1 Kings 22:23

1 Kings 22:23 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Now therefore, behold, the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil concerning thee.
• New International Version (NIV)“So now the Lord has put a deceiving spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours. The Lord has decreed disaster for you.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)Now therefore behold, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; the Lord has declared disaster for you."
• New King James Version (NKJV)Therefore look! The Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these prophets of yours, and the Lord has declared disaster against you.”

Context of 1 Kings 22:23

21Then a spirit came and stood in front of the Lord. The spirit said, “I will deceive Ahab.” The Lord asked him, “How will you do it?” 22The spirit said, “I will give a message to all Ahab's prophets. I will cause them to speak lies.” The Lord said, “Go and deceive King Ahab, as you have said. He will do what you say.” So you see what has happened. The Lord has sent a spirit to all these prophets who serve you. This spirit has caused them to speak lies. The Lord has decided that terrible trouble will come on you.’ 24Then Kenaanah's son Zedekiah went to Micaiah. He hit Micaiah on his face. He asked Micaiah, ‘Do you say that the Lord's spirit has gone away from me and has spoken to you instead? How did he do that?’ 25Micaiah answered him, ‘One day, you will know which of us has spoken the truth. That will be the day that you go to hide in a room at the back of a house.’

1 Kings 22:23 word by word

וְעַתָּ֗ה הִנֵּ֨ה נָתַ֤ן יְהוָה֙ ר֣וּחַ שֶׁ֔קֶר בְּפִ֖י כָּל־נְבִיאֶ֣יךָ אֵ֑לֶּה וַֽיהוָ֔ה דִּבֶּ֥ר עָלֶ֖יךָ רָעָֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Now therefore, behold, the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• hath putנָתַןnâthan · to give: putH5414
• a lyingשֶׁ֫קֶרsheqer · deceptionH8267
• spiritרוּחַrûach · spiritH7307
• in the mouthפֶּהpeh · lipH6310
• of all these thy prophetsנָבִיאnâbîy' · prophetH5030
• hath spokenדָבַרdâbar · to speak: promiseH1696
• evilרָעָהra‛ râ‛âh · distress: harmH7451

Cross-references for 1 Kings 22:23

• Exodus 4:21Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘When you return to Egypt you must do the signs. Do all the signs that I gave you the power to do. Do them in front of Pharaoh. But I will make Pharaoh angry and cruel. Because of this, he will not let the people go.
• Exodus 10:20But the Lord caused Pharaoh's mind to become hard again. Pharaoh would not let the Israelites go.
• Deuteronomy 2:30But Sihon, the king of Heshbon, refused to let us travel through his country. He was too proud to agree with us. The Lord our God had caused him to be like that. He wanted to put King Sihon under your power and give his land to you. You still live in his land today.
• 2 Chronicles 25:16While the prophet was still speaking, the king said to him, ‘We did not choose you to be the king's advisor! If you do not stop speaking, my men will kill you.’ So the prophet stopped. But then he said, ‘I know what God has decided to do. He will destroy you because you have done these bad things and you have not listened to my advice.’
• Isaiah 6:9The Lord said, ‘Go! Tell my message to those people: “You will continue to listen, but you will never understand! You will continue to look, but you will not see anything!”
• Isaiah 44:20Someone like that is stupid enough to eat ashes. His mind has deceived him. He cannot save himself from his lies. He will not say to himself, ‘This thing that I hold in my right hand is completely false!’
• Ezekiel 14:3‘Son of man, these men like to worship idols. They allow those idols to cause them to do wicked things. So I should not allow them to ask me anything.
• Matthew 13:13The reason I use stories to talk to other people is this: These people look. But they do not really see clearly. They hear the words. But they do not really understand.
• Matthew 24:24Some people will say to you, “I am the Messiah!” Other people will say, “I am a prophet from God.” But their words will be false. They will do strange and powerful things for people to see. If possible, they would even deceive the people that God has chosen.
• 1 Kings 22:8The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, ‘There is still one man. We could ask him what the Lord wants us to do. But I do not like him, because he never says that anything good will happen to me. He only says that I will have trouble. He is Imlah's son, Micaiah.’ Jehoshaphat said, ‘The king should not talk like that.’
• 1 Kings 20:42The prophet said to the king, ‘This is what the Lord says to you: “I decided that a man should die, but you have let him go free. So you must pay for his life with your life. Your people will receive the trouble that his people deserved.” ’
• 1 Kings 21:19Say to Ahab, “This is what the Lord says to you: You have murdered a man. You have taken the dead man's field for yourself.” Then say to him, “This is what the Lord says: In the place where the dogs drank Naboth's blood from the ground, dogs will drink your blood. Yes, they will drink your blood there too!” ’
• Numbers 23:19God is not human. He does not tell lies. He does not change his thoughts. If he promises to do something, it happens.
• Numbers 24:13I told them, “I can only speak the message that the Lord tells me. I cannot do good things or bad things just because I want to do them. Even if Balak gives his palace full of silver and gold to me, I cannot do anything different. I have to obey the Lord's command.”
• Isaiah 3:11But it will be very bad for the wicked people. They will receive the punishment that they deserve.

Commentaries on 1 Kings 22:23

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 23The Lord hath put a lying spirit - He hath permitted or suffered a lying spirit to influence thy prophets. Is it requisite again to remind the reader that the Scriptures repeatedly represent God as doing what, in the course of his providence, he only permits or suffers to be done? Nothing can be done in heaven, in earth, or hell, but either by his immediate energy or permission. This is the reason why the Scripture speaks as above.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 15-28Verses 15-28 The greatest kindness we can do to one that is going in a dangerous way, is, to tell him of his danger. To leave the hardened criminal without excuse, and to give a useful lesson to others, Micaiah related his vision. This matter is represented after the manner of men: we are not to imagine that God is ever put upon new counsels; or that he needs to consult with angels, or any creature, about the methods he should take; or that he is the…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 19-23Micaiah said God let a lying spirit mislead Ahab to cause his death. God used Ahab's false prophets to fulfill His plan.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 18-2318-23. Did I not tell thee that he would prophesy no good concerning me, but evil?--Since Ahab was disposed to trace this unwelcome truth to personal enmity, Micaiah proceeded fearlessly to tell the incensed monarch in full detail what had been revealed to him. The Hebrew prophets, borrowing their symbolic pictures from earthly scenes, described God in heaven as a king in His kingdom. And as earthly princes do nothing of importance without asking the…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Kings 22:23

• Ahab
• Armies
• Demons
• Lying
• Micaiah
• Reproof
• Vision

In the dictionaries

• Ahab
• Forbear
• Jehoshaphat
• Micaiah
• Neither
• Nor
• Prophesy
• Ramothgilead
• Venture
• Void

Commentaries on 1 Kings 22

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings