1Kings 22:44 - Prayer Tents

The Prophet Micaiah Warns Ahab

22There was peace between Israel and Syria for the next two years,H3427H7969H8141H4421H758H3478

2but in the third year King Jehoshaphat of Judah went to see King Ahab of Israel.H7992H8141H3092H4428H3063H3381H4428H3478

3Ahab asked his officials, "Why is it that we have not done anything to get back Ramoth in Gilead from the king of Syria? It belongs to us!"H4428H3478H559H5650H3045H7433H1568H2814H3947H3027H4428H758

4And Ahab asked Jehoshaphat, "Will you go with me to attack Ramoth?" "I am ready when you are," Jehoshaphat answered, "and so are my soldiers and my cavalry.H559H3092H3212H4421H7433H1568H3092H559H4428H3478H3644H5971H5971H5483H5483

5But first let's consult the LORD."H3092H559H4428H3478H1875H1697H3068H3117

6So Ahab called in the prophets, about four hundred of them, and asked them, "Should I go and attack Ramoth, or not?" "Attack it," they answered. "The Lord will give you victory."H4428H3478H6908H5030H6908H702H3967H376H559H3212H7433H1568H4421H2308H559H5927H136H5414H3027H4428

7But Jehoshaphat asked, "Isn't there another prophet through whom we can consult the LORD?"H3092H559H5030H3068H5750H1875

8Ahab answered, "There is one more, Micaiah son of Imlah. But I hate him because he never prophesies anything good for me; it's always something bad." "You shouldn't say that!" Jehoshaphat replied.H4428H3478H559H3092H259H376H4321H1121H3229H1875H3068H8130H5012H2896H7451H3092H559H4428H559

9Then Ahab called in a court official and told him to go and get Micaiah at once.H4428H3478H7121H259H5631H559H4116H4321H1121H3229

10The two kings, dressed in their royal robes, were sitting on their thrones at the threshing place just outside the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying in front of them.H4428H3478H3092H4428H3063H3427H376H3678H3847H899H1637H6607H8179H8111H5030H5012H6440

11One of them, Zedekiah son of Chenaanah, made iron horns and said to Ahab, "This is what the LORD says: 'With these you will fight the Syrians and totally defeat them.' "H6667H1121H3668H6213H7161H1270H559H559H3068H5055H758H3615

12All the other prophets said the same thing. "March against Ramoth and you will win," they said. "The LORD will give you victory."H5030H5012H559H5927H7433H1568H6743H3068H5414H4428H3027

13Meanwhile, the official who had gone to get Micaiah said to him, "All the other prophets have prophesied success for the king, and you had better do the same."H4397H1980H7121H4321H1696H559H1697H5030H2896H4428H259H6310H1697H1697H259H1696H2896

14But Micaiah answered, "By the living LORD I promise that I will say what he tells me to!"H4321H559H3068H2416H3068H559H1696

15When he appeared before King Ahab, the king asked him, "Micaiah, should King Jehoshaphat and I go and attack Ramoth, or not?" "Attack!" Micaiah answered. "Of course you'll win. The LORD will give you victory."H935H4428H4428H559H4321H3212H7433H1568H4421H2308H559H5927H6743H3068H5414H3027H4428

16But Ahab replied, "When you speak to me in the name of the LORD, tell the truth! How many times do I have to tell you that?"H4428H559H6471H7650H1696H571H8034H3068

17Micaiah answered, "I can see the army of Israel scattered over the hills like sheep without a shepherd. And the LORD said, 'These men have no leader; let them go home in peace.' "H559H7200H3478H6327H2022H6629H7462H3068H559H113H7725H376H1004H7965

18Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, "Didn't I tell you that he never prophesies anything good for me? It's always something bad!"H4428H3478H559H3092H559H5012H2896H7451

19Micaiah went on: "Now listen to what the LORD says! I saw the LORD sitting on his throne in heaven, with all his angels standing beside him.H559H8085H1697H3068H7200H3068H3427H3678H6635H8064H5975H3225H8040

20The LORD asked, 'Who will deceive Ahab so that he will go and be killed at Ramoth?' Some of the angels said one thing, and others said something else,H3068H559H6601H256H5927H5307H7433H1568H559H3541H559H3541

21until a spirit stepped forward, approached the LORD, and said, 'I will deceive him.'H3318H7307H5975H6440H3068H559H6601

22'How?' the LORD asked. The spirit replied, 'I will go and make all of Ahab's prophets tell lies.' The LORD said, 'Go and deceive him. You will succeed.' "H3068H559H559H3318H8267H7307H6310H5030H559H6601H3201H3318H6213

23And Micaiah concluded: "This is what has happened. The LORD has made these prophets of yours lie to you. But he himself has decreed that you will meet with disaster!"H3068H5414H8267H7307H6310H5030H3068H1696H7451

24Then the prophet Zedekiah went up to Micaiah, slapped his face, and asked, "Since when did the LORD's spirit leave me and speak to you?"H6667H1121H3668H5066H5221H4321H3895H559H335H5674H7307H3068H1696

25"You will find out when you go into some back room to hide," Micaiah replied.H4321H559H7200H3117H935H2315H2315H2247

26Then King Ahab ordered one of his officers, "Arrest Micaiah and take him to Amon, the governor of the city, and to Prince Joash.H4428H3478H559H3947H4321H7725H526H8269H5892H3101H4428H1121

27Tell them to throw him in prison and to put him on bread and water until I return safely."H559H559H4428H7760H1004H3608H398H3899H3906H4325H3906H935H7965

28"If you return safely," Micaiah exclaimed, "then the LORD has not spoken through me!" And he added, "Listen, everyone, to what I have said!"H4321H559H7725H7725H7965H3068H1696H559H8085H5971

The Death of Ahab

29Then King Ahab of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah went to attack the city of Ramoth in Gilead.H4428H3478H3092H4428H3063H5927H7433H1568

30Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, "As we go into battle, I will disguise myself, but you wear your royal garments." So the king of Israel went into battle in disguise.H4428H3478H559H3092H2664H935H4421H3847H899H4428H3478H2664H935H4421

31The king of Syria had ordered his thirty-two chariot commanders to attack no one else except the king of Israel.H4428H758H6680H7970H8147H8269H7393H559H3898H6996H1419H4428H3478

32So when they saw King Jehoshaphat, they all thought that he was the king of Israel, and they turned to attack him. But when he cried out,H8269H7393H7200H3092H559H4428H3478H5493H3898H3092H2199

33they realized that he was not the king of Israel, and they stopped their attack.H8269H7393H7200H4428H3478H7725H310

34By chance, however, a Syrian soldier shot an arrow which struck King Ahab between the joints of his armor. "I'm wounded!" he cried out to his chariot driver. "Turn around and pull out of the battle!"H376H4900H7198H8537H5221H4428H3478H1694H8302H559H7395H2015H3027H3318H4264H2470

35While the battle raged on, King Ahab remained propped up in his chariot, facing the Syrians. The blood from his wound ran down and covered the bottom of the chariot, and at evening he died.H4421H5927H3117H4428H5975H4818H5227H758H4191H6153H1818H3332H4347H2436H7393

36Near sunset the order went out through the Israelite ranks: "Each of you go back to your own country and city!"H5674H7440H4264H935H8121H559H376H5892H376H776

37So died King Ahab. His body was taken to Samaria and buried.H4428H4191H935H8111H6912H4428H8111

38His chariot was cleaned up at the pool of Samaria, where dogs licked up his blood and prostitutes washed themselves, as the LORD had said would happen.H7857H7393H1295H8111H3611H3952H1818H7364H2185H1697H3068H1696

39Everything else that King Ahab did, including an account of his palace decorated with ivory and of all the cities he built, is recorded in The History of the Kings of Israel.H3499H1697H256H6213H8127H1004H1129H5892H1129H3789H5612H1697H3117H4428H3478

40At his death his son Ahaziah succeeded him as king.H256H7901H1H274H1121H4427

King Jehoshaphat of Judah

41In the fourth year of the reign of King Ahab of Israel, Jehoshaphat son of Asa became king of JudahH3092H1121H609H4427H3063H702H8141H256H4428H3478

42at the age of thirty-five, and he ruled in Jerusalem for twenty-five years. His mother was Azubah, the daughter of Shilhi.H3092H7970H2568H8141H1121H4427H4427H6242H2568H8141H3389H517H8034H5806H1323H7977

43Like his father Asa before him, he did what was right in the sight of the LORD; but the places of worship were not destroyed, and the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there.H3212H1870H609H1H5493H6213H3477H5869H3068H1116H5493H5971H2076H6999H1116

44Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel.H3092H7999H4428H3478

45Everything else that Jehoshaphat did, all his bravery and his battles, are recorded in The History of the Kings of Judah.H3499H1697H3092H1369H6213H3898H3789H5612H1697H3117H4428H3063

46He got rid of all the male and female prostitutes serving at the pagan altars who were still left from the days of his father Asa.H3499H6945H7604H3117H1H609H1197H776

47The land of Edom had no king; it was ruled by a deputy appointed by the king of Judah.H4428H123H5324H4428

48King Jehoshaphat had ocean-going ships built to sail to the land of Ophir for gold; but they were wrecked at Eziongeber and never sailed.H3092H6213H6240H591H8659H3212H211H2091H1980H591H7665H6100

49Then King Ahaziah of Israel offered to let his men sail with Jehoshaphat's men, but Jehoshaphat refused the offer.H559H274H1121H256H3092H5650H3212H5650H591H3092H14

50Jehoshaphat died and was buried in the royal tombs in David's City, and his son Jehoram succeeded him as king.H3092H7901H1H6912H1H5892H1732H1H3088H1121H4427

King Ahaziah of Israel

51In the seventeenth year of the reign of King Jehoshaphat of Judah, Ahaziah son of Ahab became king of Israel, and he ruled in Samaria for two years.H274H1121H256H4427H3478H8111H7651H6240H8141H3092H4428H3063H4427H8141H3478

52He sinned against the LORD, following the wicked example of his father Ahab, his mother Jezebel, and King Jeroboam, who had led Israel into sin.H6213H7451H5869H3068H3212H1870H1H1870H517H1870H3379H1121H5028H3478H2398

53He worshiped and served Baal, and like his father before him, he aroused the anger of the LORD, the God of Israel.H5647H1168H7812H3707H3068H430H3478H1H6213