1 Kings 22 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.

For three years there was no war between Aram and Israel.

In the third year, Jehoshaphat king of Judah came down to visit the king of Israel.

The king of Israel said to his officials, "You know that Ramoth-gilead belongs to us, right? And we're just sitting here instead of taking it back from the king of Aram."

Then he asked Jehoshaphat, "Will you go with me to fight at Ramoth-gilead?" Jehoshaphat told the king of Israel, "I'm with you all the way — my people are your people, my horses are your horses."

But Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, "First, let's ask what Yahweh has to say about this."

So the king of Israel gathered the prophets together — about four hundred of them — and asked them, "Should I go attack Ramoth-gilead, or should I hold off?" They said, "Go for it! The Lord will hand it over to the king."

But Jehoshaphat asked, "Isn't there a prophet of Yahweh here we can ask? Someone besides these?"

The king of Israel told Jehoshaphat, "There is one more man we could ask Yahweh through — Micaiah son of Imlah. But I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, only bad." Jehoshaphat replied, "The king shouldn't say that."

So the king of Israel called one of his officials and said, "Quick — go get Micaiah son of Imlah."

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

One of them, Zedekiah son of Kenaanah, had made iron horns for himself and declared, "This is what Yahweh says: 'With these you will gore the Arameans until they're finished off!'"

All the other prophets were prophesying the same thing: "Attack Ramoth-gilead and win! Yahweh will hand it over to the king."

Meanwhile, the messenger who had gone to get Micaiah told him, "Look — every single prophet is telling the king good news. Make your message match theirs. Say something positive."

But Micaiah said, "As Yahweh lives, I will say only what Yahweh tells me to say."

When he arrived before the king, the king asked him, "Micaiah, should we go attack Ramoth-gilead, or should we hold off?" He answered, "Oh, go right ahead and win! Yahweh will hand it over to the king."

The king said to him, "How many times do I have to make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth in Yahweh's name?"

Then Micaiah said, "I saw all Israel scattered across the hills like sheep without a shepherd, and Yahweh said, 'These people have no master. Let each one go home in peace.'"

The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "See? Didn't I tell you? He never prophesies anything good about me — only bad."

Micaiah continued, "Then listen to what Yahweh has to say. I saw Yahweh sitting on his throne with the entire army of heaven standing around him, on his right and on his left."

And Yahweh said, 'Who will lure Ahab into attacking Ramoth-gilead so he falls there?' One suggested this, another suggested that.

Then a spirit came forward, stood before Yahweh, and said, 'I'll lure him.'

Yahweh asked, 'How?' The spirit answered, 'I'll go out and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets.' Yahweh said, 'You will succeed. Go and do it.'

"So right now, Yahweh has put a lying spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours. Yahweh has decided that disaster is coming for you."

Then Zedekiah son of Kenaanah walked up and slapped Micaiah across the face. "So which way did the spirit of Yahweh go when it left me to speak to you?" he demanded.

Micaiah replied, "You'll find out which way it went on the day you run and hide in an inner room."

The king of Israel ordered, "Arrest Micaiah and send him back to Amon the city governor and Joash the king's son."

"Tell them, 'The king says: Put this man in prison and give him nothing but survival rations of bread and water until I come back safely.'"

Micaiah declared, "If you actually come back safely, then Yahweh has not spoken through me." Then he added, "Mark my words, all of you people!"

So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah marched on Ramoth-gilead.

The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "I'll disguise myself and go into battle, but you wear your royal robes." So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into the fight.

Now the king of Aram had ordered his thirty-two chariot commanders, "Don't bother fighting anyone else — only the king of Israel himself."

When the chariot commanders spotted Jehoshaphat, they assumed, "That must be the king of Israel!" They turned to attack him, and Jehoshaphat cried out.

When the chariot commanders realized he wasn't the king of Israel, they broke off their pursuit of him.

But someone drew his bow at random and hit the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. Ahab told his chariot driver, "Turn around and get me out of the battle — I've been hit."

The battle raged on all day, and the king was propped up in his chariot facing the Arameans. Blood from his wound pooled in the bottom of the chariot, and by evening he was dead.

As the sun went down, a cry rang through the army: "Every man to his city! Every man to his land!"

So the king died and was brought to Samaria, and they buried him there in Samaria.

When they washed the chariot at the pool of Samaria, the dogs licked up his blood — and the prostitutes bathed in it — just as Yahweh had declared.

As for everything else Ahab did — including the ivory palace he built and all the cities he fortified — isn't it all written in the official records of Israel's kings?

Ahab rested with his ancestors, and his son Ahaziah became king in his place.

Jehoshaphat son of Asa became king of Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel.

Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Azubah daughter of Shilhi.

He walked in all the ways of his father Asa and didn't stray from them — he did what was right in Yahweh's eyes.

However, the hilltop shrines were not removed — the people still sacrificed and burned offerings at those shrines.

Jehoshaphat also made peace with the king of Israel.

As for everything else Jehoshaphat did — his achievements and the wars he waged — isn't it all written in the official records of Judah's kings?

He also cleared out from the land the remaining male cult prostitutes who had survived from the days of his father Asa.

There was no king in Edom at the time — a governor ruled instead.

Jehoshaphat built a fleet of trading ships to sail to Ophir for gold, but they never made the voyage — the ships wrecked at Ezion-geber.

Then Ahaziah son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, "Let my men sail with your men," but Jehoshaphat refused.