1Forsooth Jehoshaphat was full rich, and noble, and by affinity he was joined to Ahab.

2And after certain years Jehosh-aphat 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 Jehosh-aphat to go up with him into Ramoth of Gilead.

3And 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.

4And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I beseech thee, counsel thou in this present time the word of the Lord.

5Therefore the king of Israel gathered together four hundred men of prophets, and said to them, Owe we to go into Ramoth of Gilead for to fight, either take rest? And the prophets said, Go ye up, and God shall betake it into the hand of the king.

6And Jehoshaphat said, Whether no other prophet of the Lord is here, that we may also ask of him?

7And 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 Jehosh-aphat said to him, King, speak thou not in this manner.

8Then 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.

9And the king of Israel and Jehosh-aphat, king of Judah, sat ever either in his seat, and they were clothed in king’s array; and they sat in the corn-floor, beside the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them.

10And Zedekiah, the son of Chena-anah, made to him iron horns, and said, The Lord saith these things, With these, thou shalt winnow the men of Syria, till thou all-brake them.

11And 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.

12And the messenger, that 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.

13To whom Micaiah answered, The Lord liveth, for whatever things my Lord God speaketh to me, I shall say those things.

14Therefore he came to the king. To whom the king said, Micaiah, owe we go into Ramoth of Gilead to fight, either 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.

15And 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.

16And 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.

17The king of Israel said to Jehosh-aphat, Whether I said not to thee, that he prophesied not any good to me, but those things that be evil?

18And then Micaiah said, Hear ye the word of the Lord. I saw the Lord sitting in his throne, and all the host of heaven standing nigh [to] him at the right side and at the left.

19And the Lord said, Who shall deceive Ahab, king of Israel, that he go up, and fall down in Ramoth of Gilead? And when one said in this manner, and another said in another manner,

20a 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?

21And 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.

22Now 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.

23And Zedekiah, the son of Chena-anah, nighed, and he smote Micaiah upon the cheek, and said, By what way hath the Spirit of the Lord passed from me to speak with thee?

24And Micaiah said, Thou thyself shalt see in that day, when thou shalt enter from closet into closet, that thou be hid.

25And 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 of Ahab;

26and 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.

27And Micaiah said, If thou turnest again in peace, the Lord spake not to me. And he said, All peoples hear ye.

28Then the king of Israel, and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, went up into Ramoth of Gilead.

29And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, I shall change my cloth-ing, and so I shall go to fight; but be thou clothed in thy king’s clothes. Therefore when the king of Israel had changed clothing, he came to battle.

30And the king of Syria command-ed 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.

31Therefore when the princes of the multitude of knights had seen Jehosh-aphat, they said, This is the king of Israel; and they encompassed him, and fought against him. And Jehosh-aphat cried to the Lord; and the Lord helped him, and turned them away from him.

32And when the dukes of the multitude of knights had heard, or understood, that it was not the king of Israel, they left him or let him go.

33And it befelled, that one man of the people shot an arrow into uncer-tainty, 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.

34And the battle was ended in that day. Certainly the king of Israel stood in his chariot against men of Syria till to eventide, and he died, when the sun went down.