¹⁰ Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah were seated, each on his own throne, arrayed in their robes. They were sitting by the threshing floor at the entrance to the gate of Samaria. All the prophets were prophesying before them.

¹¹ Zedekiah son of Kena’anah had made iron horns for himself, and he said, “This is what the Lord says. With these you will gore Aram to death.” ¹² All the prophets were prophesying in this same way: “Go up to Ramoth Gilead and triumph, for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.”

A Lying Spirit

¹³ The messenger who was sent to summon Micaiah said to him, “Pay attention to the words of the prophets. With one mouth they are promising good things to the king. Let your words be like the words of one of them and say something good.”

¹⁴ But Micaiah said, “As surely as the Lord lives, whatever the Lord says to me, that is what I will say.”

¹⁵ Then he came to the king, and the king asked him, “Micaiah, should we go up to make war on Ramoth Gilead, or should we refrain?”

He answered him, “Go up and triumph, for the Lord will give them into the hand of the king.”

¹⁶ Then the king said to him, “How many times must I make you swear that you will tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?”

¹⁷ Then Micaiah said, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains like sheep that have no shepherd, and the Lord said, ‘They have no masters. Each one should return to his home in peace.’”

¹⁸ Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Didn’t I tell you that he does not prophesy anything good about me, but only bad?”

The Lord’s Proclamation Against Ahab

¹⁹ Then Micaiah said:

²⁴ Then Zedekiah son of Kena’anah came up and struck Micaiah on his cheek and said, “Where is this pathway on which the spirit of the Lord has traveled from me to speak to you?”

²⁵ Micaiah said, “Listen to me. You will see it on the day you go into the inner room to hide.”

²⁶ Then the king of Israel said, “Seize Micaiah and take him back to Amon, the administrator of the city, and to Joash son of the king. ²⁷ Then say, ‘This is what the king says. Put this man in prison and feed him nothing more than bread and water until I come back safely.’”

²⁸ Then Micaiah said, “If you ever come back safely, then the Lord has not spoken through me.” Then he said, “Hear this, you people, all of you!”

²⁰ since we know this above all else: No prophecy of Scripture comes about from someone’s own interpretation. ²¹ In fact, no prophecy ever came by the will of man, but men spoke from God^[a] as they were being carried along by the Holy Spirit.

A Warning About False Teachers

2 There were false prophets also among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction on themselves. ² Many will follow their depraved ways, and because of them the way of the truth will be blasphemed. ³ In their greed they will exploit you with fabricated messages. Their condemnation announced long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

Watch Out for False Prophets

¹⁵ “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. ¹⁶ By their fruit you will recognize them. You do not gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles, do you? ¹⁷ So then, every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot produce good fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ So then, by their fruit you will recognize them. ²¹ Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. ²² Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and drive out demons in your name and perform many miracles in your name?’ ²³ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.’

Wise and Foolish Builders

²⁴ “Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on bedrock. ²⁵ The rain came down, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house. But it did not fall, because it was founded on bedrock. ²⁶ Everyone who hears these words of mine but does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷ The rain came down, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—it was completely destroyed.”

²⁸ When Jesus finished speaking these words, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, ²⁹ because he taught them as one who had authority, and not like their experts in the law.