2 Par. XVIII. 1-34. is not alive, but dead. And when Achab heard this, to wit, that Naboth was dead, he arose, and went down into the vineyard of Naboth the Jezrahelite, to take possession of it. God's Judgment on Achab.-And the word of the Lord came to Elias the Thesbite, saying: Arise, and go down to meet Achab king of Israel, who is in Samaria: behold he is going down to the vineyard of Naboth, to take possession of it. And thou shalt speak to him, saying: Thus saith the Lord: Thou hast slain, moreover also thou hast taken possession. And after these words thou shalt add: Thus saith the Lord: In this place, wherein the dogs have licked the blood of Naboth, they shall lick thy blood also. And Achab said to Elias: Hast thou found me thy enemy? He said: I have found thee, because thou art sold to do evil in the sight of the Lord. Behold I will bring evil upon thee, and I will cut down thy posterity, and I will kill of Achab even a dog, and him that is shut up, and the last in Israel.* And I will make thy house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nabat, and like the house of Baasa the son of Ahias, for what thou hast done to provoke Me to anger, and for making Israel to sin. And of Jezabel also the Lord spoke, saying: The dogs shall eat Jezabel in the field of Jezrahel. If Achab die in the city, the dogs shall eat him but if he die in the field, the birds of the air shall eat him. Now there was not such another as Achab, who was sold to do evil in the sight of the Lord: for his wife Jezabel set him on, and he became abominable, insomuch that he followed the idols which the Amorrhites had made, whom the Lord destroyed before the face of the children of Israel. And when Achab had heard these words, he rent his garments, and put hair-cloth upon his flesh, and fasted and slept in sackcloth, and walked with his head cast down. And the word of the Lord came to Elias the Thesbite, saying: Hast thou not seen Achab humbled before Me? therefore, because he hath humbled himself for My sake, I will not bring the evil in his days, but in his son's days will I bring the evil upon his house. SECT. LXXXII, JOSAPHAT JOINS ACHAB IN AN EXPEDITION AGAINST Josaphat and Achab.-Now Josaphat was rich and very glorious, and was joined by affinity to Achab. And he went down to him after some years to Samaria: and Achab at his * That is, the last survivors. coming killed sheep and oxen in abundance for him and the people that came with him: and he persuaded him to go up to Ramoth Galaad.* And Achab king of Israel said to Josaphat king of Juda: Come with me to Ramoth Galaad. And he answered him: Thou art as I am, and my people as thy people, and we will be with thee in the war. And Josaphat said to the king of Israel: Inquire, I beseech thee, at present the word of the Lord. So the king of Israel gathered together of the prophets four hundred men, and he said to them: Shall we go to Ramoth Galaad to fight, or shall we forbear? But they said: Go up, and God will deliver it into the king's hand. And Josaphat said: Is there not here a prophet of the Lord, that we may inquire also of him? And the king of Israel said to Josaphat: There is one man, of whom we may ask the will of the Lord: but I hate him, for he never prophesieth good to me, but always evil: and it is Micheas the son of Jemla. And Josaphat said: Speak not thus, O king. And the king of Israel called one of the eunuchs, and said to him Call quickly Micheas the son of Jemla.† Now the king of Israel, and Josaphat king of Juda, both sat on their thrones, clothed in royal robes, and they sat in the open court by the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets prophesied before them. And Sedecias the son of Chanaana made him horns of iron, and said: Thus saith the Lord: With these shalt thou push Syria, till thou destroy it. And all the prophets prophesied in like manner, and said: Go up to Ramoth Galaad, and thou shalt prosper, and the Lord will deliver them into the king's hand. And the messenger that went to call Micheas said to him: Behold the words of all the prophets with one mouth declare good to the king: I beseech thee therefore let not thy word disagree with them, and speak thou also good success. And Micheas answered him: As the Lord liveth, whatsoever my God shall say to me, that will I speak. So he came to the king: and the king said to him: Micheas, shall we go to Ramoth Galaad to fight, or forbear? And he answered him: Go up, for all shall succeed prosperously, and *Ramoth Galaad was a city in the tribe of Gad, on the east side of the Jordan. †This is not the same as the Micheas who is reckoned as one of the twelve minor prophets. This was spoken ironically, and by way of jesting at the flattering speeches of the false prophets : and so the king understood it, as appears by his adjuring Micheas, in the following verse, to tell him the truth, in the name of the Lord. DOUAY BIBLE. the enemies shall be delivered into your hands. And the king said: I adjure thee again and again to say nothing but the truth to me, in the name of the Lord. Then he said: I saw all Israel scattered in the mountains, like sheep without a shepherd: and the Lord said: These have no masters let every man return to his own house in peace. And the king of Israel said to Josaphat: Did I not tell thee that this man would not prophesy me any good, but evil? Then he said Hear ye therefore the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and all the army of heaven standing by Him on the right hand and on the left. And the Lord said: Who shall deceive Achab king of Israel, that he may go up and fall in Ramoth Galaad? And when one spoke in this manner, and another otherwise, there came forth a spirit, and stood before the Lord, and said: I will deceive him. And the Lord said to him: By what means wilt thou deceive him? And he answered: I will go out, and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And the Lord said: Thou shalt deceive, and shall prevail: go out, and do so. Now therefore behold the Lord hath put a spirit of lying in the mouth of all thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil against thee. * And Sedecias the son of Chanaana came, and struck Micheas on the cheek and said: Which way went the spirit of the Lord from me, to speak to thee? And Micheas said: Thou thyself shalt see in that day, when thou shalt go in from chamber to chamber, to hide thyself. And the king of Israel commanded, saying: Take Micheas, and carry him to Amon the governor of the city, and to Joas the son of Amelech, and say: Thus saith the king: Put this fellow in prison, and give him bread of affliction and water of distress, till I return in peace. And Micheas said: If thou return in peace, the Lord hath not spoken by me. And he said Hear, all ye people. So the king of Israel and Josaphat king of Juda went up to Ramoth Galaad. And the king of Israel said to Josaphat: I will change my dress, and so I will go to the battle, but put thou on thy own garments. And the king of Israel having changed his dress went to the battle. Now the king of Syria had commanded the captains of his cavalry, saying: Fight ye *This may be regarded as a vision or parable. The representation passed before the mind of the prophet so as to enable him to give a strong impression of the falsehood which was in the lips of Achab's prophets. In the next verse God is represented as if He ordained their sin, when He only in a just judgment permitted it to be committed. KENRICK. not with small or great, but with the king of Israel only. So, when the captains of the cavalry saw Josaphat, they said: This is the king of Israel. And they surrounded him to attack him : but he cried to the Lord, and He helped him, and turned them away from him. For when the captains of the cavalry saw that he was not the king of Israel, they left him. : Death of Achab.-And it happened that one of the people shot an arrow at a venture, and struck the king of Israel between the lungs and the stomach, and he said to his chariotman: Turn thy hand, and carry me out of the battle, for I am wounded. And the fight was ended that day but the king of Israel stood in his chariot against the Syrians until the evening, and died at the sunset. And the blood ran out of the wound 3 Kings into the midst of the chariot. And the herald proclaimed xx11.35-40. through all the army before the sun set, saying: Let every man return to his own city and to his own country. And the king died, and was carried into Samaria, and they buried the king in Samaria. And they washed his chariot in the pool of Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood: and they washed the reins, according to the word of the Lord which He had spoken. But the rest of the acts of Achab, and all that he did, and the house of ivory that he made, and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Israel? So Achab slept with his fathers, and Ochozias his son reigned in his stead. And Josaphat king of Juda returned to his house in peace to 2 Par. xix. Jerusalem. And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer met him, and 1-3. said to him: Thou helpest the ungodly, and thou art joined in friendship with them that hate the Lord, and therefore thou didst deserve indeed the wrath of the Lord. But good works are found in thee, because thou has taken away the groves out of the land of Juda, and hast prepared thy heart to seek the Lord the God of thy fathers. SECT. LXXXIII. JOSAPHAT APPOINTS JUDGES. HE IS DELIVERED FROM Josaphat appoints Judges.-And Josaphat dwelt at Jeru- 2 Par. XIX. salem and he went out again to the people from Bersabee to 4-9. mount Ephraim, and brought them back to the Lord the God of their fathers. And he set judges of the land in all the fenced cities of Juda, in every place. And charging the judges, he said: Take heed what you do: for you exercise not the judgment of man, but of the Lord and whatsoever you judge, it shall redound to you. Let the fear of the Lord be with you, 2 Par. xx. and do all things with diligence: for there is no iniquity with the Lord our God, nor respect of persons, nor desire of gifts. In Jerusalem also Josaphat appointed Levites, and priests and chiefs of the families of Israel, to judge the judgment and the cause of the Lord for the inhabitants thereof. And he charged them, saying: Thus shall you do in the fear of the Lord faithfully, and with a perfect heart. He is delivered from his Enemies.-After this the children 1-30. of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them of the Ammonites, were gathered together to fight against Josaphat. And there came messengers, and told Josaphat, saying: There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea, and out of Syria, and behold they are in Asasonthamar, which is Engaddi. And Josaphat being seized with fear betook himself wholly to pray to the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Juda. And Juda gathered themselves together to pray to the Lord: and all came out of their cities to make supplication to Him. And Josaphat stood in the midst of the assembly of Juda and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord before the new court, and said: O Lord God of our fathers, Thou art God in heaven, and rulest over all the kingdoms and nations: in Thy hand is strength and power, and no one can resist Thee. Didst not Thou our God kill all the inhabitants of this land before Thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham Thy friend for ever? And they dwelt in it, and built in it a sanctuary to Thy name, saying: If evils fall upon us, the sword of judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand in Thy presence before this house, in which Thy name is called upon: and we will cry to Thee in our afflictions, and Thou wilt hear, and save us. Now therefore behold the children of Ammon, and of Moab, and mount Seir, through whose lands Thou didst not allow Israel to pass when they came out of Egypt, but they turned aside from them, and slew them not, do the contrary, and endeavour to cast us out of the possession which Thou hast delivered to us. O our God, wilt not Thou then judge them? As for us we have not strength enough to be able to resist this multitude, which cometh violently upon us. But as we know not what to do, we can only turn our eyes to Thee. And all Juda stood before the Lord with their little ones, and their wives, and their children. And Jahaziel the son of Zacharias, the son of Banaias, the son of Jehiel, the son of Mathanias, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, was there, upon whom the Spirit of the Lord came in the midst of the multi |