Jehoshaphat Allies with Ahab
And Jehoshaphat had riches and honor in abundance; and he allied himself by marriage with Ahab.
And at the end of some years he went down to Ahab, to Samaria. And Ahab sacrificed sheep and oxen for him in abundance, and for the people who were with him; and he incited him to go up against Ramoth-gilead.
And 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 as you are, and my people as your people — with you in the war.”
And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Inquire first, please, for the word of the LORD.”
And the king of Israel gathered the prophets, four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall we go against Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I hold back?” And they said, “Go up — and God will give it into the hand of the king.”
And Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not here another prophet of the LORD, that we may seek from him?”
And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat: “There is still one man, to seek the LORD from him — but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me; all his days, only evil. He is Micaiah the son of Imla.” And Jehoshaphat said, “Let the king not say so.”
And the king of Israel called for one of his officers, and said, “Quickly — Micaiah the son of Imla.”
And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, were sitting, each on his throne, clothed in robes; and they were sitting at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying before them.
And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made himself horns of iron, and said, “Thus says the LORD: With these you will gore Aram — until finishing them.”
And all the prophets were prophesying the same, saying, “Go up to Ramoth-gilead and succeed — and the LORD will give it into the hand of the king.”
Micaiah Prophesies against Ahab
And the messenger who went to call Micaiah spoke to him, saying: “Look — the words of the prophets, with one mouth, are good toward the king. Let your word, please, be like one of theirs; and speak good.”
And Micaiah said: “As the LORD lives — what my God says, that I will speak.”
And he came to the king; and the king said to him, “Micah, shall we go against Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I hold back?” And he said, “Go up and succeed — and they will be given into your hand.”
And the king said to him, “How many times must I make you swear that you will speak to me nothing but truth, in the name of the LORD?”
And he said: “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, like sheep that have no shepherd. And the LORD said: These have no masters. Let them return, each man to his house, in peace.”
And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not say to you: he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?”
And he said: “Therefore hear the word of the LORD. I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of the heavens standing at his right hand and his left.
And the LORD said, ‘Who will entice Ahab, king of Israel, so that he goes up and falls at Ramoth-gilead?’ And this one said this, and that one said that.
And the spirit came out and stood before the LORD, and said, ‘I will entice him.’ And the LORD said to him, ‘By what means?’
And he 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 out and do so.’
And now — look, the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of these prophets of yours; and the LORD has spoken evil concerning you.”
And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah approached and struck Micaiah on the cheek, and said, “Which way did the Spirit of the LORD pass from me, to speak with you?”
And Micaiah said, “Look — you will see, on that day when you go into an innermost room to hide.”
And the king of Israel said: “Take Micaiah and return him to Amon, the governor of the city, and to Joash, the son of the king;
and say: Thus says the king: Put this one in the prison house, and feed him bread of oppression and water of oppression, until I return in peace.”
And Micaiah said, “If you indeed return in peace, the LORD has not spoken by me.” And he said, “Hear, all you peoples!”
Ahab’s Defeat and Death
And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, went up to Ramoth-gilead.
And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into the battle — but you, wear your robes.” And the king of Israel disguised himself, and they went into the battle.
Now the king of Aram had commanded the commanders of his chariots, saying, “You shall not fight with small or great — only with the king of Israel alone.”
And it was, when the commanders of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, “He is the king of Israel!” — and they surrounded him to fight. And Jehoshaphat cried out, and the LORD helped him; and God lured them away from him.
And it was, when the commanders of the chariots saw that he was not the king of Israel, that they turned back from following him.
And a man drew the bow in his innocence, and struck the king of Israel between the joints and the armor. And he said to the charioteer, “Turn your hand and take me out of the camp — for I am wounded.”
And the battle rose higher that day; and the king of Israel kept himself standing in the chariot, facing Aram, until the evening. And he died at the time of the sun’s going down.