1 Kings 22:32

THE MESSAGE

When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat they said, "There he is! The king of Israel!" and took after him. Jehoshaphat yelled out, and the chariot commanders realized they had the wrong man—it wasn't the king of Israel after all. They let him go.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they shouted, “He must be the king of Israel!” So they turned to fight against him, but Jehoshaphat cried out.

Hebrew Names Version
It happened, when the captains of the chariots saw Yehoshafat, that they said, Surely it is the king of Yisra'el; and they turned aside to fight against him: and Yehoshafat cried out.

King James Version
And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, Surely it is the king of Israel. And they turned aside to fight against him: and Jehoshaphat cried out.

English Standard Version
And when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, "It is surely the king of Israel." So they turned to fight against him. And Jehoshaphat cried out.

New Century Version
When these commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they thought he was certainly the king of Israel, so they turned to attack him. But Jehoshaphat began shouting.

New English Translation
When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they said, "He must be the king of Israel." So they turned and attacked him, but Jehoshaphat cried out.

Amplified Bible
When the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, "Surely it is the king of Israel." They turned to fight against him, and Jehoshaphat shouted out [in fear].

New American Standard Bible
So when the commanders of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, "Surely he is the king of Israel!" And they turned aside to fight against him, and Jehoshaphat cried out.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And when the captaines of the charets saw Iehoshaphat, they sayd, Surely it is the King of Israel, and they turned to fight against him: and Iehoshaphat cryed.

Legacy Standard Bible
Now it happened that when the commanders of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, "Surely it is the king of Israel," and they turned aside to fight against him, and Jehoshaphat cried out.

Contemporary English Version
So when they saw Jehoshaphat in his robe, they thought he was Ahab and started to attack him. But when Jehoshaphat shouted out to them,

Complete Jewish Bible
So when the chariot commanders saw Y'hoshafat they said, "This must be the king of Isra'el," and turned to attack him. But Y'hoshafat gave a yell,

Darby Translation
And it came to pass when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, Surely that is the king of Israel; and they turned against him to fight; and Jehoshaphat cried out.

Easy-to-Read Version
When the commanders saw King Jehoshaphat, they thought he was the king of Israel, and so they went to kill him. Jehoshaphat started shouting.

George Lamsa Translation
And when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they thought he was the king of Israel. And they turned aside to fight against him; and Jehoshaphat cried out.

Good News Translation
So when they saw King Jehoshaphat, they all thought that he was the king of Israel, and they turned to attack him. But when he cried out,

Lexham English Bible
When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they said, "Surely he is the king of Israel," and they turned to fight against him, so Jehoshaphat called out.

Literal Translation
And it happened when the commanders of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, Surely he is the king of Israel. And they turned aside to fight with him. And Jehoshaphat cried out.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And whan the rulers of the charettes sawe Iosaphat, they thought it had bene the kynge of Israel, and fell vpon him with fightinge. But Iosaphat cried.

American Standard Version
And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, Surely it is the king of Israel; and they turned aside to fight against him: and Jehoshaphat cried out.

Bible in Basic English
So when the captains of the war-carriages saw Jehoshaphat, they said, Truly, this is the king of Israel; and turning against him, they came round him, but Jehoshaphat gave a cry.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And when the captaynes of the charets saw Iehosaphat, they sayd: Surely it is the king of Israel. And they turned to fight against him: And Iehosaphat cryed.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said: 'Surely it is the king of Israel'; and they turned aside to fight against him; and Jehoshaphat cried out.

King James Version (1611)
And it came to passe, when the captaines of the charets saw Iehoshaphat, that they said, Surely it is the king of Israel. And they turned aside to fight against him: and Iehoshaphat cryed out.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Josaphat king of Juda, that they said, this seems to be the king of Israel. And they compassed him about to fight against him; and Josaphat cried out.

English Revised Version
And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, Surely it is the king of Israel; and they turned aside to fight against him: and Jehoshaphat cried out.

Berean Standard Bible
When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they said, "Surely this is the king of Israel!" So they turned to fight against him, but Jehoshaphat cried out.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Therfor whanne the princes of charis hadden seyn Josephat, thei suposiden that he was king of Israel, and bi feersnesse maad thei fouyten ayens hym.

Young's Literal Translation
And it cometh to pass, at the heads of the charioteers seeing Jehoshaphat, that they said, `He [is] only the king of Israel;' and they turn aside to him to fight, and Jehoshaphat crieth out,

Update Bible Version
And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, Surely it is the king of Israel; and they turned aside to fight against him: and Jehoshaphat cried out.

Webster's Bible Translation
And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, Surely it [is] the king of Israel. And they turned aside to fight against him: and Jehoshaphat cried out.

World English Bible
It happened, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, Surely it is the king of Israel; and they turned aside to fight against him: and Jehoshaphat cried out.

New King James Version
So it was, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, "Surely it is the king of Israel!" Therefore they turned aside to fight against him, and Jehoshaphat cried out.

New Living Translation
So when the Aramean chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat in his royal robes, they went after him. "There is the king of Israel!" they shouted. But when Jehoshaphat called out,

New Life Bible
When the captains of the war-wagons saw Jehoshaphat, they said, "For sure this is the king of Israel." And they turned to fight against him, and Jehoshaphat cried out.

New Revised Standard
When the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, "It is surely the king of Israel." So they turned to fight against him; and Jehoshaphat cried out.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And it came to pass, when the chariot-captains saw Jehoshaphat, that, they, said: Surely it is, the king of Israel! But, when they turned aside against him to fight, Jehoshaphat cried out.

Douay-Rheims Bible
So when the captains of the chariots saw Josaphat, they suspected that he was the king of Israel, and making a violent assault, they fought against him: and Josaphat cried out.

Revised Standard Version
And when the captains of the chariots saw Jehosh'aphat, they said, "It is surely the king of Israel." So they turned to fight against him; and Jehosh'aphat cried out.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
So when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, "Surely it is the king of Israel," and they turned aside to fight against him, and Jehoshaphat cried out.

Contextual Overview

²⁹The king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah attacked Ramoth Gilead. The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "Wear my kingly robe; I'm going into battle disguised." So the king of Israel entered the battle in disguise. ³¹ Meanwhile, the king of Aram had ordered his chariot commanders (there were thirty-two of them): "Don't bother with anyone, whether small or great; go after the king of Israel and him only." ³²When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat they said, "There he is! The king of Israel!" and took after him. Jehoshaphat yelled out, and the chariot commanders realized they had the wrong man—it wasn't the king of Israel after all. They let him go. ³⁴ Just then someone, without aiming, shot an arrow randomly into the crowd and hit the king of Israel in the chink of his armor. The king told his charioteer, "Turn back! Get me out of here—I'm wounded." ³⁵All day the fighting continued, hot and heavy. Propped up in his chariot, the king watched from the sidelines. He died that evening. Blood from his wound pooled in the chariot. As the sun went down, shouts reverberated through the ranks, "Abandon camp! Head for home! The king is dead!" The king was brought to Samaria and there they buried him. They washed down the chariot at the pool of Samaria where the town whores bathed, and the dogs lapped up the blood, just as God 's word had said. The rest of Ahab's life—everything he did, the ivory palace he built, the towns he founded, and the defense system he built up—is all written up in The Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. He was buried in the family cemetery and his son Ahaziah was the next king. Jehoshaphat son of Asa became king of Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel. Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he became king and he ruled for twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother was Azubah daughter of Shilhi. He continued the kind of life characteristic of his father Asa—no detours, no dead ends—pleasing God with his life. But he failed to get rid of the neighborhood sex-and-religion shrines. People continued to pray and worship at these idolatrous shrines. And he kept on good terms with the king of Israel. The rest of Jehoshaphat's life, his achievements and his battles, is all written in The Chronicles of the Kings of Judah. Also, he got rid of the sacred prostitutes left over from the days of his father Asa. Edom was kingless during his reign; a deputy was in charge. Jehoshaphat built ocean-going ships to sail to Ophir for gold. But they never made it; they shipwrecked at Ezion Geber. During that time Ahaziah son of Ahab proposed a joint shipping venture, but Jehoshaphat wouldn't go in with him. Then Jehoshaphat died and was buried in the family cemetery in the City of David his ancestor. Jehoram his son was the next king. Ahaziah son of Ahab became king over Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah. He ruled Israel for two years. As far as God was concerned, he lived an evil life, reproducing the bad life of his father and mother, repeating the pattern set down by Jeroboam son of Nebat, who led Israel into a life of sin. Worshiping at the Baal shrines, he made God , the God of Israel, angry, oh, so angry. If anything, he was worse than his father. ³⁸ They enjoyed three years of peace—no fighting between Aram and Israel. In the third year, Jehoshaphat king of Judah had a meeting with the king of Israel. Israel's king remarked to his aides, "Do you realize that Ramoth Gilead belongs to us, and we're sitting around on our hands instead of taking it back from the king of Aram?" He turned to Jehoshaphat and said, "Will you join me in fighting for Ramoth Gilead?" Jehoshaphat said, "You bet. I'm with you all the way—my troops are your troops, my horses are your horses." He then continued, "But before you do anything, ask God for guidance." The king of Israel got the prophets together—all four hundred of them—and put the question to them: "Should I attack Ramoth Gilead? Or should I hold back?" "Go for it," they said. " God will hand it over to the king." But Jehoshaphat dragged his heels: "Is there still another prophet of God around here we can consult?" The king of Israel told Jehoshaphat, "As a matter of fact, there is still one such man. But I hate him. He never preaches anything good to me, only doom, doom, doom—Micaiah son of Imlah." "The king shouldn't talk about a prophet like that," said Jehoshaphat. So the king of Israel ordered one of his men, "On the double! Get Micaiah son of Imlah." Meanwhile, the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat were seated on their thrones, dressed in their royal robes, resplendent in front of the Samaria city gates. All the prophets were staging a prophecy-performance for their benefit. Zedekiah son of Kenaanah had even made a set of iron horns, and brandishing them called out, " God 's word! With these horns you'll gore Aram until there's nothing left of him!" All the prophets chimed in, "Yes! Go for Ramoth Gilead! An easy victory! God 's gift to the king!" The messenger who went to get Micaiah said, "The prophets have all said Yes to the king. Make it unanimous—vote Yes!" But Micaiah said, "As surely as God lives, what God says, I'll say." With Micaiah before him, the king asked him, "So Micaiah—do we attack Ramoth Gilead, or do we hold back?" "Go ahead," he said. "An easy victory. God 's gift to the king." "Not so fast," said the king. "How many times have I made you promise under oath to tell me the truth and nothing but the truth?" "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.'" Then the king of Israel turned to Jehoshaphat, "See! What did I tell you? He never has a good word for me from God , only doom." Micaiah kept on: "I'm not done yet; listen to God 's word: I saw God enthroned, and all the angel armies of heaven Standing at attention ranged on his right and his left. And God said, ‘How can we seduce Ahab into attacking Ramoth Gilead?' Some said this, and some said that. Then a bold angel stepped out, stood before God , and said, ‘I'll seduce him.' ‘And how will you do it?' said God . ‘Easy,' said the angel, ‘I'll get all the prophets to lie.' ‘That should do it,' said God . ‘On your way—seduce him!' "And that's what has happened. God filled the mouths of your puppet prophets with seductive lies. God has pronounced your doom." Just then Zedekiah son of Kenaanah came up and punched Micaiah in the nose, saying, "Since when did the Spirit of God leave me and take up with you?" Micaiah said, "You'll know soon enough; you'll know it when you're frantically and futilely looking for a place to hide." The king of Israel had heard enough: "Get Micaiah out of here! Turn him over to Amon the city magistrate and to Joash the king's son with this message, ‘King's orders: Lock him up in jail; keep him on bread and water until I'm back in one piece.'" Micaiah said, "If you ever get back in one piece, I'm no prophet of God ." He added,"When it happens, O people, remember where you heard it!" The king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah attacked Ramoth Gilead. The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "Wear my kingly robe; I'm going into battle disguised." So the king of Israel entered the battle in disguise. Meanwhile, the king of Aram had ordered his chariot commanders (there were thirty-two of them): "Don't bother with anyone, whether small or great; go after the king of Israel and him only." When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat they said, "There he is! The king of Israel!" and took after him. Jehoshaphat yelled out, and the chariot commanders realized they had the wrong man—it wasn't the king of Israel after all. They let him go. Just then someone, without aiming, shot an arrow randomly into the crowd and hit the king of Israel in the chink of his armor. The king told his charioteer, "Turn back! Get me out of here—I'm wounded." All day the fighting continued, hot and heavy. Propped up in his chariot, the king watched from the sidelines. He died that evening. Blood from his wound pooled in the chariot. As the sun went down, shouts reverberated through the ranks, "Abandon camp! Head for home! The king is dead!" The king was brought to Samaria and there they buried him. They washed down the chariot at the pool of Samaria where the town whores bathed, and the dogs lapped up the blood, just as God 's word had said. ³⁹The rest of Ahab's life—everything he did, the ivory palace he built, the towns he founded, and the defense system he built up—is all written up in The Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. He was buried in the family cemetery and his son Ahaziah was the next king.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

they turned: Proverbs 13:20

Jehoshaphat: Exodus 14:10, 2 Chronicles 18:31, Psalms 50:15, Psalms 91:15, Psalms 116:1, Psalms 116:2, Psalms 130:1-4, Jonah 2:1, Jonah 2:2

Reciprocal: 1 Kings 22:12 - Go up 2 Kings 3:7 - wilt thou go 1 Chronicles 5:20 - in the battle

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat,.... In his royal robes:

that they said, surely it is the king of Israel; for they might not know the persons either of Ahab or him, but judged by his habit:

and they turned aside to fight against him; pressed upon him with all their force, either to take him or slay him:

and Jehoshaphat cried out; with a loud voice, either to the captains to let them know who he was, or to his men to come to his assistance, or rather to God to help and deliver him; since it is said in 2 Chronicles 18:31 that the Lord helped him, and moved or inclined the hearts of the captains to depart from him, as it follows here.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Surely it is the king of Israel - This was a natural supposition, as Jehoshaphat alone wore royal robes.

And Jehoshaphat cried out - Jehoshaphat called to his men for help, using perhaps his own special battle-cry, which would be distinct from that of Ahab, and would probably be known to the Syrians.