1 Kings 22:19-23

22:19 Micaiah ¹  said, “That being the case, hear the word of the Lord. I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, with all the heavenly assembly standing on his right and on his left. 22:20 The Lord said, ‘Who will deceive Ahab, so he will attack Ramoth Gilead and die ²  there?’ One said this and another that. 22:21 Then a spirit ³  stepped forward and stood before the Lord. He said, ‘I will deceive him.’ The Lord asked him, ‘How?’ 22:22 He replied, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets.’ The Lord ⁴  said, ‘Deceive and overpower him. ⁵  Go out and do as you have proposed.’ 22:23 So now, look, the Lord has placed a lying spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours; but the Lord has decreed disaster for you.”

Amos 3:1

Every Effect has its Cause

3:1 Listen, you Israelites, to this message which the Lord is proclaiming against ⁶  you! This message is for the entire clan I brought up ⁷  from the land of Egypt:

Amos 3:8

3:8 A lion has roared! ⁸  Who is not afraid?

The sovereign Lord has spoken! Who can refuse to prophesy? ⁹ 

Micah 3:8-12

3:8 But I ¹⁰  am full of the courage that the Lord’s Spirit gives,

and have a strong commitment to justice. ¹¹ 

This enables me to confront Jacob with its rebellion,

and Israel with its sin. ¹² 

3:9 Listen to this, you leaders of the family ¹³  of Jacob,

you rulers of the nation ¹⁴  of Israel!

You ¹⁵  hate justice

and pervert all that is right.

3:10 You ¹⁶  build Zion through bloody crimes, ¹⁷ 

Jerusalem ¹⁸  through unjust violence.

3:11 Her ¹⁹  leaders take bribes when they decide legal cases, ²⁰ 

her priests proclaim rulings for profit,

and her prophets read omens for pay.

Yet they claim to trust ²¹  the Lord and say,

“The Lord is among us. ²² 

Disaster will not overtake ²³  us!”

3:12 Therefore, because of you, ²⁴  Zion will be plowed up like ²⁵  a field,

Jerusalem will become a heap of ruins,

and the Temple Mount ²⁶  will become a hill overgrown with brush! ²⁷ 

[22:19]  ¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Micaiah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:20]  ² tn Heb “and fall.”

[22:21]  ³ tn Heb “the spirit.” The significance of the article prefixed to רוּחַ (ruakh) is uncertain, but it could contain a clue as to this spirit’s identity, especially when interpreted in light of v. 24. It is certainly possible, and probably even likely, that the article is used in a generic or dramatic sense and should be translated, “a spirit.” In the latter case it would show that this spirit was vivid and definite in the mind of Micaiah the storyteller. However, if one insists that the article indicates a well-known or universally known spirit, the following context provides a likely referent. Verse 24 tells how Zedekiah slapped Micaiah in the face and then asked sarcastically, “Which way did the spirit from the Lord (רוּחַ־יְהוָה, [ruakh-Yahweh], Heb “the spirit of the Lord”) go when he went from me to speak to you?” When the phrase “the spirit of the Lord” refers to the divine spirit (rather than the divine breath or mind, Isa 40:7, 13) elsewhere, the spirit energizes an individual or group for special tasks or moves one to prophesy. This raises the possibility that the deceiving spirit of vv. 20-23 is the same as the divine spirit mentioned by Zedekiah in v. 24. This would explain why the article is used on רוּחַ; he can be called “the spirit” because he is the well-known spirit who energizes the prophets.

[22:22]  ⁴ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:22]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew text has two imperfects connected by וְגַם (vÿgam). These verbs could be translated as specific futures, “you will deceive and also you will prevail,” in which case the Lord is assuring the spirit of success on his mission. However, in a commissioning context (note the following imperatives) such as this, it is more likely that the imperfects are injunctive, in which case one could translate, “Deceive, and also overpower.”

[3:1]  ⁶ tn Or “about.”

[3:1]  ⁷ tn One might expect a third person verb form (“he brought up”), since the Lord apparently refers to himself in the third person in the preceding sentence. This first person form, however, serves to connect this message to the earlier indictment (2:10) and anticipates the words of the following verse.

[3:8]  ⁸ sn The roar of the lion is here a metaphor for impending judgment (see 1:2; cf. 3:4, 12). Verses 7-8 justify Amos’ prophetic ministry and message of warning and judgment. The people should expect a prophetic message prior to divine action.

[3:8]  ⁹ sn Who can refuse to prophesy? When a message is revealed, the prophet must speak, and the news of impending judgment should cause people to fear.

[3:8]  ¹⁰ sn The prophet Micah speaks here and contrasts himself with the mercenaries just denounced by the Lord in the preceding verses.

[3:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “am full of power, the Spirit of the Lord, and justice and strength.” The appositional phrase “the Spirit of the Lord” explains the source of the prophet’s power. The phrase “justice and strength” is understood here as a hendiadys, referring to the prophet’s strong sense of justice.

[3:8]  ¹² tn Heb “to declare to Jacob his rebellion and to Israel his sin.” The words “this enables me” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[3:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “house.”

[3:9]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “house.”

[3:9]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “who.” A new sentence was begun here in the translation for stylistic reasons (also at the beginning of v. 10).

[3:10]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “who.”

[3:10]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “bloodshed” (so NAB, NASB, NIV); NLT “murder.”

[3:10]  ¹⁸ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[3:11]  ¹⁹ sn The pronoun Her refers to Jerusalem (note the previous line).

[3:11]  ²⁰ tn Heb “judge for a bribe.”

[3:11]  ²¹ tn Heb “they lean upon” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV); NAB “rely on.”

[3:11]  ²² tn Heb “Is not the Lord in our midst?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course he is!”

[3:11]  ²³ tn Or “come upon” (so many English versions); NCV “happen to us”; CEV “come to us.”

[3:12]  ²⁴ tn The plural pronoun refers to the leaders, priests, and prophets mentioned in the preceding verse.

[3:12]  ²⁵ tn Or “into” (an adverbial accusative of result).

[3:12]  ²⁶ tn Heb “the mountain of the house” (so KJV, ASV, NRSV).

[3:12]  ²⁷ tn Heb “a high place of overgrowth.”