2 Chronicles 18:28

18:28 The king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah attacked Ramoth Gilead.

2 Chronicles 18:11

18:11 All the prophets were prophesying the same, saying, “Attack Ramoth Gilead! You will succeed; the Lord will hand it over to the king!”

2 Chronicles 18:3

18:3 King Ahab of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Will you go with me to attack Ramoth Gilead?” Jehoshaphat replied to the king of Israel, “I will support you; my army is at your disposal and will support you in battle.” ¹ 

2 Chronicles 18:5

18:5 So the king of Israel assembled 400 prophets and asked them, “Should we attack Ramoth Gilead or not?” ²  They said, “Attack! God ³  will hand it over to the king.”

2 Chronicles 18:14

18:14 Micaiah ⁴  came before the king and the king asked him, “Micaiah, should we attack Ramoth Gilead or not?” He answered him, “Attack! You will succeed; they will be handed over to you.” ⁵ 

[18:3]  ¹ tn Heb “Like me, like you; and like your people, my people; and with you in battle.”

[18:5]  ¹ tn Heb “Should we go against Ramoth Gilead for war or should I refrain?”

[18:5]  ² 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.

[18:14]  ¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Micaiah) has been specified in the translation both for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[18:14]  ² sn One does not expect Micaiah, having just vowed to speak only what the Lord tells him, to agree with the other prophets and give the king an inaccurate prophecy. Micaiah’s actions became understandable later, when we discover that the Lord desires to deceive the king and lead him to his demise. The Lord even dispatches a lying spirit to deceive Ahab’s prophets. Micaiah can lie to the king because he realizes this lie is from the Lord. It is important to note that in v. 13 Micaiah only vows to speak the word of his God; he does not necessarily say he will tell the truth. In this case the Lord’s word is deliberately deceptive. Only when the king adjures him to tell the truth (v. 15), does Micaiah do so.