1 Kings 21; 1 Kings 22

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1 Kings 21

1 This is what happened next. Naboth from Jezreel had a vineyard in Jezreel next to the palace of King Ahab of Samaria.

2 Ahab told Naboth, "Give me your vineyard. It will become my vegetable garden because it is near my house. I will give you a better vineyard for it. Or if you prefer, I will pay you a fair price for it."

3 Naboth told Ahab, "The LORD has forbidden me to give you what I inherited from my ancestors."

4 Resentful and upset, Ahab went home because of what Naboth from Jezreel had told him. ([Naboth had said,] "I will not give you what I inherited from my ancestors.") So Ahab lay on the couch, turned his face [from everyone], and refused to eat.

5 His wife Jezebel came to him and asked, "Why are you so resentful of everything? Why don't you eat?"

6 He told her, "I talked to Naboth from Jezreel. I said to him, 'Sell me your vineyard. Or, if you like, I'll give you another vineyard for it.' But he said, 'I won't give you my vineyard.'"

7 His wife Jezebel said to him, "Aren't you king of Israel? Get up, eat, and cheer up. I'll give you the vineyard belonging to Naboth from Jezreel."

8 So Jezebel wrote letters, signed them with Ahab's name, and sealed them with his seal. She sent them to the respected leaders and nobles living in Naboth's city.

9 In these letters she wrote: "Announce a fast. Seat Naboth as leader of the people.

10 Have two good-for-nothing men sit opposite him and accuse him of cursing God and the king. Then stone him to death outside the city."

11 The men in Naboth's city--the respected leaders and nobles who lived there--did what Jezebel asked them to do. They did just as she had written in the letters she sent.

12 They announced a fast and had Naboth seated as the leader of the people.

13 The two good-for-nothing men came in and sat opposite him. In front of the people, these men accused Naboth of cursing God and the king. So the people stoned him to death outside the city.

14 Then the leaders sent [this message] to Jezebel: "Naboth has been stoned to death."

15 Jezebel received the message and said to Ahab, "Get up! Confiscate the vineyard which Naboth from Jezreel refused to sell you. He's dead now."

16 When he heard about Naboth's death, Ahab went to confiscate the vineyard.

17 Then the LORD spoke his word to Elijah from Tishbe:

18 "Go, meet King Ahab of Israel, who lives in Samaria. He went to confiscate Naboth's vineyard.

19 Tell him, 'This is what the LORD asks: Have you murdered someone just to confiscate [a vineyard]?' Then tell him, 'This is what the LORD says: At the place where the dogs licked up Naboth's blood, the dogs will lick up your blood.'"

20 Ahab asked Elijah, "So you've found me, my enemy?" Elijah answered, "I found you. Because you sold yourself to do what the LORD considers evil.

21 So I am going to bring evil on you. I will destroy your descendants. I will destroy every male in Ahab's [house], whether slave or freeman in Israel.

22 I will make your family like the family of Jeroboam (Nebat's son) and like the house of Baasha, son of Ahijah, because you made me furious. You led Israel to sin."

23 Then the LORD also spoke [through Elijah] about Jezebel: "The dogs will eat Jezebel inside the walls of Jezreel.

24 If anyone from Ahab's [house] dies in the city, dogs will eat him. If anyone dies in the country, birds will eat him."

25 There was no one else like Ahab. At the urging of his wife, he sold himself to do what the LORD considered evil.

26 He did many disgusting things as a result of worshiping idols as the Amorites had done. (The LORD confiscated their land for Israel.)

27 When Ahab heard these things, he tore his clothes [in distress] and dressed in sackcloth. He fasted, lay in sackcloth, and walked around depressed.

28 Then the LORD spoke his word to Elijah from Tishbe:

29 "Do you see how Ahab is humbling himself in my presence? Because he's humbling himself in my presence, I will not let any evil happen to his family while he is alive. I will bring evil on it during his son's lifetime."

1 Kings 22

1 For three years there was no war between Aram and Israel.

2 In the third year King Jehoshaphat of Judah went to visit the king of Israel.

3 The king of Israel asked his staff, "Do you know that Ramoth in Gilead belongs to us, and we are doing nothing to take it back from the king of Aram?"

4 Then he asked Jehoshaphat, "Will you go with me to fight at Ramoth in Gilead?" Jehoshaphat told the king of Israel, "I will do what you do. My troops will do what your troops do. My horses will do what your horses do."

5 Then Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, "But first, find out what the word of the LORD is [in this matter]."

6 So the king of Israel called 400 prophets together. He asked them, "Should I go to war against Ramoth in Gilead or not?" "Go," they said. "The Lord will hand over Ramoth to you."

7 But Jehoshaphat asked, "Isn't there a prophet of the LORD whom we could ask?"

8 The king of Israel told Jehoshaphat, "We can ask the LORD through Micaiah, son of Imlah, but I hate him. He doesn't prophesy anything good about me, only evil." Jehoshaphat answered, "The king must not say that."

9 The king of Israel called for an officer and said, "Quick! [Get] Micaiah, son of Imlah!"

10 The king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah were dressed in royal robes and seated on thrones. They were on the threshing floor at the entrance to the gate of Samaria. All the prophets were prophesying in front of them.

11 Zedekiah, son of Chenaanah, made iron horns and said, "This is what the LORD says: With these horns you will push the Arameans to their destruction."

12 All the other prophets made the same prophecy. They said, "Attack Ramoth in Gilead, and you will win. The LORD will hand it over to you."

13 The messenger who went to call Micaiah told him, "The prophets have all told the king the same good message. Make your message agree with their message. Say something good."

14 Micaiah answered, "I solemnly swear, as the LORD lives, I will tell him whatever the LORD tells me."

15 When he came to the king, the king asked him, "Micaiah, should we go to war against Ramoth in Gilead or not?" Micaiah said to him, "Attack and you will win. The LORD will hand it over to you."

16 The king asked him, "How many times must I make you take an oath in the LORD's name to tell me nothing but the truth?"

17 So Micaiah said, "I saw Israel's troops scattered in the hills like sheep without a shepherd. The LORD said, 'These [sheep] have no master. Let each one go home in peace.'"

18 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "Didn't I tell you he wouldn't prophesy anything good about me, only evil?"

19 Micaiah added, "Then hear the word of the LORD. I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and the entire army of heaven was standing near him on his right and his left.

20 The LORD asked, 'Who will deceive Ahab so that he will attack and be killed at Ramoth in Gilead?' Some answered one way, while others said something else.

21 "Then the Spirit stepped forward, stood in front of the LORD, and said, 'I will deceive him.' "'How?' the LORD asked.

22 "The Spirit answered, 'I will go out and be a spirit that tells lies through the mouths of all of Ahab's prophets.' "The LORD said, 'You will succeed in deceiving him. Go and do it.'

23 "So, the LORD has put into the mouths of all these prophets of yours a spirit that makes them tell lies. The LORD has spoken evil about you."

24 Then Zedekiah, son of Chenaanah, went to Micaiah and struck him on the cheek. "How did the LORD's Spirit leave me to talk to you?" he asked.

25 Micaiah answered, "You will find out on the day you go into an inner room to hide."

26 The king of Israel then said, "Send Micaiah back to Amon, the governor of the city, and to Joash, the prince.

27 Say, 'This is what the king says: Put this man in prison, and feed him nothing but bread and water until I come home safely.'"

28 Micaiah said, "If you really do come back safely, then the LORD wasn't speaking through me. Pay attention to this, everyone!"

29 So the king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah went to Ramoth in Gilead.

30 The king of Israel told Jehoshaphat, "I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you should wear your royal robes." So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle.

31 The king of Aram had given orders to the 32 chariot commanders. He said, "Don't fight anyone except the king of Israel."

32 When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they said, "He must be the king of Israel." So they turned to fight him. But when Jehoshaphat cried out,

33 the chariot commanders realized that he wasn't the king of Israel. They turned away from him.

34 One man aimed his bow at random and hit the king of Israel between his scale armor and his breastplate. Ahab told his chariot driver, "Turn around, and get me away from these troops. I'm badly wounded."

35 But the battle got worse that day, and the king was kept propped up in his chariot facing the Arameans. He died that evening. The blood from the wound had flowed into the chariot.

36 At sundown a cry went through the army, "Every man to his own city! Every man to his own property!"

37 When the king was dead, he was brought to Samaria to be buried.

38 His chariot was washed at the pool of Samaria, where the prostitutes bathed. The dogs licked up his blood, as the LORD had predicted.

39 Isn't everything else about Ahab--everything he did, the ivory palace he built, and all the cities he fortified--written in the official records of the kings of Israel?

40 Ahab lay down in death with his ancestors. His son Ahaziah succeeded him as king.

41 Jehoshaphat, son of Asa, became king of Judah in Ahab's fourth year as king of Israel.

42 Jehoshaphat was 35 years old when he began to rule, and he ruled for 25 years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Azubah, daughter of Shilhi.

43 Jehoshaphat carefully followed the example his father Asa had set and did what the LORD considered right.

44 But the illegal worship sites were not torn down. The people continued to sacrifice and burn incense at these worship sites. Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel.

45 Isn't everything else about Jehoshaphat--the heroic acts he did and [the wars] he fought--written in the official records of the kings of Judah?

46 He rid the land of the male temple prostitutes who were left there from the time of his father Asa.

47 There was no king in Edom; instead, a deputy ruled.

48 Jehoshaphat made Tarshish-style ships to go to Ophir for gold. But they didn't go because the ships were wrecked at Ezion Geber.

49 Then Ahaziah, son of Ahab, said to Jehoshaphat, "Let my servants go with your servants in the ships." But Jehoshaphat refused.

50 Jehoshaphat lay down in death with his ancestors and was buried with them in the city of his ancestor David. His son Jehoram succeeded him as king.

51 Ahaziah, son of Ahab, became king of Israel in Samaria during Jehoshaphat's seventeenth year as king of Judah. Ahaziah ruled Israel for two years.

52 He did what the LORD considered evil. He followed the example of his father and mother and of Jeroboam (Nebat's son) who led Israel to sin.

53 Ahaziah served Baal, worshiped him, and made the LORD God of Israel furious, as his father had done.

1 Kings 21; 1 Kings 22

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