2 Chronicles 15-18

Contemporary English Version

Asa Destroys the Idols in Judah

15 Some time later, God spoke to Azariah son of Oded. ² At once, Azariah went to Asa and said:

Listen to me, King Asa and you people of Judah and Benjamin. The Lord will be with you and help you, as long as you obey and worship him. But if you disobey him, he will desert you.

³ For a long time, the people of Israel did not worship the true God or listen to priests who could teach them about God. They refused to obey God's Law. ⁴ But whenever trouble came, Israel turned back to the Lord their God and worshiped him.

⁵ There was so much confusion in those days that it wasn't safe to go anywhere in Israel. ⁶ Nations were destroying each other, and cities were wiping out other cities, because God was causing trouble and unrest everywhere.

⁷ So you must be brave. Don't give up! God will honor you for obeying him.

⁸ As soon as Asa heard what Azariah the prophet said, he gave orders for all the idols in Judah and Benjamin to be destroyed, including those in the towns he had captured in the territory of Ephraim. He also repaired the Lord's altar that was in front of the temple porch.

⁹ Asa called together the people from Judah and Benjamin, as well as the people from the territories of Ephraim, West Manasseh, and Simeon who were living in Judah. Many of these people were now loyal to Asa, because they had seen that the Lord was with him.

¹⁰ In the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa's rule, they all met in Jerusalem. ¹¹ That same day, they took 700 bulls and 7,000 sheep and goats from what they had brought back from Gerar and sacrificed them as offerings to the Lord. ¹² They made a solemn promise to faithfully worship the Lord God their ancestors had worshiped, ¹³ and to put to death anyone who refused to obey him. ¹⁴ The crowd solemnly agreed to keep their promise to the Lord, then they celebrated by shouting and blowing trumpets and horns. ¹⁵ Everyone was happy because they had made this solemn promise, and in return, the Lord blessed them with peace from all their enemies.

¹⁶ Asa's grandmother Maacah had made a disgusting idol of the goddess Asherah, so he cut it down, crushed it, and burned it in Kidron Valley. Then he removed Maacah from her position as queen mother.^{[a] 17} As long as Asa lived, he was faithful to the Lord, even though he did not destroy the local shrines^[b] in Israel. ¹⁸ He placed in the temple all the silver and gold objects that he and his father had dedicated to God.

¹⁹ There was peace in Judah until the thirty-fifth year of Asa's rule.

King Baasha of Israel Invades Judah

(1 Kings 15.16-22)

16 In the thirty-sixth year of Asa's rule, King Baasha of Israel invaded Judah and captured the town of Ramah. He started making the town stronger, and he put troops there to stop people from going in and out of Judah.

² When Asa heard about this, he took the silver and gold from his palace and from the Lord's temple. Then he sent it to Damascus with this message for King Benhadad of Syria: ³ “I think we should sign a peace treaty, just as our fathers did. This silver and gold is a present for you. Would you please break your treaty with King Baasha of Israel and force him to leave my country?”

⁴ Benhadad did what Asa asked and sent the Syrian army into Israel. They captured the towns of Ijon, Dan, Abel-Maim,^[c] and all the towns in Naphtali where supplies were kept. ⁵ When Baasha heard about it, he stopped his work on the town of Ramah.

⁶ Asa ordered everyone in Judah to carry away the stones and wood Baasha had used to fortify Ramah. Then he fortified the towns of Geba and Mizpah with these same stones and wood.

Hanani the Prophet Condemns Asa

⁷ Soon after that happened, Hanani the prophet went to Asa and said:

You depended on the king of Syria instead of depending on the Lord your God. And so, you will never defeat the Syrian army. ⁸ Remember how powerful the Ethiopian^[d] and Libyan army was, with all their chariots and cavalry troops! You trusted the Lord to help you then, and you defeated them. ⁹ The Lord is constantly watching everyone, and he gives strength to those who faithfully obey him. But you have done a foolish thing, and your kingdom will never be at peace again.

¹⁰ When Asa heard this, he was so angry that he put Hanani in prison. Asa was also cruel to some of his people.^[e]

Asa Dies

(1 Kings 15.23,24)

¹¹ Everything Asa did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Judah and Israel. ¹² In the thirty-ninth year of his rule, he got a very bad foot disease, but he relied on doctors and refused to ask the Lord for help. ¹³ He died two years later.

¹⁴ Earlier, Asa had his own tomb cut out of a rock hill in Jerusalem. So he was buried there, and the tomb was filled with spices and sweet-smelling oils. Then the people built a bonfire in his honor.

King Jehoshaphat of Judah

17 Jehoshaphat son of Asa became king and strengthened his defenses against Israel. ² He assigned troops to the fortified cities in Judah, as well as to other towns in Judah and to those towns in Ephraim that his father Asa had captured.

^3-4 When Jehoshaphat's father had first become king of Judah, he was faithful to the Lord and refused to worship the god Baal as the kings of Israel did. Jehoshaphat followed his father's example and obeyed and worshiped the Lord. And so the Lord blessed Jehoshaphat ⁵ and helped him keep firm control of his kingdom. The people of Judah brought gifts to Jehoshaphat, but even after he became very rich and respected, ⁶ he remained completely faithful to the Lord. He destroyed all the local shrines^[f] in Judah, including the places where the goddess Asherah was worshiped.

⁷ In the third year of Jehoshaphat's rule, he chose five officials and gave them orders to teach the Lord's Law in every city and town in Judah. They were Benhail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah. ⁸ Their assistants were the following nine Levites: Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tob-Adonijah. Two priests, Elishama and Jehoram, also went along. ⁹ They carried with them a copy of the Lord's Law wherever they went and taught the people from it.

¹⁰ The nations around Judah were afraid of the Lord's power, so none of them attacked Jehoshaphat. ¹¹ Philistines brought him silver and other gifts to keep peace. Some of the Arab people brought him 7,700 rams and the same number of goats.

¹² As Jehoshaphat became more powerful, he built fortresses and cities ¹³ where he stored supplies. He also kept in Jerusalem some experienced soldiers ¹⁴ from the Judah and Benjamin tribes. These soldiers were grouped according to their clans.

Adnah was the commander of the troops from Judah, and he had 300,000 soldiers under his command. ¹⁵ Jehohanan was second in command, with 280,000 soldiers under him. ¹⁶ Amasiah son of Zichri, who had volunteered to serve the Lord, was third in command, with 200,000 soldiers under him.

¹⁷ Eliada was a brave warrior who commanded the troops from Benjamin. He had 200,000 soldiers under his command, all of them armed with bows and shields. ¹⁸ Jehozabad was second in command, with 180,000 soldiers under him. ¹⁹ These were the troops who protected the king in Jerusalem, not counting those he had assigned to the fortified cities throughout the country.

Micaiah Warns King Ahab of Israel

(1 Kings 22.1-28)

18 Jehoshaphat was now very rich and famous. He signed a treaty with King Ahab of Israel by arranging the marriage of his son and Ahab's daughter.

² One day, Jehoshaphat went to visit Ahab in his capital city of Samaria. Ahab slaughtered sheep and cattle and prepared a big feast to honor Jehoshaphat and the officials with him. Ahab talked about attacking the city of Ramoth in Gilead,^{[g] 3} and finally asked, “Jehoshaphat, would you go with me to attack Ramoth?”

“Yes,” Jehoshaphat answered. “My army is at your command. ⁴ But first let's ask the Lord what to do.”

⁵ Ahab sent for 400 prophets and asked, “Should I attack the city of Ramoth?”

“Yes!” the prophets answered. “God will help you capture the city.”

⁶ But Jehoshaphat said, “Just to make sure, is there another of the Lord's prophets we can ask?”

⁷ “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. ⁸ Then Ahab sent someone to bring Micaiah as soon as possible.

⁹ 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, listening to the prophets tell them what the Lord had said.

¹⁰ 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!”

¹¹ All the prophets agreed that Ahab should attack the Syrians at Ramoth and promised that the Lord would help him defeat them.

¹² 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.”

¹³ “I'll say whatever the living Lord my God tells me to say,” Micaiah replied.

¹⁴ Then Micaiah went up to Ahab, who asked, “Micaiah, should we attack Ramoth?”

“Yes!” Micaiah answered. “The Lord will help you capture the city.”

¹⁵ Ahab shouted, “Micaiah, I've told you over and over to tell me the truth! What does the Lord really say?”

^16 (A) Micaiah answered, “In a vision^[h] I saw Israelite soldiers wandering around, lost in the hills like sheep without a shepherd. The Lord said, ‘These troops have no leader. They should go home and not fight.’ ”

¹⁷ Ahab turned to Jehoshaphat and said, “I told you he would bring me bad news!”

¹⁸ Micaiah replied:

I then saw the Lord seated on his throne with every creature in heaven gathered around him. ¹⁹ 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, ²⁰ then finally a spirit came forward and said to the Lord, “I can trick Ahab.”

“How?” the Lord asked.

²¹ “I'll make Ahab's prophets lie to him.”

“Good!” the Lord replied. “Now go and do it. You will be successful.”

²² Ahab, this is exactly what has happened. The Lord made all your prophets lie to you, and he knows you will soon be destroyed.

²³ Zedekiah walked over and slapped Micaiah on the face. Then he asked, “Do you really think the Lord would speak to you and not to me?”

²⁴ Micaiah answered, “You'll find out on the day you have to hide in the back room of some house.”

²⁵ Ahab shouted, “Arrest Micaiah! Take him to Prince Joash and Governor Amon of Samaria. ²⁶ Tell them to put him in prison and to give him nothing but bread and water until I come back safely.”

²⁷ 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

(1 Kings 22.29-35)

²⁸ Ahab and Jehoshaphat led their armies to Ramoth in Gilead. ²⁹ Before they went into battle, Ahab said, “Jehoshaphat, I'll disguise myself, but you wear your royal robe.” Ahab disguised himself and went into battle.

³⁰ The king of Syria had ordered his chariot commanders to attack only Ahab. ³¹ So when they saw Jehoshaphat in his robe, they thought he was Ahab and started to attack him. But Jehoshaphat prayed, and the Lord made the Syrian soldiers stop. ³² And when they realized he wasn't Ahab, they left him alone.

³³ However, during the fighting a soldier shot an arrow without even aiming, and it hit Ahab between two pieces of his armor. He shouted to his chariot driver, “I've been hit! Get me out of here!”

³⁴ The fighting lasted all day, with Ahab propped up in his chariot so he could see the Syrian troops. He stayed there until evening, and by sundown he was dead.