1 Kings 22:8

THE MESSAGE

The king of Israel told Jehoshaphat, "As a matter of fact, there is still one such man. But I hate him. He never preaches anything good to me, only doom, doom, doom—Micaiah son of Imlah." "The king shouldn't talk about a prophet like that," said Jehoshaphat.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man who can inquire of the Lord, but I hate him because he never prophesies good about me, but only disaster. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.”

Hebrew Names Version
The king of Yisra'el said to Yehoshafat, there is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the LORD, Mikhayahu the son of Yimlah: but I hate him; for he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. Yehoshafat said, "Don't let the king say so."

King James Version
And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may enquire of the Lord : but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.

English Standard Version
And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord , Micaiah the son of Imlah, but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me, but evil." And Jehoshaphat said, "Let not the king say so."

New Century Version
Then King Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, "There is one other prophet. We could ask the Lord through him, but I hate him. He never prophesies anything good about me, but something bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah." Jehoshaphat said, "King Ahab, you shouldn't say that!"

New English Translation
The king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat, "There is still one man through whom we can seek the Lord 's will. But I despise him because he does not prophesy prosperity for me, but disaster. His name is Micaiah son of Imlah. Jehoshaphat said, "The king should not say such things."

Amplified Bible
The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "There is one more man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire of the LORD, but I hate him, because he never prophesies good news for me, but only evil." But Jehoshaphat said, "May the king not say that [Micaiah only tells bad news]."

New American Standard Bible
And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "There is still one man by whom we may inquire of the LORD, but I hate him, because he does not prophesy anything good regarding me, but only bad. He is Micaiah the son of Imlah." But Jehoshaphat said, "May the king not say so."

Geneva Bible (1587)
And the King of Israel said vnto Iehoshaphat, There is yet one man (Michaiah the sonne of Imlah) by whom we may aske counsel of the Lord, but I hate him: for he doeth not prophecie good vnto me, but euill. And Iehoshaphat sayd, Let not the King say so.

Legacy Standard Bible
And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of Yahweh, but I hate him, because he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. He is Micaiah son of Imlah." But Jehoshaphat said, "Let not the king say so."

Contemporary English Version
"We could ask Micaiah son of Imlah," Ahab said. "But I hate Micaiah. He always has bad news for me." "Don't say that!" Jehoshaphat replied.

Complete Jewish Bible
The king of Isra'el said to Y'hoshafat, "Yes, there is still one man through whom we can consult Adonai , Mikhay'hu the son of Yimlah; but I hate him, because he doesn't prophesy good things for me, but bad!" Y'hoshafat replied, "The king shouldn't say such a thing."

Darby Translation
And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of Jehovah; but I hate him, for he prophesies no good concerning me, but evil: [it is] Micah the son of Imlah. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.

Easy-to-Read Version
King Ahab answered, "Yes, there is another prophet. His name is Micaiah son of Imlah. But I hate him because he will not say anything good about me when he speaks for the Lord . He always says things that I don't like." Jehoshaphat said, "The king should not say that!"

George Lamsa Translation
And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man by whom we may enquire of the LORD; his name is Micah the son of Imlah; but I hate him, for he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.

Good News Translation
Ahab answered, "There is one more, Micaiah son of Imlah. But I hate him because he never prophesies anything good for me; it's always something bad." "You shouldn't say that!" Jehoshaphat replied.

Lexham English Bible
Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "There is still one man to inquire from Yahweh, but I despise him, for he never prophesies anything good concerning me, but only bad: Micaiah the son of Imlah." Then Jehoshaphat said, "The king should not say so."

Literal Translation
And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, Yet one man, to seek Jehovah by him. But I hate him, for he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil, Micaiah the son of Imlah. And Jehoshaphat said, let not the king say so.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
The kinge of Israel saide vnto Iosaphat Here is yet a man, one Micheas the sonne of Iemla, at whom we maye axe of the LORDE: but I hate him, for he prophecieth me no good, but euell. Iosaphat sayde: Let not the kynge saye so.

American Standard Version
And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of Jehovah, Micaiah the son of Imlah: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.

Bible in Basic English
And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, There is still one man by whom we may get directions from the Lord, Micaiah, son of Imlah; but I have no love for him, for he is a prophet of evil to me and not of good. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And the king of Israel sayde vnto Iehosaphat: There is yet one man (Michea the sonne of Iimla) by whom we may aske counsell of the Lorde: But I hate him, for he doth not prophecie good vnto me, but euyll. And Iehosaphat sayde: Let not the king say so.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat: 'There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the LORD, Micaiah the son of Imlah; but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil.' And Jehoshaphat said: 'Let not the king say so.'

King James Version (1611)
And the king of Israel said vnto Iehoshaphat, There is yet one man, (Micaiah the sonne of Imlah) by whom we may enquire of the Lord; but I hate him, for he doth not prophesie good concerning me, but euill. And Iehoshaphat said, Let not the King say so.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the king of Israel said to Josaphat, There is one man here for us to enquire of the Lord by; but I hate him, for he does not speak good of me, but only evil; Michaias son of Jemblaa. And Josaphat king of Juda said, Let not the king say so.

English Revised Version
And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the LORD, Micaiah the son of Imlah: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.

Berean Standard Bible
The king of Israel answered, "There is still one man who can ask the LORD, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good for me, but only bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah." "The king should not say that!" Jehoshaphat replied.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And the kyng of Israel seide to Josephat, O man, Mychee, sone of Hiemla, is left, bi whom we moun axe the Lord; but Y hate hym, for he prophesieth not good to me, but yuel. To whome Josephat seide, Kyng, spek thou not so.

Young's Literal Translation
And the king of Israel saith unto Jehoshaphat, `Yet -- one man to seek Jehovah by him, and I have hated him, for he doth not prophesy concerning me good, but evil -- Micaiah son of Imlah;' and Jehoshaphat saith, `Let not the king say so.'

Update Bible Version
And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, there is yet one man by whom we may inquire of Yahweh, Micaiah the son of Imlah: but I hate him; for he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Don't let the king say so.

Webster's Bible Translation
And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, [There is] yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.

World English Bible
The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, there is yet one man by whom we may inquire of Yahweh, Micaiah the son of Imlah: but I hate him; for he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. Jehoshaphat said, "Don't let the king say so."

New King James Version
So the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "There is still one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire of the LORD; but I hate him, because he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil." And Jehoshaphat said, "Let not the king say such things!"

New Living Translation
The king of Israel replied to Jehoshaphat, "There is one more man who could consult the Lord for us, but I hate him. He never prophesies anything but trouble for me! His name is Micaiah son of Imlah." Jehoshaphat replied, "That's not the way a king should talk! Let's hear what he has to say."

New Life Bible
The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "There is only one other man whom we may ask of the Lord, but I hate him. He does not speak anything good about me, only bad. He is Micaiah the son of Imlah." But Jehoshaphat said, "Let not the king say that."

New Revised Standard
The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "There is still one other by whom we may inquire of the Lord , Micaiah son of Imlah; but I hate him, for he never prophesies anything favorable about me, but only disaster." Jehoshaphat said, "Let the king not say such a thing."

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, Besides, is a certain man, by whom we might seek Yahweh, but, I, hate him, for he is never moved to prophesy concerning me anything good, only evil, Micaiah, son of Imlah. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And the king of Israel said to Josaphat. There is one man left, by whom we may inquire of the Lord; Micheas, the son of Jemla: but I hate him, for he doth not prophecy good to me, but evil. And Josaphat said: Speak not so, O king.

Revised Standard Version
And the king of Israel said to Jehosh'aphat, "There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the LORD, Micai'ah the son of Imlah; but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me, but evil." And Jehosh'aphat said, "Let not the king say so."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the LORD, but I hate him, because he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. He is Micaiah son of Imlah." But Jehoshaphat said, "Let not the king say so."

Contextual Overview

¹They enjoyed three years of peace—no fighting between Aram and Israel. In the third year, Jehoshaphat king of Judah had a meeting with the king of Israel. Israel's king remarked to his aides, "Do you realize that Ramoth Gilead belongs to us, and we're sitting around on our hands instead of taking it back from the king of Aram?" ⁴He turned to Jehoshaphat and said, "Will you join me in fighting for Ramoth Gilead?" Jehoshaphat said, "You bet. I'm with you all the way—my troops are your troops, my horses are your horses." He then continued, "But before you do anything, ask God for guidance." ⁶ The king of Israel got the prophets together—all four hundred of them—and put the question to them: "Should I attack Ramoth Gilead? Or should I hold back?" "Go for it," they said. " God will hand it over to the king." ⁷ But Jehoshaphat dragged his heels: "Is there still another prophet of God around here we can consult?" ⁸ The king of Israel told Jehoshaphat, "As a matter of fact, there is still one such man. But I hate him. He never preaches anything good to me, only doom, doom, doom—Micaiah son of Imlah." "The king shouldn't talk about a prophet like that," said Jehoshaphat. ⁹ So the king of Israel ordered one of his men, "On the double! Get Micaiah son of Imlah." ¹⁰Meanwhile, the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat were seated on their thrones, dressed in their royal robes, resplendent in front of the Samaria city gates. All the prophets were staging a prophecy-performance for their benefit. Zedekiah son of Kenaanah had even made a set of iron horns, and brandishing them called out, " God 's word! With these horns you'll gore Aram until there's nothing left of him!" All the prophets chimed in, "Yes! Go for Ramoth Gilead! An easy victory! God 's gift to the king!" ¹³ The messenger who went to get Micaiah said, "The prophets have all said Yes to the king. Make it unanimous—vote Yes!" ¹⁴ But Micaiah said, "As surely as God lives, what God says, I'll say."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

yet one man: 1 Kings 18:4, 1 Kings 19:10, 1 Kings 19:14, 1 Kings 20:41, 1 Kings 20:42

but I hate him: 1 Kings 22:27, 1 Kings 20:43, 1 Kings 21:20, Genesis 37:8, 2 Chronicles 36:16, Psalms 34:21, Proverbs 9:8, Proverbs 15:12, Isaiah 49:7, Jeremiah 18:18, Jeremiah 20:10, Jeremiah 43:3, Jeremiah 43:4, Amos 5:10, Zechariah 11:8, Matthew 10:22, John 3:19-21, John 7:7, John 15:18, John 15:19, John 17:14, Galatians 4:16, Revelation 11:7-10

good: 1 Kings 22:13, Isaiah 30:10, Jeremiah 38:4, Micah 2:11

concerning me: 1 Kings 20:35-42, 2 Kings 9:22, Isaiah 3:11, Isaiah 57:19-21

Let not the: 1 Kings 21:27-29, Proverbs 5:12-14, Micah 2:7

Reciprocal: Numbers 22:6 - I wot 2 Samuel 12:13 - David 1 Kings 14:6 - for I am 1 Kings 16:33 - did more to provoke 1 Kings 20:22 - the prophet 1 Kings 22:18 - Did I not tell 1 Kings 22:23 - and the Lord 2 Kings 1:9 - sent unto 2 Kings 6:31 - if the head 2 Kings 22:13 - inquire Proverbs 15:10 - grievous Proverbs 29:10 - The bloodthirsty Ecclesiastes 4:13 - will no more be Jeremiah 15:10 - a man Jeremiah 28:8 - prophesied Jeremiah 36:23 - he cut Amos 2:11 - I raised Matthew 5:12 - for so Mark 11:18 - feared Luke 6:23 - for in Luke 11:45 - thou John 3:20 - every Acts 5:28 - intend 2 Timothy 4:3 - they will Revelation 11:10 - these Revelation 22:15 - whosoever

Cross-References

Genesis 22:19
Then Abraham went back to his young servants. They got things together and returned to Beersheba. Abraham settled down in Beersheba.

Genesis 22:20
After all this, Abraham got the news: "Your brother Nahor is a father! Milcah has given him children: Uz, his firstborn, his brother Buz, Kemuel (he was the father of Aram), Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel." (Bethuel was the father of Rebekah.) Milcah gave these eight sons to Nahor, Abraham's brother.

2 Chronicles 25:9
But Amaziah said to the holy man, "But what about all this money—these tons of silver I have already paid out to hire these men?" " God 's help is worth far more to you than that," said the holy man.

Matthew 19:26
Jesus looked hard at them and said, "No chance at all if you think you can pull it off yourself. Every chance in the world if you trust God to do it."

John 1:29
The very next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and yelled out, "Here he is, God's Passover Lamb! He forgives the sins of the world! This is the man I've been talking about, ‘the One who comes after me but is really ahead of me.' I knew nothing about who he was—only this: that my task has been to get Israel ready to recognize him as the God-Revealer. That is why I came here baptizing with water, giving you a good bath and scrubbing sins from your life so you can get a fresh start with God."

Revelation 5:6
So I looked, and there, surrounded by Throne, Animals, and Elders, was a Lamb, slaughtered but standing tall. Seven horns he had, and seven eyes, the Seven Spirits of God sent into all the earth. He came to the One Seated on the Throne and took the scroll from his right hand. The moment he took the scroll, the Four Animals and Twenty-four Elders fell down and worshiped the Lamb. Each had a harp and each had a bowl, a gold bowl filled with incense, the prayers of God's holy people. And they sang a new song: Worthy! Take the scroll, open its seals. Slain! Paying in blood, you bought men and women, Bought them back from all over the earth, Bought them back for God. Then you made them a Kingdom, Priests for our God, Priest-kings to rule over the earth.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, there is yet one man (Micaiah the son of Imlah), by whom we may inquire of the Lord,.... And but one in Samaria; Elijah and Elisha were elsewhere:

but I hate him, for he doth not prophesy of good concerning me, but evil; who is thought to be the same that was several times with him when engaged in the war with the king of Syria, 1 Kings 20:13 and each time, excepting the last, he brought him good tidings; but because, in his last message, he told him, that, since he had let Benhadad go, his life should go for his life, and his people for his people, for that he hated him:

and Jehoshaphat said, let not the king say so; which was very modestly, though perhaps too gently, said; suggesting that the prophets of the Lord should be heard, respected, and honoured, let their message be as it would, since they spake not of their own mind and will, but what they were moved unto by the Spirit of God.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

There is yet one man, Micaiah - Elijah, it appears, had withdrawn again after the events of the last chapter, and there was no known prophet of Yahweh within reach of Samaria except Micaiah.

He doth not prophesy good concerning me but evil - Whether the tradition in 1 Kings 20:41 note be true or not, it is certain that Ahab had imprisoned him 1 Kings 22:26, and probable that the imprisonment was on account of threatening prophecies. Ahab suggests to Jehoshaphat that Micaiah is one who allows his private feelings to determine the utterances which he delivers as if from Yahweh. Hence, the force of Jehoshaphat’s answer, “Let not the king say so;” i. e., “Let not the king suppose that a prophet would be guilty of such impiety,” - an impiety from which even Balaam shrank Numbers 22:18.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Kings 22:8. Micaiah the son of Imlah — The Jews suppose that it was this prophet who reproved Ahab for dismissing Ben-hadad, 1 Kings 20:35, &c. And that it was because of the judgments with which he had threatened him, that Ahab hated him: I hate him, for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil.