Bible Strands
2 Chronicles 18:12
Then the messenger who had gone to call Micaiah instructed him, “Behold, with one accord the words of the prophets are favorable to the king. So please let your words be like theirs, and speak favorably.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The royal messenger who was sent to summon Micaiah speaks directly to the prophet before the king's inquiry. He urges Micaiah to align his prophecy with the unanimous favorable message of the other prophets.
The words — The Hebrew term מַלְאָךְ (mal'akh) identifies the speaker as a royal envoy, while דִּבֶּר (dibber) records his direct address to the prophet. These terms frame the exchange as an official court instruction rather than a spontaneous prophetic encounter.
The thread — The danger of false consensus appears in Joshua 9:2, where gathered forces unite against Israel, and in Job 22:13 and Psalms 10:11, where human reasoning dismisses divine oversight.
Why it lands — The text records a direct command to conform prophetic speech to royal expectations rather than divine revelation. It requires readers to distinguish between unanimous human opinion and authoritative divine instruction.
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 messenger that went to call Micaiah spake to him, saying, Behold, the words of the prophets declare good to the king with one assent; let thy word therefore, I pray thee, be like one of theirs, and speak thou good.
Cross-references
- Joshua 9:2 they came together to wage war against Joshua and Israel.
- Job 22:13 Yet you say: ‘What does God know? Does He judge through thick darkness?
- Psalms 10:11 He says to himself, “God has forgotten; He hides His face and never sees.”
- Isaiah 30:10 They say to the seers, “Stop seeing visions!” and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us the truth! Speak to us pleasant words; prophesy illusions.
- Hosea 7:3 They delight the king with their evil, and the princes with their lies.
- Amos 7:13 But never prophesy at Bethel again, because it is the sanctuary of the king and the temple of the kingdom.”
- Micah 2:6 “Do not preach,” they preach. “Do not preach these things; disgrace will not overtake us.”
- Micah 2:11 If a man of wind were to come and say falsely, “I will preach to you of wine and strong drink,” he would be just the preacher for this people!
- 1 Corinthians 2:14 The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.