Jehoshaphat Allies with Ahab

¹Now Jehoshaphat had an abundance of riches and honor, and he allied himself with Ahab by marriage.

²And some years later he went down to visit Ahab in Samaria, where Ahab sacrificed many sheep and cattle for him and the people with him and urged him to march up to Ramoth-gilead.

³Ahab king of Israel asked Jehoshaphat king of Judah, “Will you go with me against Ramoth-gilead?”And Jehoshaphat replied, “I am as you are, and my people are your people; we will join you in the war.”

⁴But Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, “Please inquire first for the word of the LORD.”

⁵So the king of Israel assembled the prophets, four hundred men, and asked them, “Should we go to war against Ramoth-gilead, or should we refrain?”“Go up,” they replied, “and God will deliver it into the hand of the king.”

⁶But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there not still a prophet of the LORD here of whom we can inquire?”

⁷The king of Israel answered, “There is still one man through whom we can inquire of the LORD, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good for me, but only bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.”“The king should not say that!” Jehoshaphat replied.

⁸So the king of Israel called one of his officials and said, “Bring Micaiah son of Imlah at once.”

⁹Dressed in royal attire, the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah were sitting on their thrones at the threshing floor by the entrance of the gate of Samaria, with all the prophets prophesying before them.

¹⁰Now Zedekiah son of Chenaanah had made for himself iron horns and declared, “This is what the LORD says: ‘With these you shall gore the Arameans until they are finished off.’”

¹¹And all the prophets were prophesying the same, saying, “Go up to Ramoth-gilead and triumph, for the LORD will deliver it into the hand of the king.”

Micaiah Prophesies against Ahab

¹²Then the messenger who had gone to call Micaiah instructed him, “Behold, with one accord the words of the prophets are favorable to the king. So please let your words be like theirs, and speak favorably.”

¹³But Micaiah said, “As surely as the LORD lives, I will speak whatever my God tells me.”

¹⁴When Micaiah arrived, the king asked him, “Micaiah, should we go to war against Ramoth-gilead, or should we refrain?”“Go up and triumph,” Micaiah replied, “for they will be delivered into your hand.”

¹⁵But the king said to him, “How many times must I make you swear not to tell me anything but the truth in the name of the LORD?”

¹⁶So Micaiah declared:“I saw all Israel scattered on the hillslike sheep without a shepherd.And the LORD said, ‘These people have no master;let each one return home in peace.’”

¹⁷Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you that he never prophesies good for me, but only bad?”

¹⁸Micaiah continued, “Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing on His right and on His left.

¹⁹And the LORD said, ‘Who will entice Ahab king of Israel to march up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’And one suggested this, and another that.

²⁰Then a spirit came forward, stood before the LORD, and said, ‘I will entice him.’‘By what means?’ asked the LORD.

²¹And he replied, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets.’‘You will surely entice him and prevail,’ said the LORD. ‘Go and do it.’

²²So you see, the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouths of these prophets of yours, and the LORD has pronounced disaster against you.”

²³Then Zedekiah son of Chenaanah went up, struck Micaiah in the face, and demanded, “Which way did the Spirit of the LORD go when He departed from me to speak with you?”

²⁴Micaiah replied, “You will soon see, on that day when you go and hide in an inner room.”

²⁵And the king of Israel declared, “Take Micaiah and return him to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king’s son,

²⁶and tell them that this is what the king says: ‘Put this man in prison and feed him only bread and water until I return safely.’”

²⁷But Micaiah replied, “If you ever return safely, the LORD has not spoken through me.” Then he added, “Take heed, all you people!”

Ahab’s Defeat and Death

²⁸So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead.

²⁹And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you wear your royal robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle.

³⁰Now the king of Aram had ordered his chariot commanders, “Do not fight with anyone, small or great, except the king of Israel.”

³¹When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they said, “This is the king of Israel!” So they turned to fight against him, but Jehoshaphat cried out, and the LORD helped him. God drew them away from him.

³²And when the chariot commanders saw that he was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him.

³³However, a certain man drew his bow without taking special aim, and he struck the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. So the king said to his charioteer, “Turn aroundand take me out of the battle, for I am badly wounded!”

³⁴The battle raged throughout that day, and the king of Israel propped himself up in his chariot facing the Arameans until evening. And at sunset he died.

Moab’s Rebellion

¹In the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat’s reign over Judah, Jehoramson of Ahab became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria twelve years.

²And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, but not as his father and mother had done. He removed the sacred pillar of Baal that his father had made.

³Nevertheless, he clung to the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit; he did not turn away from them.

⁴Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep breeder,and he would render to the king of Israel a hundred thousand lambs and the wool of a hundred thousand rams.

⁵But after the death of Ahab, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.

⁶So at that time King Jehoram set out from Samaria and mobilized all Israel.

⁷And he sent a message to Jehoshaphat king of Judah: “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to fight against Moab?”“I will go,” replied Jehoshaphat. “I am as you are, my people are your people, and my horses are your horses.”

⁸Then he asked, “Which way shall we go up?”“By way of the Desert of Edom,” replied Joram.

⁹So the king of Israel, the king of Judah, and the king of Edom set out, and after they had traveled a roundabout route for seven days, they had no water for their army or for their animals.

¹⁰“Alas,” said the king of Israel, “for the LORD has summoned these three kings to deliver them into the hand of Moab!”

¹¹But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there no prophet of the LORD here? Let us inquire of the LORD through him.”And one of the servants of the king of Israel answered, “Elisha son of Shaphat is here. He used to pour water on the hands of Elijah.”

¹²Jehoshaphat affirmed, “The word of the LORD is with him.” So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.

¹³Elisha, however, said to the king of Israel, “What have we to do with each other? Go to the prophets of your father and of your mother!”“No,” replied the king of Israel, “for it is the LORD who has summoned these three kings to deliver them into the hand of Moab.”

¹⁴Then Elisha said, “As surely as the LORD of Hosts lives, before whom I stand, were it not for my regard for the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look at you or acknowledge you.

¹⁵But now, bring me a harpist.”And while the harpist played, the hand of the LORD came upon Elisha

¹⁶and he said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Dig this valley full of ditches.’

¹⁷For the LORD says, ‘You will not see wind or rain, but the valley will be filled with water, and you will drink—you and your cattle and your animals.’

¹⁸This is a simple matter in the sight of the LORD, and He will also deliver the Moabites into your hand.

¹⁹And you shall attack every fortified city and every city of importance. You shall cut down every good tree, stop up every spring, and ruin every good field with stones.”

²⁰The next morning, at the time of the morning sacrifice, water suddenly flowed from the direction of Edom and filled the land.

²¹Now all the Moabites had heard that the kings had come up to fight against them. So all who could bear arms, young and old, were summoned and stationed at the border.

²²When they got up early in the morning, the sun was shining on the water, and it looked as red as blood to the Moabites across the way.

²³“This is blood!” they exclaimed. “The kings have clashed swords and slaughtered one another. Now to the plunder, Moab!”

²⁴But when the Moabites came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and attacked them, and they fled before them. So the Israelites invaded their land and struck down the Moabites.

²⁵They destroyed the cities, and each man threw stones on every good field until it was covered. They stopped up every spring and cut down every good tree. Only Kir-haraseth was left with stones in place, but men with slings surrounded it and attacked it as well.

²⁶When the king of Moab saw that the battle was too fierce for him, he took with him seven hundred swordsmen to break through to the king of Edom, but they could not prevail.

²⁷So he took his firstborn son, who was to succeed him, and offered him as a burnt offering on the city wall.And there was great fury against the Israelites,so they withdrew and returned to their own land.

Jehu’s Prophecy against Baasha

¹Then the word of the LORD came to Jehu son of Hanani against Baasha, saying:

²“Even though I lifted you out of the dust and made you ruler over My people Israel, you have walked in the way of Jeroboam and have caused My people Israel to sin and to provoke Me to anger by their sins.

³So now I will consume Baasha and his house, and I will make your house like that of Jeroboam son of Nebat:

⁴Anyone belonging to Baasha who dies in the citywill be eaten by dogs,and anyone who dies in the fieldwill be eaten by the birds of the air.”

⁵As for the rest of the acts of Baasha, along with his accomplishments and might, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

⁶And Baasha rested with his fathers and was buried in Tirzah, and his son Elah reigned in his place.

⁷Moreover, the word of the LORD came through the prophet Jehu son of Hanani against Baasha and his house, because of all the evil he had done in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger with the work of his hands and becoming like the house of Jeroboam, and also because Baasha had struck down the house of Jeroboam.

Elah Reigns in Israel

⁸In the twenty-sixth year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Elah son of Baasha became king of Israel, and he reigned in Tirzah two years.

⁹However, while Elah was in Tirzah getting drunk in the house of Arza the steward of his household there, Elah’s servant Zimri, the commander of half his chariots, conspired against him.

¹⁰So in the twenty-seventh year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Zimri went in, struck Elah down, and killed him. And Zimri reigned in his place.

¹¹As soon as Zimri began to reign and was seated on the throne, he struck down the entire household of Baasha. He did not leave a single male, whether a kinsman or friend.

¹²So Zimri destroyed the entire household of Baasha, according to the word that the LORD had spoken against Baasha through Jehu the prophet.

¹³This happened because of all the sins Baasha and his son Elah had committed and had caused Israel to commit, provoking the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger with their worthless idols.

¹⁴As for the rest of the acts of Elah, along with all his accomplishments, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

Zimri Reigns in Israel

¹⁵In the twenty-seventh year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Zimri reigned in Tirzah for seven days. Now the troops were encamped against Gibbethon of the Philistines,

¹⁶and the people in the camp heard that Zimri had conspired against the king and struck him down. So there in the camp that very day, all Israel proclaimed Omri, the commander of the army, king over Israel.

¹⁷Then Omri and all the Israelites marched up from Gibbethon and besieged Tirzah.

¹⁸When Zimri saw that the city was captured, he entered the citadel of the royal palace and burned it down upon himself. So he died

¹⁹because of the sins he had committed, doing evil in the sight of the LORD and following the example of Jeroboam and the sin he had committed and had caused Israel to commit.

²⁰As for the rest of the acts of Zimri and the treason he committed, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

Omri Reigns in Israel

²¹At that time the people of Israel were divided: Half of the people supported Tibni son of Ginath as king, and half supported Omri.

²²But the followers of Omri proved stronger than those of Tibni son of Ginath. So Tibni died and Omri became king.

²³In the thirty-first year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned twelve years, six of them in Tirzah.

²⁴He bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silverand built a city there, calling it Samaria after the name of Shemer, who had owned the hill.

²⁵But Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD and acted more wickedly than all who were before him.

²⁶For he walked in all the ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat and in his sins, which he caused Israel to commit, provoking the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger with their worthless idols.

²⁷As for the rest of the acts of Omri, along with his accomplishments and the might he exercised, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

²⁸And Omri rested with his fathers and was buried in Samaria, and his son Ahab reigned in his place.

Ahab Reigns in Israel, Marries Jezebel

²⁹In the thirty-eighth year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria twenty-two years.

³⁰However, Ahab son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD, more than all who were before him.

³¹And as if it were not enough for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, he even married Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and he then proceeded to serve and worship Baal.

³²First, Ahab set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he had built in Samaria.

³³Then he set up an Asherah pole. Thus Ahab did more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel before him.

³⁴In Ahab’s days, Hiel the Bethelite rebuilt Jericho. At the cost of Abiram his firstborn he laid its foundation, and at the cost of Segub his youngest he set up its gates, according to the word that the LORD had spoken through Joshua son of Nun.

Sing for Joy to God Our Strength

¹Sing for joy to God our strength;make a joyful noise to the God of Jacob.

²Lift up a song, strike the tambourine,play the sweet-sounding harp and lyre.

³Sound the ram’s horn at the New Moon,and at the full moon on the day of our Feast.

⁴For this is a statute for Israel,an ordinance of the God of Jacob.

⁵He ordained it as a testimony for Josephwhen he went out over the land of Egypt,where I heard an unfamiliar language:

⁶“I relieved his shoulder of the burden;his hands were freed from the basket.

⁷You called out in distress, and I rescued you;I answered you from the cloud of thunder;I tested you at the waters of Meribah.Selah

⁸Hear, O My people, and I will warn you:O Israel, if only you would listen to Me!

⁹There must be no strange god among you,nor shall you bow to a foreign god.

¹⁰I am the LORD your God,who brought you up out of Egypt.Open wide your mouth,and I will fill it.

¹¹But My people would not listen to Me,and Israel would not obey Me.

¹²So I gave them up to their stubborn heartsto follow their own devices.

¹³If only My people would listen to Me,if Israel would follow My ways,

¹⁴how soon I would subdue their enemiesand turn My hand against their foes!

¹⁵Those who hate the LORD would feign obedience,and their doom would last forever.

¹⁶But I would feed you the finest wheat;with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”