2 Chronicles 18:12–27

¹²The messenger who had gone to summon Micaiah said to him, “Look, 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.” ¹³But Micaiah said, “As the Lord lives, whatever my God says, that I will speak.”^*

¹⁴When he had come to the king, the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I refrain?” He answered, “Go up and triumph; they will be given into your hand.” ¹⁵But 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?” ¹⁶Then Micaiah^m said, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains like sheep without a shepherd, and the Lord said, ‘These have no master; let each one go home in peace.’ ”^{* 17}The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy anything favorable about me but only disaster?”

¹⁸Then Micaiahⁿ said, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, with all the host of heaven standing to the right and to the left of him. ¹⁹And the Lord said, ‘Who will entice King Ahab of Israel, so that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ Then one said one thing, and another said another, ²⁰until a certain spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, saying, ‘I will entice him.’ The Lord asked him, ‘How?’^{* 21}He replied, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ Then the Lord^o said, ‘You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do it.’ ²²So you see, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of these your prophets; the Lord has decreed disaster for you.”^*

²³Then Zedekiah son of Chenaanah came up to Micaiah, slapped him on the cheek, and said, “Which way did the spirit of the Lord pass from me to speak to you?”^{* 24}Micaiah replied, “You will find out on that day when you go in to hide in an inner chamber.” ²⁵The king of Israel then ordered, “Take Micaiah, and return him to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king’s son,^{* 26}and say: Thus says the king: Put this fellow in prison, and feed him on reduced rations of bread and water until I return in peace.”^{* 27}Micaiah said, “If you return in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me.” And he said, “Hear, you peoples, all of you!”^*