1 Kings 22:16

16 But the king said to him, "How many times shall I adjure you that you speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of the LORD?"

1 Kings 22:16 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 22:16

And the king said unto him, how many times shall I adjure
thee
Not that he had as yet adjured him at all, or not till now; but he asks him how often he must be obliged to do it; and now he adjures him once for all, that he might not be forced to repeat it:

that thou tell me nothing but that which is true in the name of the
Lord?
for he observed he did not speak in the name of the Lord before, and what he said was not in a serious but ludicrous manner, and not to be regarded as truth.

1 Kings 22:16 In-Context

14 But Micai'ah said, "As the LORD lives, what the LORD says to me, that I will speak."
15 And when he had come to the king, the king said to him, "Micai'ah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall we forbear?" And he answered him, "Go up and triumph; the LORD will give it into the hand of the king."
16 But the king said to him, "How many times shall I adjure you that you speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of the LORD?"
17 And he said, "I saw all Israel scattered upon the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd; and the LORD said, 'These have no master; let each return to his home in peace.'"
18 And the king of Israel said to Jehosh'aphat, "Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?"
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the 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.