17. Then Israel’s king said to Jehoshaphat, "Didn’t I tell you? He never prophesies anything good about me, only bad."
18. Then Micaiah said, "Listen now to the Lord’s word: I saw the Lord enthroned with all the heavenly forces stationed at his right and at his left.
19. The Lord said, ‘Who will persuade Israel’s King Ahab so that he attacks Ramoth-gilead and dies there?’ There were several suggestions,
20. until one particular spirit approached the Lord and said, ‘I will persuade him.’ ‘How?’ the Lord asked.
21. ‘I will be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets,’ he said. The Lord agreed: ‘You will succeed in persuading him! Go ahead!’
22. So now, since the Lord placed a lying spirit in the mouths of these prophets of yours, it is the Lord who has pronounced disaster against you!"
23. Zedekiah, Chenaanah’s son, approached Micaiah and slapped him on the cheek. "Just how did the Lord’s spirit leave me to speak to you?" he asked.
24. Micaiah answered, "You will find out on the day you try to hide in an inner room."
25. "Arrest him," ordered Israel’s king, "and turn him over to Amon the city governor and to Joash the king’s son.
26. Tell them, ‘The king says: Put this man in prison and feed him minimum rations of bread and water until I return safely.’"
27. "If you ever return safely," Micaiah replied, "then the Lord wasn’t speaking through me." Then he added, "Mark my words, every last one of you!"
28. So Israel’s king and Judah’s King Jehoshaphat attacked Ramoth-gilead.
29. Israel’s king said to Jehoshaphat, "I will disguise myself when we go into battle, but you should wear your royal attire." When the king of Israel had disguised himself, they entered the battle.
30. Meanwhile, Aram’s king had commanded his chariot officers, "Don’t bother with anyone big or small. Fight only with Israel’s king."
31. When the chariot officers saw Jehoshaphat, they assumed that he must be Israel’s king, so they turned to attack him. But when Jehoshaphat cried out, the Lord helped him, and God lured them away from him.
32. When the chariot officers realized that he wasn’t Israel’s king, they stopped chasing him.
33. Someone, however, randomly shot an arrow that struck Israel’s king between the joints in his armor. "Turn around and get me out of the battle," the king told his chariot driver. "I’ve been hit!"