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Sunday, October 5th, 2025
the Week of Proper 22 / Ordinary 27
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Bible in Basic English

1 Kings 22:17

Then he said, I saw all Israel wandering on the mountains like sheep without a keeper; and the Lord said, These have no master: let them go back, every man to his house in peace.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Armies;   Micaiah;   Reproof;   Vision;   Thompson Chain Reference - Jehoshaphat;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Armies of Israel, the;   Mountains;   Syria;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Ben-Hadad;   Jehoshaphat;   Micaiah;   Ramoth;   Zedekiah;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Ahab;   Jehoshaphat;   Micah;   Prophecy, prophet;   Ramoth-gilead;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Flock;   Foreknowledge;   Lamb, Lamb of God;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Jehoshaphat;   Micaiah;   Ramoth-Gilead;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Canon of the Old Testament;   Chenaanah;   Hananiah;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Ahab;   Kings, 1 and 2;   Micaiah;   Sheep;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Ben-Hadad;   Jehoshaphat;   Lie, Lying;   Micah, Micaiah;   Ramoth-Gilead, Ramoth in Gilead;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Poet;   Shepherd;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Micaiah ;   Ramoth Gilead ;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Ramothgilead;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Judah the kingdom of;   Micaiah;   Ramoth;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Mica'iah;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Sheep;   Shepherd;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Sheep;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
So Micaiah said:
Hebrew Names Version
He said, I saw all Yisra'el scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd: and the LORD said, These have no master; let them return every man to his house in shalom.
King James Version
And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd: and the Lord said, These have no master: let them return every man to his house in peace.
English Standard Version
And he said, "I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd. And the Lord said, ‘These have no master; let each return to his home in peace.'"
New Century Version
So Micaiah answered, "I saw the army of Israel scattered over the hills like sheep without a shepherd. The Lord said, ‘They have no leaders. They should go home and not fight.'"
New English Translation
Micaiah said, "I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains like sheep that have no shepherd. Then the Lord said, ‘They have no master. They should go home in peace.'"
Amplified Bible
And he said, "I saw all Israel Scattered upon the mountains, Like sheep that have no shepherd. And the LORD said, 'These have no master. Let each of them return to his house in peace.'"
New American Standard Bible
So he said, "I saw all Israel Scattered on the mountains, Like sheep that have no shepherd. And the LORD said, 'These people have no master. Each of them is to return to his house in peace.'"
Geneva Bible (1587)
Then he said, I sawe all Israel scattered vpon the mountaines, as sheepe that had no shepheard. And the Lorde sayde, These haue no master, let euery man returne vnto his house in peace.
Legacy Standard Bible
So he said,"I saw all IsraelScattered on the mountains,Like sheep which have no shepherd.And Yahweh said,‘These have no master.Let each of them return to his house in peace.'"
Contemporary English Version
He answered, "In a vision I saw Israelite soldiers walking around in the hills like sheep without a shepherd to guide them. The Lord said, ‘This army has no leader. They should go home and not fight.'"
Complete Jewish Bible
Then he said, "I saw all Isra'el scattered over the hills like sheep without a shepherd; and Adonai said, ‘These men have no leader; let everyone go home in peace.'"
Darby Translation
And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd. And Jehovah said, These have no master: let them return every man to his house in peace.
Easy-to-Read Version
So Micaiah answered, "I can see the army of Israel scattered all over the hills, like sheep with no one to lead them. This is what the Lord says: ‘These men have no leaders. Let them go home in peace.'"
George Lamsa Translation
And Micah said, I saw Israel scattered upon the mountains like sheep that have no shepherd; and the LORD said, These have no master; let them return every man to his own house in peace.
Good News Translation
Micaiah answered, "I can see the army of Israel scattered over the hills like sheep without a shepherd. And the Lord said, ‘These men have no leader; let them go home in peace.'"
Lexham English Bible
So he said, "I saw all of Israel scattering to the mountains, like the sheep without a shepherd. Yahweh also said, ‘There are no masters for these, let them return in peace, each to his house.'"
Literal Translation
And he said, I have seen all Israel scattered on the hills like sheep that have no shepherd. And Jehovah said, These have no ruler; they shall each return to his house in peace.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
He sayde: I sawe all Israel scatred abrode vpon the mountaynes, as the shepe that haue no shepherde. And the LORDE saide: Haue these no lorde? Let euery one turne home agayne in peace.
American Standard Version
And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd: and Jehovah said, These have no master; let them return every man to his house in peace.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
He sayd: I saw all them of Israel scattered vpon the hilles, as sheepe that haue not a sheephearde. And the Lorde sayde: These haue no maister, let euery man returne to his house in peace.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And he said: 'I saw all Israel scattered upon the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd; and the LORD said: These have no master; let them return every man to his house in peace.'
King James Version (1611)
And hee sayd, I saw all Israel scattered vpon the hilles, as sheepe that haue not a shepheard. And the Lord said, These haue no master, let them returne euery man to his house in peace.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And he said, Not so. I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains as a flock without a shepherd: and the Lord said, Is not God lord of these? let each one return to his home in peace.
English Revised Version
And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd: and the LORD said, These have no master; let them return every man to his house in peace.
Berean Standard Bible
So Micaiah declared: "I saw all Israel scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd. And the LORD said, 'These people have no master; let each one return home in peace.'"
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And he seide, Y siy al Israel scaterid in the hillis, as scheep not hauynge a scheepherde; and the Lord seide, These han no lord, ech man turne ayen in to his hows in pees.
Young's Literal Translation
And he saith, `I have seen all Israel scattered on the hills as sheep that have no shepherd, and Jehovah saith, These have no master; they turn back each to his house in peace.'
Update Bible Version
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.
Webster's Bible Translation
And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd: and the LORD said, These have no master: let them return every man to his house in peace.
World English Bible
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.
New King James Version
Then he said, "I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd. And the LORD said, "These have no master. Let each return to his house in peace."'
New Living Translation
Then Micaiah told him, "In a vision I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, like sheep without a shepherd. And the Lord said, ‘Their master has been killed. Send them home in peace.'"
New Life Bible
So Micaiah said, "I saw all Israel spread upon the mountains like sheep which have no shepherd. And the Lord said, ‘These have no owner. Let each of them return to his house in peace.'"
New Revised Standard
Then Micaiah said, "I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, like sheep that have no shepherd; and the Lord said, ‘These have no master; let each one go home in peace.'"
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And he said - I saw all Israel, scattered among the mountains, like sheep that have no shepherd, - so Yahweh said, These have, no masters, let them return every man unto his own house, in peace.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And he said: I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, like sheep that have no shepherd; and the Lord said: These have no master: let every man of them return to his house in peace.
Revised Standard Version
And he said, "I saw all Israel scattered upon the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd; and the LORD said, 'These have no master; let each return to his home in peace.'"
THE MESSAGE
"All right," said Micaiah, "since you insist. I saw all of Israel scattered over the hills, sheep with no shepherd. Then God spoke: ‘These poor people have no one to tell them what to do. Let them go home and do the best they can for themselves.'"
New American Standard Bible (1995)
So he said, "I saw all Israel Scattered on the mountains, Like sheep which have no shepherd. And the LORD said, 'These have no master. Let each of them return to his house in peace.'"

Contextual Overview

15 When he came to the king, the king said to him, Micaiah, are we to go to Ramoth-gilead to make war or not? And in answer he said, Go up, and it will go well for you; and the Lord will give it into the hands of the king. 16 Then the king said to him, Have I not, again and again, put you on your oath to say nothing to me but what is true in the name of the Lord? 17 Then he said, I saw all Israel wandering on the mountains like sheep without a keeper; and the Lord said, These have no master: let them go back, every man to his house in peace. 18 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, Did I not say that he would not be a prophet of good but of evil? 19 And he said, Give ear now to the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord seated on his seat of power, with all the army of heaven in their places round him at his right hand and at his left. 20 And the Lord said, How may Ahab be tricked into going up to Ramoth-gilead to his death? And one said one thing and one another. 21 Then a spirit came forward and took his place before the Lord and said, I will get him to do it by a trick. 22 And the Lord said, How? And he said, I will go out and be a spirit of deceit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Your trick will have its effect on him: go out and do so. 23 And now, see, the Lord has put a spirit of deceit in the mouth of all these your prophets; and the Lord has said evil against you. 24 Then Zedekiah, the son of Chenaanah, came near and gave Micaiah a blow on the side of the face, saying, Where is the spirit of the Lord whose word is in you?

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

I saw: 1 Samuel 9:9, Jeremiah 1:11-16, Ezekiel 1:4, Acts 10:11-17

as sheep: 1 Kings 22:34-36, Numbers 27:17, 2 Chronicles 18:16, 2 Chronicles 18:17, Jeremiah 23:1, Jeremiah 23:2, Jeremiah 50:6, Jeremiah 50:17, Ezekiel 34:4-6, Zechariah 10:2, Zechariah 13:7, Matthew 9:36

Reciprocal: 2 Samuel 24:17 - these sheep 1 Kings 12:16 - to your tents 1 Kings 22:36 - there went 1 Chronicles 21:17 - these sheep Isaiah 13:14 - as the Ezekiel 12:24 - General Ezekiel 34:5 - they were Nahum 3:18 - thy people Mark 6:34 - because

Cross-References

Genesis 12:2
And I will make of you a great nation, blessing you and making your name great; and you will be a blessing:
Genesis 13:16
And I will make your children like the dust of the earth, so that if the dust of the earth may be numbered, then will your children be numbered.
Genesis 15:5
And he took him out into the open air, and said to him, Let your eyes be lifted to heaven, and see if the stars may be numbered; even so will your seed be.
Genesis 17:6
I will make you very fertile, so that nations will come from you and kings will be your offspring.
Genesis 22:1
Now after these things, God put Abraham to the test, and said to him, Abraham; and he said, Here am I.
Genesis 22:2
And he said to him, Take your son, your dearly loved only son Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah and give him as a burned offering on one of the mountains of which I will give you knowledge.
Genesis 22:8
And Abraham said, God himself will give the lamb for the burned offering: so they went on together.
Genesis 22:9
And they came to the place of which God had given him knowledge; and there Abraham made the altar and put the wood in place on it, and having made tight the bands round Isaac his son, he put him on the wood on the altar.
Genesis 22:10
And stretching out his hand, Abraham took the knife to put his son to death.
Genesis 22:13
And lifting up his eyes, Abraham saw a sheep fixed by its horns in the brushwood: and Abraham took the sheep and made a burned offering of it in place of his son.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And he said,.... The prophet, in a serious and solemn manner, being adjured by the king:

I saw all Israel scattered on the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd; the armies of Israel routed, dispersed, and fleeing, some one way and some another, on the mountains of Gilead near Ramoth, weak and helpless, not knowing where to go for safety, having none to direct them; and this was either now instantly represented to his mind, or what had been before in a dream or vision:

and the Lord said, these have no master; these sheep have no shepherd this army hath no general,

[Israel] has [lost its king]: let them return every man to his house in peace, very few slain, Jarchi thinks Ahab only, see 1 Kings 22:31 that part of the threatening, 1 Kings 20:42 was now to he accomplished, "thy life shall go for his life", but the other part, "and thy people for his people", was to be deferred to another time.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Thus adjured, Micaiah wholly changes his tone. Ahab cannot possibly mistake the meaning of his vision, especially as the metaphor of “sheep and shepherd” for king and people was familiar to the Israelites from the prayer of Moses Numbers 27:17.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Kings 22:17. These have no master — Here the prophet foretells the defeat of Israel, and the death of the king; they were as sheep that had not a shepherd, people that had no master, the political shepherd and master (Ahab) shall fall in battle.


 
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