Bible Strands
1 Kings 22:8
The king of Israel answered, “There is still one man through whom we can inquire of the LORD, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good for me, but only bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.” “The king should not say that!” Jehoshaphat replied.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The king of Israel addresses Jehoshaphat immediately after Jehoshaphat asks whether any prophet of the LORD remains to consult.
The words — The Hebrew עוֹד (od) translates literally to “still,” and אִישׁ אֶחָד ('ish echad) means “a man one” or “one man.”
The thread — The king’s hostility toward a prophet who refuses to flatter him echoes Amos 5:10, where people hate those who reprove, and aligns with John 7:7, where the world hates Jesus because he testifies that its works are evil.
Why it lands — The passage requires a reader to confront the impulse to discard a messenger simply because his message contradicts personal preference, treating the rejection of truth as a failure of inquiry rather than a defense of comfort.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may enquire of the Lord: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.
Cross-references
- Amos 5:10 There are those who hate the one who reproves in the gate and despise him who speaks with integrity.
- John 3:19 And this is the verdict: The Light has come into the world, but men loved the darkness rather than the Light because their deeds were evil.
- John 7:7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me, because I testify that its works are evil.
- John 17:14 I have given them Your word and the world has hated them. For they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
- Jeremiah 38:4 Then the officials said to the king, “This man ought to die, for he is discouraging the warriors who remain in this city, as well as all the people, by speaking such words to them; this man is not seeking the well-being of these people, but their ruin.”
- Micah 2:7 Should it be said, O house of Jacob, “Is the Spirit of the LORD impatient? Are these the things He does?” Do not My words bring good to him who walks uprightly?
- John 15:18 If the world hates you, understand that it hated Me first.
- Galatians 4:16 Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?
- 1 Kings 18:4 for when Jezebel had slaughtered the prophets of the LORD, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them, fifty men per cave, providing them with food and water.)
- 1 Kings 19:10 “I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of Hosts,” he replied, “but the Israelites have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I am the only one left, and they are seeking my life as well.”