1 Kings 22:17

17 So Micaiah said, "I saw Israel's troops scattered in the hills like sheep without a shepherd. The LORD said, 'These [sheep] have no master. Let each one go home in peace.'"

1 Kings 22:17 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 22:17

And he said
The prophet, in a serious and solemn manner, being adjured by the king:

I saw all Israel scattered on the hills, as sheep that have not a
shepherd;
the armies of Israel routed, dispersed, and fleeing, some one way and some another, on the mountains of Gilead near Ramoth, weak and helpless, not knowing where to go for safety, having none to direct them; and this was either now instantly represented to his mind, or what had been before in a dream or vision:

and the Lord said, these have no master;
these sheep have no shepherd this army hath no general,

[Israel] has [lost its king]: let them return every man to his house
in peace,
very few slain, Jarchi thinks Ahab only, see ( 1 Kings 22:31 ) that part of the threatening, ( 1 Kings 20:42 ) was now to he accomplished, "thy life shall go for his life", but the other part, "and thy people for his people", was to be deferred to another time.

1 Kings 22:17 In-Context

15 When he came to the king, the king asked him, "Micaiah, should we go to war against Ramoth in Gilead or not?" Micaiah said to him, "Attack and you will win. The LORD will hand it over to you."

16 The king asked him, "How many times must I make you take an oath in the LORD's name to tell me nothing but the truth?"

17 So Micaiah said, "I saw Israel's troops scattered in the hills like sheep without a shepherd. The LORD said, 'These [sheep] have no master. Let each one go home in peace.'"

18 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "Didn't I tell you he wouldn't prophesy anything good about me, only evil?"

19 Micaiah added, "Then hear the word of the LORD. I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and the entire army of heaven was standing near him on his right and his left.