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2 Chronicles 18
Tree of Life Version
2 Chronicles 18
Tree of Life Version
Prophecy of the Deceiving Spirit
18 Now Jehoshaphat had wealth and honor in abundance but he allied himself with Ahab by marriage. 2 Some years later he went down to visit Ahab in Samaria. Ahab slaughtered many sheep and bulls for him and the people with him, and urged him to march with him against Ramoth-gilead.
3 King Ahab of Israel asked King Jehoshaphat of Judah, “Will you go with me against Ramoth-gilead?”
He replied, “I am as you are and my people as your people, and we will be with you in battle.”
4 Jehoshaphat then said to the king of Israel, “Please, let us seek, today, the word of Adonai.”
5 So the king of Israel assembled the prophets—400 men—and asked them, “Should we go to war against Ramoth-gilead, or should I hold off?”
They answered, “Go up, for God will give it into the king’s hand!”
6 But Jehoshaphat asked, “Isn’t there another prophet of Adonai here of whom we should inquire?”
7 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man through whom we can inquire of Adonai—but I hate him, because he has never prophesied anything good about me but always evil. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.”
But Jehoshaphat said, “May the king never say such a thing.”
8 So the king of Israel called an official and said, “Bring Micaiah son of Imlah quickly!”
9 Now the king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah, wearing their robes, were sitting on their thrones on the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria with all the prophets prophesying before them. 10 Zedekiah son of Henaanah made for himself iron horns and declared, “Thus says Adonai, ‘With these you will gore the Arameans until they are exterminated!’”
11 All the other prophets were prophesying similarly, saying “March against Ramoth-gilead and succeed, for Adonai will give it into the hand of the king.”
12 Now the messenger who had gone to summon Micaiah spoke to him saying, “Look, the words of the prophets are unanimously favorable to the king. So please let your word be like one of them and speak favorably.”
13 But Micaiah replied, “As Adonai lives, what my God says that is what I will say.”
14 When he came to the king, the king asked him, “Micaiah, should we go to war against Ramoth-gilead, or should I hold off?”
He replied, “March and be victorious! They will be given into your hand!”
15 But the king said to him, “How many times must I make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the Name of Adonai?”
16 So he said, “I saw all Israel scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd,[a] and Adonai said, ‘These have no master—let each man return home in shalom.”
17 So the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Didn’t I tell you that he never prophesies good about me, only evil?”
18 Micaiah continued, “Therefore hear the word of Adonai. I saw Adonai sitting on His throne with the whole host of heaven standing on His right and on His left. 19 And Adonai said: ‘Who will entice Ahab king of Israel to go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’
Then one said this and another said that, 20 until a spirit came forward and stood before Adonai and said, ‘I will entice him.’
So Adonai said to him, ‘How?’
21 He answered, ‘I will go and be a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’
Then He said, ‘You will entice him and you will also succeed. Go and do so.’
22 So now, behold, Adonai has put a lying spirit in the mouth of these prophets of yours and Adonai has decreed disaster against you.”
23 Then Zedekiah son of Chenaanah approached Micaiah, slapped him on the cheek and said, “How did the spirit of Adonai pass over me to speak to you?”
24 Micaiah replied, “Behold, you will see on the day that you go to hide in an inner room.”
25 Then the king of Israel said, “Take Micaiah and turn him over to Amon, governor of the city, and to Joash the king’s son, 26 and say, ‘Thus says the king, “Put this fellow in prison and make him eat the bread and water of affliction—until I return in shalom.”’”
27 Then Micaiah said, “If you ever return in shalom, Adonai has not spoken through me.” He added: “Listen, all you people!”
Ahab Dies in Battle
28 So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah marched against Ramoth-gilead. 29 Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into the battle, but you put on your robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and they went into the battle.
30 Now the king of Aram had already ordered his chariot commanders saying: “Don’t attack anyone, small or great, except the king of Israel alone.”
31 So when the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat they thought, “This is the king of Israel.” So they turned to attack him but Jehoshaphat cried out. Adonai helped him and God diverted them from him. 32 When the chariot commanders realized that he was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him.
33 But a man drew his bow aimlessly and struck the king of Israel between the lower armor and the breastplate. The king said to the charioteer, “Turn around and take me out of the battle, for I am wounded.”
34 The battle raged that day and the king of Israel remained propped up in his chariot facing the Arameans until dusk. Then at sunset he died.
Footnotes
2 Chronicles 18
New International Version
2 Chronicles 18
New International Version
Micaiah Prophesies Against Ahab(A)
18 Now Jehoshaphat had great wealth and honor,(B) and he allied(C) himself with Ahab(D) by marriage. 2 Some years later he went down to see Ahab in Samaria. Ahab slaughtered many sheep and cattle for him and the people with him and urged him to attack Ramoth Gilead. 3 Ahab king of Israel asked Jehoshaphat king of Judah, “Will you go with me against Ramoth Gilead?”
Jehoshaphat replied, “I am as you are, and my people as your people; we will join you in the war.” 4 But Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, “First seek the counsel of the Lord.”
5 So the king of Israel brought together the prophets—four hundred men—and asked them, “Shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I not?”
“Go,” they answered, “for God will give it into the king’s hand.”
6 But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there no longer a prophet of the Lord here whom we can inquire of?”
7 The king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat, “There is still one prophet through whom we can inquire of the Lord, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, but always bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.”
“The king should not say such a thing,” Jehoshaphat replied.
8 So the king of Israel called one of his officials and said, “Bring Micaiah son of Imlah at once.”
9 Dressed in their royal robes, the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah were sitting on their thrones at the threshing floor by the entrance of the gate of Samaria, with all the prophets prophesying before them. 10 Now Zedekiah son of Kenaanah had made iron horns, and he declared, “This is what the Lord says: ‘With these you will gore the Arameans until they are destroyed.’”
11 All the other prophets were prophesying the same thing. “Attack Ramoth Gilead(E) and be victorious,” they said, “for the Lord will give it into the king’s hand.”
12 The messenger who had gone to summon Micaiah said to him, “Look, the other prophets without exception are predicting success for the king. Let your word agree with theirs, and speak favorably.”
13 But Micaiah said, “As surely as the Lord lives, I can tell him only what my God says.”(F)
14 When he arrived, the king asked him, “Micaiah, shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I not?”
“Attack and be victorious,” he answered, “for they will be given into your hand.”
15 The king said to him, “How many times must I make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?”
16 Then Micaiah answered, “I saw all Israel(G) scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd,(H) and the Lord said, ‘These people have no master. Let each one go home in peace.’”
17 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Didn’t I tell you that he never prophesies anything good about me, but only bad?”
18 Micaiah continued, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne(I) with all the multitudes of heaven standing on his right and on his left. 19 And the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab king of Israel into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there?’
“One suggested this, and another that. 20 Finally, a spirit came forward, stood before the Lord and said, ‘I will entice him.’
“‘By what means?’ the Lord asked.
21 “‘I will go and be a deceiving spirit(J) in the mouths of all his prophets,’ he said.
“‘You will succeed in enticing him,’ said the Lord. ‘Go and do it.’
22 “So now the Lord has put a deceiving spirit in the mouths of these prophets of yours.(K) The Lord has decreed disaster for you.”
23 Then Zedekiah son of Kenaanah went up and slapped(L) Micaiah in the face. “Which way did the spirit from[a] the Lord go when he went from me to speak to you?” he asked.
24 Micaiah replied, “You will find out on the day you go to hide in an inner room.”
25 The king of Israel then ordered, “Take Micaiah and send him back to Amon the ruler of the city and to Joash the king’s son, 26 and say, ‘This is what the king says: Put this fellow in prison(M) and give him nothing but bread and water until I return safely.’”
27 Micaiah declared, “If you ever return safely, the Lord has not spoken through me.” Then he added, “Mark my words, all you people!”
Ahab Killed at Ramoth Gilead(N)
28 So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up to Ramoth Gilead. 29 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will enter the battle in disguise, but you wear your royal robes.” So the king of Israel disguised(O) himself and went into battle.
30 Now the king of Aram had ordered his chariot commanders, “Do not fight with anyone, small or great, except the king of Israel.” 31 When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they thought, “This is the king of Israel.” So they turned to attack him, but Jehoshaphat cried out,(P) and the Lord helped him. God drew them away from him, 32 for when the chariot commanders saw that he was not the king of Israel, they stopped pursuing him.
33 But someone drew his bow at random and hit the king of Israel between the breastplate and the scale armor. The king told the chariot driver, “Wheel around and get me out of the fighting. I’ve been wounded.” 34 All day long the battle raged, and the king of Israel propped himself up in his chariot facing the Arameans until evening. Then at sunset he died.(Q)
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 18:23 Or Spirit of
Tree of Life Version (TLV)
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.