New Revised Standard NRS
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 For three years Aram and Israel continued without war.
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Now for three years there was no war between Aram and Israel.
2 But in the third year King Jehoshaphat of Judah came down to the king of Israel.
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And it came about in the third year, that Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, came down to the king of Israel.
3 The king of Israel said to his servants, "Do you know that Ramoth-gilead belongs to us, yet we are doing nothing to take it out of the hand of the king of Aram?"
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And the king of Israel said to his servants, Do you not see that Ramoth-gilead is ours? and we are doing nothing to get it back from the hands of the king of Aram.
4 He said to Jehoshaphat, "Will you go with me to battle at Ramoth-gilead?" Jehoshaphat replied to the king of Israel, "I am as you are; my people are your people, my horses are your horses."
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And he said to Jehoshaphat, Will you go with me to Ramoth-gilead to make war? And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I am as you are: my people as your people, my horses as your horses.
5 But Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, "Inquire first for the word of the Lord."
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Then Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, Let us now get directions from the Lord.
6 Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred of them, and said to them, "Shall I go to battle against Ramoth-gilead, or shall I refrain?" They said, "Go up; for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king."
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So the king of Israel got all the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said to them, Am I to go to Ramoth-gilead to make war or not? And they said, Go up: for the Lord will give it into the hands of the king.
7 But Jehoshaphat said, "Is there no other prophet of the Lord here of whom we may inquire?"
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But Jehoshaphat said, Is there no other prophet of the Lord here from whom we may get directions?
8 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "There is still one other by whom we may inquire of the Lord, Micaiah son of Imlah; but I hate him, for he never prophesies anything favorable about me, but only disaster." Jehoshaphat said, "Let the king not say such a thing."
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And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, There is still one man by whom we may get directions from the Lord, Micaiah, son of Imlah; but I have no love for him, for he is a prophet of evil to me and not of good. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.
9 Then the king of Israel summoned an officer and said, "Bring quickly Micaiah son of Imlah."
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Then the king of Israel sent for one of his unsexed servants and said, Go quickly and come back with Micaiah, the son of Imlah.
10 Now the king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah were sitting on their thrones, arrayed in their robes, at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets were prophesying before them.
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Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, were seated on their seats of authority, dressed in their robes, by the doorway into Samaria; and all the prophets were acting as prophets before them.
11 Zedekiah son of Chenaanah made for himself horns of iron, and he said, "Thus says the Lord: With these you shall gore the Arameans until they are destroyed."
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And Zedekiah, the son of Chenaanah, made himself horns of iron and said, The Lord says, Pushing back the Aramaeans with these, you will put an end to them completely.
12 All the prophets were prophesying the same and saying, "Go up to Ramoth-gilead and triumph; the Lord will give it into the hand of the king."
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And all the prophets said the same thing, saying, Go up to Ramoth-gilead, and it will go well for you, for the Lord will give it into the hands of the king.
13 The messenger who had gone to summon Micaiah said to him, "Look, the words of the prophets with one accord are favorable to the king; let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak favorably."
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Now the servant who had gone to get Micaiah said to him, See now, all the prophets with one voice are saying good things to the king; so let your words be like theirs and say good things.
14 But Micaiah said, "As the Lord lives, whatever the Lord says to me, that I will speak."
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And Micaiah said, By the living Lord, whatever the Lord says to me I will say.
15 When he had come to the king, the king said to him, "Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall we refrain?" He answered him, "Go up and triumph; the Lord will give it into the hand of the king."
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When he came to the king, the king said to him, Micaiah, are we to go to Ramoth-gilead to make war or not? And in answer he said, Go up, and it will go well for you; and the Lord will give it into the hands of the king.
16 But the king said to him, "How many times must I make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?"
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Then the king said to him, Have I not, again and again, put you on your oath to say nothing to me but what is true in the name of the Lord?
17 Then Micaiah said, "I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, like sheep that have no shepherd; and the Lord said, "These have no master; let each one go home in peace.' "
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Then he said, I saw all Israel wandering on the mountains like sheep without a keeper; and the Lord said, These have no master: let them go back, every man to his house in peace.
18 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy anything favorable about me, but only disaster?"
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And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, Did I not say that he would not be a prophet of good but of evil?
19 Then Micaiah said, "Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, with all the host of heaven standing beside him to the right and to the left of him.
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And he said, Give ear now to the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord seated on his seat of power, with all the army of heaven in their places round him at his right hand and at his left.
20 And the Lord said, "Who will entice Ahab, so that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?' Then one said one thing, and another said another,
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And the Lord said, How may Ahab be tricked into going up to Ramoth-gilead to his death? And one said one thing and one another.
21 until a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, saying, "I will entice him.'
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Then a spirit came forward and took his place before the Lord and said, I will get him to do it by a trick.
22 "How?' the Lord asked him. He replied, "I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.' Then the Lord said, "You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do it.'
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And the Lord said, How? And he said, I will go out and be a spirit of deceit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Your trick will have its effect on him: go out and do so.
23 So you see, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; the Lord has decreed disaster for you."
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And now, see, the Lord has put a spirit of deceit in the mouth of all these your prophets; and the Lord has said evil against you.
24 Then Zedekiah son of Chenaanah came up to Micaiah, slapped him on the cheek, and said, "Which way did the spirit of the Lord pass from me to speak to you?"
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Then Zedekiah, the son of Chenaanah, came near and gave Micaiah a blow on the side of the face, saying, Where is the spirit of the Lord whose word is in you?
25 Micaiah replied, "You will find out on that day when you go in to hide in an inner chamber."
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And Micaiah said, Truly, you will see on that day when you go into an inner room to keep yourself safe.
26 The king of Israel then ordered, "Take Micaiah, and return him to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king's son,
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And the king of Israel said, Take Micaiah and send him back to Amon, the ruler of the town, and to Joash, the king's son;
27 and say, "Thus says the king: Put this fellow in prison, and feed him on reduced rations of bread and water until I come in peace.' "
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And say, It is the king's order that this man is to be put in prison and given prison food till I come again in peace.
28 Micaiah said, "If you return in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me." And he said, "Hear, you peoples, all of you!"
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And Micaiah said, If you come back at all in peace, the Lord has not sent his word by me.
29 So the king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead.
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So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, went up to Ramoth-gilead.
30 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you wear your robes." So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle.
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And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, I will make a change in my clothing, so that I do not seem to be the king, and will go into the fight; but do you put on your robes. So the king of Israel made a change in his dress and went into the fight.
31 Now the king of Aram had commanded the thirty-two captains of his chariots, "Fight with no one small or great, but only with the king of Israel."
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Now the king of Aram had given orders to the thirty-two captains of his war-carriages, saying, Make no attack on small or great, but only on the king of Israel.
32 When the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, "It is surely the king of Israel." So they turned to fight against him; and Jehoshaphat cried out.
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So when the captains of the war-carriages saw Jehoshaphat, they said, Truly, this is the king of Israel; and turning against him, they came round him, but Jehoshaphat gave a cry.
33 When the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him.
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And when the captains of the war-carriages saw that he was not the king of Israel, they went back from going after him.
34 But a certain man drew his bow and unknowingly struck the king of Israel between the scale armor and the breastplate; so he said to the driver of his chariot, "Turn around, and carry me out of the battle, for I am wounded."
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And a certain man sent an arrow from his bow without thought of its direction, and gave the king of Israel a wound where his breastplate was joined to his clothing; so he said to the driver of his war-carriage, Go to one side and take me away out of the army, for I am badly wounded.
35 The battle grew hot that day, and the king was propped up in his chariot facing the Arameans, until at evening he died; the blood from the wound had flowed into the bottom of the chariot.
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But the fight became more violent while the day went on; and the king was supported in his war-carriage facing the Aramaeans, and the floor of the carriage was covered with the blood from his wound, and by evening he was dead.
36 Then about sunset a shout went through the army, "Every man to his city, and every man to his country!"
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And about sundown a cry went up from all parts of the army, saying, Let every man go back to his town and his country, for the king is dead.
37 So the king died, and was brought to Samaria; they buried the king in Samaria.
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And they came to Samaria, and put the king's body to rest in Samaria.
38 They washed the chariot by the pool of Samaria; the dogs licked up his blood, and the prostitutes washed themselves in it, according to the word of the Lord that he had spoken.
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And the war-carriage was washed by the pool of Samaria, which was the bathing-place of the loose women, and the dogs were drinking his blood there, as the Lord had said.
39 Now the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all that he did, and the ivory house that he built, and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel?
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Now the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all he did, and his ivory house, and all the towns of which he was the builder, are they not recorded in the book of the history of the kings of Israel?
40 So Ahab slept with his ancestors; and his son Ahaziah succeeded him.
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So Ahab was put to rest with his fathers; and Ahaziah his son became king in his place.
41 Jehoshaphat son of Asa began to reign over Judah in the fourth year of King Ahab of Israel.
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And Jehoshaphat, the son of Asa, became king over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab's rule over Israel.
42 Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Azubah daughter of Shilhi.
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Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he was king for twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Azubah, the daughter of Shilhi.
43 He walked in all the way of his father Asa; he did not turn aside from it, doing what was right in the sight of the Lord; yet the high places were not taken away, and the people still sacrificed and offered incense on the high places.
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He did as Asa his father had done, not turning away from it, but doing what was right in the eyes of the Lord; but the high places were not taken away: the people went on making offerings and burning them in the high places.
44 Jehoshaphat also made peace with the king of Israel.
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And Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel.
45 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, and his power that he showed, and how he waged war, are they not written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Judah?
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Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, and his great power, and how he went to war, are they not recorded in the book of the history of the kings of Judah?
46 The remnant of the male temple prostitutes who were still in the land in the days of his father Asa, he exterminated.
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He put an end to the rest of those who were used for sex purposes in the worship of the gods, all those who were still in the land in the time of his father Asa.
47 There was no king in Edom; a deputy was king.
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At that time there was no king in Edom;
48 Jehoshaphat made ships of the Tarshish type to go to Ophir for gold; but they did not go, for the ships were wrecked at Ezion-geber.
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And the representative of King Jehoshaphat made a Tarshish-ship to go to Ophir for gold, but it did not go, because it was broken at Ezion-geber.
49 Then Ahaziah son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, "Let my servants go with your servants in the ships," but Jehoshaphat was not willing.
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Then Ahaziah, the son of Ahab, said to Jehoshaphat, Let my men go with yours in the ships. But Jehoshaphat would not let them.
50 Jehoshaphat slept with his ancestors and was buried with his ancestors in the city of his father David; his son Jehoram succeeded him.
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Then Jehoshaphat went to rest with his fathers, and his body was put into the earth in the town of David his father; and Jehoram his son became king in his place.
51 Ahaziah son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of King Jehoshaphat of Judah; he reigned two years over Israel.
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Ahaziah, the son of Ahab, became king over Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of the rule of Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, and he was king over Israel for two years.
52 He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way of his father and mother, and in the way of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin.
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He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, going in the ways of his father and his mother, and in the ways of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who made Israel do evil.
53 He served Baal and worshiped him; he provoked the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger, just as his father had done.
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He was a servant and worshipper of Baal, moving the Lord, the God of Israel, to wrath, as his father had done.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.