1 Kings 22:11-20

New International Reader's Version

¹¹ Zedekiah was the son of Kenaanah. Zedekiah had made horns out of iron. They looked like animal horns. He announced, “The Lord says, ‘With these horns you will drive back the men of Aram until they are destroyed.’ ”

¹² All the other prophets were prophesying the same thing. “Attack Ramoth Gilead,” they said. “Win the battle over it. The Lord will hand it over to you.”

¹³ A messenger went to get Micaiah. He said to him, “Look. The other prophets agree. All of them are saying the king will have success. So agree with them. Say the same thing they do.”

¹⁴ But Micaiah said, “You can be sure that the Lord lives. And here is something you can be just as sure of. I can only tell the king what the Lord tells me to say.”

¹⁵ When Micaiah arrived, the king spoke to him. He asked, “Should we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or not?”

“Attack,” he answered. “You will win. The Lord will hand Ramoth Gilead over to you.”

¹⁶ The king said to him, “I’ve made you promise to tell the truth many times before. So don’t tell me anything but the truth in the name of the Lord.”

¹⁷ Then Micaiah answered, “I saw all the Israelites scattered on the hills. They were like sheep that didn’t have a shepherd. The Lord said, ‘These people do not have a master. Let each of them go home in peace.’ ”

¹⁸ The king of Israel spoke to Jehoshaphat. He said, “Didn’t I tell you he never prophesies anything good about me? He only prophesies bad things.”

¹⁹ Micaiah continued, “Listen to the Lord’s message. I saw the Lord sitting on his throne. All the angels of heaven were standing around him. Some were standing at his right side. The others were standing at his left side. ²⁰ The Lord said, ‘Who will get Ahab to attack Ramoth Gilead? I want him to die there.’

“One angel suggested one thing. Another suggested something else.