“1 And they continued three years without war between Syria and
Israel. 2 And it came to pass in the third year, that Jehoshaphat the
king of Judah came down to the king of Israel. 3 And the king of Israel
said unto his servants, Know ye that 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] as thou
[art], my people as thy people, my horses as thy horses. 5 And
Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel, Enquire, I pray thee, at the
word of the LORD to day. 6 Then the king of Israel gathered the 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 the 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: but 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 an 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 their 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 him 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 prophesied so,
saying, Go up to Ramothgilead, and prosper: for the LORD shall deliver
[it] into the king’s 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 with one mouth: let thy word, I pray thee,
be like the word of one of them, and speak [that which is] good. 14 And
Micaiah said, [As] the LORD liveth, what the LORD saith unto me, that
will I speak.”
“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, Go, and prosper: for the LORD shall deliver [it] into the
hand of the king. 16 And the king said unto him, How many times shall I
adjure 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, These have
no master: let them return every man to his house in peace. 18 And the
king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would
prophesy no good concerning me, but evil? 19 And he said, Hear thou
therefore the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne,
and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his
left. 20 And the LORD said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up
and fall at Ramothgilead? And one said on this manner, and another said
on that manner. 21 And there came forth a spirit, and 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 a 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 spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and
the LORD hath spoken evil concerning thee. 24 But Zedekiah the son of
Chenaanah went near, and smote Micaiah on the cheek, and said, Which way
went the Spirit of the LORD from me to speak unto thee? 25 And Micaiah
said, Behold, thou shalt see in that day, when thou shalt go into an
inner chamber to hide thyself. 26 And the king of Israel said, Take
Micaiah, and carry him back unto Amon the governor of the city, and to
Joash the king’s son; 27 And say, Thus saith the king, Put this [fellow]
in the prison, and feed him with 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, Hearken, O
people, every one of you.”
“29 So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to
Ramothgilead. 30 And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, I will
disguise myself, and enter into the battle; but put thou on thy robes.
And the king of Israel disguised himself, and went into the battle. 31
But the king of Syria commanded his thirty and two captains that had
rule over his chariots, saying, Fight neither with small nor great, save
only with 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 Jehoshaphat
cried out. 33 And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots
perceived that it [was] not the king of Israel, that they turned back
from pursuing him. 34 And a [certain] man drew a bow at a venture, and
smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness: wherefore he
said unto the driver of his chariot, Turn thine hand, and carry me out
of the host; for I am wounded. 35 And the battle increased that day: and
the 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 the 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 chariot in the pool
of Samaria; and the dogs licked up his blood; and they washed his armour;
according unto the word of the LORD which he spake. 39 Now the rest of
the acts of Ahab, and all that he did, and the ivory house which he
made, and all the cities that he built, [are] they not 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 stead.”
“41 And Jehoshaphat the son of Asa began to reign over Judah in the
fourth year of Ahab king of Israel. 42 Jehoshaphat [was] thirty and five
years old when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and five years
in Jerusalem. And his mother’s 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:
nevertheless the high places were not taken away; [for] the people
offered and burnt incense yet in the high places. 44 And Jehoshaphat
made peace with the king of Israel. 45 Now the rest of the acts of
Jehoshaphat, and his might that he shewed, and how he warred, [are] they
not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 46 And
the remnant of the sodomites, which remained in the days of his father
Asa, he took out of the land. 47 [There was] then no king in Edom: a
deputy [was] king. 48 Jehoshaphat made ships of Tharshish to go to Ophir
for gold: but they went not; for the ships were broken at Eziongeber. 49
Then said Ahaziah the son of Ahab unto Jehoshaphat, Let my servants go
with thy servants in the ships. But Jehoshaphat would not. 50 And
Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in
the city of David his father: and Jehoram his son reigned in his stead.
51 Ahaziah the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria the
seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned two years
over Israel. 52 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, 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, who made Israel to sin: 53 For he served
Baal, and worshipped him, and provoked to anger the LORD God of Israel,
according to all that his father had done.” (1 Kings 22:1-53 AV)
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