1 Raja-raja 22:22

22:22 He replied, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets.’ The Lord ¹  said, ‘Deceive and overpower him. ²  Go out and do as you have proposed.’

1 Raja-raja 13:18

13:18 The old prophet then said, ³  “I too am a prophet like you. An angel told me with the Lord’s authority, ⁴  ‘Bring him back with you to your house so he can eat and drink.’” ⁵  But he was lying to him. ⁶ 

1 Raja-raja 22:23

22:23 So now, look, the Lord has placed a lying spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours; but the Lord has decreed disaster for you.”

1 Raja-raja 3:22

3:22 The other woman said, “No! My son is alive; your son is dead!” But the first woman replied, “No, your son is dead; my son is alive.” Each presented her case before the king. ⁷ 

[22:22]  ¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[22:22]  ² tn The Hebrew text has two imperfects connected by וְגַם (vÿgam). These verbs could be translated as specific futures, “you will deceive and also you will prevail,” in which case the Lord is assuring the spirit of success on his mission. However, in a commissioning context (note the following imperatives) such as this, it is more likely that the imperfects are injunctive, in which case one could translate, “Deceive, and also overpower.”

[13:18]  ³ tn Heb “and he said to him.”

[13:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “by the word of the Lord.”

[13:18]  ⁵ tn Heb “eat food and drink water.”

[13:18]  ⁶ tn Or “deceiving him.”

[13:18]  sn He was lying to him. The motives and actions of the old prophet are difficult to understand. The old man’s response to the prophet’s death (see vv. 26-32) suggests he did not trick him with malicious intent. The old prophet probably wanted the honor of entertaining such a celebrity, or perhaps simply desired some social interaction with a fellow prophet.

[3:22]  ⁷ tn Heb “they spoke before the king.” Another option is to translate, “they argued before the king.”