New King James Version
1 Kings 22:8
8So 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!”
1 Kings 22:8 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)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.
- New International Version (NIV)The king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat, “There is still one prophet through whom we can inquire of the Lord, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, but always bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.” “The king should not say such a thing,” Jehoshaphat replied.
- English Standard Version (ESV)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 Living Translation (NLT)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.”
Context of 1 Kings 22:8
6Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall I go against Ramoth Gilead to fight, or shall I refrain?” So they said, “Go up, for the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king.” 7And Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not still a prophet of the Lord here, that we may inquire of Him?” 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!” 9Then the king of Israel called an officer and said, “Bring Micaiah the son of Imlah quickly!” 10The king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, having put on their robes, sat each on his throne, at a threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them.
Read all of 1 Kings 221 Kings 22:8 word by word
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר מֶֽלֶךְ־יִשְׂרָאֵ֣ל׀ אֶֽל־יְהוֹשָׁפָ֡ט ע֣וֹד אִישׁ־אֶחָ֡ד לִדְרֹשׁ֩ אֶת־יְהוָ֨ה מֵאֹת֜וֹ וַאֲנִ֣י שְׂנֵאתִ֗יו כִּ֠י לֹֽא־יִתְנַבֵּ֨א עָלַ֥י טוֹב֙ כִּ֣י אִם־רָ֔ע מִיכָ֖יְהוּ בֶּן־יִמְלָ֑ה וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ יְה֣וֹשָׁפָ֔ט אַל־יֹאמַ֥ר הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ כֵּֽן׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
- of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- unto Jehoshaphatיְהוֹשָׁפָטyehôshâphâţ · JehoshaphatH3092
- yet oneאֶחָד'echâd · oneH259
- manאִישׁ'îysh · manH376
- Micaiahמִיכָֽיְהוּmîykâyehû mikâyehû · MicaiahH4321
- the sonבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
- of Imlahיִמְלָהyimlâ' yimlâh · ImlahH3229
- by whom we may enquireדָּרַשׁdârash · to seekH1875
- of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- but I hateשָׂנֵאώânê' · to hateH8130
- him; for he doth not prophesyנָבָאnâbâ' · to prophesyH5012
- goodטוֹבţôb · pleasantH2896
- concerning me, but evilרַעra‛ râ‛âh · bad: evilH7451
People and places in 1 Kings 22:8
Cross-references for 1 Kings 22:8
- 1 Kings 18:4For so it was, while Jezebel massacred the prophets of the Lord, that Obadiah had taken one hundred prophets and hidden them, fifty to a cave, and had fed them with bread and water.)
- 1 Kings 19:10So he said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.”
- 1 Kings 20:41And he hastened to take the bandage away from his eyes; and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets.
- 1 Kings 22:27and say, ‘Thus says the king: “Put this fellow in prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and water of affliction, until I come in peace.” ’ ”
- 1 Kings 20:43So the king of Israel went to his house sullen and displeased, and came to Samaria.
- 1 Kings 21:20So Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me, O my enemy?” And he answered, “I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do evil in the sight of the Lord:
- Genesis 37:8And his brothers said to him, “Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.
- 2 Chronicles 36:16But they mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against His people, till there was no remedy.
- Psalms 34:21Evil shall slay the wicked, And those who hate the righteous shall be condemned.
- Proverbs 9:8Do not correct a scoffer, lest he hate you; Rebuke a wise man, and he will love you.
- Proverbs 15:12A scoffer does not love one who corrects him, Nor will he go to the wise.
- Isaiah 49:7Thus says the Lord, The Redeemer of Israel, their Holy One, To Him whom man despises, To Him whom the nation abhors, To the Servant of rulers: “Kings shall see and arise, Princes also shall worship, Because of the Lord who is faithful, The Holy One of Israel; And He has chosen You.”
- Jeremiah 18:18Then they said, “Come and let us devise plans against Jeremiah; for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come and let us attack him with the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words.”
- Jeremiah 20:10For I heard many mocking: “Fear on every side!” “Report,” they say, “and we will report it!” All my acquaintances watched for my stumbling, saying, “Perhaps he can be induced; Then we will prevail against him, And we will take our revenge on him.”
- Jeremiah 43:3But Baruch the son of Neriah has set you against us, to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they may put us to death or carry us away captive to Babylon.”
- Amos 5:10They hate the one who rebukes in the gate, And they abhor the one who speaks uprightly.
Commentaries on 1 Kings 22:8
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8Micaiah the son of Imlah - The Jews suppose that it was this prophet who reproved Ahab for dismissing Ben-hadad, 1 Kings 20:35, etc. 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.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8There 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…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5-9Following ancient Near Eastern tradition, Jehoshaphat asked the two kings to seek God's will before battle. This tradition appears in Aramean, Moabite, and Assyrian writings, as well as in the Old Testament (1 Samuel 23:2–4; 2 Samuel 5:19–25). Despite Ahab's doubts, Jehoshaphat insisted on calling Micaiah, a true prophet of God.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 3-83-8. Know ye that Ramoth in Gilead is ours--a Levitical and free town on the north border of Gad (De 4:43; Jos 21:38), on the site of the present Salt Lake, in the province of Belka. It lay within the territories of the Israelitish monarch, and was unjustly alienated; but whether it was one of the cities usurped by the first Ben-hadad, which his son had promised to restore, or was retained for some other reasons, the sacred historian has not mentioned. In…Read the comment
Topics related to 1 Kings 22:8
In the dictionaries
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries