2 Chronicles 18 Parallel Bible Translations

2 Chronicles 18 ▼
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1 After Jehoshaphat had become wealthy and was enjoying abundant honor, he allied himself to Ahab. Now Jehoshaphat had great riches and honor, and he made a marriage alliance with Ahab. Now Jehoshaphat had great wealth and honor, and he allied himself with Ahab by marriage.
2 After a few years, he visited Ahab in Samaria. Ahab slaughtered lots of sheep and oxen for him, and the people who were with him persuaded Jehoshaphat to attack Ramoth-gilead. After some years he went down to Ahab in Samaria. And Ahab killed an abundance of sheep and oxen for him and for the people who were with him, and induced him to go up against Ramoth-gilead. Some years later he went down to see Ahab in Samaria. Ahab slaughtered many sheep and cattle for him and the people with him and urged him to attack Ramoth Gilead.
3 King Ahab of Israel asked King Jehoshaphat of Judah, |Will you join me in attacking Ramoth-gilead?| |I'm with you,| Jehoshaphat replied. |and my army is with you. We'll join you in the battle.| Ahab king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, “Will you go with me to Ramoth-gilead?” He answered him, “I am as you are, my people as your people. We will be with you in the war.” Ahab king of Israel asked Jehoshaphat king of Judah, “Will you go with me against Ramoth Gilead?” Jehoshaphat replied, “I am as you are, and my people as your people; we will join you in the war.”
4 But then Jehoshaphat asked the king of Israel, |Please ask for a message from the LORD, first.| And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Inquire first for the word of the LORD.” But Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, “First seek the counsel of the LORD.”
5 So the king of Israel gathered together 400 prophets and asked them, |Should we go attack Ramoth-gilead, or should I call off the attack?| |Go attack them,| they all said, |because God will drop them right in the king's hand.| Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall we go to battle against Ramoth-gilead, or shall I refrain?” And they said, “Go up, for God will give it into the hand of the king.” So the king of Israel brought together the prophets—four hundred men—and asked them, “Shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I not?” “Go,” they answered, “for God will give it into the king’s hand.”
6 But Jehoshaphat asked, |Isn't there a prophet of the LORD left here that we could talk to?| But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not here another prophet of the LORD of whom we may inquire?” But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there no longer a prophet of the LORD here whom we can inquire of?”
7 |There is still one man left by whom we could ask the LORD what to do,| the king of Israel replied to Jehoshaphat, |but I hate him because he won't prophesy anything good about me. Instead, he always prophesies evil. He is Imla's son Micaiah.| But Jehoshaphat rebuked Ahab, |Kings should never talk like that.| And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the LORD, Micaiah the son of Imlah; but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me, but always evil.” And Jehoshaphat said, “Let not the king say so.” The king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat, “There is still one prophet through whom we can inquire of the LORD, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, but always bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.” “The king should not say such a thing,” Jehoshaphat replied.
8 Nevertheless, the king of Israel called an officer and ordered him, |Bring me Imla's son Micaiah quickly.| Then the king of Israel summoned an officer and said, “Bring quickly Micaiah the son of Imlah.” So the king of Israel called one of his officials and said, “Bring Micaiah son of Imlah at once.”
9 Now the king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah were each sitting on their own thrones, arrayed in their robes, and sitting on the threshing floor at the entrance to the city gate of Samaria, and all of the prophets were prophesying in front of them. Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah were sitting on their thrones, arrayed in their robes. And they were sitting at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying before them. Dressed in their royal robes, 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.
10 Chenaanah's son Zedekiah made iron horns for himself and told them, |This is what the LORD says, 'With these horns you are to gore the Arameans until they are eliminated!'| And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made for himself horns of iron and said, “Thus says the LORD, ‘With these you shall push the Syrians until they are destroyed.’” Now Zedekiah son of Kenaanah had made iron horns, and he declared, “This is what the LORD says: ‘With these you will gore the Arameans until they are destroyed.’”
11 All the other prophets were saying similar things, like |Go up to Ramoth-gilead and you will be successful, because the LORD will hand it over to the king!| And all the prophets prophesied so and said, “Go up to Ramoth-gilead and triumph. The LORD will give it into the hand of the king.” All the other prophets were prophesying the same thing. “Attack Ramoth Gilead and be victorious,” they said, “for the LORD will give it into the king’s hand.”
12 Meanwhile, the messenger who had gone off to summon Micaiah advised him, |Look, everything that the other prophets were saying has been unanimously favorable to the king. So please, cooperate with them and speak favorably.| And the messenger who went to summon Micaiah said to him, “Behold, 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.” The messenger who had gone to summon Micaiah said to him, “Look, the other prophets without exception are predicting success for the king. Let your word agree with theirs, and speak favorably.”
13 |As the LORD lives,| Micaiah replied, |I'll say what my God tells me to say.| But Micaiah said, “As the LORD lives, what my God says, that I will speak.” But Micaiah said, “As surely as the LORD lives, I can tell him only what my God says.”
14 When Micaiah approached the king, the king asked him, |Micaiah, should we go to war against Ramoth-gilead, or should I not?| |Go to war,| Micaiah replied, |and you will be successful, because the LORD will hand it over to the king!| And when he had come to the king, the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I refrain?” And he answered, “Go up and triumph; they will be given into your hand.” When he arrived, the king asked him, “Micaiah, shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I not?” “Attack and be victorious,” he answered, “for they will be given into your hand.”
15 When he heard this, the king asked him, |How many times do I have to ask you? Tell me nothing but the truth, and do it in the name of the LORD!| But the king said to him, “How many times shall I make you swear that you speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of the LORD?” 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?”
16 And so Micaiah replied: I saw all of Israel scattered on the mountains like sheep without a shepherd. And the LORD told me, 'These have no master, so let them each return to his own home in peace.'| And he said, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd. And the LORD said, ‘These have no master; let each return to his home in peace.’” Then Micaiah answered, “I saw all Israel scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd, and the LORD said, ‘These people have no master. Let each one go home in peace.’”
17 Then the king of Israel told Jehoshaphat, |Didn't I tell you that he wouldn't prophesy anything good about me, but only evil?| And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?” The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Didn’t I tell you that he never prophesies anything good about me, but only bad?”
18 But Micaiah responded, |Therefore, listen to what the LORD has to say. I saw the LORD, sitting on his throne, and the entire Heavenly Army was surrounding him on his right hand and on his left hand. And Micaiah said, “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 hand and on his left. Micaiah continued, “Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne with all the multitudes of heaven standing on his right and on his left.
19 |The LORD asked, 'Who will tempt King Ahab of Israel to attack Ramoth-gilead, so that he will die there?' And one was saying one thing and one was saying another. And the LORD said, ‘Who will entice Ahab the king of Israel, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one said one thing, and another said another. And the LORD said, ‘Who will entice Ahab king of Israel into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there?’ “One suggested this, and another that.
20 |But then a spirit approached, stood in front of the LORD, and said, 'I will entice him.' |And the LORD asked him, 'How?' Then a spirit came forward and stood before the LORD, saying, ‘I will entice him.’ And the LORD said to him, ‘By what means?’ Finally, a spirit came forward, stood before the LORD and said, ‘I will entice him.’ “’By what means?’ the LORD asked.
21 |'I will go,' he announced, 'and I will be a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all of his prophets!' |So the LORD said, 'You're just the one to deceive him. You will be successful. Go and do it.' And he said, ‘I will go out, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And he said, ‘You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do so.’ “’I will go and be a deceiving spirit in the mouths of all his prophets,’ he said. “’You will succeed in enticing him,’ said the LORD. ‘Go and do it.’
22 Now therefore, listen! The LORD has placed a lying spirit in the mouth of all of these prophets of yours, because the LORD has determined to bring disaster upon you.| Now therefore behold, the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of these your prophets. The LORD has declared disaster concerning you.” “So now the LORD has put a deceiving spirit in the mouths of these prophets of yours. The LORD has decreed disaster for you.”
23 As if on cue, Chenaanah's son Zedekiah approached Micaiah and struck him on the cheek. Then he asked him, |How did the Spirit of the LORD move from me to speak to you?| Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near and struck Micaiah on the cheek and said, “Which way did the Spirit of the LORD go from me to speak to you?” Then Zedekiah son of Kenaanah went up and slapped Micaiah in the face. “Which way did the spirit from the LORD go when he went from me to speak to you?” he asked.
24 Micaiah replied, |You'll learn the answer to that question when the day comes that you run away to hide yourself in a closet!| And Micaiah said, “Behold, you shall see on that day when you go into an inner chamber to hide yourself.” Micaiah replied, “You will find out on the day you go to hide in an inner room.”
25 Then the king of Israel ordered, |Take Micaiah and place him in the custody of Amon, the city governor. Hand him over to Joash, the king's son. And the king of Israel said, “Seize Micaiah and take him back to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king’s son, The king of Israel then ordered, “Take Micaiah and send him back to Amon the ruler of the city and to Joash the king’s son,
26 Give him this order: 'Place him in prison on survival rations only until I come back safely.'| and say, ‘Thus says the king, Put this fellow in prison and feed him with meager rations of bread and water until I return in peace.’” and say, ‘This is what the king says: Put this fellow in prison and give him nothing but bread and water until I return safely.’”
27 |If you return alive,| Micaiah responded, |then the LORD has not spoken by me.| Then he added, |Listen, everybody!| And Micaiah said, “If you return in peace, the LORD has not spoken by me.” And he said, “Hear, all you peoples!” Micaiah declared, “If you ever return safely, the LORD has not spoken through me.” Then he added, “Mark my words, all you people!”
28 So the king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah both attacked Ramoth-gilead. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up to Ramoth Gilead.
29 The king of Israel suggested to Jehoshaphat, |I'll go into battle in disguise, but you keep your royal uniform on.| So the king of Israel disguised himself and they both went into the battle. And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you wear your robes.” And the king of Israel disguised himself, and they went into battle. The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will enter the battle in disguise, but you wear your royal robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle.
30 Meanwhile, the king of Aram had issued these orders to his chariot commanders: |Don't attack unimportant soldiers or ranking officers. Go after only the king of Israel.| Now the king of Syria had commanded the captains of his chariots, “Fight with neither small nor great, but only with the king of Israel.” Now the king of Aram had ordered his chariot commanders, “Do not fight with anyone, small or great, except the king of Israel.”
31 So when the chariot commanders observed Jehoshaphat, they said by mistake, |It's the king of Israel!| and they turned aside to attack him. But Jehoshaphat cried out to the LORD, who helped him, and God diverted them from him. As soon as the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, “It is the king of Israel.” So they turned to fight against him. And Jehoshaphat cried out, and the LORD helped him; God drew them away from him. When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they thought, “This is the king of Israel.” So they turned to attack him, but Jehoshaphat cried out, and the LORD helped him. God drew them away from him,
32 When the chariot commanders saw that their target was not the king of Israel, they stopped pursuing him. For as soon as the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him. for when the chariot commanders saw that he was not the king of Israel, they stopped pursuing him.
33 Meanwhile, somebody drew his bow and struck the king of Israel at a weak spot where his armor plates joined, so he instructed his chariot driver, |Turn around and take me out of the battle, because I've been severely wounded.| But a certain man drew his bow at random and struck the king of Israel between the scale armor and the breastplate. Therefore he said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn around and carry me out of the battle, for I am wounded.” But someone drew his bow at random and hit the king of Israel between the breastplate and the scale armor. The king told the chariot driver, “Wheel around and get me out of the fighting. I’ve been wounded.”
34 The battle continued on for the rest of the day while the king of Israel propped himself up in front of the Arameans until the sun set, at which time he died.| And the battle continued that day, and the king of Israel was propped up in his chariot facing the Syrians until evening. Then at sunset he died. All day long the battle raged, and the king of Israel propped himself up in his chariot facing the Arameans until evening. Then at sunset he died.
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