CHAPTER 18
1 Forsooth Jehoshaphat was full rich, and noble, and by affinity he was joined to Ahab. (Now Jehoshaphat was very rich, and noble, and by marriage he was joined to Ahab.)
2 And after certain years Jehoshaphat came down to Ahab into Samaria; at whose coming Ahab killed full many wethers and oxen, and to the people that came with him; and Ahab counselled Jehoshaphat to go up with him into Ramoth of Gilead. (And after some years Jehoshaphat came down to Ahab in Samaria; and Ahab killed a great many rams and oxen for him, and for the people who came with him; and Ahab counselled Jehoshaphat to go up with him into Ramoth of Gilead.)
3 And Ahab, king of Israel, said to Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, Come thou with me into Ramoth of Gilead. To whom he answered, As and I am, so and thou art; and as thy people, so and my people; and we shall be with thee in battle. (And Ahab, the king of Israel, said to Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, Come thou with me to Ramoth of Gilead. And Jehoshaphat answered, I am ready when thou art or What is mine is yours; and my people be as thy people; and we shall be with thee in battle.)
4 And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I beseech thee, counsel thou in this present time the word of the Lord.
5 Therefore the king of Israel gathered together four hundred men of (the) prophets, and said to them, Ought we to go into Ramoth of Gilead for to fight, either take rest? (or should we not?) And the prophets said, Go ye up, and God shall betake it into the hand of the king.
6 And Jehoshaphat said, Whether no (other) prophet of the Lord is here, that we may also ask of him?
7 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, One man is, of whom we may ask the will of the Lord, but I hate him, for he prophesieth not good, but evil to me, in all time; soothly it is Micaiah, the son of Imla. And Jehoshaphat said to him, King, speak thou not in this manner. (And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, There is one man, of whom we can ask the will of the Lord, but I hate him, for every time he prophesieth not good, but only evil for me; this is Micaiah, the son of Imla. And Jehoshaphat said to him, O king, do not thou say such things.)
8 Then the king of Israel called one of his geldings, or (his honest and) chaste servants, and said to him, Call thou anon Micaiah, the son of Imla. (Then the king of Israel called one of his eunuchs, and said to him, Call thou at once Micaiah, the son of Imla.)
9 And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, sat ever either in his seat, and they were clothed in king’s array; and they sat in the cornfloor, beside the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them. (And the king of Israel, and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, both sat on their thrones, and they were clothed in king’s clothing; and they sat at the entrance to the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them.)
10 And Zedekiah, the son of Chenaanah, made to him iron horns (or made iron horns for himself), and said, The Lord saith these things, With these, thou shalt winnow the men of Syria, till thou all-brake them.
11 And all the prophets prophesied in like manner, and said, Go thou up into Ramoth of Gilead, and thou shalt have prosperity; and the Lord shall betake them into the hands of the king, (yea, the Lord shall deliver them into the hands of the king).
12 And the messenger, that went to call Micaiah (or who went to call Micaiah), said to him, Lo! the words of all the prophets tell with one mouth good things to the king; therefore, I pray thee, that thy word dissent not from them, and that thou speak prosperities to him.
13 To whom Micaiah answered, (As) The Lord liveth, for whatever things my Lord God speaketh to me, I shall say those things.
14 Therefore he came to the king (or And so he came to the king). To whom the king said, Micaiah, ought we (to) go into Ramoth of Gilead to fight, either (should we) take rest, and not to go thither? To whom Micaiah answered, Go ye up thither, for all prosperities shall come to you, and [the] enemies shall be taken into your hands.
15 And the king said to him, Again and again I charge thee, that thou speak not to me no but that that is sooth in the name of the Lord.
16 And he said, I saw all Israel scattered abroad in the hills, as sheep without a shepherd. And the Lord said, These men have not lords; each man therefore turn again into his house in peace. (And then Micaiah said, I saw all Israel scattered over the hills, like sheep without a shepherd. And the Lord said, These men have no leader; so let each man return to his house in peace.)
17 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, Whether I said not to thee, that he prophesied not any good to me, but those things that be evil? (And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, Did I not say to thee, that he would not prophesy any good for me, but only those things that be evil?)
18 And then Micaiah said, Hear ye the word of the Lord. I saw the Lord sitting in his throne (or I saw the Lord sitting on his throne), and all the host of heaven standing nigh [to] him at the right side and at the left.
19 And the Lord said, Who shall deceive Ahab, king of Israel, (so) that he go up, and fall down in Ramoth of Gilead? And when one said in this manner, and another said in another manner,
20 a spirit came forth, and stood before the Lord, and said, I shall deceive him. To whom the Lord said, And wherein shalt thou deceive him? (or And how shalt thou deceive him?)
21 And he answered, I shall go out, and I shall be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And the Lord said, Thou shalt deceive him, and thou shalt have the mastery; go thou out, and do so.
22 Now therefore, lo! the Lord hath given a spirit of leasing in the mouth of all thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil things of thee, that is, he hath said (of the) evil things to come to thee. (And so now, behold! the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil things for thee, (that is, he hath said that evil things shall come to thee).)
23 And Zedekiah, the son of Chenaanah, nighed, and he smote Micaiah upon the cheek (or and he struck Micaiah upon his cheek), and said, By what way hath the Spirit of the Lord passed from me to speak with thee?
24 And Micaiah said, Thou thyself shalt see in that day, when thou shalt enter from closet into closet, that thou be hid. (And Micaiah said, Thou thyself shalt see, or shalt discover, on that day, when thou shalt go from closet to closet, so that thou can be hid.)
25 And the king of Israel commanded, saying, Take ye Micaiah, and lead ye him to Amon, [the] prince of the city, and to Joash, the son of Amalek (or the son of Ahab);
26 and ye shall say to them, The king saith these things, Send ye this man into prison, and give ye to him a little of bread, and a little of water, till I turn again in peace (or until I return home safely).
27 And Micaiah said, If thou turnest again in peace, the Lord spake not to me. And he said, All peoples hear ye. (And Micaiah said, If thou returnest home safely, the Lord did not speak through me. And he said, Hear ye, all the people.)
28 Then the king of Israel, and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, went up into Ramoth of Gilead.
29 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, I shall change my clothing, and so I shall go to fight; but be thou clothed in thy (king’s) clothes. Therefore when the king of Israel had changed (his) clothing, he came to (the) battle.
30 And the king of Syria commanded to the dukes of the multitude of his knights, and said, Fight ye not against the least, nor against the most; but against the king alone of Israel. (And the king of Syria had commanded to the leaders of his multitude of horsemen, and said, Do not ye fight against the least, or against the most, but only against the king of Israel.)
31 Therefore when the princes of the multitude of knights had seen Jehoshaphat, they said, This is the king of Israel; and they (en)compassed him, and fought against him, (or And so when the leaders of the multitude of horsemen had seen Jehoshaphat, they said, This is the king of Israel; and they surrounded him, and fought against him). And Jehoshaphat cried to the Lord; and the Lord helped him, and turned them away from him.
32 And when the dukes of the multitude of knights had heard, or understood, that it was not the king of Israel, they left him/they let him go. (And when the leaders of the multitude of horsemen had understood that he was not the king of Israel, they let him go.)
33 And it befelled, that one man of the people shot an arrow into uncertain(ty), and he smote the king of Israel betwixt the neck and the shoulders. And he said to his charioteer, Turn thine hand, and lead me out of the battle array; for I am wounded.
34 And the battle was ended in that day. Certainly the king of Israel stood in his chariot against (the) men of Syria till to eventide, and he died, when the sun went down. (And the battle ended that day. And the king of Israel stood in his chariot facing the men of Syria until the evening, and then he died, when the sun went down.)