4 And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel, Enquire, I pray thee, at the word of
_the_LORD_Jehovah to day.
5 Therefore the king of Israel gathered together of prophets four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for God will deliver
it into the king's hand.
6 But Jehoshaphat said,
Is there not here a prophet of
_the_LORD_Jehovah besides, that we might enquire of him?
7 And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat,
There is yet one man, by whom we may enquire of
_the_LORD_Jehovah: but I hate him; for he never prophesied good unto me, but always evil: the same is Micaiah the son of Imla. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.
8 And the king of Israel called for one
of his officers, and said, Fetch quickly Micaiah the son of Imla.
9 And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah sat either of them on his throne, clothed in
their robes, and they sat in a void place at the entering in of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them.
10 And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah had made him horns of iron, and said, Thus saith
_the_LORD_Jehovah, With these thou shalt push Syria until they be consumed.
11 And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramoth-gilead, and prosper: for
_the_LORD_Jehovah shall deliver
it into the hand of the king.
12 And the messenger that went to call Micaiah spake to him, saying, Behold, the words of the prophets
declare good to the king with one assent; let thy word therefore, I pray thee, be like one of theirs, and speak thou good.
13 And Micaiah said,
As _the_LORD_Jehovah liveth, even what my God saith, that will I speak.
14 And when he was come to the king, the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And he said, Go ye up, and prosper, and they shall be delivered into your hand.
15 And the king said to him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou say nothing but the truth to me in the name of
_the_LORD_Jehovah?
16 Then he said, I did see all Israel scattered upon the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd: and
_the_LORD_Jehovah said, These have no master; let them return
therefore every man to his house in peace.
17 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee
that he would not prophesy good unto me, but evil?
18 Again he said, Therefore hear the word of
_the_LORD_Jehovah; I saw
_the_LORD_Jehovah sitting upon his throne, and all the host of heaven standing on his right hand and
on his left.
19 And
_the_LORD_Jehovah said, Who shall entice Ahab king of Israel, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?
And one spake saying after this manner, and another saying after that manner.
20 Then there came out a spirit, and stood before
_the_LORD_Jehovah, and said, I will entice him. And
_the_LORD_Jehovah said unto him, Wherewith?
21 And he said, I will go out, and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And
the Lord said, Thou shalt entice
him, and thou shalt also prevail: go out, and do
even so.
22 Now therefore, behold,
_the_LORD_Jehovah hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of these thy prophets, and
_the_LORD_Jehovah
hath spoken evil against thee.
23 Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near, and smote Micaiah upon the cheek, and said, Which way went the Spirit of
_the_LORD_Jehovah from me to speak unto thee?
24 And Micaiah said, Behold, thou shalt see on that day when thou shalt go into an inner chamber to hide thyself.
25 Then the king of Israel said, Take ye Micaiah, and carry him back to Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king's son;
26 And say, Thus saith the king, Put this
fellow in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I return in peace.
27 And Micaiah said, If thou certainly return in peace,
then hath not
_the_LORD_Jehovah spoken by me. And he said, Hearken, all ye people.
28 So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead.
29 And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself, and will go to the battle; but put thou on thy robes. So the king of Israel disguised himself; and they went to the battle.
30 Now the king of Syria had commanded the captains of the chariots that
were with him, saying, Fight ye not with small or great, save only with the king of Israel.
31 And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, It
is the king of Israel. Therefore they compassed about him to fight: but Jehoshaphat cried out, and
_the_LORD_Jehovah helped him; and God moved them
to depart from him.
32 For it came to pass, that, when the captains of the chariots perceived that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back again from pursuing him.
33 And a
certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness: therefore he said to his chariot man, Turn thine hand, that thou mayest carry me out of the host; for I am wounded.
34 And the battle increased that day: howbeit the king of Israel stayed
himself up in
his chariot against the Syrians until the even: and about the time of the sun going down he died.
