1 Durante três anos houve guerra entre a Síria e Israel.
2 Mas durante o terceiro ano, enquanto o rei Jeosafá de Judá estava a visitar o rei Acabe de Israel, Acabe disse aos seus oficiais: Vocês estão a dar-se conta como os sírios ainda ocupam Ramote-Gileade? E nós aqui estamos, sentados, sem nada fazer para a recuperar!
4 Depois, voltando-se para Jeosafá: Estarias tu de acordo em mandar as tuas tropas com as minhas para reaver essa cidade?
5 E Jeosafá respondeu a rei Acabe: Com certeza que sim! Tu e eu somos irmãos! O meu povo poderá ficar sob o teu comando; os meus cavalos, ao teu serviço. Mas, acrescentou, devemos primeiro consultar o Senhor, para saber qual a sua vontade.
6 O rei Acabe convocou os seus quatrocentos profetas pagãos e perguntou-lhes: Atacarei ou não Ramote-Gileade? Sim, porque o Senhor será contigo.
7 Por sua vez Jeosafá perguntou: Não haverá aqui um profeta do Senhor? Gostaria de o interrogar também.
8 Sim, há um, respondeu o rei Acabe, mas eu odeio-o, porque nunca profetiza nada de bom. Tem sempre algo de tenebroso a dizer. Chama-se Micaías, e é filho de Inlá.Estás talvez a exagerar!, retorquiu Jeosafá.
9 O rei Acabe chamou um dos seus ajudantes: Vai buscar Micaías. Depressa!
10 Entretanto todos os profetas pagãos continuavam profetizando perante os dois reis, que estavam vestidos com os trajes reais e sentados tronos, numa praça, à entrada da cidade. Um dos profetas, Zedequias, filho de Quenaana, fez uns chifres de ferro e declarou: O Senhor promete que empurrarás na tua frente os sírios com estas hastes, até os teres destruído todos.
12 Os outros apoiaram-no: Levanta-te e ataca Ramote-Gileade, porque o Senhor fará com que triunfes!
13 O mensageiro encarregado de ir buscar Micaías disse-lhe o que os profetas pagãos estavam a declarar e pressionou-o para que dissesse a mesma coisa. Mas Micaías afirmou: Garanto-te que direi apenas o que o Senhor me mandar!
15 Quando chegaram, o rei perguntou-lhe: Micaías, atacaremos Ramote-Gileade ou não? E Micaías retorquiu: Com certeza que sim. Terás uma grande vitória e o Senhor te ajudará!
16 Quantas vezes te tenho de dizer que me digas com seriedade o que o Senhor te manda declarar?, disse o rei.
17 Então Micaías retomou a palavra: Vi Israel espalhado sobre os montes, como cordeiros sem pastor. E o Senhor disse: 'O seu rei está morto; manda-as para casa'.
18 Voltando-se para Jeosafá, Acabe lamentou-se: Não te disse eu que era isto que iria acontecer? Ele nunca me diz nada de bom; fala sempre mal.
19 Micaías continuou. Ouve o resto da palavra do Senhor. Eu vi o Senhor sentado sobre o seu trono, com os exércitos celestiais à sua volta. Disse o Senhor: 'Quem irá convencer Acabe para que vá e morra em Ramote-Gileade?' Várias sugestões foram feitas, até que um anjo se aproximou do Senhor e disse: 'Irei eu!'
22 'Como?
24 Então Zedequias, o filho de Quenaana, adiantou-se e deu uma bofetada no rosto de Micaías: Quando foi que o Espírito do Senhor me deixou a mim para falar por ti?
25 Micaías respondeu-lhe: Terás a resposta quando andares à procura de te esconderes no quarto interior duma casa.
26 O rei Acabe mandou que prendessem Micaías: Levem-no a Amom, o governador da cidade, e a Joás, o meu filho. Digam-lhes: 'O rei manda pôr este indivíduo no cárcere e que o alimentem a pão e água, e apenas o suficiente para que não morra , até que eu regresse em paz' .
28 Se voltares em paz, insistiu Micaías, isso será a prova de que o Senhor não falou por mim. Depois, voltando-se para o povo que ali estava a assistir àquilo: Tomem bem nota do que eu disse!
29 Assim o rei Acabe de Israel e o rei Jeosafá de Judá levaram os seus exércitos contra Ramote-Gileade.
30 Acabe disse a Jeosafá: Leva tu o fato real e eu disfarçar-me-ei! Então Acabe foi para a batalha trajando como um simples soldado.
31 O rei da Síria tinha mandado aos capitães dos trinta e dois carros, que lutassem apenas contra o Acabe. E quando viram o rei Jeosafá vestido com os trajes reais, pensaram: É este o homem que procuramos. Então rodearam-no para o atacarem. Mas Jeosafá gritou e eles deixaram-no!
34 Contudo, alguém atirou uma flecha ao acaso que veio precisamente ferir Acabe numa juntura da sua armadura. Levem-me daqui para fora, porque estou ferido, rouquejou ele ao condutor do carro.
35 A batalha ia-se tornando cada vez mais intensa à medida que o dia avançava; e o rei Acabe retirou-se da batalha, deitado no seu carro, com o sangue que saia da ferida escorrendo-lhe até ao chão. Finalmente, pelo anoitecer, morreu. Estava o Sol a pôr-se e começou a correr a notícia por entre a tropa: Acabou-se, voltemos para casa! O rei morreu! O seu corpo foi levado para Samaria e enterrado ali. Quando o carro e a armadura foram lavados juntos de um poço em Samaria, onde as prostitutas se lavavam, os cães vieram e puseram-se a lamber o sangue do rei, tal como o Senhor dissera que havia de acontecer.
39 O resto da história de Acabe, incluindo a descrição do seu palácio de marfim e as cidades que construiu, está escrito nas Crónicas dos Reis de Israel. Acabe foi sepultado junto dos seus antepassados; e Acazias, seu filho, tornou-se o novo rei de Israel.
41 Em Judá, Jeosafá, o filho de Asa, tinha sido coroado rei no quarto ano do reinado de Acabe de Israel. Jeosafá tinha trinta e cinco anos quando ascendeu ao trono e reinou em Jerusalém vinte e cinco anos. A sua mãe era Azuba, filha de Sili. Fez o que seu pai Asa tinha feito, obedecendo ao Senhor em tudo, menos numa coisa: não destruiu os nichos nos altos das colinas e continuou a queimar ali incenso. Fez também paz com Acabe, rei de Israel. O resto dos feitos de Jeosafá, o poder que revelou, as guerras que fez, estão descritos nas Crónicas dos Reis de Judá.
46 Também mandou fechar todas as casas de prostituição masculina que ainda se mantinham, depois do tempo do seu pai Asa. Não havia rei em Edom nessa altura mas apenas governador nomeado pelo rei de Judá.
48 O rei Jeosafá mandou construiur grandes navios para irem a Ofir buscar ouro; mas nunca lá chegaram porque naufragaram em Eziom-Geber. Acazias, o filho e sucessor do rei Acabe, tinha proposto a Jeosafá que os seus homens fossem também, mas este recusou a oferta.
50 Quando Jeosafá morreu, foi enterrado junto dos seus antepassados, em Jerusalém, a cidade do seu antecessor David. O seu filho Jeorão ocupou o trono em seu lugar.
51 Foi no décimo sétimo ano do reinado de Jeosafá, rei de Judá, que Acazias, filho de Acabe, começou a reinar sobre Israel em Samaria; reinou dois anos. Mas não foi um bom rei, pois seguiu nas pisadas do seu pai e da sua mãe e também de Jeroboão, que levaram Israel a prestar culto a ídolos, pecando assim contra o Senhor. Por isso Acazias muito suscitou a ira de Deus.
1 And they continued three years without war between Syria and Israel.
2 And it came to pass in the third year, that Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came down to the king of Israel.
3 And the king of Israel said to his slaves, Do you{+} know that Ramoth-gilead is ours, and we are still, and do not take it out of the hand of the king of Syria?
4 And he said to Jehoshaphat, Will you go with me to battle to Ramoth-gilead? And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.
5 And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, Inquire first, I pray you, for the word of Yahweh.
6 Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said to them, Shall I go against Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king.
7 But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of Yahweh besides, that we may inquire of him?
8 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.
9 Then the king of Israel called an officer, and said, Fetch quickly Micaiah the son of Imlah.
10 Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah were sitting each on his throne, arrayed in their robes, in an open place at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets were prophesying before them.
11 And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made himself horns of iron, and said, Thus says Yahweh, With these you will push the Syrians, until they are consumed.
12 And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramoth-gilead, and prosper; for Yahweh will deliver it into the hand of the king.
13 And the messenger that went to call Micaiah spoke to him, saying, Look now, the words of the prophets [declare] good to the king with one mouth: let your word, I pray you, be like the word of one of them, and speak good.
14 And Micaiah said, As Yahweh lives, what Yahweh says to me, that I will speak.
15 And when he came to the king, the king said to him, Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall we forbear? And he answered him, Go up and prosper; and Yahweh will deliver it into the hand of the king.
16 And the king said to him, How many times shall I adjure you that you speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of Yahweh?
17 And he said, I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd: and Yahweh said, These have no master; let them return every man to his house in peace.
18 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, Didn't I tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?
19 And [Micaiah] said, Therefore hear the word of Yahweh: I saw Yahweh sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left.
20 And Yahweh said, Who will entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead? And one said on this manner; and another said on that manner.
21 And there came forth a spirit, and stood before Yahweh, and said, I will entice him.
22 And Yahweh said to him, How? And he said, I will go forth, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, You will entice him, and will prevail also: go forth, and do so.
23 Now therefore, look, Yahweh has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these prophets of yours; and Yahweh has spoken evil concerning you.
24 Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near, and struck Micaiah on the cheek, and said, Which way did the Spirit of Yahweh go from me to speak to you?
25 And Micaiah said, Look, you will see on that day, when you will go into an inner chamber to hide yourself.
26 And the king of Israel said, Take Micaiah, and carry him back to Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king's son;
27 and say, Thus says the king, Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I come in peace.
28 And Micaiah said, If you return at all in peace, Yahweh has not spoken by me. And he said, Hear, you{+} peoples, all of you{+}.
29 So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead.
30 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself, and go into the battle; but you put on your robes. And the king of Israel disguised himself, and went into the battle.
31 Now the king of Syria had commanded the thirty-two captains of his chariots, saying, Fight neither with small nor great, but only with the king of Israel.
32 And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, Surely it is the king of Israel; and they turned aside to fight against him: and Jehoshaphat cried out.
33 And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw that it wasn't the king of Israel, that they turned back from pursuing him.
34 And a certain man drew his bow at a venture, and struck the king of Israel between the joints of the armor: therefore he said to the driver of his chariot, Turn your hand, and carry me out of the host; for I am critically wounded.
35 And the battle increased that day: and the king was propped up in his chariot against the Syrians, and died at evening; and the blood ran out of the wound into the bottom of the chariot.
36 And there went a cry throughout the host about the going down of the sun, saying, Every man to his city, and every man to his country.
37 So the king died, and was brought to Samaria; and they buried the king in Samaria.
38 And they washed the chariot by the pool of Samaria; and the dogs licked up his blood (now the prostitutes washed themselves [there]); according to the word of Yahweh which he spoke.
39 Now the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all that he did, and the ivory house which he built, and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?
40 So Ahab slept with his fathers; and Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead.
41 And Jehoshaphat the son of Asa began to reign over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel.
42 Jehoshaphat was thirty and five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi.
43 And he walked in all the way of Asa his father; He didn't turn aside from it, doing that which was right in the eyes of Yahweh: nevertheless the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places.
44 And Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel.
45 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, and his might that he showed, and how he warred, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?
46 And the remnant of the homosexuals, that remained in the days of his father Asa, he put away out of the land.
47 And there was no king in Edom: a deputy was king.
48 Jehoshaphat made ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold: but they did not go; for the ships were broken at Ezion-geber.
49 Then Ahaziah the son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, Let my slaves go with your slaves in the ships. But Jehoshaphat would not.
50 And Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father; And Jehoram his son reigned in his stead.
51 Ahaziah the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned two years over Israel.
52 And he did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh, and walked in the way of his father, and in the way of his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, in which he made Israel to sin.
53 And he served Baal, and worshiped him, and provoked Yahweh to anger, the God of Israel, according to all that his father had done.