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2 Chronicles 18:5

Context
18:5 So the king of Israel assembled 400 prophets and asked them, “Should we attack Ramoth Gilead or not?”¹ They said, “Attack! God² will hand it over to the king.”

2 Chronicles 18:12-17

Context
18:12 Now the messenger who went to summon Micaiah said to him, “Look, the prophets are in complete agreement that the king will succeed.³ Your words must agree with theirs; you must predict success!”⁴ 18:13 But Micaiah said, “As certainly as the Lord lives, I will say what my God tells me to say!”

18:14 Micaiah⁵ came before the king and the king asked him, “Micaiah, should we attack Ramoth Gilead or not?” He answered him, “Attack! You will succeed; they will be handed over to you.”⁶ 18:15 The king said to him, “How many times must I make you solemnly promise in⁷ the name of the Lord to tell me only the truth?” 18:16 Micaiah⁸ replied, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains like sheep that have no shepherd. Then the Lord said, ‘They have no master. They should go home in peace.’” 18:17 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Didn’t I tell you he does not prophesy prosperity for me, but disaster?”

¹tn Heb “Should we go against Ramoth Gilead for war or should I refrain?”

²tn Though Jehoshaphat had requested an oracle from “the Lord” (יְהוָה, yÿhvah, “Yahweh”), the Israelite prophets stop short of actually using this name and substitute the title הָאֱלֹהִים (ha’elohim, “the God”). This ambiguity may explain in part Jehoshaphat’s hesitancy and caution (vv. 7-8). He seems to doubt that the 400 are genuine prophets of the Lord.

³tn Heb “the words of the prophets are [with] one mouth good for the king.”

⁴tn Heb “let your words be like one of them and speak good.”

⁵tn Heb “he”; the referent (Micaiah) has been specified in the translation both for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

⁶sn One does not expect Micaiah, having just vowed to speak only what the Lord tells him, to agree with the other prophets and give the king an inaccurate prophecy. Micaiah’s actions became understandable later, when we discover that the Lord desires to deceive the king and lead him to his demise. The Lord even dispatches a lying spirit to deceive Ahab’s prophets. Micaiah can lie to the king because he realizes this lie is from the Lord. It is important to note that in v. 13 Micaiah only vows to speak the word of his God; he does not necessarily say he will tell the truth. In this case the Lord’s word is deliberately deceptive. Only when the king adjures him to tell the truth (v. 15), does Micaiah do so.

⁷tn Or “swear an oath by.”

⁸tn Heb “he”; the referent (Micaiah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

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