The Prophet Micaiah Warns Ahab
(1 Kings 22.1-28)1 When King Jehoshaphat of Judah became rich and famous, he arranged a marriage between a member of his family and the family of King Ahab of Israel. 2 A number of years later Jehoshaphat went to the city of Samaria to visit Ahab. To honor Jehoshaphat and those with him, Ahab had a large number of sheep and cattle slaughtered for a feast. He tried to persuade Jehoshaphat to join him in attacking the city of Ramoth in Gilead. 3 He asked, “Will you go with me to attack Ramoth?”
Jehoshaphat replied, “I am ready when you are, and so is my army. We will join you.” 4 Then he added, “But first let's consult the Lord.”
5 So Ahab called in the prophets, about four hundred of them, and asked them, “Should I go and attack Ramoth, or not?”
“Attack it,” they answered. “God will give you victory.”
6 But Jehoshaphat asked, “Isn't there another prophet through whom we can consult the Lord?”
7 Ahab answered, “There is one more, Micaiah son of Imlah. But I hate him because he never prophesies anything good for me; it's always something bad.”
“You shouldn't say that!” Jehoshaphat replied.
8 So King Ahab called in a court official and told him to go and get Micaiah at once.
9 The two kings, dressed in their royal robes, were sitting on their thrones at the threshing place just outside the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying in front of them. 10 One of them, Zedekiah son of Chenaanah, made iron horns and said to Ahab, “This is what the Lord says, ‘With these you will fight the Syrians and totally defeat them.’” 11 All the other prophets said the same thing. “March against Ramoth and you will win,” they said. “The Lord will give you victory.”
12 Meanwhile, the official who had gone to get Micaiah said to him, “All the other prophets have prophesied success for the king, and you had better do the same.”
13 But Micaiah answered, “By the living Lord I will say what my God tells me to!”
14 When 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.”
15 But 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.’”
17 Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “I told you that he never prophesies anything good for me; it's always something bad!”
18 Micaiah 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. 19 The 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, 20 until a spirit stepped forward, approached the Lord, and said, ‘I will deceive him.’ ‘How?’ the Lord asked. 21 The spirit replied, ‘I will go and make all of Ahab's prophets tell lies.’ The Lord said, ‘Go and deceive him. You will succeed.’”
22 And 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!”
23 Then 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.
25 Then King Ahab ordered one of his officers, “Arrest Micaiah and take him to Amon, the governor of the city, and to Prince Joash. 26 Tell 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!”
The Death of Ahab
(1 Kings 22.29-35)28 Then King Ahab of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah went to attack the city of Ramoth in Gilead. 29 Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “As we go into battle, I will disguise myself, but you wear your royal garments.” So the king of Israel went into battle in disguise.
30 The king of Syria had ordered his chariot commanders to attack no one else except the king of Israel. 31 So when they saw King Jehoshaphat, they all thought that he was the king of Israel, and they turned to attack him. But Jehoshaphat gave a shout, and the Lord God rescued him and turned the attack away from him. 32 The chariot commanders saw that he was not the king of Israel, so they stopped pursuing him. 33 By chance, however, a Syrian soldier shot an arrow which struck King Ahab between the joints of his armor. “I'm wounded!” he cried out to his chariot driver. “Turn around and pull out of the battle!” 34 While the battle raged on, King Ahab remained propped up in his chariot, facing the Syrians. At sunset he died.
Ahab naJosafat tava lwifa Aram
1 Ndele Josafat eshi a yada oupuna nefimano, okwa ninga oshitenya shaAhab. 2 Ndele eshi pa pita omido dimwe, okwa ya kuAhab kuSamaria, ndele Ahab okwe mu tomena novakwaita vaye ovo va li puye, eedi neengobe dihapu. Ndele Ahab okwe mu heka a ye naye okuhomona Ramot shomuGilead. 3 Ndele Ahab, ohamba yaIsrael, ya lombwela Josafat, ohamba yaJuda, tai ti: “Hatu i tuu pamwe naave kuRamot shomuGilead?” Nokwe i nyamukula: “Aame ongaashi ove, noshiwana shange ongaashi shoye. Ohatu ka ya pamwe naave koita.” 4 Josafat okwa lombwela vali ohamba yaIsrael, ta ti: “Ndelenee pula tete ondjovo yOmwene.” 5 Opo nee ohamba yaIsrael ya ifana ovaxunganeki, ve fike pomafele ane ndele tai va pula: “Nandi ka homone tuu Ramot shomuGilead ile nandi shi efe?” Ndele venya va nyamukula: “Inda, u ke shi homone, osheshi Kalunga ote ku pe efindano.” 6 Ndelenee Josafat ta ti: “Kape na vali omuxunganeki umwe e tu pulile kOmwene?” 7 Ahab okwa nyamukula, ta ti: “Oku na vali umwe, Mikaia yaJimla, ndelenee ame ohandi mu tondo, osheshi ye ita xunganekele nge nande ouwa, ndelenee alushe owii.” Josafat okwa nyamukula: “Ino popya ngaho!” 8 Opo nee ohamba yaIsrael ya ifana elenga layo ndele tai ti: “Inda u ka tale ko diva Mikaia yaJimla.”
9 Fimbo ohamba yaIsrael naJosafat, ohamba yaJuda, keshe imwe ya kala omutumba kolukalwapangelo layo, ndele da li da djala oikutu youhamba koshipale poshivelo shaSamaria, novaxunganeki aveshe tava xunganeke moipafi yado, 10 Sedekia yaKenaana okwe li ningila eembinga doshivela ndele ta ti: “Omwene ta ti ngaha: ‘Naadi ove to ka twa Ovaarami fiyo we va mana po.’ ” 11 Novaxunganeki aveshe osho va xunganeka ndele tava ti: “Fikama u homone Ramot shomuGilead, ndele to ka mona elao, nOmwene ote ke shi yandja momake ohamba.” 12 Opo nee omutumwa ou a ya a ka tale Mikaia, okwe mu lombwela: “Tala, ovaxunganeki aveshe va xunganekela ohamba ouwa. Ondjovo yoye yo nai kale ngaashi eendjovo davo, u xunganeke oinima iwa.” 13 Ndelenee Mikaia ta ti: “Oshili, ngaashi Omwene e nomwenyo, oshili, osho Kalunga te shi lombwele nge, osho handi ka popya!”
14 Eshi e uya kohamba, ohamba tai ti kuye: “Mikaia, fye naJosafat, natu ka homone tuu Ramot shomuGilead ile ahowe?” Ndele ye ota nyamukula: “Heeno, homoneni, osheshi oshili tamu ka findana; Omwene ote mu pe efindano.” 15 Nohamba Ahab tai ti kuye: “Nge to popi naame medina lOmwene, popya oshili. Olungapi ndi na oku ku lombwela?” 16 Opo nee a nyamukula: “Ame nda mona Ovaisraeli aveshe va halakanifwa keemhunda ngaashi eedi dihe namufita. NOmwene okwa tya: ‘Vo vehe na vali omuwiliki, nava shune nombili komaumbo avo.’ ” 17 Opo Ahab okwa tya kuJosafat: “Inandi ku lombwela kutya, winya iha xunganekele nge ouwa, alushe owii ashike?” 18 Mikaia ta ti vali: “Pwilikina ondjovo yOmwene, eshi ta ti: Ame nda mona Omwene e li omutumba kolukalwapangelo laye meulu, novaengeli aveshe va kala ofika puye. 19 NOmwene okwa pula: ‘Olyelye ta ka weweleka Ahab, opo a ka homone ye a ka file muRamot?’ Ndele ovaengeli ova nyamukula shi lili nashi lili. 20 Opo nee omhepo ye uya pOmwene, ndele ya tya: ‘Ame ohandi ka weweleka Ahab.’ NOmwene okwa pula: ‘Ngahelipi?’ 21 Ndele omhepo oye mu lombwela: ‘Ame ohandi ka ya ndi ninge omhepo yoipupulu momakanya ovaxunganeki vaye aveshe.’ Ndele Omwene okwe mu lombwela: ‘Inda u ke mu weweleke, osheshi oto ka findana.’ 22 Ndele Mikaia okwe mu lombwela, ta ti: ‘Eshi sha ningwa osheshi Omwene okwa ninga ovaxunganeki voye ve ku fufye, ashike Ye mwene okwa tokola e ku tumine omupya.’ ” 23 Opo nee Sedekia a yambuka nokwa denga Mikaia enghava moshipala, nde ta ti: “Onaini hano Omhepo yOmwene ya dja mo mwaame i uye i popye mwoove?” 24 Ndele Mikaia okwa nyamukula: “Tala, ove oto ke shi mona shito mefiku to ka hondama meendjuwo kofindo.” 25 Ndelenee ohamba Ahab ya lombwela elenga: “Kwateni Mikaia, mu mu twale kuAmon, ngoloneya woshilando, nokuJoas, omona wohamba. 26 Ndele u noku va lombwela ve mu tule modolongo, vo ve mu pe omungome nomeva ongaho, fiyo ame handi aluka inandi mona oshiponga.” 27 Mikaia okwa nyamukula: “Ngeenge to aluka ino mona oshiponga, otashi ti Omwene ina popya mwaame.” Nokwa tya vali: “Keshe umwe na ude eshi nda popya!”
28 Opo nee ohamba yaIsrael naJosafat, ohamba yaJuda, da ya kuRamot shomuGilead. 29 Nohamba yaIsrael ya lombwela Josafat: “Ame ohandi djalulula, ndi lidimbike ndele handi ka ya kolwoodi.” Ove kala po wa djala oshikutu shoye shouhamba. Ohamba yaIsrael ya djalulula ndele tai i kolwoodi. 30 Nohamba yaAram ya li ya lombwela ovakulunhu vomatemba oita ndele tai ti: “Inamu lwifa vamwe ve lili, ngeenge elenga ile omufyoona, lwifeni ohamba yaIsrael aike.” 31 Novakulunhu vomatemba oita eshi va mona Josafat, ova diladila: “Oye ohamba yaIsrael,” ndele va hovela oku mu lwifa. Opo nee Josafat okwa kuwa. Omwene okwe mu kwafa, naKalunga okwe va heka po, va dje po puye. 32 Ovakulunhu vomatemba oita eshi va mona nokutya, winya ke fi ohamba yaIsrael, ova dja po puye. 33 Ndelenee omulumenhu umwe, ou a li a shila outa waye ina shoneka, okwa yasha ohamba yaIsrael pokati komwiya noshivela shoponhulo. Opo nee oya lombwela omushingi wetemba layo: “Alula etemba, u kufe nge molwoodi, osheshi nda yashwa.” 34 Ndele efiku olo olwoodi la ninga linene, onghee hano ohamba yaIsrael ya kala ofika metemba layo nokutaalela Ovaarami fiyo onguloshi. Pokuningina kwetango oya fya.
