- And they continued three years without war between Syria and Israel. And it came to pass, in the third year, that Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came down to the king of Israel. And the king of Israel said unto his servants, Do you know that Ramoth in Gilead is ours, and we are still, and take it not out of the hand of the king of Syria? And he said unto Jehoshaphat, Will you go with me to battle, to Ramoth-Gilead? And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.
- And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel, Inquire, I pray you, at the word of the Lord today. Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall I go against Ramoth-Gilead to battle or shall I refrain? And they said, Go up, for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king.
- And Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the Lord besides, that we might inquire of him? And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire of the Lord; but I hate him, for he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so. Then the king of Israel called an officer and said, Hasten here Micaiah the son of Imlah.
- 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. And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made himself horns of iron, and he said, Thus says the Lord: With these shall you push the Syrians until you have consumed them. And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramoth-Gilead and prosper, for the Lord shall deliver it into the king’s hand.
- And the messenger that was gone to call Micaiah spoke unto him, saying, Behold, now the words of the prophets declare good unto the king with one mouth; let your word, I pray you, be like the word of one of them and speak that which is good. And Micaiah said, As the Lord lives, what the Lord says unto me, that will I speak.
- So he came to the king, and the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go against Ramoth-Gilead to battle or shall we refrain? And he answered him, Go and prosper, for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king. And the king said unto him, How many times shall I adjure you that you tell me nothing but that which is true in the name of the Lord? 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. And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell you that he would prophesy no good concerning me, but evil?
- And he said, Hear therefore the word of the Lord. I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the hosts of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left. And the Lord said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up, and fall, at Ramoth-Gilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner. And there came forth a spirit and stood before the Lord, and said, I will persuade him. And the Lord said unto him, With what? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, You shall persuade him, and prevail also; go forth and do so.
- Now therefore behold, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets, and the Lord has spoken evil concerning you. 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 you? And Micaiah said, Behold, you shall see in that day when you shall go into an inner chamber to hide yourself.
- 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, and say, Thus says the king: Put this man in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction until I come in peace. And Micaiah said, If you return at all in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me. And he said, Listen, O people, every one of you.
- So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth-Gilead. And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself and enter into the battle; but put on your robes. And the king of Israel disguised himself and went into the battle.
- But the king of Syria commanded his thirty-two captains that had rule over his chariots, saying, Fight neither with small nor great, save only with the king of Israel. 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. 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.
- 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 your hand and carry me out of the host, for I am wounded. And the battle increased that day, and the king was propped up in his chariot against the Syrians, and died at evening; and the blood ran out of the wound into the midst of the chariot. 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.
- So the king died and was brought to Samaria, and they buried the king in Samaria. And one washed the chariot in the pool of Samaria. And the dogs licked up his blood, and they washed his armor, according unto the word of the Lord which he spoke. 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? So Ahab slept with his fathers; and Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead.
- And Jehoshaphat the son of Asa began to reign over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab, king of Israel. Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Azubah, the daughter of Shilhi. 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 burned incense yet in the high places. And Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel.
- Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, and his might that he showed, and how he warred, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? And the remnant of the sodomites who remained in the days of his father Asa he took out of the land.
- There was then no king in Edom; a deputy was king. Jehoshaphat made ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold, but they went not, for the ships were broken at Ezion-Geber. Then said Ahaziah the son of Ahab unto Jehoshaphat, Let my servants go with your servants in the ships. But Jehoshaphat would not. 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.
- 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. 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. For he served Baal and worshipped him, and provoked to anger the Lord God of Israel, according to all that his father had done.
Chapter 5