Ahab’s Final Campaign against Aram
1Three years passed without war between Aram and Israel. 2In the third year Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came down to the king of Israel. 3Now the king of Israel said to his servants, “Do you know that Ramoth-gilead belongs to us, and we are still doing nothing to take it out of the hand of the king of Aram?” 4And he said to Jehoshaphat, “Will you go with me to battle at Ramoth-gilead?” And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.”
5Moreover, Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Please inquire first for the word of YHVH.” 6Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall I go against Ramoth-gilead to battle or shall I refrain?” And they said, “Go up, for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.” 7But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not yet a prophet of YHVH here that we may inquire of him?” 8The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of YHVH, but I hate him, because he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.” But Jehoshaphat said, “Let not the king say so.” 9Then the king of Israel called an officer and said, “Bring quickly Micaiah son of Imlah.” 10Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah were sitting each on his throne, arrayed in their robes, at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets were prophesying before them. 11Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made horns of iron for himself and said, “Thus says YHVH, ‘With these you will gore the Arameans until they are consumed.’” 12All the prophets were prophesying thus, saying, “Go up to Ramoth-gilead and prosper, for YHVH will give it into the hand of the king.”
Micaiah Predicts Defeat
13Then the messenger who went to summon Micaiah spoke to him saying, “Behold now, the words of the prophets are uniformly favourable to the king. Please let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak favourably.” 14But Micaiah said, “As YHVH lives, what YHVH says to me, that I shall speak.”
15When he came to the king, the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall we refrain?” And he answered him, “Go up and succeed, and YHVH will give it into the hand of the king.” 16Then the king said to him, “How many times must I adjure you to speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of YHVH?”
17So he said,
“I saw all Israel
Scattered on the mountains,
Like sheep which have no shepherd.
And YHVH said, ‘These have no master.
Let each of them return to his house in peace.’”18Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?”
19Micaiah said, “Therefore, hear the word of YHVH. I saw YHVH sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by Him on His right and on His left. 20“YHVH said, ‘Who will entice Ahab to go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one said this while another said that. 21“Then a spirit came forward and stood before YHVH and said, ‘I will entice him.’ 22“YHVH said to him, ‘How?’ And he said, ‘I will go out and be a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ Then He said, ‘You are to entice him and also prevail. Go and do so.’ 23“Now therefore, behold, YHVH has put a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; and YHVH has proclaimed disaster against you.”
24Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near and struck Micaiah on the cheek and said, “How did the Spirit of YHVH pass from me to speak to you?” 25Micaiah said, “Behold, you shall see on that day when you enter an inner room to hide yourself.” 26Then the king of Israel said, “Take Micaiah and return him to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king’s son; 27and say, ‘Thus says the king, “Put this man in prison and feed him sparingly with bread and water until I return safely.”’” 28Micaiah said, “If you indeed return safely YHVH has not spoken by me.” And he said, “Listen, all you people.”
Defeat and Death of Ahab
29So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up against Ramoth-gilead. 30The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into the battle, but you put on your robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into the battle. 31Now the king of Aram had commanded the thirty-two captains of his chariots, saying, “Do not fight with small or great, but with the king of Israel alone.” 32So when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, “Surely it is the king of Israel,” and they turned aside to fight against him, and Jehoshaphat cried out. 33When the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him.
34Now a certain man drew his bow at random and struck the king of Israel in a joint of the armor. So he said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn around and take me out of the fight; for I am severely wounded.” 35The battle raged that day, and the king was propped up in his chariot in front of the Arameans, and died at evening, and the blood from the wound ran into the bottom of the chariot. 36Then a cry passed throughout the army close to sunset, saying, “Every man to his city and every man to his country.”
37So the king died and was brought to Samaria, and they buried the king in Samaria. 38They washed the chariot by the pool of Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood (now the harlots bathed themselves there), according to the word of YHVH which He spoke. 39Now the rest of the acts of Ahab and all that he did and the ivory house which he built and all the cities which he built, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 40So Ahab slept with his fathers, and Ahaziah his son became king in his place.
1 Kings 22:1:40
1Now Jehoshaphat had great riches and honour; and he allied himself by marriage with Ahab. 2Some years later he went down to visit Ahab at Samaria. And Ahab slaughtered many sheep and oxen for him and the people who were with him, and induced him to go up against Ramoth-gilead. 3Ahab king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, “Will you go with me against Ramoth-gilead?” And he said to him, “I am as you are, and my people as your people, and we will be with you in the battle.”
4Moreover, Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Please inquire first for the word of YHVH.” 5Then the king of Israel assembled the prophets, four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall we go against Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I refrain?” And they said, “Go up, for God will give it into the hand of the king.” 6But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not yet a prophet of YHVH here that we may inquire of him?” 7The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of YHVH, but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me but always evil. He is Micaiah, son of Imla.” But Jehoshaphat said, “Let not the king say so.”
8Then the king of Israel called an officer and said, “Bring quickly Micaiah, Imla’s son.”9Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah were sitting each on his throne, arrayed in their robes, and they were sitting at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets were prophesying before them. 10Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made horns of iron for himself and said, “Thus says YHVH, ‘With these you shall gore the Arameans until they are consumed.’” 11All the prophets were prophesying thus, saying, “Go up to Ramoth-gilead and succeed, for YHVH will give it into the hand of the king.”
Micaiah Brings Word from YHVH
12Then the messenger who went to summon Micaiah spoke to him saying, “Behold, the words of the prophets are uniformly favourable to the king. So please let your word be like one of them and speak favorably.” 13But Micaiah said, “As YHVH lives, what my God says, that I will speak.”
14When he came to the king, the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I refrain?” He said, “Go up and succeed, for they will be given into your hand.” 15Then the king said to him, “How many times must I adjure you to speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of YHVH?”
16So he said,
“I saw all Israel
Scattered on the mountains,
Like sheep which have no shepherd;
And YHVH said,
‘These have no master.
Let each of them return to his house in peace.’”17Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?”
18Micaiah said, “Therefore, hear the word of YHVH. I saw YHVH sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing on His right and on His left. 19“YHVH said, ‘Who will entice Ahab king of Israel to go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one said this while another said that. 20“Then a spirit came forward and stood before YHVH and said, ‘I will entice him.’ And YHVH said to him, ‘How?’ 21“He said, ‘I will go and be a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ Then He said, ‘You are to entice him and prevail also. Go and do so.’ 22“Now therefore, behold, YHVH has put a deceiving spirit in the mouth of these your prophets, for YHVH has proclaimed disaster against you.”
23Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near and struck Micaiah on the cheek and said, “How did the Spirit of YHVH pass from me to speak to you?” 24Micaiah said, “Behold, you will see on that day when you enter an inner room to hide yourself.” 25Then the king of Israel said, “Take Micaiah and return him to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king’s son; 26and say, ‘Thus says the king, “Put this man in prison and feed him sparingly with bread and water until I return safely.”’” 27Micaiah said, “If you indeed return safely, YHVH has not spoken by me.” And he said, “Listen, all you people.”
28So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up against Ramoth-gilead. 29The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you put on your robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself, and they went into battle. 30Now the king of Aram had commanded the captains of his chariots, saying, “Do not fight with small or great, but with the king of Israel alone.” 31So when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, “It is the king of Israel,” and they turned aside to fight against him. But Jehoshaphat cried out, and YHVH helped him, and God diverted them from him. 32When the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him. 33A certain man drew his bow at random and struck the king of Israel in a joint of the armor. So he said to the driver of the chariot, “Turn around and take me out of the fight, for I am severely wounded.” 34The battle raged that day, and the king of Israel propped himself up in his chariot in front of the Arameans until the evening; and at sunset he died.
2 Chronicles 18
852 – 851 BC evil reign start to finish in time of Prophet Elisha