2 Chronicles 18

Jehoshaphat Teams Up with Ahab (Bad Idea)

1 Now, Jehoshaphat had mad riches and honor, and he ended up linking up with Ahab through marriage.

2 After some years, he rolled down to Samaria to visit Ahab. And Ahab hooked him up with a huge feast, slaughtering a ton of sheep and oxen for him and the crew with him. Then Ahab convinced him to roll up to Ramoth-Gilead with him.

3 Ahab king of Israel asked Jehoshaphat king of Judah, “You are going to roll with me to Ramoth-Gilead,” Jehoshaphat told him, “I am with you, my people are your people, and we are with you for the war."

4 But Jehoshaphat also told the king of Israel, “First, let us hit up the Lord for a word, for real.”

5 So the king of Israel gathered the prophets, about four hundred dudes, and asked them, “Should we roll up to Ramoth-Gilead to fight, or should I hold back?” They said, “Go for it! God is going to hand it over to the king.”

6 But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there not another prophet of the Lord here we can ask, Just one more?”

7 The king of Israel told Jehoshaphat, “There is still one more dude we can ask the Lord through, Micaiah son of Imlah. But I hate that guy, because he never prophesies nothing good about me, only bad stuff.” Jehoshaphat said, “Nah, do not say that, King!”

8 So the king of Israel called one of his officials and said, “Go quick and get Micaiah son of Imlah!”

9 Now, the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah were sitting on their thrones, dressed in their royal gear, at the threshing floor by the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying in front of them.

10 Zedekiah son of Kenaanah made himself some iron horns and said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘With these, you are going to gore Aram until they are totally wiped out!’”

11 All the other prophets were also prophesying the same thing, saying, “Roll up to Ramoth-Gilead and win! The Lord is going to hand it over to the king.”

12 The messenger who went to get Micaiah told him, “Look, the words of the prophets are all saying good things to the king with one voice. So let your word be like one of theirs, and say something good too!”

13 But Micaiah said, “As the Lord lives, whatever my God tells me, that is what I am going to speak.”

14 When he came to the king, the king asked him, “Micaiah, should we roll up to Ramoth-Gilead to fight, or should we hold back,” He told him, “Go for it and win! They will be handed over to you!”

15 But the king told him, “How many times do I must make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?”

16 Then Micaiah said, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains like sheep without a shepherd. And the Lord said, ‘These people have no leader. Let them all go back to their cribs in peace.’”

17 The king of Israel told Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you he never prophesies anything good about me, only bad?”

18 Micaiah said, “So hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, with all the heavenly army standing on His right and on His left.”

19 “And the Lord said, ‘Who is going to trick Ahab king of Israel so he will go up and fall at Ramoth-Gilead?’ And one said this, and another said that.”

20 “Then a spirit stepped forward and stood before the Lord and said, ‘I will trick him.’ And the Lord asked him, ‘How?’”

21 “He said, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets.’ And the Lord said, ‘You will trick him and you will succeed. Go do it!’”

22 “So now, look, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouths of these prophets of yours, and the Lord has spoken disaster against you.”

23 Then Zedekiah son of Kenaanah walked up and slapped Micaiah in the face and said, “Which way did the Spirit of the Lord leave me to speak to you?”

24 Micaiah said, “You will find out on that day when you must run and hide in an inner room.”

25 The king of Israel said, “Grab Micaiah and take him back to Amon, the governor of the city, and to Joash, the king’s son.”

26 “And tell them, ‘This is what the king says: “Throw this dude in jail and feed him nothing but bread and water until I come back in peace.”’”

27 Micaiah said, “If you ever come back in peace, then the Lord has not spoken through me!” And he added, “Listen up, all you people!

Ahab’s Death in Battle

28 So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up to Ramoth-Gilead.

29 The king of Israel told Jehoshaphat, “I am going to disguise myself and go into battle, but you wear your royal robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and they went into battle.

30 Now, the king of Aram had ordered his chariot commanders, “Do not fight anyone, big or small, except for the king of Israel himself!”

31 When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they said, “That must be the king of Israel!” So they surrounded him to fight. But Jehoshaphat cried out, and the Lord helped him; God diverted them from him.

32 When the chariot commanders saw that he was not the king of Israel, they pulled back from chasing him.

33 But a random dude pulled back his bow and shot the king of Israel between the plates of his armor. So Ahab told his chariot driver, “Turn around and get me out of the battle, because I am hurt!”

34 The battle got heavy that day, and the king of Israel was propped up in his chariot facing the Arameans until evening. And at sunset, he died.