Nlebesambeli Mikhaiya unotjemela Ahabu
(2 Zwiyitikalo 18:2-27)1 Kwakatola makole ali matatu kusina ngwa pakati kwe Aramu ne Iziraela. 2 Koga kukati mu gole le butatu Jehoshafati mambo we Juda kazha kuna mambo we Iziraela.
3 Ngono mambo we Iziraela kadwa hadzasha dzidze kati, “Apa moziba kuti Ramotigiliyadi ngeyedu, ngono tinyelele koga akuna tjatinothama kuti tiyitole muna mambo we Aramu?”
4 Kabe ebhuzwa Jehoshafati eti, “Apa unowoyenda nami kunogwa ne Ramotigiliyadi kene?”
Jehoshafati kashandula eti, “Tjauli itjo nditjo tjandili itjo, babhayani bangu nge babo, mbizi dzangu dze ngwa nge dzidzo.” 5 Ngono Jehoshafati kadwa mambo we Iziraela kati, “Koga kutanga shaka gumbuludzo kuna Yahwe.”
6 Ndizo Ahabu kakubunganya balebesambeli bangabe mazana manna (400), kababhuzwa kati, “Apa ndiyende ndinobhayana ne Ramotigiliyadi kene ndiletje?”
Balebesambeli bakashandula beti, “Yendani munogwa nayo, Yahwe banowoilonga mu maboko enyu.”
7 Koga Jehoshafati kabe eti, “Apa akuna mmwe nlebesambeli wa Yahwe watingabhuzwa kakale kene?”
8 Mambo we Iziraela kashandula Jehoshafati eti, “Kuna mmwe nlebesambeli wa Yahwe unoyi Mikhaiya nkololo wa Imila, koga anditon'da, ngoti akuna tjakanaka tjaakatongolebela mbeli nge kwangu aisi mbipo koga.”
Ngono Jehoshafati kabe eti, “Usijalo mambo wangu!”
9 Ndizo mambo we Iziraela Ahabu kadana mmwe we hadzasha dzidze kandwa kati, “Tjimbidza unodana Mikhaiya nkololo wa Imila.”
10 Ipapo mambo we Iziraela Ahabu na Jehoshafati mambo we Juda bakabe bali ku libuwa mmwe ne mmwe aligele tjigalo tjitje tje bumambo bakaambala hazu dzabo dze bumambo ku nkoba we Samariya. Ngono balebesambeli bose bakabe belebelambeli bali mbeli kwabo. 11 Zedekiya nkololo wa Khenaana kathama nyanga dze tshipi kadwa Ahabu kati, “Yahwe bati mowogwa ne Baaramu nge nyanga idzedzi kudzina mubalobesa.” 12 Balebesambeli bose bakalebeselambeli saikoku, beti, “Tathilani ku Ramotigiliyadi munokunda, Yahwe banowoilonga mu maboko a mambo.”
13 Batumwa bakabe banodana Mikhaiya bakandwa bakati, “Bona, balebesambeli bakaleba dama ling'ompela ngogadzabgwe mambo kuti banowokunda, dzene dama lilo na ilobo lingafana ne le mmwe wabo, likagadzabo bgwe.”
14 Koga Mikhaiya kashandula eti, “Ndotuna na Yahwe banotjila, ndowoleba tjinowobe tjalebgwa ndi Yahwe!”
15 Kukati eswika mbeli kwa Mambo Ahabu, bakambhuzwa beti, “Mikhaiya, tiyende ku ngwa ku Ramotigiliyadi kene tigale?”
Ngono kadabila eti, “Tathilani ku Ramotigiliyadi munokunda, Yahwe banowoilonga mu luboko gwa mambo.”
16 Koga Mambo Ahabu kabhuzwa Mikhaiya eti, “Ndikudzikitadzile kangana kuti autondibudza tjimwe, ha isi lebeswa nge zina la Yahwe?”
17 Mikhaiya kadabila eti, “Ndakabona babhayani be Iziraela bakapalala pezhugwi kwe matombo, se pkhwizi dzisina nlisi, ngono Yahwe bakabe beti, ‘Bathu ibaba abana ntungamili, ima mmwe ne mmwe abgwilile ku nzi uwe nge mbakiso.’ ”
18 Mambo we Iziraela Ahabu kadwa Jehoshafati kati, “Apa andizokubudza kuti aangatongo lebeselambeli kwakanaka nge kwangu kene, kuzhe kwe mbipo?”
19 Mikhaiya kadwilila eti, “Ndizo tjihwani tjinolebgwa ndi Yahwe: Ndabona Yahwe baligele patjigalo tjabo tje bushe, bana batumwa babo bose be kudzimu bakabapoteleka. 20 Yahwe bakabe beti, ‘Ndiani unowowonga Ahabu kuti adze atathe anofila ku Ramotigiliyadi kene?’ Mmwe kaleba tjaaleba, mmwe kaleba tjipoga, 21 kudzina meya izha ima mbeli kwa Yahwe, ibadwa iti, ‘Ndowon'wonga.’ 22 Yahwe bakabhuzwa bakati, ‘Nge zila yakatini?’ Meya ikashandula iti, ‘Ndowonothama kuti balebesambeli ba Ahabu bose balebe manyepkhwa.’ Yahwe bakaidwa bakati, ‘Yenda unon'wonga, unowotubula.’ ”
23 Ipapo Mikhaiya kadwa mambo kati, “Yahwe balonga meya ye manyepkhwa mu milomo ye balebesambeli babo bose. Koga Yahwe bakulaulila golomodzo!”
24 Ndizo Zedekiya nkololo wa Khenaana kamadzuka kanoloba Mikhaiya mu buso kandwa kati, “Kwakatangisa lini kuti meya ya Yahwe idwe mundili ilebeleke nawe?”
25 Mikhaiya kandwa kati, “Bona, unowobona mu zhuba ilelo, launowonobgwata mu ng'umba itjamukati.”
26 Mambo Ahabu kalaula hadzasha dzidze kati, “Bhatani Mikhaiya munse ku nlauli we nzi nkulu Amoni ne kuna Joashi nkololo wa mambo. 27 Mubadwe muti mambo bakati, ‘Munlonge mu ng'umba ye busungwa mumpe tjiwunga ne vula kudzina ndinobuya ndili mpumbulu.’ ”
28 Mikhaiya kadwa Mambo Ahabu kati, “Ha ungabuya uli mpumbulu, kowobe kudwa kuti Yahwe abazolebeleka nami.” Kabe edwa bakabe bali ipapo eti, “Muhwe tjandaleba imwe bathu mose mu ipapa.”
Lufu gwa Ahabu
(2 Zwiyitikalo 18:28-34)29 Ndizo Mambo we Iziraela Ahabu na Mambo we Juda Jehoshafati bakabhuda bakayenda ku ngwa ku Ramotigiliyadi. 30 Mambo we Iziraela kadwa Jehoshafati kati, “Ndowolashidza azwithama mbhayani koga usi mambo, koga iwe uambale zwiambalo zwizo zwe bumambo.” Ngono mambo we Iziraela kazwilashidza kanongina mu ngwa.
31 Ipapo mambo we Aramu wakabe adwa balauli babe be koloyi dze ngwa bali makumi matatu ana babili eti (32), “Imwi musitongo bhayana ne mmwe ntukunu kene nkulu, koga mubhayane na mambo we Iziraela Ahabu.” 32 Kukati balauli be koloyi dze ngwa bebona Jehoshafati bakazwidwa beti, “Nge lebeswa ndiye mambo we Iziraela.” Ndizo bakabhayana naye, Jehoshafati kadila guwo. 33 Kukati balauli be koloyi dze ngwa baziba kuti ate ali iye mambo we Iziraela, bakashanduka bakaletja kutatana naye. 34 Koga kukati mmwe mbhayani we Aramu ngoambambidza ekweba dati lile nsebe ukanobhaya mambo we Iziraela panoshanganila zwiambalo zwizwe zwengwa. Mambo Ahabu kadwa n'yendisi we koloyi ye ngwa kati, “Shandukila shule, undiduse mu ngwa ngoti ndakubala.”
35 Zhuba ilelo ngwa ikakula kwakabangalala, Mambo Ahabu kasendamisiwa mu koloyi iye ye ngwa kubhayaniwa ne Baaramu, malopa kawunga edwa mu banga lile kazha kusi kwe koloyi kudzina zhuba lingina efa. 36 Kukati zhuba liyendila ngina kukamimiligwa babhayani be Iziraela be mamo wose bedwiwa kuyi, “Mmwe ne mmwe ngaayende ku nzi wakanyi kwabo ne mmwe ne mmwe ku shango ya kanyi kwabo!”
37 Ndizo Mambo Ahabu kafa. Itumbu tjitje tjikasengegwa ku Samariya kanobiganyigwa ko. 38 Koloyi iye ye ngwa ikasukigwa ku dziba le Samariya kwakabe kungulila fukula, mbgwa dzikanazwa malopa awe kuyendidzana ne dama la Yahwe labakaleba.
39 Apa mimwe mishingo ya Ahabu na zose zwaakathama ne ng'umba iye ye bushe yaakabaka nge nyanga dze zhowu ne mizi mikulu yose yaakabaka, azwizokwagwa mu Lukwalo gwe Zwiyitikalo zwa Bomambo be Iziraela kene? 40 Ndizo Ahabu kafa kalala na botate babe, ngono nkololo uwe Ahaziya kan'gala thaka mu bumambo gugwe.
Jehoshafati mambo we Juda
(2 Zwiyitikalo 20:31—21:1)41 Jehoshafati nkololo wa Asa wakabigwa mambo we Juda mu gole le bunna Ahabu ebusa Iziraela. 42 Jehoshafati wakabigwa mambo ana makole ali makumi matatu ana ali mashanu (35), kabusa Jerusalema makole ali makumi mabili ana ali mashanu (25). Zina la mme ba Jehoshafati lakabe liyi Azuba nkololokadzi wa Shilehi. 43 Jehoshafati kangina mu gumbo la Asa tate babe, ethama ndulamo mbeli kwa Yahwe, nenguba magalo e kunamata asakakolomogwa ne bathu bakadwilidzila kupisila zwibhayilo ne motsha muali. 44 Kwakabe ne mbakiso pakati kwa Jehoshafati na mambo we Iziraela.
45 Apa mimwe mishingo ya Jehoshafati ne kube ne tjilopa tjaakalakidza ne kubhayana kukwe, azwizokwagwa mu Lukwalo gwe Zwiyitikalo zwa Bomambo be Iziraela kene? 46 Wakadusa midzimukadzi yakabe yasala mu nsi we kubusa kwa tate babe Asa, mu shango.
47 Shango ye Edomu yakabe isina mambo, kwakabe kubusa mbhatshi wa mambo wakabe abigwa ndi mambo we Juda.
48 Jehoshafati wakabe athama zwikepe zwe mbumbiko yezwe Tashishi kunosenga golide ku Ofira, koga migoro ikasiswike, ngobe yakapkhwanyikila ku Eziyonigeberi. 49 Ipapo mambo we Iziraela Ahaziya nkololo wa Ahabu kadwa Jehoshafati kati, “Imani balanda bangu bayende ne benyu nge zwikepe.” Koga Jehoshafati kalamba.
50 Jehoshafati kafa katobela botate babe kabiganyiwa pakabiganyiwa botate babe mu nzi nkulu wa Dafite ku zwikumbu zwa bomambo. Ngono Jehoramu nkololo uwe kan'gala thaka mu bumambo gugwe.
Ahaziya mambo we Iziraela
51 Ahaziya nkololo wa Ahabu wakabigwa mambo we Iziraela mu gole le bugumi lina kutendeka Jehoshafati ali mambo we Juda, ngono kabusa Iziraela mu Samariya makole ali mabili. 52 Wakathama tjibi mbeli kwa Yahwe ngongina mu gumbo la tate babe ne la mme yabe ne mu gumbo la Jeroboamu nkololo wa Nebhati wakathamisa Iziraela tjibi. 53 Wakalonga Yahwe Ndzimu we Iziraela bushongola nge kushingila ne kunamata Bhaale sa tate babe.
Micaiah Warns Ahab about Disaster
(2 Chronicles 18.2-27)1 For the next three years there was peace between Israel and Syria. 2 During the third year King Jehoshaphat of Judah went to visit King Ahab of Israel.
3 Ahab asked his officials, “Why haven't we tried to get Ramoth in Gilead back from the Syrians? It belongs to us.” 4 Then he asked Jehoshaphat, “Would you go to Ramoth with me and attack the Syrians?”
“Just tell me what to do,” Jehoshaphat answered. “My army and horses are at your command. 5 But first, let's ask the Lord.”
6 Ahab sent for about 400 prophets and asked, “Should I attack the Syrians at Ramoth?”
“Yes!” the prophets answered. “The Lord will help you defeat them.”
7 But Jehoshaphat said, “Just to make sure, is there another of the Lord's prophets we can ask?”
8 “We could ask Micaiah son of Imlah,” Ahab said. “But I hate Micaiah. He always has bad news for me.”
“Don't say that!” Jehoshaphat replied. 9 Then Ahab sent someone to bring Micaiah as soon as possible.
10 All this time, Ahab and Jehoshaphat were dressed in their royal robes and were seated on their thrones at the threshing place near the gate of Samaria. They were listening to the prophets tell them what the Lord had said.
11 Zedekiah son of Chenaanah was one of the prophets. He had made some horns out of iron and shouted, “Ahab, the Lord says you will attack the Syrians like a bull with iron horns and wipe them out!”
12 All the prophets agreed that Ahab should attack the Syrians at Ramoth, and they promised that the Lord would help him defeat them.
13 Meanwhile, the messenger who went to get Micaiah whispered, “Micaiah, all the prophets have good news for Ahab. Now go and say the same thing.”
14 “I'll say whatever the living Lord tells me to say,” Micaiah replied.
15 Then Micaiah went to Ahab, and Ahab asked, “Micaiah, should I attack the Syrians at Ramoth?”
“Yes!” Micaiah answered. “The Lord will help you defeat them.”
16 “Micaiah, I've told you over and over to tell me the truth!” Ahab shouted. “What does the Lord really say?”
17 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.’ ”
18 Ahab turned to Jehoshaphat and said, “I told you he would bring bad news!”
19 Micaiah replied:
Listen to this! I also saw the Lord seated on his throne with every creature in heaven gathered around him. 20 The Lord asked, “Who can trick Ahab and make him go to Ramoth where he will be killed?”
They talked about it for a while, 21 then finally a spirit came forward and said to the Lord, “I can trick Ahab.”
“How?” the Lord asked.
22 “I'll make Ahab's prophets lie to him.”
“Good!” the Lord replied. “Now go and do it.”
23 This is exactly what has happened, Ahab. The Lord made all your prophets lie to you, and he knows you will soon be destroyed.
24 Zedekiah walked up to Micaiah and slapped him on the face. Then he asked, “Do you really think the Lord would speak to you and not to me?”
25 Micaiah answered, “You'll find out on the day you have to hide in the back room of some house.”
26 Ahab shouted, “Arrest Micaiah! Take him to Prince Joash and Governor Amon of Samaria. 27 Tell them to put him in prison and to give him nothing but bread and water until I come back safely.”
28 Micaiah said, “If you do come back, I was wrong about what the Lord wanted me to say.” Then he told the crowd, “Don't forget what I said!”
Ahab Dies at Ramoth
(2 Chronicles 18.28-34)29 Ahab and Jehoshaphat led their armies to Ramoth in Gilead. 30 Before they went into battle, Ahab said, “Jehoshaphat, I'll disguise myself, but you wear your royal robe.” Then Ahab disguised himself and went into battle.
31 The king of Syria had ordered his 32 chariot commanders to attack only Ahab. 32 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, 33 they realized he wasn't Ahab, and they left him alone.
34 However, during the fighting a soldier shot an arrow without even aiming, and it hit Ahab where two pieces of his armor joined. He shouted to his chariot driver, “I've been hit! Get me out of here!”
35 The fighting lasted all day, with Ahab propped up in his chariot so he could see the Syrian troops. He bled so much that the bottom of the chariot was covered with blood, and by evening he was dead.
36 As the sun was going down, someone in Israel's army shouted to the others, “Retreat! Go back home!”
37 Ahab's body was taken to Samaria and buried there. 38 Some workers washed his chariot near a spring in Samaria, and prostitutes washed themselves in his blood. Dogs licked Ahab's blood off the ground, just as the Lord had warned.
39 Everything else Ahab did while he was king, including the towns he strengthened and the palace he built and furnished with ivory, is written in The History of the Kings of Israel. 40 Ahab died, and his son Ahaziah became king.
King Jehoshaphat of Judah
(2 Chronicles 20.31—21.1)41 Jehoshaphat son of Asa became king of Judah in Ahab's fourth year as king of Israel. 42 Jehoshaphat was 35 years old when he became king, and he ruled from Jerusalem for 25 years. His mother was Azubah daughter of Shilhi.
43-46 Jehoshaphat obeyed the Lord, just as his father Asa had done, and during his rule he was at peace with the king of Israel.
He got rid of the rest of the prostitutes from the local shrines, but he did not destroy the shrines, and they were still used as places for offering sacrifices.
Everything else Jehoshaphat did while he was king, including his brave deeds and military victories, is written in The History of the Kings of Judah.
47 The country of Edom had no king at the time, so a lower official ruled the land.
48 Jehoshaphat had seagoing ships built to sail to Ophir for gold. But they were wrecked at Ezion-Geber and never sailed. 49 Ahaziah son of Ahab offered to let his sailors go with Jehoshaphat's sailors, but Jehoshaphat refused.
50 Jehoshaphat died and was buried beside his ancestors in Jerusalem, and his son Jehoram became king.
King Ahaziah of Israel
51 Ahaziah son of Ahab became king of Israel in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat's rule in Judah, and he ruled two years from Samaria.
52 Ahaziah disobeyed the Lord, just as his father, his mother, and Jeroboam had done. They all led Israel to sin. 53 Ahaziah worshiped Baal and made the Lord God of Israel very angry, just as his father had done.