2 Chronicles 18

NEW AMERICAN BIBLE	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 Jehoshaphat therefore had wealth and glory in abundance; but he became related to Ahab by marriage.	1 Therefore, Jehoshaphat was wealthy and very famous, and he was joined by affinity to Ahab.
2 After some years he went down to Ahab at Samaria; Ahab offered numerous sheep and oxen for him and the people with him, and persuaded him to go up against Ramoth-gilead.	2 And after some years, he descended to him in Samaria. And upon his arrival, Ahab slaughtered very many sheep and oxen, for him and for the people who had arrived with him. And he persuaded him that he should ascend against Ramoth Gilead.
3 Ahab, king of Israel, asked Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, "Will you come with me to Ramoth-gilead?" "You and I are as one," was his answer; "your people and my people as well. We will be with you in the battle."	3 And Ahab, the king of Israel, said to Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, “Come with me to Ramoth Gilead.” And he answered him: “As I am, so also are you. As your people are, so also are my people. And we will be with you in war.”
4 But Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, "Seek the word of the LORD at once."	4 And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Consult, I beg you, the word of the Lord for the present circumstances.”
5 The king of Israel gathered his prophets, four hundred in number, and asked them, "Shall we go to attack Ramoth-gilead, or shall I refrain?" "Go up," they answered. "God will deliver it over to the king."	5 And so the king of Israel gathered together four hundred men of the prophets, and he said to them: “Should we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or should we be quieted?” But they said, “Ascend, and God will deliver into the hand of the king.”
6 But Jehoshaphat said, "Is there no other prophet of the LORD here whom we may consult?"	6 And Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not a prophet of the Lord here, so that we may inquire of him as well?”
7 The king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat, "There is still another through whom we may consult the LORD, but I hate him, for he prophesies not good but always evil about me. That is Micaiah, son of Imlah." Jeshoshaphat said, "Let not your Majesty speak of evil against you."	7 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat: “There is one man, from whom we would be able to ask the will of the Lord. But I hate him, for he never prophesies good to me, but at all times evil. And it is Micaiah, the son of Imlah.” And Jehoshaphat said, “You should not speak in this manner, O king.”
8 So the king of Israel called an official, to whom he said, "Get Micaiah, son of Imlah, at once."	8 Therefore, the king of Israel called one of the eunuchs, and said to him: “Quickly, summon Micaiah, the son of Imlah.”
9 The king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah were seated each on his throne, clothed in their robes of state on a threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying before them.	9 Now the king of Israel, and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, were both sitting upon their thrones, clothed in royal vestments. And they were sitting in an open area, beside the gate of Samaria. And all the prophets were prophesying before them.
10 Zedekiah, son of Chenaanah, made iron horns for himself and said: "The LORD says, 'With these you shall gore Aram until you have destroyed them.'"	10 Truly, Zedekiah, the son of Chenaanah, made for himself horns of iron, and he said: “Thus says the Lord: With these, you shall threaten Syria, until you crush it.”
11 The other prophets prophesied in the same vein, saying: "Go up to Ramoth-gilead. You shall succeed; the LORD will deliver it over to the king."	11 And all the prophets prophesied similarly, and they said: “Ascend against Ramoth Gilead, and you shall prosper, and the Lord will deliver them into the hand of the king.”
12 The messenger who had gone to call Micaiah said to him: "Look now, the prophets unanimously predict good for the king. Let your word, like each of theirs, predict good."	12 Then the messenger who had gone to summon Micaiah said to him: “Lo, the words of all the prophets, with one mouth, announce good to the king. Therefore, I ask you that you not dissent from them in your word, and that you speak prosperity.”
13 "As the LORD lives," Micaiah answered, "I will say what my God tells me."	13 And Micaiah responded to him, “As the Lord lives, whatever my God will say to me, the same shall I speak.”
14 When he came to the king, the king said to him, "Micaiah, shall we go to fight against Ramoth-gilead, or shall I refrain?" "Go up," he answered, "and succeed; they will be delivered into your power."	14 Therefore, he went to the king. And the king said to him, “Micaiah, should we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or should we be quieted?” And he responded to him: “Ascend. For everything will come to prosperity, and the enemies will be delivered into your hands.”
15 But the king said to him, "How many times must I adjure you to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the LORD?"	15 And the king said, “Again and again, I bind you by an oath, so that you will not speak to me except what is true in the name of the Lord!”
16 Then Micaiah answered: "I see all Israel scattered on the mountains, like sheep without a shepherd, and the LORD saying, 'These have no master!' Let each of them go back home in peace.'"	16 Then he said: “I saw all of Israel scattered amid the mountains, like sheep without a shepherd. And the Lord said: ‘These have no masters. Let each one return in peace to his own house.’ ”
17 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "Did I not tell you that he prophesies no good about me, but only evil?"	17 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat: “Did I not tell you that this one would not prophesy to me anything good, but only what is evil?”
18 But Micaiah continued: "Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD seated on his throne, with the whole host of heaven standing by to his right and to his left.	18 Then he said: “Therefore, listen to the word of the Lord. I saw the Lord sitting upon his throne, and the entire army of heaven was standing beside him, on the right and on the left.
19 The LORD asked, 'Who will deceive Ahab, king of Israel, so that he will go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?' And one said this, another that,	19 And the Lord said: ‘Who will deceive Ahab, the king of Israel, so that he may ascend and fall at Ramoth Gilead?’ And when one spoke in one way, and another in another way,
20 until a spirit came forward and presented himself to the LORD, saying, 'I will deceive him.' The LORD asked, 'How?'	20 there came forward a spirit, and he stood before the Lord and said, ‘I will deceive him.’ And the Lord said to him, ‘In what way will you deceive him?’
21 He answered, 'I will go forth and become a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets.' The LORD agreed: 'You shall succeed in deceiving him. Go forth and do this.'	21 And he responded, ‘I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And the Lord said: ‘You will deceive and prevail. Go forth and do so.’
22 So now the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouths of these your prophets, but the LORD himself has decreed evil against you."	22 Therefore now, behold: the Lord gave a lying spirit to the mouth of all your prophets, and the Lord has spoken evil about you.”
23 Thereupon Zedekiah, son of Chenaanah, came up and slapped Micaiah on the cheek, saying, "Which way did the spirit of the LORD go when he left me to speak to you?"	23 Then Zedekiah, the son of Chenaanah, approached, and he struck Micaiah on the jaw, and he said: “In what way did the Spirit of the Lord depart from me, so that he would speak to you?”
24 "You shall find out," Micaiah replied, "on that day when you enter an innermost chamber to hide."	24 And Micaiah said: “You yourself shall see it, in that day, when you will enter a room within a room, so that you may be hidden.”
25 The king of Israel then said: "Seize Micaiah and take him back to Amon, prefect of the city, and to Joash the king's son,	25 Then the king of Israel instructed, saying: “Take Micaiah, and lead him to Amon, the leader of the city, and to Joash, the son of Amalech.
26 and say, 'This is the king's order: Put this man in prison and feed him scanty rations of bread and water until I return in safety!'"	26 And you shall say: ‘Thus says the king: Send this man to prison, and give to him a little bread and a little water, until I return in peace.’ ”
27 But Micaiah said, "If ever you return in safety, the LORD has not spoken through me." And he said, "Hear, O peoples, all of you!"	27 And Micaiah said, “If you will have returned in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me.” And he said, “May all the people listen.”
28 The king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead	28 And so, the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, ascended against Ramoth Gilead.
29 and the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "I will go into battle disguised, but you put on your own clothes." So the king of Israel disguised himself and they entered the fray.	29 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat: “I will change my clothing, and in this way I will go into battle. But you should be clothed in your own garments.” And the king of Israel, having changed his clothing, went to war.
30 Meanwhile, the king of Aram had given his chariot commanders the order, "Fight with no one, small or great, except the king of Israel."	30 Now the king of Syria had instructed the commanders of his horsemen, saying, “You shall not fight against the least or the greatest, but only against the king of Israel.”
31 When the commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they exclaimed, "That must be the king of Israel!" and shifted to fight him. But Jehoshaphat cried out and the LORD helped him; God induced them to leave him.	31 And so, when the leaders of the horsemen had seen Jehoshaphat, they said, “This one is the king of Israel.” And while fighting, they surrounded him. But he cried out to the Lord, and he assisted him, and he turned them away from him.
32 The chariot commanders became aware that he was not the king of Israel and gave up their pursuit of him.	32 For when the commanders of the horsemen had seen that he was not the king of Israel, they left him.
33 Someone, however, drew his bow at random and hit the king of Israel between the joints of his breastplate. He ordered his charioteer, "Rein about and take me out of the ranks, for I am disabled."	33 Then it happened that one of the people shot an arrow indiscriminately, and it struck the king of Israel between the neck and the shoulder. And so he said to his chariot driver: “Turn your hand, and lead me away from the battle line. For I have been wounded.”
34 The battle grew fierce during the day, and the king of Israel braced himself up on his chariot facing the Arameans until evening. He died as the sun was setting.	34 And the fight ended on that day. But the king of Israel was standing in his chariot facing the Syrians, even until evening. And he died when the sun set.