1 Kings 22:22

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible

And Yahweh said unto him - Wherewith? And he said - I will go forth, and become a spirit of falsehood in the mouth of all his prophets, - So he said, - Thou mayest persuade, yea and prevail, go forth, and do so.

Parallel Translations

Update Bible Version
And Yahweh said to him, How? And he said, I will go forth, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, You shall entice him, and shall prevail also: go forth, and do so.

New Living Translation
"‘How will you do this?' the Lord asked. "And the spirit replied, ‘I will go out and inspire all of Ahab's prophets to speak lies.' "‘You will succeed,' said the Lord . ‘Go ahead and do it.'

English Revised Version
And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt entice him, and shalt prevail also: go forth, and do so.

New Century Version
"The Lord asked, ‘How will you do it?' "The spirit answered, ‘I will go to Ahab's prophets and make them tell lies.' "So the Lord said, ‘You will succeed in tricking him. Go and do it.'"

New English Translation
He replied, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets.' The Lord said, ‘Deceive and overpower him. Go out and do as you have proposed.'

Webster's Bible Translation
And the LORD said to him, With what? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets? And he said, Thou shalt persuade [him], and prevail also: go forth, and do so.

World English Bible
Yahweh said to him, 'How?' He said, 'I will go forth, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.' He said, 'You shall entice him, and shall prevail also: go forth, and do so.'

Amplified Bible
"The LORD said to him, 'How?' And he said, 'I will go out and be a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.' Then the LORD said, 'You are to entice him and also succeed. Go and do so.'

English Standard Version
And the Lord said to him, ‘By what means?' And he said, ‘I will go out, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.' And he said, ‘You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do so.'

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And he seide, Y schal go out, and Y schal be a spirit of leesyng in the mouth of alle hise prophetis. And the Lord seide, Thou schalt disseyue, and schalt haue the maystry; go thou out, and do so.

Berean Standard Bible
And he replied, 'I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.' 'You will surely entice him and prevail,' said the LORD. 'Go and do it.'

Contemporary English Version
"I'll make Ahab's prophets lie to him." "Good!" the Lord replied. "Now go and do it."

American Standard Version
And Jehovah said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt entice him, and shalt prevail also: go forth, and do so.

Bible in Basic English
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.

Complete Jewish Bible
Adonai asked, ‘How?' and he answered, ‘I will go and be a deceiving spirit in the mouths of all his prophets.' Adonai said, ‘You will succeed in enticing him. Go, and do it.'

Darby Translation
And Jehovah said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt entice [him], and also succeed: go forth, and do so.

Easy-to-Read Version
The spirit answered, ‘I will go to Ahab's prophets and cause them to tell lies.' So the Lord said, ‘Yes, that will fool Ahab. Go out and do that.'

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And the LORD said unto him: Wherewith? And he said: I will go forth, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And He said: Thou shalt entice him, and shalt prevail also; go forth, and do so.

King James Version (1611)
And the Lord said vnto him, Wherewith? And hee sayd, I will goe foorth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt perswade him, and preuaile also: Goe forth, and doe so.

New Life Bible
The Lord said to him, ‘How?' And he said, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all those who will tell what will happen in the future.' Then the Lord said, ‘You are to lead him, and do well. Go and do so.'

New Revised Standard
‘How?' the Lord asked him. He replied, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.' Then the Lord said, ‘You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do it.'

Geneva Bible (1587)
And he sayd, I will goe out, and be a false spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. Then he sayd, Thou shalt entise him, and shalt also preuayle: goe forth, and doe so.

George Lamsa Translation
And the LORD said to him, By what means? And he said, I will go forth, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said to him, You shall persuade him and prevail also; go forth and do so.

Good News Translation
‘How?' the Lord asked. The spirit replied, ‘I will go and make all of Ahab's prophets tell lies.' The Lord said, ‘Go and deceive him. You will succeed.'"

Douay-Rheims Bible
And he said: I will go forth, and be a lying spirit, in the mouth of all his prophets. And the Lord said: Thou shalt deceive him, and shalt prevail: go forth, and do so.

Revised Standard Version
And the LORD said to him, 'By what means?' And he said, 'I will go forth, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.' And he said, 'You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go forth and do so.'

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And he sayde: I will go out, and be a false spirite in the mouth of all his prophetes. He sayde, Thou shalt persuade him and preuayle: Go foorth then, & do euen so.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the Lord said to him, Whereby? And he said, I will go forth, and will be a false spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt deceive him, yea, and shalt prevail: go forth, and do so.

Christian Standard Bible®
“The Lord asked him, ‘How?’

Hebrew Names Version
The LORD said to him, 'How?' He said, 'I will go forth, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.' He said, 'You shall entice him, and shall prevail also: go forth, and do so.'

King James Version
And the Lord said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so.

Lexham English Bible
He said, ‘I will go out and I will be a false spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.' And he said, ‘You shall entice and succeed, go out and do so.'

Literal Translation
And Jehovah said to him, By what means? And he said, I will go out and shall be a spirit of falsehood in the mouth of all his prophets. And He said, You shall entice him , and also you are able. Go out and do so.

Young's Literal Translation
and he saith, I go out, and have been a spirit of falsehood in the mouth of all his prophets; and He saith, Thou dost entice, and also thou art able; go out and do so.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
The LORDE sayde vnto him: Wherwith? He sayde vnto him: I wyll go forth, and be a false sprete in the mouth of all his prophetes. He saide: Thou shalt disceaue him, and shalt be able: go forth and do so.

New American Standard Bible
"And the LORD said to him, 'How?' And he said, 'I will go out and be a deceiving spirit in the mouths of all his prophets.' Then He said, 'You shall entice him, and you will also prevail. Go and do so.'

New King James Version
The LORD said to him, "In what way?' So he said, "I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.' And the LORD said, "You shall persuade him, and also prevail. Go out and do so.'

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"The LORD said to him, 'How?' And he said, 'I will go out and be a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.' Then He said, 'You are to entice him and also prevail. Go and do so.'

Legacy Standard Bible
And Yahweh said to him, ‘How?' And he said, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.' Then He said, ‘You shall entice him and also prevail. Go out and do so.'

Contextual Overview

¹⁵ So he came unto the king, and the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go against Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall we forbear? And he said unto him - Go up and prosper, and Yahweh will deliver it into the hand of the king. ¹⁶ And the king said unto him, How many times must, I, adjure thee, - that thou speak unto me nothing but truth, in the name of Yahweh? ¹⁷ 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. ¹⁸ Then said the king of Israel, unto Jehoshaphat, - Did I not say unto thee, He will not be moved to prophesy concerning me anything good, only calamity. ¹⁹ Then he said, Therefore, hear thou the word of Yahweh, - I saw Yahweh, sitting upon his throne, and all the host of the heavens, standing by him, on his right hand, and on his left. ²⁰ And Yahweh said, Who will persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall, at Ramoth-gilead? And, one, said in this manner, and, another, said in that manner. ²¹ Then came forth a spirit, and stood before Yahweh, and said - I, will persuade him. ²² And Yahweh said unto him - Wherewith? And he said - I will go forth, and become a spirit of falsehood in the mouth of all his prophets, - So he said, - Thou mayest persuade, yea and prevail, go forth, and do so. ²³ Now, therefore, lo! Yahweh hath suffered a spirit of falsehood to be put into the mouth of all these thy prophets. But, Yahweh himself, hath spoken concerning thee, calamity. ²⁴ Then drew near Zedekiah, son of Chenaanah, and smote Micaiah on the cheek, - and said - Where then passed the Spirit of Yahweh, from me, to speak unto thee?

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

a lying spirit: Job 1:8-11, Job 2:4-6, John 8:44, Acts 5:3, Acts 5:4, 2 Thessalonians 2:9, 2 Thessalonians 2:10, 1 Timothy 4:1, 1 John 4:6, Revelation 12:9, Revelation 12:10, Revelation 13:14, Revelation 16:13, Revelation 16:14, Revelation 20:3, Revelation 20:7, Revelation 20:10

Thou shalt: 1 Kings 22:20, Judges 9:23, Job 12:16, Psalms 109:17, 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12, Revelation 17:17

Reciprocal: Exodus 4:21 - I will harden 1 Samuel 16:14 - evil spirit 1 Samuel 26:19 - stirred 1 Kings 22:6 - Go up 2 Kings 3:13 - the prophets 2 Chronicles 18:21 - General 2 Chronicles 32:15 - persuade Nehemiah 6:14 - on the prophetess Job 2:7 - So went Psalms 78:49 - by sending Psalms 141:4 - Incline not Proverbs 19:27 - General Isaiah 9:15 - the prophet Isaiah 44:25 - frustrateth Jeremiah 27:14 - they Daniel 2:9 - for Hosea 9:8 - but Zechariah 13:2 - cause Matthew 8:32 - Go Mark 5:13 - gave Luke 8:32 - he suffered Acts 13:6 - a false 2 Corinthians 4:4 - blinded 1 Timothy 4:2 - lies 2 Timothy 3:8 - resist

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And the Lord said unto him, wherewith?.... What way and method did he propose, to persuade Ahab to go up to Ramoth? the Lord is introduced in this visionary narrative as asking this question, not as ignorant of the scheme of the evil spirit, but in order to bring it out, and lead on to the following account:

and he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets; put them on encouraging Ahab to go up, and promising him success, as he had in former battles with the king of Syria, and which might both encourage them to give forth such a prediction, and him to believe it to be true; this proposal was quite agreeable to the character of the devil, as the father of lies:

and he said, thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also; not only make use of this artifice to persuade, but succeed also; the Lord knew that what he should suggest to the prophets, and they should deliver to Ahab, would be agreeable to his inclination, nor would he do anything in the course of his providence to hinder its taking effect:

go forth, and do so; which was giving leave to try his skill in the art of persuasion, in which he knew he would succeed, and bring on the righteous judgment of God upon Ahab; with this compare John 13:27.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The difficulties which attach to this passage are considerable. On the one hand, it is hard to suppose one of the holy Angels a “lying spirit;” on the other, hard to find Satan, or an evil spirit, included among “the host of heaven” 1 Kings 22:19 and acting as the minister of God. Still, Job 1:6; Job 2:1, lend countenance to the latter point, and 2 Thessalonians 2:11 to the former. But it may be doubted whether we ought to take literally, and seek to interpret exactly, each statement of the present narrative. Visions of the invisible world can only be a sort of parables; revelations, not of the truth as it actually is, but of so much of the truth as can be shown through such a medium. The details of a vision, therefore, cannot safely be pressed, anymore than the details of a parable. Portions of each must be accommodations to human modes of thought, and may very inadequately express the realities which they are employed to shadow forth to us.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Kings 22:22. Go forth, and do so. — This is no more than, "God has permitted the spirit of lying to influence the whole of thy prophets; and he now, by my mouth, apprises thee of this, that thou mayest not go and fall at Ramoth-gilead." Never was a man more circumstantially and fairly warned; he had counsels from the God of truth, and counsels from the spirit of falsity; he obstinately forsook the former and followed the latter. He was shown by this parable how every thing was going on, and that all was under the control and direction of God, and that still it was possible for him to make that God his friend whom by his continual transgressions he had made his enemy; but he would not: his blood was therefore upon his own head.