Jehoshaphat Allies with Ahab
(1 Kings 22:1–12)

1Therefore, Jehoshaphat was wealthy and very famous, and he was joined by affinity to Ahab. 2And after some years, he descended to him in Samaria. And upon his arrival, Ahab slaughtered very many sheep and oxen, for him and for the people who had arrived with him. And he persuaded him that he should ascend against Ramoth Gilead. 3And Ahab, the king of Israel, said to Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, “Come with me to Ramoth Gilead.” And he answered him: “As I am, so also are you. As your people are, so also are my people. And we will be with you in war.”

4And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Consult, I beg you, the word of the Lord for the present circumstances.” 5And so the king of Israel gathered together four hundred men of the prophets, and he said to them: “Should we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or should we be quieted?” But they said, “Ascend, and God will deliver into the hand of the king.” 6And Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not a prophet of the Lord here, so that we may inquire of him as well?” 7And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat: “There is one man, from whom we would be able to ask the will of the Lord. But I hate him, for he never prophesies good to me, but at all times evil. And it is Micaiah, the son of Imlah.” And Jehoshaphat said, “You should not speak in this manner, O king.”

8Therefore, the king of Israel called one of the eunuchs, and said to him: “Quickly, summon Micaiah, the son of Imlah.” 9Now the king of Israel, and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, were both sitting upon their thrones, clothed in royal vestments. And they were sitting in an open area, beside the gate of Samaria. And all the prophets were prophesying before them. 10Truly, Zedekiah, the son of Chenaanah, made for himself horns of iron, and he said: “Thus says the Lord: With these, you shall threaten Syria, until you crush it.” 11And all the prophets prophesied similarly, and they said: “Ascend against Ramoth Gilead, and you shall prosper, and the Lord will deliver them into the hand of the king.”

Micaiah Prophesies against Ahab
(1 Kings 22:13–28)

12Then the messenger who had gone to summon Micaiah said to him: “Lo, the words of all the prophets, with one mouth, announce good to the king. Therefore, I ask you that you not dissent from them in your word, and that you speak prosperity.” 13And Micaiah responded to him, “As the Lord lives, whatever my God will say to me, the same shall I speak.”

14Therefore, he went to the king. And the king said to him, “Micaiah, should we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or should we be quieted?” And he responded to him: “Ascend. For everything will come to prosperity, and the enemies will be delivered into your hands.” 15And the king said, “Again and again, I bind you by an oath, so that you will not speak to me except what is true in the name of the Lord!”

16Then he said: “I saw all of Israel scattered amid the mountains, like sheep without a shepherd. And the Lord said: ‘These have no masters. Let each one return in peace to his own house.’ ”

17And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat: “Did I not tell you that this one would not prophesy to me anything good, but only what is evil?”

18Then he said: “Therefore, listen to the word of the Lord. I saw the Lord sitting upon his throne, and the entire army of heaven was standing beside him, on the right and on the left. 19And the Lord said: ‘Who will deceive Ahab, the king of Israel, so that he may ascend and fall at Ramoth Gilead?’ And when one spoke in one way, and another in another way, 20there came forward a spirit, and he stood before the Lord and said, ‘I will deceive him.’ And the Lord said to him, ‘In what way will you deceive him?’ 21And he responded, ‘I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And the Lord said: ‘You will deceive and prevail. Go forth and do so.’ 22Therefore now, behold: the Lord gave a lying spirit to the mouth of all your prophets, and the Lord has spoken evil about you.”

23Then Zedekiah, the son of Chenaanah, approached, and he struck Micaiah on the jaw, and he said: “In what way did the Spirit of the Lord depart from me, so that he would speak to you?” 24And Micaiah said: “You yourself shall see it, in that day, when you will enter a room within a room, so that you may be hidden.” 25Then the king of Israel instructed, saying: “Take Micaiah, and lead him to Amon, the leader of the city, and to Joash, the son of Amalech. 26And you shall say: ‘Thus says the king: Send this man to prison, and give to him a little bread and a little water, until I return in peace.’ ” 27And Micaiah said, “If you will have returned in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me.” And he said, “May all the people listen.”

Ahab’s Defeat and Death
(1 Kings 22:29–40)

28And so, the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, ascended against Ramoth Gilead. 29And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat: “I will change my clothing, and in this way I will go into battle. But you should be clothed in your own garments.” And the king of Israel, having changed his clothing, went to war. 30Now the king of Syria had instructed the commanders of his horsemen, saying, “You shall not fight against the least or the greatest, but only against the king of Israel.” 31And so, when the leaders of the horsemen had seen Jehoshaphat, they said, “This one is the king of Israel.” And while fighting, they surrounded him. But he cried out to the Lord, and he assisted him, and he turned them away from him. 32For when the commanders of the horsemen had seen that he was not the king of Israel, they left him. 33Then it happened that one of the people shot an arrow indiscriminately, and it struck the king of Israel between the neck and the shoulder. And so he said to his chariot driver: “Turn your hand, and lead me away from the battle line. For I have been wounded.” 34And the fight ended on that day. But the king of Israel was standing in his chariot facing the Syrians, even until evening. And he died when the sun set.