.cried out.

³³ And when the captaines of the charets saw that he was not the King of Israel, they turned backe from him.

³⁴ Then a certaine man drewe a bow mightily and smote the King of Israel betweene the ioyntes of his brigandine. Wherefore he sayde vnto his charet man, Turne thine hand and cary me out of the hoste: for I am hurt.

³⁵ And the battle increased that day: and theThat is, Ahab, king of Israel.king was stayed up in his chariot against the Syrians, and died at even: and the blood ran out of the wound into the midst of the chariot.

³⁶ And there went a proclamation throughout theOf the Israelites.host about the going down of the sun, saying, Every man to his city, and every man to his own country.

³⁷ So the King died, and was brought to Samaria, and they buried the King in Samaria.

³⁸ And one washed the charet in the poole of Samaria, and the dogs licked vp his blood (and they washed his armour) according vnto the word of the Lord which he spake.

³⁹ Concerning the rest of the actes of Ahab and all that he did, and the yuorie house which he built, and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the booke of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

⁴⁰ So Ahab slept with his fathers, and Ahaziah his sonne reigned in his stead.

⁴¹ And Iehoshaphat the sonne of Asa began to reigne vpon Iudah in the fourth yeere of Ahab King of Israel.

⁴² Iehoshaphat was fiue and thirty yere olde, when he began to reigne, and reigned fiue and twentie yeere in Ierusalem; his mothers name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi.

⁴³ And he walked in all the ways of Asa his father; he turned not aside from it, doing [that which was] right in the eyes of the LORD: neverthelessMeaning, that he was led with an error, thinking that they might still sacrifice to the Lord in those places, as they did before the temple was built.the high places were not taken away; [for] the people offered and burnt incense yet in the high places.

⁴⁴ And Iehoshaphat made peace with the King of Israel.

⁴⁵ Concerning the rest of the actes of Iehoshaphat, and his worthy deedes that he did, and his battels which he fought, are they not written in the booke of the Chronicles of the Kings of Iudah?

⁴⁶ And the Sodomites, which remayned in the dayes of his father Asa, he put cleane out of the land.

⁴⁷ [There was] then no king in Edom: aIn the time of this king, Idumea was subject to Judah, and was governed by whom they of Judah appointed.deputy [was] king.

⁴⁸ Jehoshaphat made ships ofBy Tharshish the scripture means Cilicia and all the Mediterranean Sea.Tharshish to go toJosephus writes that Ophir is in India, where the Egyptians and Arabians traffic for gold.Ophir for gold: but they went not; for the ships were broken at Eziongeber.

⁴⁹ Then sayde Ahaziah the sonne of Ahab vnto Iehoshaphat, Let my seruants goe with thy seruants in the ships, But Iehoshaphat would not.

⁵⁰ And Iehoshaphat did sleepe with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the citie of Dauid his father, and Iehoram his sonne reigned in his stead.

⁵¹ Ahaziah the sonne of Ahab began to reigne ouer Israel in Samaria, the seuenteenth yeere of Iehoshaphat King of Iudah, and reigned two yeeres ouer Israel.

⁵² But he did euill in the sight of the Lorde, and walked in the way of his father, and in the way of his mother, and in the way of Ieroboam the sonne of Nebat, which made Israel to sinne.

⁵³ For he serued Baal and worshipped him, and prouoked the Lorde God of Israel vnto wrath, according vnto all that his father had done.