2 Chronicles 18:4-8

18:4 Then Jehoshaphat added, ¹  “First seek an oracle from the Lord.” ²  18:5 So the king of Israel assembled 400 prophets and asked them, “Should we attack Ramoth Gilead or not?” ³  They said, “Attack! God ⁴  will hand it over to the king.” 18:6 But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there not a prophet of the Lord still here, that we may ask him?” 18:7 The king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man through whom we can seek the Lord’s will. ⁵  But I despise ⁶  him because he does not prophesy prosperity for me, but always ⁷  disaster. His name is Micaiah son of Imlah. ⁸  Jehoshaphat said, “The king should not say such things!” 18:8 The king of Israel summoned an officer and said, “Quickly bring Micaiah son of Imlah.”

¹ tn Heb “and Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel.”

² tn Heb “the word of the Lord.” Jehoshaphat is requesting a prophetic oracle revealing the Lord’s will in the matter and their prospects for success. For examples of such oracles, see 2 Sam 5:19, 23-24.

³ tn Heb “Should we go against Ramoth Gilead for war or should I refrain?”

⁴ tn Though Jehoshaphat had requested an oracle from “the Lord” (יְהוָה, yÿhvah, “Yahweh”), the Israelite prophets stop short of actually using this name and substitute the title הָאֱלֹהִים (ha’elohim, “the God”). This ambiguity may explain in part Jehoshaphat’s hesitancy and caution (vv. 7-8). He seems to doubt that the 400 are genuine prophets of the Lord.

⁵ tn Heb “to seek the Lord from him.”

⁶ tn Or “hate.”

⁷ tn Heb “all his days.”

⁸ tn The words “his name is” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.