1 Kings 22; 2 Chronicles 18

Viewing Multiple Passages

1 Kings 22

1 And there passed three years without war between Syria and Israel.
2 And in the third year, Josaphat, king of Juda, came down to the king of Israel.
3 (And the king of Israel said to his servants: Know ye not that Ramoth Galaad is ours, and we neglect to take it out of the hand of the king of Syria?)
4 And he said to Josaphat: Wilt thou come with me to battle to Ramoth Galaad?
5 And Josaphat said to the king of Israel: As I am, so art thou: my people and thy people are one: and my horsemen are thy horsemen. And Josaphat said to the king of Israel: Inquire, I beseech thee, this day the word of the Lord.
6 Then the king of Israel assembled the prophets, about four hundred men, and he said to them: Shall I go to Ramoth Galaad to fight, or shall I forbear? They answered: Go up, and the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king.
7 And Josaphat said: Is there not here some prophet of the Lord, that we may inquire by him?
8 And the king of Israel said to Josaphat. There is one man left, by whom we may inquire of the Lord; Micheas, the son of Jemla: but I hate him, for he doth not prophecy good to me, but evil. And Josaphat said: Speak not so, O king.
9 Then the king of Israel called an eunuch, and said to him: Make haste, and bring hither Micheas, the son of Jemla.
10 And the king of Israel, and Josaphat, king of Juda, sat each on his throne, clothed with royal robes, in a court, by the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets prophesied before them.
11 And Sedecias, the son of Chanaana, made himself horns of iron, and said: Thus saith the Lord: With these shalt thou push Syria, till thou destroy it.
12 And all the prophets prophesied in like manner, saying: Go up to Ramoth Galaad, and prosper, for the Lord will deliver it into the king’s hands.
13 And the messenger that went to call Micheas, spoke to him, saying: Behold the words of the prophets with one mouth declare good things to the king: let thy word, therefore, be like to theirs, and speak that which is good.
14 But Micheas said to him: As the Lord liveth, whatsoever the Lord shall say to me, that will I speak.
15 So he came to the king, and the king said to him: Micheas, shall we go to Ramoth Galaad to battle, or shall we forbear? He answered him: Go up, and prosper, and the Lord shall deliver it into the king’s hands.
16 But the king said to him: I adjure thee again and again, that thou tell me nothing but that which is true, in the name of the Lord.
17 And he said: I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, like sheep that have no shepherd; and the Lord said: These have no master: let every man of them return to his house in peace.
18 (Then the king of Israel said to Josaphat: Did I not tell thee, that he prophesieth no good to me, but always evil?)
19 And he added and said: Hear thou, therefore, the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the army of heaven standing by him on the right hand and on the left:
20 And the Lord said: Who shall deceive Achab, king of Israel, that he may go up, and fall at Ramoth Galaad? And one spoke words of this manner, and another otherwise.
21 And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the Lord, and said: I will deceive him. And the Lord said to him: By what means?
22 And he said: I will go forth, and be a lying spirit, in the mouth of all his prophets. And the Lord said: Thou shalt deceive him, and shalt prevail: go forth, and do so.
23 Now, therefore, behold the Lord hath given a lying spirit in the mouth of all thy prophets that are here, and the Lord hath spoken evil against thee.
24 And Sedecias, the son of Chanaana, came, and struck Micheas on the cheek, and said: Hath then the spirit of the Lord left me, and spoken to thee?
25 And Micheas said: Thou shalt see in the day when thou shalt go into a chamber within a chamber to hide thyself.
26 And the king of Israel said: Take Micheas and let him abide with Amon, the governor of the city, and with Joas, the son of Amalech;
27 And tell them: Thus saith the king: Put this man in prison, and feed him with bread of affliction, and water of distress till I return in peace.
28 And Micheas said: If thou return in peace, the Lord hath not spoken by me. And he said: Hear, all ye people.
29 So the king of Israel, and Josaphat, king of Juda, went up to Ramoth-Galaad.
30 And the king of Israel said to Josaphat: Take thy armour, and go into the battle, and put on thy own garments. But the king of Israel changed his dress, and went into the battle.
31 And the king of Syria had commanded the two and thirty captains of the chariots, saying: You shall not fight against any, small or great, but against the king of Israel only.
32 So when the captains of the chariots saw Josaphat, they suspected that he was the king of Israel, and making a violent assault, they fought against him: and Josaphat cried out.
33 And the captains of the chariots perceived that he was not the king of Israel, and they turned away from him.
34 And a certain man bent his bow, shooting at a venture, and chanced to strike the king of Israel, between the lungs and the stomach. But he said to the driver of his chariot: Turn thy hand, and carry me out of the army, for I am grievously wounded.
35 And the battle was fought that day, and the king of Israel stood in his chariot against the Syrians, and he died in the evening: and the blood ran out of the wound into the midst of the chariot.
36 And the herald proclaimed through all the army, before the sun set, saying: Let every man return to his own city, and to his own country.
37 And the king died, and was carried into Samaria: and they buried the king in Samaria.
38 And they washed his chariot in the pool of Samaria and the dogs licked up his blood, and they washed the reins according to the word of the Lord which he had spoken.
39 But the rest of the acts of Achab, and all that he did, and the house of ivory that he made, and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel?
40 So Achab slept with his fathers; and Ochozias, his son, reigned in his stead.
41 But Josaphat, the son of Asa, began to reign over Juda, in the fourth year of Acbab, king of Israel.
42 He was five and thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned five and twenty years in Jerusalem: the name of his mother was Azuba, the daughter of Salai.
43 And he walked in all the way of Asa, his father, and he declined not from it: and he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord. (22-44) Nevertheless, he took not away the high places for as yet the people offered sacrifice, and burnt incense in the high places.
44 (22-45) And Josaphat had peace with the king of Israel.
45 (22-46) But the rest of the acts of Josaphat, and his works which he did, and his battles, are they not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Juda?
46 (22-47) And the remnant also of the effeminate, who remained in the days of Asa, his father, he took out of the land.
47 (22-48) And there was then no king appointed in Edom.
48 (22-49) But king Josaphat made navies on the sea, to sail into Ophir for gold: but they could not go, for the ships were broken in Asiongaber.
49 (22-50) Then Ochozias, the son of Achab, said to Josaphat: Let my servants go with thy servants in the ships. And Josaphat would not.
50 (22-51) And Josaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with them in the city of David, his father: and Joram, his son, reigned in his stead.
51 (22-52) And Ochozias, the son of Achab, began to reign over Israel, in Samaria, in the seventeenth year of Josaphat, king of Juda, and he reigned over Israel two years.
52 (22-53) And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way of his father and his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam, the son of Nabat, who made Israel to sin.
53 (22-54) He served also Baal, and worshipped him, and provoked the Lord, the God of Israel, according to all that his father had done.
The Douay-Rheims Bible is in the public domain.

2 Chronicles 18

1 Now Josaphat was rich and very glorious, and was joined by affinity to Achab.
2 And he went down to him after some years to Samaria: and Achab at his coming killed sheep and oxen in abundance for him and the people that came with him: and he persuaded him to go up to Ramoth Galaad.
3 And Achab king of Israel said to Josaphat king of Juda: Come with me to Ramoth Galaad. And he answered him: Thou art as I am, and my people as thy people, and we will be with thee in the war.
4 And Josaphat said to the king of Israel: Inquire, I beseech thee, at present the word of the Lord.
5 So the king of Israel gathered together of the prophets four hundred men, and he said to them: Shall we go to Ramoth Galaad to fight, or shall we forbear? But they said: Go up, and God will deliver into the king’s hand.
6 And Josaphat said: Is there not here a prophet of the Lord, that we may inquire also of him?
7 And the king of Israel said to Josaphat: There is one man, of whom we may ask the will of the Lord: but I hate him, for he never prophesieth good to me, but always evil: and it is Micheas the son of Jemla. And Josaphat said: Speak not thus, O king.
8 And the king of Israel called one of the eunuchs, and said to him: Call quickly Micheas the son of Jemla.
9 Now the king of Israel, and Josaphat king of Juda, both sat on their thrones, clothed in royal robes, and they sat in the open court by the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets prophesied before them.
10 And Sedecias the son of Chanaana made him horns of iron, and said: Thus saith the Lord: With these shalt thou push Syria, till thou destroy it.
11 And all the prophets prophesied in like manner, and said: Go up to Ramoth Galaad, and thou shalt prosper, and the Lord will deliver them into the king’s hand.
12 And the messenger that went to call Micheas, said to him: Behold the words of all the prophets with one mouth declare good to the king: I beseech thee therefore let not thy word disagree with them, and speak thou also good success.
13 And Micheas answered him: As the Lord liveth, whatsoever my God shall say to me, that will I speak.
14 So he came to the king: and the king said to him: Micheas, shall we go to Ramoth Galaad to fight, or forbear? And he answered him: Go up, for all shall succeed prosperously, and the enemies shall be delivered into your hands.
15 And the king said: I adjure thee again and again to say nothing but the truth to me, in the name of the Lord.
16 Then he said: I saw all Israel scattered in the mountains, like sheep without a shepherd: and the Lord said: These have no masters: let every man return to his own house in peace.
17 And the king of Israel said to Josaphat: Did I not tell thee that this man would not prophesy me any good, but evil?
18 Then he said: Hear ye therefore the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the army of heaven standing by him on the right hand and on the left,
19 And the Lord said: Who shall deceive Achab king of Israel, that he may go up and fall in Ramoth Galaad? And when one spoke in this manner, and another otherwise:
20 There came forth a spirit, and stood before the Lord, and said: I will deceive him. And the Lord said to him: By what means wilt thou deceive him?
21 And he answered: I will go out, and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And the Lord said: Thou shalt deceive, and shalt prevail: go out, and do so.
22 Now therefore behold the Lord hath put a spirit of lying in the mouth of all thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil against thee.
23 And Sedecias the son of Chanaana came, and struck Micheas on the cheek and said: Which way went the spirit of the Lord from me, to speak to thee?
24 And Micheas said: Thou thyself shalt see in that day, when thou shalt go in from chamber to chamber, to hide thyself.
25 And the king of Israel commanded, saying: Take Micheas, and carry him to Amon the governor of the city, and to Joas the son of Amelech,
26 And say: Thus saith the king: Put this fellow in prison, and give him bread and water in a small quantity till I return in peace.
27 And Micheas said: If thou return in peace, the Lord hath not spoken by me. And he said: Hear, all ye people.
28 So the king of Israel and Josaphat king of Juda went up to Ramoth Galaad.
29 And the king of Israel said to Josaphat: I will change my dress, and so I will go to the battle, but put thou on thy own garments. And the king of Israel having changed his dress, went to the battle.
30 Now the king of Syria had commanded the captains of his cavalry, saying: Fight ye not with small, or great, but with the king of Israel only.
31 So when the captains of the cavalry saw Josaphat, they said: This is the king of Israel. And they surrounded him to attack him: but he cried to the Lord, and he helped him, and turned them away from him.
32 For when the captains of the cavalry saw, that he was not the king of Israel, they left him.
33 And it happened that one of the people shot an arrow at a venture, and struck the king of Israel between the neck and the shoulders, and he said to his chariot man: Turn thy hand, and carry me out of the battle, for I am wounded.
34 And the fight was ended that day: but the king of Israel stood in his chariot against the Syrians until the evening, and died at the sunset.
The Douay-Rheims Bible is in the public domain.