2 Chronicles 18

Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, had great wealth and was highly respected. He made an alliance with Ahab, king of Israel, by marriage.

1Now Jehoshaphat had riches and honour in abundance, and joined affinity with Ahab.

NoteSince the death of Solomon the Israelites had been split into two kingdoms: Judah in the south, ruled from Jerusalem by David's descendants (Jehoshaphat), and Israel in the north, ruled from Samaria (Ahab). They were frequently at war with each other, so an alliance between them was unusual. "Joined affinity" is 1611 English for becoming related by marriage: Jehoshaphat's son Jehoram married Ahab's daughter Athaliah. This chapter runs closely parallel to 1 Kings 22.

2Some years later he went down to visit Ahab in Samaria. Ahab killed many sheep and cattle for a feast for him and for the people who came with him. Then Ahab urged him to attack Ramoth-gilead with him.

2And after certain years he went down to Ahab to Samaria. And Ahab killed sheep and oxen for him in abundance, and for the people that he had with him, and persuaded him to go up with him to Ramothgilead.

NoteSamaria was the capital city of the northern kingdom. Ramoth-gilead was a fortified town east of the Jordan River, in the region called Gilead, on the disputed border with Syria; it changed hands between the two powers more than once. "Went down" and "go up" describe the climb of the land rather than direction on a map.

3Ahab king of Israel asked Jehoshaphat king of Judah, "Will you go with me to Ramoth-gilead?" Jehoshaphat answered, "I am with you, and my people are with your people. We will join you in the war."

3And Ahab king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat king of Judah, Wilt thou go with me to Ramothgilead? And he answered him, I am as thou art, and my people as thy people; and we will be with thee in the war.

4But Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, "Please ask the LORD about this first."

4And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel, Enquire, I pray thee, at the word of the LORD to day.

NoteKings routinely consulted prophets before a military campaign, expecting a yes-or-no answer about whether to go. Jehoshaphat is asking for that formal consultation. "LORD" printed in capitals stands for the personal name of Israel's God (Yahweh), as distinct from the ordinary word "God".

5So the king of Israel gathered his prophets, four hundred men, and asked them, "Should we go to war against Ramoth-gilead, or should I hold back?" They said, "Go up, for God will hand it over to the king."

5Therefore the king of Israel gathered together of prophets four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall we go to Ramothgilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for God will deliver it into the king’s hand.

NoteThese four hundred were prophets attached to Ahab's court and supported by him, a normal feature of an ancient royal household. That is why Jehoshaphat asks in the next verse for a prophet who is not on the king's payroll.

6But Jehoshaphat said, "Isn't there another prophet of the LORD here we can ask?"

6But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD besides, that we might enquire of him?

7The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "There is still one man we could ask the LORD through, but I hate him. He never says anything good about me, only bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah." Jehoshaphat said, "The king shouldn't talk like that."

7And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, by whom we may enquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he never prophesied good unto me, but always evil: the same is Micaiah the son of Imla. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.

8So the king of Israel called one of his officers and said, "Bring Micaiah son of Imlah here quickly."

8And the king of Israel called for one of his officers, and said, Fetch quickly Micaiah the son of Imla.

9The king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah were each sitting on his throne, dressed in their royal robes. They sat on an open piece of ground at the entrance to the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying in front of them.

9And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah sat either of them on his throne, clothed in their robes, and they sat in a void place at the entering in of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them.

NoteThe open ground at the city gate was where a king held court, heard cases and made public decisions; business of this kind was done in the open, in front of witnesses. The Hebrew word behind "void place" can mean either an empty area or a threshing floor (a flat, hard-packed circle of ground outside the gate) which is why translations differ here.

10Zedekiah son of Chenaanah had made himself horns of iron. He said, "This is what the LORD says: 'With these you will gore the Syrians until they are wiped out.'"

10And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah had made him horns of iron, and said, Thus saith the LORD, With these thou shalt push Syria until they be consumed.

NoteProphets often delivered a message by acting it out as well as saying it; the iron horns are a performance of the prediction, not a decoration. A horn stood for strength, and the image is of a bull goring an enemy off the field. "Syria" here is the Aramean kingdom centered on Damascus, north-east of Israel, its main military rival in this period.

11All the other prophets said the same thing: "Go up to Ramoth-gilead and you will succeed, for the LORD will hand it over to the king."

11And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramothgilead, and prosper: for the LORD shall deliver it into the hand of the king.

12The messenger who went to get Micaiah said to him, "Look, the prophets are all saying the same good thing to the king. Please make your word agree with theirs, and speak well of what he plans."

12And the messenger that went to call Micaiah spake to him, saying, Behold, the words of the prophets declare good to the king with one assent; let thy word therefore, I pray thee, be like one of theirs, and speak thou good.

13But Micaiah said, "As surely as the LORD lives, I will say only what my God tells me to say."

13And Micaiah said, As the LORD liveth, even what my God saith, that will I speak.

Note"As the LORD lives" was the strongest oath in Hebrew: swearing by God's own life that the speaker is telling the truth.

14When he came to the king, the king asked him, "Micaiah, should we go to war against Ramoth-gilead, or should I hold back?" He answered, "Go up and win. They will be handed over to you."

14And when he was come to the king, the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go to Ramothgilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And he said, Go ye up, and prosper, and they shall be delivered into your hand.

NoteHebrew writing does not mark tone of voice. Micaiah's answer repeats the court prophets' words exactly, and the king's angry reply in the next verse shows the king heard it as mockery rather than as a genuine prediction.

15The king said to him, "How many times do I have to make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the LORD?"

15And the king said to him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou say nothing but the truth to me in the name of the LORD?

16Then Micaiah said, "I saw all Israel scattered on the hills, like sheep with no shepherd. And the LORD said, 'These people have no master. Let each of them go home in peace.'"

16Then he said, I did see all Israel scattered upon the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd: and the LORD said, These have no master; let them return therefore every man to his house in peace.

NoteAn army scattered on the hills "like sheep with no shepherd" is an army whose king has been killed: leaderless soldiers drifting home. Saying they may go home "in peace" is a bitter way of saying the campaign has collapsed.

17The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "Didn't I tell you he never says anything good about me, only bad?"

17And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would not prophesy good unto me, but evil?

18Micaiah went on, "So hear the word of the LORD. I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, with all the armies of heaven standing on his right and on his left.

18Again he said, Therefore hear the word of the LORD; I saw the LORD sitting upon his throne, and all the host of heaven standing on his right hand and on his left.

NoteThe "host of heaven" here means the heavenly beings who attend God, pictured standing to his right and left the way courtiers and advisers stood around a human king. The scene deliberately mirrors the two kings on their thrones in verse 9.

19The LORD said, 'Who will lure Ahab king of Israel into going up and dying at Ramoth-gilead?' One said one thing, and another said something else.

19And the LORD said, Who shall entice Ahab king of Israel, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead? And one spake saying after this manner, and another saying after that manner.

20Then a spirit came forward and stood before the LORD and said, 'I will lure him.' The LORD asked him, 'How?'

20Then there came out a spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said, I will entice him. And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith?

21He said, 'I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets.' The LORD said, 'You will lure him, and you will succeed. Go out and do it.'

21And he said, I will go out, and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And the Lord said, Thou shalt entice him, and thou shalt also prevail: go out, and do even so.

22"So now look: the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouths of these prophets of yours, and the LORD has announced disaster for you."

22Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil against thee.

23Then Zedekiah son of Chenaanah came up and hit Micaiah on the cheek. He said, "Which way did the Spirit of the LORD go when he left me to speak to you?"

23Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near, and smote Micaiah upon the cheek, and said, Which way went the Spirit of the LORD from me to speak unto thee?

NoteA slap on the cheek was a public humiliation more than an injury. Zedekiah's question is sarcastic: he is asking by what route the prophetic spirit supposedly left him, the acknowledged prophet, to reach an outsider like Micaiah.

24Micaiah said, "You will find out on the day you run into an inside room to hide."

24And Micaiah said, Behold, thou shalt see on that day when thou shalt go into an inner chamber to hide thyself.

NoteAn inner room was a windowless space at the back of a house, the place people hid when a town was overrun. Micaiah is telling Zedekiah he will find out who was right on the day he is running for his life.

25Then the king of Israel said, "Take Micaiah and hand him over to Amon, the governor of the city, and to Joash, the king's son.

25Then the king of Israel said, Take ye Micaiah, and carry him back to Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king’s son;

Note"The king's son" may be literal, but it also appears in this period as the title of a royal official, so Joash may be an officer of the crown rather than a child of Ahab. Handing a prisoner to the city governor is committing him to the civil jail.

26Tell them, 'This is what the king says: Put this man in prison, and give him nothing but bread and water until I come back safely.'"

26And 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 return in peace.

NoteThe Hebrew is "bread of affliction and water of affliction": reduced prison rations, barely enough to keep a man alive. It is a punishment, not simply a plain diet.

27Micaiah said, "If you ever come back safely, then the LORD has not spoken through me." And he added, "Listen to this, all you people!"

27And Micaiah said, If thou certainly return in peace, then hath not the LORD spoken by me. And he said, Hearken, all ye people.

NoteCalling on the bystanders is a formal move: Micaiah is making the crowd witnesses to exactly what he said, so that the outcome of the battle can be checked against it. Whether a prediction came true was the recognized test of a prophet.

28So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead.

28So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramothgilead.

29The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "I will disguise myself and go into the battle, but you wear your royal robes." So the king of Israel disguised himself, and they went into the battle.

29And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself, and will go to the battle; but put thou on thy robes. So the king of Israel disguised himself; and they went to the battle.

30Now the king of Syria had ordered his chariot commanders, "Do not fight anyone, important or not, except the king of Israel."

30Now the king of Syria had commanded the captains of the chariots that were with him, saying, Fight ye not with small or great, save only with the king of Israel.

31When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they said, "That is the king of Israel." So they surrounded him to attack him. But Jehoshaphat cried out, and the LORD helped him, and God drew them away from him.

31And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, It is the king of Israel. Therefore they compassed about him to fight: but Jehoshaphat cried out, and the LORD helped him; and God moved them to depart from him.

NoteThe Hebrew simply says Jehoshaphat "cried out", which could be a battle shout identifying himself as the wrong king, or a cry to God for help; the text does not settle which. The comment that the LORD helped him and drew the attackers off is added here in Chronicles and is not in the parallel account in 1 Kings 22.

32When the chariot commanders saw that he was not the king of Israel, they stopped chasing him and turned back.

32For it came to pass, that, when the captains of the chariots perceived that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back again from pursuing him.

33But a man shot an arrow without aiming at anyone in particular, and it hit the king of Israel where the pieces of his armor joined. So the king said to his chariot driver, "Turn around and get me out of the fighting, for I am wounded."

33And a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness: therefore he said to his chariot man, Turn thine hand, that thou mayest carry me out of the host; for I am wounded.

NoteThe King James "at a venture" translates a Hebrew phrase meaning "in his innocence", the archer was shooting into the enemy ranks without aiming at any particular man. "Harness" meant body armor in 1611; the arrow found the gap where the overlapping plates or scales of the armor met.

34The fighting grew worse that day. The king of Israel held himself up in his chariot, facing the Syrians, until evening. At about sunset he died.

34And the battle increased that day: howbeit the king of Israel stayed himself up in his chariot against the Syrians until the even: and about the time of the sun going down he died.

NoteA king seen to fall would normally break his army's nerve and end the fighting, so being propped upright in the chariot kept the line holding until dark.