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

² tn 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.

³ tn Heb “at,” which in this case probably means “near.”

⁴ tn Heb “the words of the prophets are [with] one mouth good for the king.”

⁵ tn Heb “let your words be like one of them and speak good.”

⁶ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁷ tn The Hebrew text has two imperfects connected by וְגַם (vÿgam). These verbs could be translated as specific futures, “you will deceive and also you will prevail,” in which case the Lord is assuring the spirit of success on his mission. However, in a commissioning context (note the following imperatives) such as this, it is more likely that the imperfects are injunctive, in which case one could translate, “Deceive, and also overpower.”

⁸ tn Heb “his words.”

⁹ tn All three verbal forms (“mocked,” “despised,” and “ridiculed”) are active participles in the Hebrew text, indicating continual or repeated action. They made a habit of rejecting God’s prophetic messengers.

¹⁰ tn Heb “until the anger of the Lord went up against his people until there was no healer.”