2 Chronicles 18:12–27

¹²Meanwhile, the official who had gone to fetch Micaiah said to him, “All the other prophets have prophesied success for the king, and you had better do the same.”

¹³But Micaiah answered, “By the living Lord, I will say what my God tells me to!”

¹⁴When he appeared before King Ahab, the king asked him, “Micaiah, should King Jehoshaphat and I go and attack Ramoth, or not?”

“Attack!” Micaiah answered. “Of course you’ll win. The Lord will give you victory.”

¹⁵But Ahab replied, “When you speak to me in the name of the Lord, tell the truth! How many times do I have to tell you that?”

^16*Micaiah answered, “I can see the army of Israel scattered over the hills like sheep without a shepherd. And the Lord said, ‘These men have no leader; let them go home in peace.’ ”

¹⁷Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “I told you that he never prophesies anything good for me; it’s always something bad!”

¹⁸Micaiah went on: “Now listen to what the Lord says! I saw the Lord sitting on his throne in heaven, with all his angels standing beside him. ¹⁹The Lord asked, ‘Who will deceive Ahab so that he will go and get killed at Ramoth?’ Some of the angels said one thing, and others said something else, ²⁰until a spirit stepped forward, approached the Lord, and said, ‘I will deceive him.’ ‘How?’ the Lord asked. ²¹The spirit replied, ‘I will go and make all Ahab’s prophets tell lies.’ The Lord said, ‘Go and deceive him. You will succeed.’ ”

²²And Micaiah concluded: “This is what has happened. The Lord has made these prophets of yours lie to you. But he himself has decreed that you will meet with disaster!”

²³Then the prophet Zedekiah went up to Micaiah, slapped his face, and asked, “Since when did the Lord’s spirit leave me and speak to you?”

²⁴“You will find out when you go into some back room to hide,” Micaiah replied.

²⁵Then King Ahab ordered one of his officers, “Arrest Micaiah and take him to Amon, the governor of the city, and to Prince Joash. ²⁶Tell them to throw him in prison and to put him on bread and water until I return safely.”

²⁷“If you return safely,” Micaiah exclaimed, “then the Lord has not spoken through me!” And he added, “Listen, everyone, to what I have said!”