Show Bible Commentary For A Bible Verse

Click here to show/hide instructions.

Selected Verse: 1 Kings 22:1 - Strong Concordance

Verse	Translation	Text
1Ki 22:1	Strong Concordance	And they continued [03427] three [07969] years [08141] without war [04421] between Syria [0758] and Israel [03478].
	King James	And they continued three years without war between Syria and Israel.

Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse

Open All | Close All Open All | Close All

A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]
AHAB SLAIN AT RAMOTH-GILEAD. (1Ki. 22:1-36) continued three years without war between Syria and Israel--The disastrous defeat of Ben-hadad had so destroyed his army and exhausted the resources of his country, that, however eager, he was unable to recommence active hostilities against Israel. But that his hereditary enmity remained unsubdued, was manifest by his breach of faith concerning the treaty by which he had engaged to restore all the cities which his father had seized (Kg1 20:34).

A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]

AHAB SLAIN AT RAMOTH-GILEAD. (1Ki. 22:1-36)

continued three years without war between Syria and Israel--The disastrous defeat of Ben-hadad had so destroyed his army and exhausted the resources of his country, that, however eager, he was unable to recommence active hostilities against Israel. But that his hereditary enmity remained unsubdued, was manifest by his breach of faith concerning the treaty by which he had engaged to restore all the cities which his father had seized (Kg1 20:34).

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]
Three years - These must be counted from the close of the second campaign of Ben-hadad Kg1 20:34. They were not full years, as is evident from the next verse. Probably the first year is that of Ben-hadad's dismissal after his defeat; the second is a year of actual peace; while the third is that in which Jehoshaphat paid his visit, and the Ramoth-Gilead expedition took place. The pause, here noticed, in the war between Israel and Syria was perhaps the result of a common danger. It was probably in the year following Ben-hadad's dismissal by Ahab, that the first great Assyrian expedition took place into these parts. Shalmaneser II relates that on his first invasion of southern Syria, he was met by the combined forces of Ben-hadad, Ahab, the king of Hamath, the kings of the Hittites, and others, who gave him battle, but suffered a defeat.

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]
Allied Campaign of Ahab and Jehoshaphat against the Syrians at Ramoth, and Death of Ahab (compare 2 Chron 18:2-34). - Kg1 22:1. "And they rested three years; there was no war between Aram and Israel," ישׁב here is to keep quiet, to undertake nothing, as in Jdg 5:17, etc. The subject to ויּשׁבוּ is Aram and Israel mentioned in the second clause. The length of time given here points back to the end of the war described in 1 Kings 20. Kg1 22:2-4 In the third year (not necessarily "towards the end of it," as Thenius supposes, for Jehoshaphat's visit preceded the renewal of the war) Jehoshaphat visited the king of Israel, with whom he had already formed a marriage alliance by marrying his son to Ahab's daughter (Ch2 18:1; Kg2 8:18). Ahab then said to his servants that the king of Syria had kept the city of Ramoth in Gilead (probably situated on the site of the present Szalt: see at Deu 4:43), which he ought to have given up, according to the conditions of the peace in Kg1 20:34, and asked Jehoshaphat whether he would go with him to the war against Ramoth, which the latter promised to do. "I as thou, my people as thy people, my horses as thy horses;" i.e., I am at thy service with the whole of my military power. In the place of the last words we have therefore in the Chronicles ועמך בּמּלחמה, "I am with thee in the war," i.e., I will assist thee in the war. Kg1 22:5-7 But as Jehoshaphat wished also to inquire the word of the Lord concerning the war, Ahab gathered together about 400 prophets, who all predicted as out of one mouth a prosperous result to the campaign. These 400 prophets are neither the 400 prophets of Asherah who had not appeared upon Carmel when Elijah was there (Kg1 18:19-20), nor prophets of Baal, as some of the earlier commentators supposed, since Ahab could not inquire of them את־דּבר יהוה. On the other hand, they were not "true prophets of Jehovah and disciples of the prophets" (Cler., Then.), but prophets of Jehovah worshipped under the image of an ox, who practised prophesying as a trade without any call from God, and even if they were not in the pay of the idolatrous kings of Israel, were at any rate in their service. For Jehoshaphat did not recognise them as genuine prophets of Jehovah, but inquired whether there was not such a prophet still in existence (Kg1 22:7), that they might inquire the will of the Lord of him (מאותו). Kg1 22:8 Ahab then named to him one, but one whom he hated, because he never prophesied good concerning him, but only evil, (Note: Just as Agamemnon says to Calchas in Il. iv. 106: μάντι κακῶν, ου ̓ πώποτέ μοι τὸ κρήγουν εἶπας, κ.τ.λ.) namely, Micah the son of Jimlah. Josephus and the Rabbins suppose him to have been the prophet, whose name is not given, who had condemned Ahab in the previous war for setting Benhadad at liberty (Kg1 20:35.). But there is no foundation for this, and it is mere conjecture. At any rate, Ahab had already come to know Micah as a prophet of evil, and, as is evident from Kg1 22:26, had had him imprisoned on account of an unwelcome prophecy. Ahab's dislike to this prophet had its root in the belief, which was connected with heathen notions of prophecy and conjuring, that the prophets stood in such a relation to the Deity that the latter necessarily fulfilled their will; a belief which had arisen from the fact that the predictions of true prophets always came to pass (see at Num 22:6 and Num 22:17). Kg1 22:9 By Jehoshaphat's desire, Ahab nevertheless sent a chamberlain (סריס; see at Sa1 8:15 and Gen 37:36) to fetch Micah (מהרה, bring quickly). Kg1 22:10-12 In the meantime the prophets of the calves continued to prophesy success before the two kings, who sat upon thrones "clothed in robes," i.e., in royal attire, upon a floor in front of the gate of Samaria. גּרן, a threshing-floor, i.e., a levelled place in the open air. In order to give greater effect to their announcement, one of them, named Zedekiyah the son of Cnaanah, made himself iron horns, probably iron spikes held upon the head (Thenius), and said, "With these wilt thou thrust down Aram even to destruction." This symbolical action was an embodiment of the figure used by Moses in the blessing of Joseph (Deu 33:17): "Buffalo horns are his (Joseph's) horns, with them he thrusts down nations" (vid., Hengstenberg, Beitrr. ii. p. 131), and was intended to transfer to Ahab in the case before them that splendid promise which applied to the tribe of Ephraim. But the pseudo-prophet overlooked the fact that the fulfilment of the whole of the blessing of Moses was dependent upon fidelity to the Lord. All the rest of the prophets adopted the same tone, saying, "Go to Ramoth, and prosper," i.e., and thou wilt prosper. (On this use of two imperatives see Ges. 130, 2). Kg1 22:13-14 The messenger who fetched Micah tried on the way to persuade him to prophesy success to the king as the other prophets had done; but Micah replied with a solemn oath, that he would only speak what Jehovah said to him. Kg1 22:15-17 Micah's prophecy concerning the war, and his testimony against the lying prophets. - Kg1 22:15, Kg1 22:16. When Micah had come into the presence of the king, he replied to his question, "Shall we go against Ramoth?" etc., in just the same words as the pseudo-prophets, to show the king how he would speak if he were merely guided by personal considerations, as the others were. From the verbal agreement in his reply, and probably also from the tone in which he spoke, Ahab perceived that his words were ironical, and adjured him to speak only truth in the name of Jehovah. Micah then told him what he had seen in the spirit (Kg1 22:17): "I saw all Israel scatter itself upon the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd;" and then added the word of the Lord: "These have no master; let them return every one to his house in peace." That is to say, Ahab would fall in the war against Ramoth in Gilead, and his army scatter itself without a leader upon the mountains of Gilead, and then every one would return home, without being pursued and slain by the enemy. Whilst Zedekiyah attempted to give greater emphasis to his prophecy by symbolically transferring to Ahab's enterprise the success predicted by Moses, Micah, on the other hand, showed to the king out of the law that would really take place in the intended war, namely, that very state of things which Moses before his departure sought to avert from Israel, by the prayer that the Lord would set a man over the congregation to lead them out and in, that the congregation might not become as sheep that have no shepherd (Num 27:16-17). Kg1 22:18 But although Ahab had asked for a true word of the Lord, yet he endeavoured to attribute the unfavourable prophecy to Micah's persona enmity, saying to Jehoshaphat, "Did I not tell thee that he prophesies nothing good concerning me, but only evil (misfortune)?" Kg1 22:19-25 Micah was not led astray, however, by this, but disclosed to him by a further revelation the hidden ground of the false prophecy of his 400 prophets. וגו שׁמע לכן, "therefore, sc. because thou thinkest so, hear the word of Jehovah: I saw the Lord sit upon His throne, and all the army of heaven stand around him (עליו עמד as in Gen 18:8, etc.) on His right hand and on His left. And the Lord said, Who will persuade Ahab to go up and fall at Ramoth in Gilead? and one spake so, the other so; and the spirit came forth (from the ranks of the rest), stood before Jehovah, and said, I will persuade him...I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And He (Jehovah) said, Persuade, and thou wilt also be able; go forth and do so. And now Jehovah has put a lying spirit into the mouth of all his prophets; but Jehovah (Himself) has spoken evil (through me) concerning thee." The vision described by Micah was not merely a subjective drapery introduced by the prophet, but a simple communication of the real inward vision by which the fact had been revealed to him, that the prophecy of those 400 prophets was inspired by a lying spirit. The spirit (הרוּח) which inspired these prophets as a lying spirit is neither Satan, nor any evil spirit whatever, but, as the definite article and the whole of the context show, the personified spirit of prophecy, which is only so far a πνεῦμα ἀκάθαρτον τῆς πλάνης (Zac 13:2; Jo1 4:6) and under the influence of Satan as it works as שׁקר רוּח in accordance with the will of God. For even the predictions of the false prophets, as we may see from the passage before us, and also from Zac 13:2 and the scriptural teaching in other passages concerning the spiritual principle of evil, were not mere inventions of human reason and fancy; but the false prophets as well as the true were governed by a supernatural spiritual principle, and, according to divine appointment, were under the influence of the evil spirit in the service of falsehood, just as the true prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit in the service of the Lord. The manner in which the supernatural influence of the lying spirit upon the false prophets is brought out in Micah's vision is, that the spirit of prophecy (רוח הנבואה) offers itself to deceive Ahab as שׁקר רוּח in the false prophets. Jehovah sends this spirit, inasmuch as the deception of Ahab has been inflicted upon him as a judgment of God for his unbelief. But there is no statement here to the effect that this lying spirit proceeded from Satan, because the object of the prophet was simply to bring out the working of God in the deception practised upon Ahab by his prophets. - The words of Jehovah, "Persuade Ahab, thou wilt be able," and "Jehovah has put a lying spirit," etc., are not to be understood as merely expressing the permission of God, as the fathers and the earlier theologians suppose. According to the Scriptures, God does work evil, but without therefore willing it and bringing forth sin. The prophet's view is founded upon this thought: Jehovah has ordained that Ahab, being led astray by a prediction of his prophets inspired by the spirit of lies, shall enter upon the war, that he may find therein the punishment of his ungodliness. As he would not listen to the word of the Lord in the mouth of His true servants, God had given him up (παρέδωκεν, Rom 1:24, Rom 1:26, Rom 1:28) in his unbelief to the working of the spirits of lying. But that this did not destroy the freedom of the human will is evident from the expression תּפתּה, "thou canst persuade him," and still more clearly from תּוּכל גּם, "thou wilt also be able," since they both presuppose the possibility of resistance to temptation on the part of man. Zedekiah was so enraged at this unveiling of the spirit of lying by which the pseudo-prophets were impelled, that he smote Micah upon the cheek, and said (Kg1 22:24): "Where did the Spirit of Jehovah depart from me, to speak to thee?" To אי־זה the Chronicles add as an explanation, הדּרך: "by what way had he gone from me?" (cf. Kg2 3:8, and Ewald, 326, a.) Zedekiah was conscious that he had not invented his prophecy himself, and therefore it was that he rose up with such audacity against Micah; but he only proved that it was not the Spirit of God which inspired him. If he had been inspired by the Spirit of the Lord, he would not have thought it necessary to try and give effect to his words by rude force, but he would have left the defence of his cause quietly to the Lord, as Micah did, who calmly replied to the zealot thus (Kg1 22:25): "Thou wilt see it (that the Spirit of Jehovah had departed from thee) on the day when thou shalt go from chamber to chamber to hide thyself" (החבה for החבא, see Ges. 75, Anm. 21). This was probably fulfilled at the close of the war, when Jezebel or the friends of Ahab made the pseudo-prophets suffer for the calamitous result; although there is nothing said about this in our history, which confines itself to the main facts. Kg1 22:26-27 But Ahab had Micah taken back to Amon the commander of the city, and to Joash the king's son, with the command to put him in prison and to feed him with bread and water of affliction, till he came safe back (בּשׁלום) from the war. From the expression השׁיבהוּ, "lead him back," it evidently follows that Micah had been fetched from the commander of the city, who had no doubt kept him in custody, as the city-prison was probably in his house. The opposite cannot be inferred from the words "put him into the prison;" for this command, when taken in connection with what follows, simply enjoins a more severe imprisonment. Kg1 22:28 In his consciousness of the divine truth of his announcement, Micah left the king with these words: "If thou come back safe, Jehovah has not spoken by me. Hear it, all ye nations." עמּים does not mean people, for it is only in the antique language of the Pentateuch that the word has this meaning, but nations; and Micah thereby invokes not only the persons present as witnesses of the truth of his words, but the nations generally, Israel and the surrounding nations, who were to discern the truth of his word from the events which would follow (see at Mic 1:2). Kg1 22:29-40 The issue of the war, and death of Ahab. - Kg1 22:29. Ahab, disregarding Micah's prophecy, went on with the expedition, and was even joined by Jehoshaphat, of whom we should have thought that, after what had occurred, he at any rate would have drawn back. He was probably deterred by false shame, however, from retracting the unconditional promise of help which he had given to Ahab, merely in consequence of a prophetic utterance, which Ahab had brought against his own person from Micah's subjective dislike. But Jehoshaphat narrowly escaped paying the penalty for it with his life (v. 32), and on his fortunate return to Jerusalem had to listen to a severe reproof from the prophet Jehu in consequence (Ch2 19:2). Kg1 22:30-31 And even Ahab could not throw off a certain fear of the fulfilment of Micah's prophecy. He therefore resolved to go to the battle in disguise, that he might not be recognised by the enemy. ובא התהפּשׂ ("disguise myself and go into the battle," i.e., I will go into the battle in disguise): an infin. absol., - a broken but strong form of expression, which is frequently used for the imperative, but very rarely for the first person of the voluntative (cf. Ewald, 328, c.), and which is probably employed here to express the anxiety that impelled Ahab to take so much trouble to ensure his own safety. (Luther has missed the meaning in his version; in the Chronicles, on the contrary, it is correctly given.) לבשׁ ואתּה, "but do thou put on thy clothes." These words are not to be taken as a command, but simply in this sense: "thou mayest (canst) put on thy (royal) dress, since there is no necessity for thee to take any such precautions as I have to take." There is no ground for detecting any cunning, vafrities, on the part of Ahab in these words, as some of the older commentators have done, as though he wished thereby to divert the predicted evil from himself to Jehoshaphat. but we may see very clearly that Ahab had good reason to be anxious about his life, from the command of the Syrian king to the captains of his war-chariots (Kg1 22:31) to fight chiefly against the king of Israel. We cannot infer from this, however, that Ahab was aware of the command. The measure adopted by him may be sufficiently accounted for from his fear of the fulfilment of Micah's evil prophecy, to which there may possibly have been added some personal offence that had been given on his part to the Syrian king in connection with the negotiations concerning the surrender of Ramoth, which had no doubt preceded the war. The thirty-two commanders of the war-chariots and cavalry are, no doubt, the commanders who had taken the place of the thirty-two kings (Kg1 21:24). "Fight not against small and great, but against the king of Israel only," i.e., endeavour above all others to fight against the king of Israel and to slay him. Kg1 22:32-33 And when the leaders of the war-chariots saw Jehoshaphat in the battle in his royal clothes, they took him for the king of Israel (Ahab), and pressed upon him. Then Jehoshaphat cried out; and from this they perceived that he was not the king of Israel, and turned away from him. וגו אך אמרוּ והמּה, "and they thought, it is only (i.e., no other than) the king of Israel." עליו יסרוּ, "they bent upon him." Instead of this we have in the Chronicles עליו יסבּוּ, "they surrounded him," and Thenius proposes to alter our text to this; but there is no necessity for doing so, as סוּר also occurs in a similar sense and connection in Kg1 20:39. How far Jehoshaphat was saved by his crying out, is not precisely stated. He probably cried out to his followers to come to his aid, from which the Syrians discovered that he was not the king of Israel, whom they were in search of. The chronicler adds (Kg1 2:18, Kg1 2:31): "and the Lord helped him and turned them off from him;" thus believingly tracing the rescue of the king to its higher causality, though without our having any right to infer from this that Jehoshaphat cried aloud to God for help, which is not implied in the words of the Chronicles. Kg1 22:34 But notwithstanding the precaution he had taken, Ahab did not escape the judgment of God. "A man drew his bow in his simplicity" (לתמּו as in Sa2 15:11), i.e., without trying to hit any particular man, "and shot the king of Israel between the skirts and the coat of mail." דּבקים are "joints by which the iron thorax was attached to the hanging skirt, which covered the abdomen" (Cler.). The true coat of mail covered only the breast, to somewhere about the last rib; and below this it had an appendage (skirts) consisting of moveable joints. Between this appendage and the true coat of mail there was a groove through which the arrow passed, and, entering the abdomen, inflicted upon the king a mortal would; so that he said to his charioteer: ידיך הפך, verte manus tuas, i.e., turn round (cf. Kg2 9:23). The Chethb ידיך (plural) is the only correct reading, since the driver held the reins in both his hands. החליתי כּי: for I am wounded. Kg1 22:35 "And the conflict ascended," i.e., became more violent. The use of the verb עלה in this sense may be accounted for on the supposition that it is founded upon the figure of a rising stream, which becomes more and more impetuous the higher it rises (vid., Isa 8:7). "And the king was stationed (i.e., remained or kept himself in an upright posture) upon the chariot before the Syrians," that he might not dishearten his soldiers, "and died in the evening, and poured the blood of the wounds in the middle hollow (חיק) of the chariot." Kg1 22:36-37 Towards sunset the cry went through the army (המּחנה, the army drawn up in battle array), "Every one into his city and into his land!" - In Kg1 22:37 the historian shows how the word of the Lord was fulfilled in the case of Ahab. "Thus the king died and came to Samaria:" equivalent to, thus the king reached Samaria dead; and he was buried there. Kg1 22:38 When they washed the chariot at the pool of Samaria, the dogs licked his blood, while the harlots were bathing (in the pool). והזּנות רחצוּ is a circumstantial clause, and רחץ means to bathe, as in Exo 2:5. This explanation, which is sustained by the grammar and is the only tenable one, disposes of the several arbitrary interpretations of these words, together with the emendations of the text of which Thenius is so fond. In this way was the word of the Lord through Elijah (Kg1 21:19) and the unknown prophet (Kg1 20:42) fulfilled; also the prediction of Micah (Kg1 22:17). Ahab had paid the penalty with his own life for sparing the life of Benhadad (Kg1 20:42), and his blood was licked up by the dogs (Kg1 21:19). The fact that the dogs licked up the blood and the harlots were bathing in the pool, when the chariot that was stained with the blood of Ahab was being washed, is mentioned as a sign of the ignominious contempt which was heaped upon him at his death. Kg1 22:39-40 Close of Ahab's history. We have no further account of his buildings. "The ivory palace," i.e., the palace inlaid with ivory, he had probably built in his capital Samaria (cf. Amo 3:15).

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]

Allied Campaign of Ahab and Jehoshaphat against the Syrians at Ramoth, and Death of Ahab (compare 2 Chron 18:2-34). - Kg1 22:1. "And they rested three years; there was no war between Aram and Israel," ישׁב here is to keep quiet, to undertake nothing, as in Jdg 5:17, etc. The subject to ויּשׁבוּ is Aram and Israel mentioned in the second clause. The length of time given here points back to the end of the war described in 1 Kings 20.

Kg1 22:2-4

In the third year (not necessarily "towards the end of it," as Thenius supposes, for Jehoshaphat's visit preceded the renewal of the war) Jehoshaphat visited the king of Israel, with whom he had already formed a marriage alliance by marrying his son to Ahab's daughter (Ch2 18:1; Kg2 8:18). Ahab then said to his servants that the king of Syria had kept the city of Ramoth in Gilead (probably situated on the site of the present Szalt: see at Deu 4:43), which he ought to have given up, according to the conditions of the peace in Kg1 20:34, and asked Jehoshaphat whether he would go with him to the war against Ramoth, which the latter promised to do. "I as thou, my people as thy people, my horses as thy horses;" i.e., I am at thy service with the whole of my military power. In the place of the last words we have therefore in the Chronicles ועמך בּמּלחמה, "I am with thee in the war," i.e., I will assist thee in the war.

Kg1 22:5-7

But as Jehoshaphat wished also to inquire the word of the Lord concerning the war, Ahab gathered together about 400 prophets, who all predicted as out of one mouth a prosperous result to the campaign. These 400 prophets are neither the 400 prophets of Asherah who had not appeared upon Carmel when Elijah was there (Kg1 18:19-20), nor prophets of Baal, as some of the earlier commentators supposed, since Ahab could not inquire of them את־דּבר יהוה. On the other hand, they were not "true prophets of Jehovah and disciples of the prophets" (Cler., Then.), but prophets of Jehovah worshipped under the image of an ox, who practised prophesying as a trade without any call from God, and even if they were not in the pay of the idolatrous kings of Israel, were at any rate in their service. For Jehoshaphat did not recognise them as genuine prophets of Jehovah, but inquired whether there was not such a prophet still in existence (Kg1 22:7), that they might inquire the will of the Lord of him (מאותו).

Kg1 22:8

Ahab then named to him one, but one whom he hated, because he never prophesied good concerning him, but only evil,

(Note: Just as Agamemnon says to Calchas in Il. iv. 106: μάντι κακῶν, ου ̓ πώποτέ μοι τὸ κρήγουν εἶπας, κ.τ.λ.)

namely, Micah the son of Jimlah. Josephus and the Rabbins suppose him to have been the prophet, whose name is not given, who had condemned Ahab in the previous war for setting Benhadad at liberty (Kg1 20:35.). But there is no foundation for this, and it is mere conjecture. At any rate, Ahab had already come to know Micah as a prophet of evil, and, as is evident from Kg1 22:26, had had him imprisoned on account of an unwelcome prophecy. Ahab's dislike to this prophet had its root in the belief, which was connected with heathen notions of prophecy and conjuring, that the prophets stood in such a relation to the Deity that the latter necessarily fulfilled their will; a belief which had arisen from the fact that the predictions of true prophets always came to pass (see at Num 22:6 and Num 22:17).

Kg1 22:9

By Jehoshaphat's desire, Ahab nevertheless sent a chamberlain (סריס; see at Sa1 8:15 and Gen 37:36) to fetch Micah (מהרה, bring quickly).

Kg1 22:10-12

In the meantime the prophets of the calves continued to prophesy success before the two kings, who sat upon thrones "clothed in robes," i.e., in royal attire, upon a floor in front of the gate of Samaria. גּרן, a threshing-floor, i.e., a levelled place in the open air. In order to give greater effect to their announcement, one of them, named Zedekiyah the son of Cnaanah, made himself iron horns, probably iron spikes held upon the head (Thenius), and said, "With these wilt thou thrust down Aram even to destruction." This symbolical action was an embodiment of the figure used by Moses in the blessing of Joseph (Deu 33:17): "Buffalo horns are his (Joseph's) horns, with them he thrusts down nations" (vid., Hengstenberg, Beitrr. ii. p. 131), and was intended to transfer to Ahab in the case before them that splendid promise which applied to the tribe of Ephraim. But the pseudo-prophet overlooked the fact that the fulfilment of the whole of the blessing of Moses was dependent upon fidelity to the Lord. All the rest of the prophets adopted the same tone, saying, "Go to Ramoth, and prosper," i.e., and thou wilt prosper. (On this use of two imperatives see Ges. 130, 2).

Kg1 22:13-14

The messenger who fetched Micah tried on the way to persuade him to prophesy success to the king as the other prophets had done; but Micah replied with a solemn oath, that he would only speak what Jehovah said to him.

Kg1 22:15-17

Micah's prophecy concerning the war, and his testimony against the lying prophets. - Kg1 22:15, Kg1 22:16. When Micah had come into the presence of the king, he replied to his question, "Shall we go against Ramoth?" etc., in just the same words as the pseudo-prophets, to show the king how he would speak if he were merely guided by personal considerations, as the others were. From the verbal agreement in his reply, and probably also from the tone in which he spoke, Ahab perceived that his words were ironical, and adjured him to speak only truth in the name of Jehovah. Micah then told him what he had seen in the spirit (Kg1 22:17): "I saw all Israel scatter itself upon the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd;" and then added the word of the Lord: "These have no master; let them return every one to his house in peace." That is to say, Ahab would fall in the war against Ramoth in Gilead, and his army scatter itself without a leader upon the mountains of Gilead, and then every one would return home, without being pursued and slain by the enemy. Whilst Zedekiyah attempted to give greater emphasis to his prophecy by symbolically transferring to Ahab's enterprise the success predicted by Moses, Micah, on the other hand, showed to the king out of the law that would really take place in the intended war, namely, that very state of things which Moses before his departure sought to avert from Israel, by the prayer that the Lord would set a man over the congregation to lead them out and in, that the congregation might not become as sheep that have no shepherd (Num 27:16-17).

Kg1 22:18

But although Ahab had asked for a true word of the Lord, yet he endeavoured to attribute the unfavourable prophecy to Micah's persona enmity, saying to Jehoshaphat, "Did I not tell thee that he prophesies nothing good concerning me, but only evil (misfortune)?"

Kg1 22:19-25

Micah was not led astray, however, by this, but disclosed to him by a further revelation the hidden ground of the false prophecy of his 400 prophets. וגו שׁמע לכן, "therefore, sc. because thou thinkest so, hear the word of Jehovah: I saw the Lord sit upon His throne, and all the army of heaven stand around him (עליו עמד as in Gen 18:8, etc.) on His right hand and on His left. And the Lord said, Who will persuade Ahab to go up and fall at Ramoth in Gilead? and one spake so, the other so; and the spirit came forth (from the ranks of the rest), stood before Jehovah, and said, I will persuade him...I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And He (Jehovah) said, Persuade, and thou wilt also be able; go forth and do so. And now Jehovah has put a lying spirit into the mouth of all his prophets; but Jehovah (Himself) has spoken evil (through me) concerning thee." The vision described by Micah was not merely a subjective drapery introduced by the prophet, but a simple communication of the real inward vision by which the fact had been revealed to him, that the prophecy of those 400 prophets was inspired by a lying spirit. The spirit (הרוּח) which inspired these prophets as a lying spirit is neither Satan, nor any evil spirit whatever, but, as the definite article and the whole of the context show, the personified spirit of prophecy, which is only so far a πνεῦμα ἀκάθαρτον τῆς πλάνης (Zac 13:2; Jo1 4:6) and under the influence of Satan as it works as שׁקר רוּח in accordance with the will of God. For even the predictions of the false prophets, as we may see from the passage before us, and also from Zac 13:2 and the scriptural teaching in other passages concerning the spiritual principle of evil, were not mere inventions of human reason and fancy; but the false prophets as well as the true were governed by a supernatural spiritual principle, and, according to divine appointment, were under the influence of the evil spirit in the service of falsehood, just as the true prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit in the service of the Lord. The manner in which the supernatural influence of the lying spirit upon the false prophets is brought out in Micah's vision is, that the spirit of prophecy (רוח הנבואה) offers itself to deceive Ahab as שׁקר רוּח in the false prophets. Jehovah sends this spirit, inasmuch as the deception of Ahab has been inflicted upon him as a judgment of God for his unbelief. But there is no statement here to the effect that this lying spirit proceeded from Satan, because the object of the prophet was simply to bring out the working of God in the deception practised upon Ahab by his prophets. - The words of Jehovah, "Persuade Ahab, thou wilt be able," and "Jehovah has put a lying spirit," etc., are not to be understood as merely expressing the permission of God, as the fathers and the earlier theologians suppose. According to the Scriptures, God does work evil, but without therefore willing it and bringing forth sin. The prophet's view is founded upon this thought: Jehovah has ordained that Ahab, being led astray by a prediction of his prophets inspired by the spirit of lies, shall enter upon the war, that he may find therein the punishment of his ungodliness. As he would not listen to the word of the Lord in the mouth of His true servants, God had given him up (παρέδωκεν, Rom 1:24, Rom 1:26, Rom 1:28) in his unbelief to the working of the spirits of lying. But that this did not destroy the freedom of the human will is evident from the expression תּפתּה, "thou canst persuade him," and still more clearly from תּוּכל גּם, "thou wilt also be able," since they both presuppose the possibility of resistance to temptation on the part of man.

Zedekiah was so enraged at this unveiling of the spirit of lying by which the pseudo-prophets were impelled, that he smote Micah upon the cheek, and said (Kg1 22:24): "Where did the Spirit of Jehovah depart from me, to speak to thee?" To אי־זה the Chronicles add as an explanation, הדּרך: "by what way had he gone from me?" (cf. Kg2 3:8, and Ewald, 326, a.) Zedekiah was conscious that he had not invented his prophecy himself, and therefore it was that he rose up with such audacity against Micah; but he only proved that it was not the Spirit of God which inspired him. If he had been inspired by the Spirit of the Lord, he would not have thought it necessary to try and give effect to his words by rude force, but he would have left the defence of his cause quietly to the Lord, as Micah did, who calmly replied to the zealot thus (Kg1 22:25): "Thou wilt see it (that the Spirit of Jehovah had departed from thee) on the day when thou shalt go from chamber to chamber to hide thyself" (החבה for החבא, see Ges. 75, Anm. 21). This was probably fulfilled at the close of the war, when Jezebel or the friends of Ahab made the pseudo-prophets suffer for the calamitous result; although there is nothing said about this in our history, which confines itself to the main facts.

Kg1 22:26-27

But Ahab had Micah taken back to Amon the commander of the city, and to Joash the king's son, with the command to put him in prison and to feed him with bread and water of affliction, till he came safe back (בּשׁלום) from the war. From the expression השׁיבהוּ, "lead him back," it evidently follows that Micah had been fetched from the commander of the city, who had no doubt kept him in custody, as the city-prison was probably in his house. The opposite cannot be inferred from the words "put him into the prison;" for this command, when taken in connection with what follows, simply enjoins a more severe imprisonment.

Kg1 22:28

In his consciousness of the divine truth of his announcement, Micah left the king with these words: "If thou come back safe, Jehovah has not spoken by me. Hear it, all ye nations." עמּים does not mean people, for it is only in the antique language of the Pentateuch that the word has this meaning, but nations; and Micah thereby invokes not only the persons present as witnesses of the truth of his words, but the nations generally, Israel and the surrounding nations, who were to discern the truth of his word from the events which would follow (see at Mic 1:2).

Kg1 22:29-40

The issue of the war, and death of Ahab. - Kg1 22:29. Ahab, disregarding Micah's prophecy, went on with the expedition, and was even joined by Jehoshaphat, of whom we should have thought that, after what had occurred, he at any rate would have drawn back. He was probably deterred by false shame, however, from retracting the unconditional promise of help which he had given to Ahab, merely in consequence of a prophetic utterance, which Ahab had brought against his own person from Micah's subjective dislike. But Jehoshaphat narrowly escaped paying the penalty for it with his life (v. 32), and on his fortunate return to Jerusalem had to listen to a severe reproof from the prophet Jehu in consequence (Ch2 19:2).

Kg1 22:30-31

And even Ahab could not throw off a certain fear of the fulfilment of Micah's prophecy. He therefore resolved to go to the battle in disguise, that he might not be recognised by the enemy. ובא התהפּשׂ ("disguise myself and go into the battle," i.e., I will go into the battle in disguise): an infin. absol., - a broken but strong form of expression, which is frequently used for the imperative, but very rarely for the first person of the voluntative (cf. Ewald, 328, c.), and which is probably employed here to express the anxiety that impelled Ahab to take so much trouble to ensure his own safety. (Luther has missed the meaning in his version; in the Chronicles, on the contrary, it is correctly given.) לבשׁ ואתּה, "but do thou put on thy clothes." These words are not to be taken as a command, but simply in this sense: "thou mayest (canst) put on thy (royal) dress, since there is no necessity for thee to take any such precautions as I have to take." There is no ground for detecting any cunning, vafrities, on the part of Ahab in these words, as some of the older commentators have done, as though he wished thereby to divert the predicted evil from himself to Jehoshaphat. but we may see very clearly that Ahab had good reason to be anxious about his life, from the command of the Syrian king to the captains of his war-chariots (Kg1 22:31) to fight chiefly against the king of Israel. We cannot infer from this, however, that Ahab was aware of the command. The measure adopted by him may be sufficiently accounted for from his fear of the fulfilment of Micah's evil prophecy, to which there may possibly have been added some personal offence that had been given on his part to the Syrian king in connection with the negotiations concerning the surrender of Ramoth, which had no doubt preceded the war. The thirty-two commanders of the war-chariots and cavalry are, no doubt, the commanders who had taken the place of the thirty-two kings (Kg1 21:24). "Fight not against small and great, but against the king of Israel only," i.e., endeavour above all others to fight against the king of Israel and to slay him.

Kg1 22:32-33

And when the leaders of the war-chariots saw Jehoshaphat in the battle in his royal clothes, they took him for the king of Israel (Ahab), and pressed upon him. Then Jehoshaphat cried out; and from this they perceived that he was not the king of Israel, and turned away from him. וגו אך אמרוּ והמּה, "and they thought, it is only (i.e., no other than) the king of Israel." עליו יסרוּ, "they bent upon him." Instead of this we have in the Chronicles עליו יסבּוּ, "they surrounded him," and Thenius proposes to alter our text to this; but there is no necessity for doing so, as סוּר also occurs in a similar sense and connection in Kg1 20:39. How far Jehoshaphat was saved by his crying out, is not precisely stated. He probably cried out to his followers to come to his aid, from which the Syrians discovered that he was not the king of Israel, whom they were in search of. The chronicler adds (Kg1 2:18, Kg1 2:31): "and the Lord helped him and turned them off from him;" thus believingly tracing the rescue of the king to its higher causality, though without our having any right to infer from this that Jehoshaphat cried aloud to God for help, which is not implied in the words of the Chronicles.

Kg1 22:34

But notwithstanding the precaution he had taken, Ahab did not escape the judgment of God. "A man drew his bow in his simplicity" (לתמּו as in Sa2 15:11), i.e., without trying to hit any particular man, "and shot the king of Israel between the skirts and the coat of mail." דּבקים are "joints by which the iron thorax was attached to the hanging skirt, which covered the abdomen" (Cler.). The true coat of mail covered only the breast, to somewhere about the last rib; and below this it had an appendage (skirts) consisting of moveable joints. Between this appendage and the true coat of mail there was a groove through which the arrow passed, and, entering the abdomen, inflicted upon the king a mortal would; so that he said to his charioteer: ידיך הפך, verte manus tuas, i.e., turn round (cf. Kg2 9:23). The Chethb ידיך (plural) is the only correct reading, since the driver held the reins in both his hands. החליתי כּי: for I am wounded.

Kg1 22:35

"And the conflict ascended," i.e., became more violent. The use of the verb עלה in this sense may be accounted for on the supposition that it is founded upon the figure of a rising stream, which becomes more and more impetuous the higher it rises (vid., Isa 8:7). "And the king was stationed (i.e., remained or kept himself in an upright posture) upon the chariot before the Syrians," that he might not dishearten his soldiers, "and died in the evening, and poured the blood of the wounds in the middle hollow (חיק) of the chariot."

Kg1 22:36-37

Towards sunset the cry went through the army (המּחנה, the army drawn up in battle array), "Every one into his city and into his land!" - In Kg1 22:37 the historian shows how the word of the Lord was fulfilled in the case of Ahab. "Thus the king died and came to Samaria:" equivalent to, thus the king reached Samaria dead; and he was buried there.

Kg1 22:38

When they washed the chariot at the pool of Samaria, the dogs licked his blood, while the harlots were bathing (in the pool). והזּנות רחצוּ is a circumstantial clause, and רחץ means to bathe, as in Exo 2:5. This explanation, which is sustained by the grammar and is the only tenable one, disposes of the several arbitrary interpretations of these words, together with the emendations of the text of which Thenius is so fond. In this way was the word of the Lord through Elijah (Kg1 21:19) and the unknown prophet (Kg1 20:42) fulfilled; also the prediction of Micah (Kg1 22:17). Ahab had paid the penalty with his own life for sparing the life of Benhadad (Kg1 20:42), and his blood was licked up by the dogs (Kg1 21:19). The fact that the dogs licked up the blood and the harlots were bathing in the pool, when the chariot that was stained with the blood of Ahab was being washed, is mentioned as a sign of the ignominious contempt which was heaped upon him at his death.

Kg1 22:39-40

Close of Ahab's history. We have no further account of his buildings. "The ivory palace," i.e., the palace inlaid with ivory, he had probably built in his capital Samaria (cf. Amo 3:15).

Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826
Three years without war - That is, from the time that Ahab made the covenant with Ben-hadad, mentioned Kg1 20:34. And probably in that treaty it was stipulated that Ramoth-gilead should be restored to Israel; which not being done, Ahab formed a confederacy with Judah, and determined to take it by force.

Top

³⁴ And Benhadad said [0559] unto him, The cities [05892], which my father [01] took [03947] from thy father [01], I will restore [07725]; and thou shalt make [07760] streets [02351] for thee in Damascus [01834], as my father [01] made [07760] in Samaria [08111]. Then said Ahab, I will send thee away [07971] with this covenant [01285]. So he made [03772] a covenant [01285] with him, and sent him away [07971].

¹⁵ And I will smite [05221] the winter [02779] house [01004] with the summer [07019] house [01004]; and the houses [01004] of ivory [08127] shall perish [06], and the great [07227] houses [01004] shall have an end [05486], saith [05002] the LORD [03068].

³⁹ Now the rest [03499] of the acts [01697] of Ahab [0256], and all that he did [06213], and the ivory [08127] house [01004] which he made [01129], and all the cities [05892] that he built [01129], are they not written [03789] in the book [05612] of the chronicles [01697] [03117] of the kings [04428] of Israel [03478]?
⁴⁰ So Ahab [0256] slept [07901] with his fathers [01]; and Ahaziah [0274] his son [01121] reigned [04427] in his stead.

¹⁹ And thou shalt speak [01696] unto him, saying [0559], Thus saith [0559] the LORD [03068], Hast thou killed [07523], and also taken possession [03423]? And thou shalt speak [01696] unto him, saying [0559], Thus saith [0559] the LORD [03068], In the place [04725] where dogs [03611] licked [03952] the blood [01818] of Naboth [05022] shall dogs [03611] lick [03952] thy blood [01818], even thine.

⁴² And he said [0559] unto him, Thus saith [0559] the LORD [03068], Because thou hast let go [07971] out of thy hand [03027] a man [0376] whom I appointed to utter destruction [02764], therefore thy life [05315] shall go for his life [05315], and thy people [05971] for his people [05971].

¹⁷ And he said [0559], I saw [07200] all Israel [03478] scattered [06327] upon the hills [02022], as sheep [06629] that have not a shepherd [07462]: and the LORD [03068] said [0559], These have no master [0113]: let them return [07725] every man [0376] to his house [01004] in peace [07965].

⁵ And the daughter [01323] of Pharaoh [06547] came down [03381] to wash [07364] herself at the river [02975]; and her maidens [05291] walked [01980] along by the river's [02975] side [03027]; and when she saw [07200] the ark [08392] among [08432] the flags [05488], she sent [07971] her maid [0519] to fetch [03947] it.

³⁸ And one washed [07857] the chariot [07393] in the pool [01295] of Samaria [08111]; and the dogs [03611] licked up [03952] his blood [01818]; and they washed [07364] his armour [02185]; according unto the word [01697] of the LORD [03068] which he spake [01696].

³⁷ So the king [04428] died [04191], and was brought [0935] to Samaria [08111]; and they buried [06912] the king [04428] in Samaria [08111].

³⁶ And there went [05674] a proclamation [07440] throughout the host [04264] about the going down [0935] of the sun [08121], saying [0559], Every man [0376] to his city [05892], and every man [0376] to his own country [0776].
³⁷ So the king [04428] died [04191], and was brought [0935] to Samaria [08111]; and they buried [06912] the king [04428] in Samaria [08111].

⁷ Now therefore, behold, the Lord [0136] bringeth up [05927] upon them the waters [04325] of the river [05104], strong [06099] and many [07227], even the king [04428] of Assyria [0804], and all his glory [03519]: and he shall come up [05927] over all his channels [0650], and go over [01980] all his banks [01415]:

³⁵ And the battle [04421] increased [05927] that day [03117]: and the king [04428] was stayed up [05975] in his chariot [04818] against [05227] the Syrians [0758], and died [04191] at even [06153]: and the blood [01818] ran out [03332] of the wound [04347] into the midst [02436] of the chariot [07393].

²³ And Joram [03088] turned [02015] his hands [03027], and fled [05127], and said [0559] to Ahaziah [0274], There is treachery [04820], O Ahaziah [0274].

¹¹ And with Absalom [053] went [01980] two hundred [03967] men [0376] out of Jerusalem [03389], that were called [07121]; and they went [01980] in their simplicity [08537], and they knew [03045] not any thing [01697].

³⁴ And a certain man [0376] drew [04900] a bow [07198] at a venture [08537], and smote [05221] the king [04428] of Israel [03478] between the joints [01694] of the harness [08302]: wherefore he said [0559] unto the driver of his chariot [07395], Turn [02015] thine hand [03027], and carry me out [03318] of the host [04264]; for I am wounded [02470].

³¹ And the king [04428] said [0559] unto him, Do [06213] as he hath said [01696], and fall [06293] upon him, and bury [06912] him; that thou mayest take away [05493] the innocent [02600] blood [01818], which Joab [03097] shed [08210], from me, and from the house [01004] of my father [01].

¹⁸ And Bathsheba [01339] said [0559], Well [02896]; I will speak [01696] for thee unto the king [04428].

³⁹ And as the king [04428] passed by [05674], he cried [06817] unto the king [04428]: and he said [0559], Thy servant [05650] went out [03318] into the midst [07130] of the battle [04421]; and, behold, a man [0376] turned aside [05493], and brought [0935] a man [0376] unto me, and said [0559], Keep [08104] this man [0376]: if by any means [06485] he be missing [06485], then shall thy life [05315] be for his life [05315], or else thou shalt pay [08254] a talent [03603] of silver [03701].

³² And it came to pass, when the captains [08269] of the chariots [07393] saw [07200] Jehoshaphat [03092], that they said [0559], Surely it is the king [04428] of Israel [03478]. And they turned aside [05493] to fight [03898] against him: and Jehoshaphat [03092] cried out [02199].
³³ And it came to pass, when the captains [08269] of the chariots [07393] perceived [07200] that it was not the king [04428] of Israel [03478], that they turned back [07725] from pursuing [0310] him.

²⁴ Him that dieth [04191] of Ahab [0256] in the city [05892] the dogs [03611] shall eat [0398]; and him that dieth [04191] in the field [07704] shall the fowls [05775] of the air [08064] eat [0398].

³¹ But the king [04428] of Syria [0758] commanded [06680] his thirty [07970] and two [08147] captains [08269] that had rule over his chariots [07393], saying [0559], Fight [03898] neither with small [06996] nor great [01419], save only with the king [04428] of Israel [03478].

³⁰ And the king [04428] of Israel [03478] said [0559] unto Jehoshaphat [03092], I will disguise [02664] myself, and enter [0935] into the battle [04421]; but put thou on [03847] thy robes [0899]. And the king [04428] of Israel [03478] disguised [02664] himself, and went [0935] into the battle [04421].
³¹ But the king [04428] of Syria [0758] commanded [06680] his thirty [07970] and two [08147] captains [08269] that had rule over his chariots [07393], saying [0559], Fight [03898] neither with small [06996] nor great [01419], save only with the king [04428] of Israel [03478].

² And Jehu [03058] the son [01121] of Hanani [02607] the seer [02374] went out [03318] to meet [06440] him, and said [0559] to king [04428] Jehoshaphat [03092], Shouldest thou help [05826] the ungodly [07563], and love [0157] them that hate [08130] the LORD [03068]? therefore [02063] is wrath [07110] upon thee from before [06440] the LORD [03068].

²⁹ So the king [04428] of Israel [03478] and Jehoshaphat [03092] the king [04428] of Judah [03063] went up [05927] to Ramothgilead [07433] [01568].

²⁹ So the king [04428] of Israel [03478] and Jehoshaphat [03092] the king [04428] of Judah [03063] went up [05927] to Ramothgilead [07433] [01568].
³⁰ And the king [04428] of Israel [03478] said [0559] unto Jehoshaphat [03092], I will disguise [02664] myself, and enter [0935] into the battle [04421]; but put thou on [03847] thy robes [0899]. And the king [04428] of Israel [03478] disguised [02664] himself, and went [0935] into the battle [04421].
³¹ But the king [04428] of Syria [0758] commanded [06680] his thirty [07970] and two [08147] captains [08269] that had rule over his chariots [07393], saying [0559], Fight [03898] neither with small [06996] nor great [01419], save only with the king [04428] of Israel [03478].
³² And it came to pass, when the captains [08269] of the chariots [07393] saw [07200] Jehoshaphat [03092], that they said [0559], Surely it is the king [04428] of Israel [03478]. And they turned aside [05493] to fight [03898] against him: and Jehoshaphat [03092] cried out [02199].
³³ And it came to pass, when the captains [08269] of the chariots [07393] perceived [07200] that it was not the king [04428] of Israel [03478], that they turned back [07725] from pursuing [0310] him.
³⁴ And a certain man [0376] drew [04900] a bow [07198] at a venture [08537], and smote [05221] the king [04428] of Israel [03478] between the joints [01694] of the harness [08302]: wherefore he said [0559] unto the driver of his chariot [07395], Turn [02015] thine hand [03027], and carry me out [03318] of the host [04264]; for I am wounded [02470].
³⁵ And the battle [04421] increased [05927] that day [03117]: and the king [04428] was stayed up [05975] in his chariot [04818] against [05227] the Syrians [0758], and died [04191] at even [06153]: and the blood [01818] ran out [03332] of the wound [04347] into the midst [02436] of the chariot [07393].
³⁶ And there went [05674] a proclamation [07440] throughout the host [04264] about the going down [0935] of the sun [08121], saying [0559], Every man [0376] to his city [05892], and every man [0376] to his own country [0776].
³⁷ So the king [04428] died [04191], and was brought [0935] to Samaria [08111]; and they buried [06912] the king [04428] in Samaria [08111].
³⁸ And one washed [07857] the chariot [07393] in the pool [01295] of Samaria [08111]; and the dogs [03611] licked up [03952] his blood [01818]; and they washed [07364] his armour [02185]; according unto the word [01697] of the LORD [03068] which he spake [01696].
³⁹ Now the rest [03499] of the acts [01697] of Ahab [0256], and all that he did [06213], and the ivory [08127] house [01004] which he made [01129], and all the cities [05892] that he built [01129], are they not written [03789] in the book [05612] of the chronicles [01697] [03117] of the kings [04428] of Israel [03478]?
⁴⁰ So Ahab [0256] slept [07901] with his fathers [01]; and Ahaziah [0274] his son [01121] reigned [04427] in his stead.

² Hear [08085], all ye people [05971]; hearken [07181], O earth [0776], and all that therein [04393] is: and let the Lord [0136] GOD [03069] be witness [05707] against you, the Lord [0136] from his holy [06944] temple [01964].

²⁸ And Micaiah [04321] said [0559], If thou return [07725] at all [07725] in peace [07965], the LORD [03068] hath not spoken [01696] by me. And he said [0559], Hearken [08085], O people [05971], every one of you.

²⁶ And the king [04428] of Israel [03478] said [0559], Take [03947] Micaiah [04321], and carry him back [07725] unto Amon [0526] the governor [08269] of the city [05892], and to Joash [03101] the king's [04428] son [01121];
²⁷ And say [0559], Thus saith [0559] the king [04428], Put [07760] this fellow in the prison [01004] [03608], and feed [0398] him with bread [03899] of affliction [03906] and with water [04325] of affliction [03906], until I come [0935] in peace [07965].

²⁵ And Micaiah [04321] said [0559], Behold, thou shalt see [07200] in that day [03117], when thou shalt go [0935] into an inner [02315] chamber [02315] to hide [02247] thyself.

⁸ And he said [0559], Which way [01870] shall we go up [05927]? And he answered [0559], The way [01870] through the wilderness [04057] of Edom [0123].

²⁴ But Zedekiah [06667] the son [01121] of Chenaanah [03668] went near [05066], and smote [05221] Micaiah [04321] on the cheek [03895], and said [0559], Which way [0335] went [05674] the Spirit [07307] of the LORD [03068] from me to speak [01696] unto thee?

²⁸ And [2532] even as [2531] they did [1381] not [3756] like [1381] to retain [2192] God [2316] in [1722] their knowledge [1922], God [2316] gave [3860] them [846] over [3860] to [1519] a reprobate [96] mind [3563], to do [4160] those things which are [2520] not [3361] convenient [2520];

²⁶ For [1223] this [5124] cause God [2316] gave [3860] them [846] up [3860] unto [1519] vile [819] affections [3806]: for [1063] even [5037] their [846] women [2338] did change [3337] the natural [5446] use [5540] into [1519] that which is against [3844] nature [5449]:

²⁴ Wherefore [1352] God [2316] also [2532] gave [3860] them [846] up [3860] to [1519] uncleanness [167] through [1722] the lusts [1939] of their own [846] hearts [2588], to dishonour [818] their own [846] bodies [4983] between [1722] themselves [1438]:

² And it shall come to pass in that day [03117], saith [05002] the LORD [03068] of hosts [06635], that I will cut off [03772] the names [08034] of the idols [06091] out of the land [0776], and they shall no more be remembered [02142]: and also I will cause the prophets [05030] and the unclean [02932] spirit [07307] to pass [05674] out of the land [0776].

⁶ We [2249] are [2070] of [1537] God [2316]: he that knoweth [1097] God [2316] heareth [191] us [2257]; he that [3739] is [2076] not [3756] of [1537] God [2316] heareth [191] not [3756] us [2257]. Hereby [1537] [5127] know we [1097] the spirit [4151] of truth [225], and [2532] the spirit [4151] of error [4106].

⁸ And he took [03947] butter [02529], and milk [02461], and the calf [01121] [01241] which he had dressed [06213], and set [05414] it before them [06440]; and he stood [05975] by them under the tree [06086], and they did eat [0398].

¹⁹ And he said [0559], Hear [08085] thou therefore the word [01697] of the LORD [03068]: I saw [07200] the LORD [03068] sitting [03427] on his throne [03678], and all the host [06635] of heaven [08064] standing [05975] by him on his right hand [03225] and on his left [08040].
²⁰ And the LORD [03068] said [0559], Who shall persuade [06601] Ahab [0256], that he may go up [05927] and fall [05307] at Ramothgilead [07433] [01568]? And one said [0559] on this manner [03541], and another said [0559] on that manner [03541].
²¹ And there came forth [03318] a spirit [07307], and stood [05975] before [06440] the LORD [03068], and said [0559], I will persuade [06601] him.
²² And the LORD [03068] said [0559] unto him, Wherewith? And he said [0559], I will go forth [03318], and I will be a lying [08267] spirit [07307] in the mouth [06310] of all his prophets [05030]. And he said [0559], Thou shalt persuade [06601] him, and prevail [03201] also: go forth [03318], and do [06213] so.
²³ Now therefore, behold, the LORD [03068] hath put [05414] a lying [08267] spirit [07307] in the mouth [06310] of all these thy prophets [05030], and the LORD [03068] hath spoken [01696] evil [07451] concerning thee.
²⁴ But Zedekiah [06667] the son [01121] of Chenaanah [03668] went near [05066], and smote [05221] Micaiah [04321] on the cheek [03895], and said [0559], Which way [0335] went [05674] the Spirit [07307] of the LORD [03068] from me to speak [01696] unto thee?
²⁵ And Micaiah [04321] said [0559], Behold, thou shalt see [07200] in that day [03117], when thou shalt go [0935] into an inner [02315] chamber [02315] to hide [02247] thyself.

¹⁸ And the king [04428] of Israel [03478] said [0559] unto Jehoshaphat [03092], Did I not tell [0559] thee that he would prophesy [05012] no good [02896] concerning me, but evil [07451]?

¹⁶ Let the LORD [03068], the God [0430] of the spirits [07307] of all flesh [01320], set [06485] a man [0376] over the congregation [05712],
¹⁷ Which may go out [03318] before [06440] them, and which may go in [0935] before [06440] them, and which may lead them out [03318], and which may bring them in [0935]; that the congregation [05712] of the LORD [03068] be not as sheep [06629] which have no shepherd [07462].

¹⁶ And the king [04428] said [0559] unto him, How many times [06471] shall I adjure [07650] thee that thou tell [01696] me nothing but that which is true [0571] in the name [08034] of the LORD [03068]?

¹⁵ So he came [0935] to the king [04428]. And the king [04428] said [0559] unto him, Micaiah [04321], shall we go [03212] against Ramothgilead [07433] [01568] to battle [04421], or shall we forbear [02308]? And he answered [0559] him, Go [05927], and prosper [06743]: for the LORD [03068] shall deliver [05414] it into the hand [03027] of the king [04428].
¹⁶ And the king [04428] said [0559] unto him, How many times [06471] shall I adjure [07650] thee that thou tell [01696] me nothing but that which is true [0571] in the name [08034] of the LORD [03068]?
¹⁷ And he said [0559], I saw [07200] all Israel [03478] scattered [06327] upon the hills [02022], as sheep [06629] that have not a shepherd [07462]: and the LORD [03068] said [0559], These have no master [0113]: let them return [07725] every man [0376] to his house [01004] in peace [07965].

¹³ And the messenger [04397] that was gone [01980] to call [07121] Micaiah [04321] spake [01696] unto him, saying [0559], Behold now, the words [01697] of the prophets [05030] declare good [02896] unto the king [04428] with one [0259] mouth [06310]: let thy word [01697], I pray thee, be like the word [01697] of one [0259] of them, and speak [01696] that which is good [02896].
¹⁴ And Micaiah [04321] said [0559], As the LORD [03068] liveth [02416], what the LORD [03068] saith [0559] unto me, that will I speak [01696].

¹⁷ His glory [01926] is like the firstling [01060] of his bullock [07794], and his horns [07161] are like the horns [07161] of unicorns [07214]: with them he shall push [05055] the people [05971] together [03162] to the ends [0657] of the earth [0776]: and they are the ten thousands [07233] of Ephraim [0669], and they are the thousands [0505] of Manasseh [04519].

¹⁰ And the king [04428] of Israel [03478] and Jehoshaphat [03092] the king [04428] of Judah [03063] sat [03427] each [0376] on his throne [03678], having put on [03847] their robes [0899], in a void place [01637] in the entrance [06607] of the gate [08179] of Samaria [08111]; and all the prophets [05030] prophesied [05012] before [06440] them.
¹¹ And Zedekiah [06667] the son [01121] of Chenaanah [03668] made [06213] him horns [07161] of iron [01270]: and he said [0559], Thus saith [0559] the LORD [03068], With these shalt thou push [05055] the Syrians [0758], until thou have consumed [03615] them.
¹² And all the prophets [05030] prophesied [05012] so, saying [0559], Go up [05927] to Ramothgilead [07433] [01568], and prosper [06743]: for the LORD [03068] shall deliver [05414] it into the king's [04428] hand [03027].

³⁶ And the Midianites [04092] sold [04376] him into Egypt [04714] unto Potiphar [06318], an officer [05631] of Pharaoh's [06547], and captain [08269] of the guard [02876].

¹⁵ And he will take the tenth [06237] of your seed [02233], and of your vineyards [03754], and give [05414] to his officers [05631], and to his servants [05650].

⁹ Then the king [04428] of Israel [03478] called [07121] an [0259] officer [05631], and said [0559], Hasten [04116] hither Micaiah [04321] the son [01121] of Imlah [03229].

¹⁷ For I will promote [03513] thee unto very [03966] great [03513] honour [03513], and I will do [06213] whatsoever thou sayest [0559] unto me: come [03212] therefore, I pray thee, curse [06895] me this people [05971].

⁶ Come [03212] now therefore, I pray thee, curse [0779] me this people [05971]; for they are too mighty [06099] for me: peradventure I shall prevail [03201], that we may smite [05221] them, and that I may drive them out [01644] of the land [0776]: for I wot [03045] that he whom thou blessest [01288] is blessed [01288], and he whom thou cursest [0779] is cursed [0779].

³⁵ And a certain [0259] man [0376] of the sons [01121] of the prophets [05030] said [0559] unto his neighbour [07453] in the word [01697] of the LORD [03068], Smite [05221] me, I pray thee. And the man [0376] refused [03985] to smite [05221] him.

⁸ And the king [04428] of Israel [03478] said [0559] unto Jehoshaphat [03092], There is yet one [0259] man [0376], Micaiah [04321] the son [01121] of Imlah [03229], by whom we may enquire [01875] of the LORD [03068]: but I hate [08130] him; for he doth not prophesy [05012] good [02896] concerning me, but evil [07451]. And Jehoshaphat [03092] said [0559], Let not the king [04428] say [0559] so.

⁷ And Jehoshaphat [03092] said [0559], Is there not here a prophet [05030] of the LORD [03068] besides [05750], that we might enquire [01875] of him?

¹⁹ Now therefore send [07971], and gather [06908] to me all Israel [03478] unto mount [02022] Carmel [03760], and the prophets [05030] of Baal [01168] four [0702] hundred [03967] and fifty [02572], and the prophets [05030] of the groves [0842] four [0702] hundred [03967], which eat [0398] at Jezebel's [0348] table [07979].
²⁰ So Ahab [0256] sent [07971] unto all the children [01121] of Israel [03478], and gathered [06908] the prophets [05030] together [06908] unto mount [02022] Carmel [03760].

⁵ And Jehoshaphat [03092] said [0559] unto the king [04428] of Israel [03478], Enquire [01875], I pray thee, at the word [01697] of the LORD [03068] to day [03117].
⁶ Then the king [04428] of Israel [03478] gathered [06908] the prophets [05030] together [06908], about four [0702] hundred [03967] men [0376], and said [0559] unto them, Shall I go [03212] against Ramothgilead [07433] [01568] to battle [04421], or shall I forbear [02308]? And they said [0559], Go up [05927]; for the Lord [0136] shall deliver [05414] it into the hand [03027] of the king [04428].
⁷ And Jehoshaphat [03092] said [0559], Is there not here a prophet [05030] of the LORD [03068] besides [05750], that we might enquire [01875] of him?

⁴³ Namely, Bezer [01221] in the wilderness [04057], in the plain [04334] country [0776], of the Reubenites [07206]; and Ramoth [07216] in Gilead [01568], of the Gadites [01425]; and Golan [01474] in Bashan [01316], of the Manassites [04520].

¹⁸ And he walked [03212] in the way [01870] of the kings [04428] of Israel [03478], as did [06213] the house [01004] of Ahab [0256]: for the daughter [01323] of Ahab [0256] was his wife [0802]: and he did [06213] evil [07451] in the sight [05869] of the LORD [03068].

¹ Now Jehoshaphat [03092] had riches [06239] and honour [03519] in abundance [07230], and joined affinity [02859] with Ahab [0256].

² And it came to pass in the third [07992] year [08141], that Jehoshaphat [03092] the king [04428] of Judah [03063] came down [03381] to the king [04428] of Israel [03478].
³ And the king [04428] of Israel [03478] said [0559] unto his servants [05650], Know [03045] ye that Ramoth [07433] in Gilead [01568] is ours, and we be still [02814], and take [03947] it not out of the hand [03027] of the king [04428] of Syria [0758]?
⁴ And he said [0559] unto Jehoshaphat [03092], Wilt thou go [03212] with me to battle [04421] to Ramothgilead [07433] [01568]? And Jehoshaphat [03092] said [0559] to the king [04428] of Israel [03478], I am as thou [03644] art, my people [05971] as thy people [05971], my horses [05483] as thy horses [05483].

¹⁷ Gilead [01568] abode [07931] beyond [05676] Jordan [03383]: and why did Dan [01835] remain [01481] in ships [0591]? Asher [0836] continued [03427] on the sea [03220] shore [02348], and abode [07931] in his breaches [04664].

¹ And they continued [03427] three [07969] years [08141] without war [04421] between Syria [0758] and Israel [03478].