⁵ The Lord appeared to Solomon at Gibeon. He spoke to him in a dream during the night. God said, “Ask for anything you want me to give you.”

⁶ Solomon answered, “You have been very kind to my father David, your servant. That’s because he was faithful to you. He did what was right. His heart was honest. And you have continued to be very kind to him. You have given him a son to sit on his throne this day.

⁷ “Lord my God, you have now made me king. You have put me in the place of my father David. But I’m only a little child. I don’t know how to carry out my duties. ⁸ I’m here among the people you have chosen. They are a great nation. They are more than anyone can count. ⁹ So give me a heart that understands. Then I can rule over your people. I can tell the difference between what is right and what is wrong. Who can possibly rule over this great nation of yours?”

¹⁰ The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for that. ¹¹ So God said to him, “You have not asked to live for a long time. You have not asked to be wealthy. You have not even asked to have your enemies killed. Instead, you have asked for wisdom. You want to do what is right and fair when you judge people. Because that is what you have asked for, ¹² I will give it to you. I will give you a wise and understanding heart. So here is what will be true of you. There has never been anyone like you. And there never will be. ¹³ And that is not all. I will give you what you have not asked for. I will give you wealth and honor. As long as you live, no other king will be as great as you are. ¹⁴ Live the way I want you to. Obey my laws and commands, just as your father David did. Then I will let you live for a long time.” ¹⁵ Solomon woke up. He realized he had been dreaming.

He returned to Jerusalem. He stood in front of the ark of the Lord’s covenant. He sacrificed burnt offerings and friendship offerings. Then he gave a feast for all his officials.

A Wise Ruling

¹⁶ Two prostitutes came to the king. They stood in front of him. ¹⁷ One of them said, “Pardon me, my master, this woman and I live in the same house. I had a baby while she was there with me. ¹⁸ Three days after my child was born, this woman also had a baby. We were alone. There wasn’t anyone in the house but the two of us.

¹⁹ “During the night this woman’s baby died. It happened because she was lying on top of him. ²⁰ So she got up in the middle of the night. She took my son from my side while I was asleep. She put him by her breast. Then she put her dead son by my breast. ²¹ The next morning, I got up to nurse my son. But he was dead! I looked at him closely in the morning light. And I saw that it wasn’t my baby.”

²² The other woman said, “No! The living baby is my son. The dead one belongs to you.”

But the first woman said, “No! The dead baby is yours. The living one belongs to me.” So they argued in front of the king.

²³ The king said, “One of you says, ‘My son is alive. Your son is dead.’ The other one says, ‘No! Your son is dead. Mine is alive.’ ”

²⁴ He continued, “Bring me a sword.” So a sword was brought to him. ²⁵ Then he gave an order. He said, “Cut the living child in two. Give half to one woman and half to the other.”

²⁶ The woman whose son was alive was filled with deep love for her son. She said to the king, “My master, please give her the living baby! Don’t kill him!”

But the other woman said, “Neither one of us will have him. Cut him in two!”

²⁷ Then the king made his decision. He said, “Give the living baby to the first woman. Don’t kill him. She’s his mother.”

²⁰ They were sitting at the table. The Lord gave a message to the old prophet who had brought the man of God back.

Jehoshaphat Wins the Battle Over Moab and Ammon

20 After that, the Moabites, Ammonites and some Meunites went to war against Jehoshaphat.

² Some people came and told him, “A huge army is coming from Edom to fight against you. They have come across the Dead Sea. They are already in Hazezon Tamar.” Hazezon Tamar is also called En Gedi. ³ Jehoshaphat was alarmed. So he decided to ask the Lord for advice. He told all the people of Judah to go without eating. ⁴ The people came together to ask the Lord for help. In fact, they came from every town in Judah to pray to him.

⁵ Then Jehoshaphat stood up among the people of Judah and Jerusalem. He was in front of the new courtyard at the Lord’s temple. ⁶ He said,

“Lord, you are the God of our people who lived long ago. You are the God who is in heaven. You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. You are strong and powerful. No one can fight against you and win. ⁷ Our God, you drove out the people who lived in this land. You drove them out to make room for your people Israel. You gave this land forever to those who belong to the family line of your friend Abraham. ⁸ They have lived in this land. They’ve built a temple here for your Name. They have said, ⁹ ‘Suppose trouble comes on us. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a punishing sword, or plague or hunger. We’ll serve you. We’ll stand in front of this temple where your Name is. We’ll cry out to you when we’re in trouble. Then you will hear us. You will save us.’

¹⁰ “But here are men from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir. You wouldn’t allow Israel to march in and attack their territory when the Israelites came from Egypt. So Israel turned away from them. They didn’t destroy them. ¹¹ See how they are paying us back. They are coming to drive us out. They want to take over the land you gave us as our share. ¹² Our God, won’t you please judge them? We don’t have the power to face this huge army that’s attacking us. We don’t know what to do. But we’re looking to you to help us.”

¹³ All the men of Judah stood there in front of the Lord. Their wives, children and little ones were with them.

¹⁴ Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Jahaziel. He was standing among the people of Israel. He was the son of Zechariah. Zechariah was the son of Benaiah. Benaiah was the son of Jeiel. Jeiel was the son of Mattaniah. Jahaziel was a Levite. He was from the family line of Asaph.

¹⁵ Jahaziel said, “King Jehoshaphat, listen! All you who live in Judah and Jerusalem, listen! The Lord says to you, ‘Do not be afraid. Do not lose hope because of this huge army. The battle is not yours. It is God’s. ¹⁶ Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz. You will find them at the end of the valley in the Desert of Jeruel. ¹⁷ You will not have to fight this battle. Take your positions. Stand firm. You will see how the Lord will save you. Judah and Jerusalem, do not be afraid. Do not lose hope. Go out and face them tomorrow. The Lord will be with you.’ ”

¹⁸ Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face toward the ground. All the people of Judah and Jerusalem also bowed down. They worshiped the Lord. ¹⁹ Then some Levites from the families of Kohath and Korah stood up. They praised the Lord, the God of Israel. They praised him with very loud voices.

²⁰ Early in the morning all the people left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they started out, Jehoshaphat stood up. He said, “Judah, listen to me! People of Jerusalem, listen to me! Have faith in the Lord your God. He’ll take good care of you. Have faith in his prophets. Then you will have success.” ²¹ Jehoshaphat asked the people for advice. Then he appointed men to sing to the Lord. He wanted them to praise the Lord because of his glory and holiness. They marched out in front of the army. They said,

²² They began to sing and praise him. Then the Lord hid some men and told them to wait. He wanted them to attack the people of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir. They had gone into Judah and attacked it. But they lost the battle. ²³ The Ammonites and Moabites rose up against the men from Mount Seir. They destroyed them. They put an end to them. When they finished killing the men from Seir, they destroyed one another.

²⁴ The men of Judah came to the place that looks out over the desert. They turned to look down at the huge army. But all they saw was dead bodies lying there on the ground. No one had escaped. ²⁵ So Jehoshaphat and his men went down there to carry off anything of value. Among the dead bodies they found a large amount of supplies, clothes and other things of value. There was more than they could take away. There was so much it took three days to collect all of it. ²⁶ On the fourth day they gathered together in the Valley of Berakah. There they praised the Lord. That’s why it’s called the Valley of Berakah to this day.

²⁷ Then all the men of Judah and Jerusalem returned to Jerusalem. They were filled with joy. Jehoshaphat led them. The Lord had made them happy because all their enemies were dead. ²⁸ They entered Jerusalem and went to the Lord’s temple. They were playing harps, lyres and trumpets.

²⁹ All the surrounding kingdoms began to have respect for God. They had heard how the Lord had fought against Israel’s enemies. ³⁰ The kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace. His God had given him peace and rest on every side.

Jehoshaphat’s Rule Comes to an End

³¹ So Jehoshaphat ruled over Judah. He was 35 years old when he became Judah’s king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 25 years. His mother’s name was Azubah. She was the daughter of Shilhi. ³² Jehoshaphat followed the ways of his father Asa. He didn’t wander away from them. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. ³³ But the high places weren’t removed. The people still hadn’t worshiped the God of Israel with all their hearts.

³⁴ The other events of Jehoshaphat’s rule from beginning to end are written down. They are written in the official records of Jehu, the son of Hanani. They are written in the records of the kings of Israel.

³⁵ Jehoshaphat king of Judah and Ahaziah king of Israel agreed to be friends. Ahaziah did what was evil. ³⁶ Jehoshaphat agreed with him to build a lot of ships. They were built at Ezion Geber. They carried goods that were traded for other goods. ³⁷ Eliezer was the son of Dodavahu from Mareshah. Eliezer prophesied against Jehoshaphat. He said, “You have joined forces with Ahaziah. So the Lord will destroy what you have made.” The ships were wrecked. They were never able to sail or trade goods.