1 Kings 22:6-8

22:6 So the king of Israel assembled about four hundred prophets and asked them, “Should I attack Ramoth Gilead or not?”¹ They said, “Attack! The sovereign one² will hand it over to the king.” 22:7 But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there not a prophet of the Lord still here, that we may ask him?” 22:8 The king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man through whom we can seek the Lord’s will.³ But I despise⁴ him because he does not prophesy prosperity for me, but disaster. His name is Micaiah son of Imlah.⁵ Jehoshaphat said, “The king should not say such things.”

1 Kings 22:13-14

22:13 Now the messenger who went to summon Micaiah said to him, “Look, the prophets are in complete agreement that the king will succeed.⁶ Your words must agree with theirs; you must predict success.”⁷ 22:14 But Micaiah said, “As certainly as the Lord lives, I will say what the Lord tells me to say.”

1 Kings 22:24-28

22:24 Zedekiah son of Kenaanah approached, hit Micaiah on the jaw, and said, “Which way did the Lord’s spirit go when he went from me to speak to you?” 22:25 Micaiah replied, “Look, you will see in the day when you go into an inner room to hide.” 22:26 Then the king of Israel said, “Take Micaiah and return him to Amon the city official and Joash the king’s son. 22:27 Say, ‘This is what the king says, “Put this man in prison. Give him only a little bread and water⁸ until I safely return.”’”⁹ 22:28 Micaiah said, “If you really do safely return, then the Lord has not spoken through me.” Then he added, “Take note,¹⁰ all you people.”

Isaiah 30:10

30:10 They¹¹ say to the visionaries, “See no more visions!”

and to the seers, “Don’t relate messages to us about what is right!¹²

Tell us nice things,

relate deceptive messages.¹³

Jeremiah 5:31

5:31 The prophets prophesy lies.

The priests exercise power by their own authority.¹⁴

And my people love to have it this way.

But they will not be able to help you when the time of judgment comes!¹⁵

Jeremiah 5:2

5:2 These people make promises in the name of the Lord.¹⁶

But the fact is,¹⁷ what they swear to is really a lie.”¹⁸

Jeremiah 2:1-3

The Lord Recalls Israel’s Earlier Faithfulness

2:1 The Lord spoke to me. He said: 2:2 “Go and declare in the hearing of the people of Jerusalem:¹⁹ ‘This is what the Lord says: “I have fond memories of you,²⁰ how devoted you were to me in your early years.²¹ I remember how you loved me like a new bride; you followed me through the wilderness, through a land that had never been planted. 2:3 Israel was set apart to the Lord; they were like the first fruits of a harvest to him.²² All who tried to devour them were punished; disaster came upon them,” says the Lord.’”

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

²tn Though Jehoshaphat requested an oracle from “the Lord” (יְהוָה, Yahweh), they stop short of actually using this name and substitute the title אֲדֹנָי (’adonai, “lord; master”). This ambiguity may explain in part Jehoshaphat’s hesitancy and caution (vv. 7-8). He seems to doubt that the four hundred are genuine prophets of the Lord.

³tn Heb “to seek the Lord from him.”

⁴tn Or “hate.”

⁵tn The words “his name is” are supplied for stylistic reasons.

⁵tn Heb “the words of the prophets are [with] one mouth good for the king.”

⁶tn Heb “let your words be like the word of each of them and speak good.”

⁷tn Heb “the bread of affliction and the water of affliction.”

⁸tn Heb “come in peace.” So also in v. 28.

⁹tn Heb “Listen.”

¹¹tn Heb “who” (so NASB, NRSV). A new sentence was started here in the translation for stylistic reasons.

¹²tn Heb “Do not see for us right things.”

¹³tn Heb “Tell us smooth things, see deceptive things.”

¹³tn Heb “they shall rule at their hands.” Since the word “hand” can be used figuratively for authority or mean “side” and the pronoun “them” can refer to the priests themselves or the prophets, the following translations have also been suggested: “the priests rule under their [the prophets’] directions,” or “the priests rule in league with them [the prophets].” From the rest of the book it would appear that the prophets did not exercise authority over the priests nor did they exercise the same authority over the people that the priests did. Hence it probably mean “by their own hand/power/authority.”

¹⁴tn Heb “But what will you do at its end?” The rhetorical question implies a negative answer: “Nothing!”

¹⁵tn Heb “Though they say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives.” The idea of “swear on oath” comes from the second line.

¹⁶tc The translation follows many Hebrew mss and the Syriac version in reading “surely” (אָכֵן, ’akhen) instead of “therefore” (לָכֵן, lakhen) in the MT.

¹⁷tn Heb “they swear falsely.”

¹⁷map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

¹⁸tn Heb “I remember to/for you.”

¹⁹tn Heb “the loyal love of your youth.”

¹⁹sn Heb “the first fruits of his harvest.” Many commentators see the figure here as having theological significance for the calling of the Gentiles. It is likely, however, that in this context the metaphor – here rendered as a simile – is intended to bring out the special relationship and inviolability that Israel had with God. As the first fruits were the special possession of the Lord, to be eaten only by the priests and off limits to the common people, so Israel was God’s special possession and was not to be “eaten” by the nations.