6. So Ahab called the prophets together. There were about 400 men. He asked them, “Should I go to war against the army of Aram at Ramoth in Gilead? Or should I wait?”The prophets answered, “Go, because the Lord will let you defeat them.”
7. But Jehoshaphat asked, “Isn’t there a prophet of the Lord here? Let’s ask him what we should do.”
8. King Ahab answered, “There is one other prophet. We could ask the Lord through him. But I hate him. When he prophesies, he never says anything good about me. He always says something bad. He is Micaiah, Imlah’s son.”Jehoshaphat said, “King Ahab, you shouldn’t say that!”
9. So Ahab king of Israel told one of his officers to bring Micaiah to him at once.
10. Ahab king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah had on their royal robes. They were sitting on their thrones at the threshing floor. This was near the entrance to the gate of Samaria. All the prophets were standing before them, speaking messages from the Lord.
11. One of the prophets was Zedekiah son of Kenaanah. He had made some iron horns. He said to Ahab, “This is what the Lord says, ‘You will use these horns to fight the Arameans. And you will destroy them.’”
12. All the other prophets said the same thing. They said, “Attack Ramoth in Gilead and win. The Lord will let you defeat the Arameans.”
13. The messenger who had gone to get Micaiah found him. He said to Micaiah, “All the other prophets are saying the king will succeed. You should agree with them. Give the king a good answer.”
14. But Micaiah answered, “As surely as the Lord lives, I can tell him only what the Lord tells me.”
15. Then Micaiah came to Ahab. The king asked him, “Micaiah, should we attack Ramoth in Gilead or not?”Micaiah answered, “Attack and win! The Lord will let you defeat them.”
16. But Ahab said to Micaiah, “Tell me only the truth in the name of the Lord. How many times do I have to tell you this?”
17. So Micaiah answered, “I saw the army of Israel. They were scattered over the hills like sheep without a shepherd. The Lord said, ‘They have no leader. They should go home and not fight.’”
18. Then Ahab king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I told you! This prophet never says anything good about me. He only says bad things about me.”
19. But Micaiah continued to speak. He said, “Hear the message from the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne. His heavenly army was standing near him on his right and on his left.
20. The Lord said, ‘Who will trick Ahab into attacking Ramoth in Gilead? Do this so he will go and be killed.’“The spirits did not agree about what they should do.
21. Then one spirit came and stood before the Lord. He said, ‘I will trick him.’
22. “The Lord asked, ‘How will you trick Ahab?’“The spirit answered, ‘I will go to Ahab’s prophets. I will make them tell lies.’“So the Lord said, ‘You will succeed in tricking him. Go and do it.’”