27. Tell them I said to put Micaiah in prison. Give him only bread and water for food. Keep him there until I come home from the battle.”
28. Micaiah said, “Ahab, if you come back safely from battle, the Lord has not spoken through me. Remember my words, all you people.”
29. So Ahab king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went to Ramoth in Gilead.
30. Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “I will go into battle. But I will change my appearance so that no one will recognize me. But you wear your royal clothes.” So Ahab changed his appearance and went into battle.
31. The king of Aram had 32 chariot commanders. He ordered them, “Don’t fight with anyone but the king of Israel. It doesn’t matter if they are important or unimportant.”
32. When these commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they thought he was the king of Israel. So they turned to attack him. But Jehoshaphat began shouting.
33. Then the commanders saw he was not Ahab. So they stopped chasing him.
34. A soldier shot an arrow without aiming at anyone. But he hit Ahab king of Israel. The arrow hit him in a place not covered by his armor. King Ahab said to his chariot driver, “Turn the chariot around. Take me out of the battle. I am hurt!”
35. The battle continued all day. King Ahab was in his chariot, leaning against it to hold himself up. He was facing the Arameans. His blood flowed down and covered the bottom of the chariot. That evening he died.
36. Near sunset a cry went out through the army of Israel: “Each man go back to his own country and city.”
37. So in that way King Ahab died. His body was carried to Samaria and buried there.
38. The men cleaned Ahab’s chariot at a pool in Samaria. This was a pool where prostitutes bathed. And the dogs licked King Ahab’s blood from the chariot. These things happened as the Lord had said they would.
39. Everything else Ahab did is written down. It is in the book of the history of the kings of Israel. That book also tells about the palace Ahab built and decorated with ivory. And it tells about the cities he built.