King James Version · The divided kingdom
2 Chronicles 18
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Now had riches and in abundance, and joined affinity with . And after certain years he went down to to . And killed sheep and oxen for him in abundance, and for the people that he had with him, and persuaded him to go up with him to . And king of Israel said unto king of Judah, Wilt thou go with me to ? And he answered him, I am as thou art, and my people as thy people; and we will be with thee in the war. And said unto the king of Israel, Enquire, I thee, at the word of to day. Therefore the king of Israel gathered together of four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall we go to to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for will it into the king’s hand. But said, Is there not here a of besides, that we might enquire of him? And the king of Israel said unto , There is yet one man, by whom we may enquire of : but I hate him; for he never prophesied good unto me, but always evil: the same is the son of Imla. And said, Let not the king say so. And the king of Israel called for one of his officers, and said, Fetch quickly the son of Imla. And the king of Israel and king of Judah sat either of them on his , clothed in their robes, and they sat in a void place at the entering in of the of ; and all prophesied before them. And had made him of iron, and said, Thus saith , With these thou shalt push until they be consumed. And all prophesied so, saying, Go up to , and prosper: for shall it into the hand of the king. And that went to call spake to him, saying, Behold, the words of declare good to the king with one assent; let thy word therefore, I thee, be like one of theirs, and speak thou good. And said, As liveth, even what my saith, that will I speak. And when he was come to the king, the king said unto him, , shall we go to to battle, or shall I forbear? And he said, Go ye up, and prosper, and they shall be into your hand. And the king said to him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou say nothing but the truth to me in the name of ? Then he said, I did see all Israel scattered upon the mountains, as sheep that have no : and said, These have no master; let them return therefore every man to his house in peace. And the king of Israel said to , Did I not tell thee that he would not good unto me, but evil? Again he said, Therefore hear the word of ; I saw sitting upon his , and of standing hand and on his left. And said, Who shall entice king of Israel, that he may go up and fall at ? And one spake saying after this manner, and another saying after that manner. Then there came out a , and stood before , and said, I will entice him. And said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go out, and be a lying in the of all his . And said, Thou shalt entice him, and thou shalt also prevail: go out, and do even so. Now therefore, behold, hath put a lying in the of these thy , and hath spoken evil against thee. Then came near, and smote upon the cheek, and said, Which way went of from me to speak unto thee? And said, Behold, thou shalt see on that day when thou shalt go into an inner chamber to hide thyself. Then the king of Israel said, Take ye , and carry him back to the governor of the city, and to the king’s son; And say, Thus saith the king, Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I return in peace. And said, If thou certainly return in peace, then hath not spoken by me. And he said, , all ye people. So the king of Israel and the king of Judah went up to . And the king of Israel said unto , I will disguise myself, and will go to the battle; but put thou on thy robes. So the king of Israel disguised himself; and they went to the battle. Now the king of had commanded the captains of the chariots that were with him, saying, Fight ye not with small or great, only with the king of Israel. And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw , that they said, It is the king of Israel. Therefore they compassed about him to fight: but cried out, and helped him; and moved them to depart from him. For it came to pass, that, when the captains of the chariots perceived that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back again from pursuing him. And a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness: therefore he said to his chariot man, Turn thine hand, that thou mayest carry me out of the host; for I am wounded. And the battle increased that day: howbeit the king of Israel stayed himself up in his chariot against until the even: and about the time of the sun going down he .
The 1611 translation, public domain. Its original printing included the Apocrypha, which is why the deuterocanonical books can be read here. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · The divided kingdom, 931 BC to 745 BC ›
Israel in the north and Judah in the south, often at odds, with Aram of Damascus as the immediate threat and Assyria growing in the distance.
- Aram of Damascus
- The immediate enemy for most of two centuries, close enough to raid every campaigning season and strong enough to take territory. Most of the wars in Kings that read like national emergencies are border wars with Damascus.
- Assyria
- Growing steadily in the distance. Shalmaneser III fights a coalition at Qarqar in 853 BC and his own inscription lists King Ahab of Israel among his opponents with two thousand chariots, the earliest Assyrian mention of an Israelite king. A later monument shows Jehu bowing and paying tribute. Assyria is not yet the destroyer, but it is already taking notes.
- Egypt
- Divided and unreliable, capable of the occasional raid, such as Shishak stripping the temple in Rehoboam's fifth year, but no longer an empire that governs the Levant.
- Further afield
- The Greeks adopt the alphabet, hold the first Olympiad by tradition in 776 BC, and begin to compose the Homeric poems. Rome is founded by tradition in 753 BC, a village of huts at this point. This is the century in which the classical world begins.