Study Desk

The prophet went to another man and said, "Hit me, please!" So the man hit him and hurt him.

The prophet wrapped his face in a cloth so no one could tell who he was. Then he went and waited by the road for the king.

But I was busy doing other things, so the man ran away." The king of Israel answered, "You have already said what the punishment is. You must do what the man said."

The prophet said to the king, "This is what the Lord says: ‘You freed the man I said should die, so your life will be taken instead of his. The lives of your people will also be taken instead of the lives of his people.'"

His wife, Jezebel, came in and asked him, "Why are you so upset that you refuse to eat?"

So Jezebel wrote some letters, signed Ahab's name to them, and used his own seal to seal them. Then she sent them to the elders and important men who lived in Naboth's town.

Two troublemakers sat across from Naboth and said in front of everybody that they had heard him speak against God and the king. So the people carried Naboth out of the city and killed him with stones.

Tell Ahab that I, the Lord , say to him, ‘You have murdered Naboth and taken his land. So I tell you this: In the same place the dogs licked up Naboth's blood, they will also lick up your blood!'"

When Ahab saw Elijah, he said, "So you have found me, my enemy!" Elijah answered, "Yes, I have found you. You have always chosen to do what the Lord says is wrong.

So the Lord says to you, ‘I will soon destroy you. I will kill you and every male in your family, both slave and free.

There was no one like Ahab who had chosen so often to do what the Lord said was wrong, because his wife Jezebel influenced him to do evil.

"I see that Ahab is now sorry for what he has done. So I will not cause the trouble to come to him during his life, but I will wait until his son is king. Then I will bring this trouble to Ahab's family."

So Ahab asked King Jehoshaphat, "Will you go with me to fight at Ramoth in Gilead?" "I will go with you," Jehoshaphat answered. "My soldiers are yours, and my horses are yours."

So Ahab king of Israel told one of his officers to bring Micaiah to him at once.

So Micaiah answered, "I saw the army of Israel scattered over the hills like sheep without a shepherd. The Lord said, ‘They have no leaders. They should go home and not fight.'"

"The Lord asked, ‘How will you do it?' "The spirit answered, ‘I will go to Ahab's prophets and make them tell lies.' "So the Lord said, ‘You will succeed in tricking him. Go and do it.'"

So Ahab king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went to Ramoth in Gilead.

King Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, "I will go into battle, but I will wear other clothes so no one will recognize me. But you wear your royal clothes." So Ahab wore other clothes and went into battle.

When these commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they thought he was certainly the king of Israel, so they turned to attack him. But Jehoshaphat began shouting.

So Ahab died, and his son Ahaziah became king in his place.