He said, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd. Yahweh said, ‘These have no master. Let them each return to his house in peace.’ ”
The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Didn’t I tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?”
Micaiah said, “Therefore hear Yahweh’s word: I saw Yahweh sitting on his throne, and all the army of heaven standing on his right hand and on his left. Yahweh said, ‘Who will entice Ahab king of Israel, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth Gilead?’ One spoke saying in this way, and another saying in that way. A spirit came out, stood before Yahweh, and said, ‘I will entice him.’ “Yahweh said to him, ‘How?’
“He said, ‘I will go, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ “He said, ‘You will entice him, and will prevail also. Go and do so.’
“Now therefore, behold, Yahweh has put a lying spirit in the mouth of these your prophets; and Yahweh has spoken evil concerning you.”
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv16, 18, 19, 21, 22 He prophesieth of how the people should be dispersed…
He prophesieth of how the people should be dispersed and Ahab slain.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On v20 2Ch 18:20 Then there came out a spirit, and…
2Ch 18:20 Then there came out a spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said, I will entice him. And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith?
Ver. 20. And there came out a spirit.] The Rabbis fable that this was Naboth’s ghost, who to be revenged on Ahab, thus offereth his service. In times of Popery, devils came saying that they were the souls of such and such dead persons; and desired to be set free from the pains of purgatory, &c.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On v22 Lying spirit, &c. - See the power of Satan!…
Lying spirit, &c. - See the power of Satan! One lying spirit can make four hundred lying prophets. And thus he frequently becomes a murderer by being a liar, and destroys men by deceiving them.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On v20 Verse 20. Then there came out a spirit] The…
Verse 20. Then there came out a spirit] The Targum gives a strange gloss here: "Then the spirit of Naboth of Jezreel came out from the abode of the righteous, and stood before the Lord, and said, I will deceive him. And the Lord said, By what means? To which he answered, I will be a spirit of false prophecy in the mouth of his prophets. And the Lord said, Thou mayest then. But although the power of deceiving them is given unto thee, nevertheless it will not be lawful for thee to sit among the righteous; for whosoever shall speak falsely cannot have a mansion among the righteous. Therefore go forth from me, and do as thou hast said." - Targum.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv18–21 Ye. In 3 K., he addresses his discourse chiefly…
Ye. In 3 K., he addresses his discourse chiefly to Achab. C.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv16, 18, 19, 20, 21 16. Then he said, I did see] Render, And…
16. Then he said, I did see] Render, And he said, I see.
the Lord said, These have no master] Render, The LORD hath said, These have a master who is no master. Ahab was no shepherd, but a spoiler of his people. To translate as A.V. and R.V. translate, is to strain the meaning of the Heb., and to refer “in peace” to the blood-stained retreat of Israel from Ramoth is to defy the plainest meaning of language. 2Ch_18:16 means that the man who has misgoverned will not be permitted to lead to victory.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv16–22 (16) Upon the mountains.—Kings, “unto the mountains.”
(16) Upon the mountains.—Kings, “unto the mountains.”
As sheep.—Like the flock, both of sheep and goats.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv16, 17, 19, 22 The brief parable smote the very heart of Ahab;…
The brief parable smote the very heart of Ahab; (Num_27:17) and Ahab felt it, like "the sentence of death" in him; in a way all different, indeed, from that in which an apostle of many a century afterward felt it.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v16 Then he said, I see all Israel scattered.
2Ch_18:16
Then he said, I see all Israel scattered.
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The prophetic visions
Micaiah declared the visions revealed to him by the Spirit of God.
I. The sheepherdless people.
II. The parabolic providence.
1. A picture of Gods supremacy.
2. An insight into supernatural ministry. All the host of heaven ready to serve.
3. An interpretation of the events of history. (J. Wolfendale.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv17, 19, 20, 22 Did I not tell you ... but only disaster?
Did I not tell you ... but only disaster?
Ahab asks this question to emphasize that he had spoken the truth about Micaiah. AT: "I told you ... but only disaster!" (See: Rhetorical Question)
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on his right hand and on his left
This means that they were standing beside him on his left side and his right side. AT: "by his right side and by his left side" (See: Idiom)
on his left
This implies his left hand. AT: "on his left hand" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
translationWords
Jehoshaphat
throne
heaven
right hand
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v18 18:18-22 The vision explains the deception of the false…
18:18-22 The vision explains the deception of the false prophets while legitimizing Micaiah’s word. The deception guaranteed that Ahab would fall in battle; his judgment was decreed.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.