²⁴ When Asa died, he was buried with his ancestors in the City of David.

Then Jehoshaphat, Asa’s son, became the next king.

Jehoshaphat Rules in Judah

⁴¹ Jehoshaphat son of Asa began to rule over Judah in the fourth year of King Ahab’s reign in Israel. ⁴² Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-five years. His mother was Azubah, the daughter of Shilhi.

⁴³ Jehoshaphat was a good king, following the example of his father, Asa. He did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight. ^[a]During his reign, however, he failed to remove all the pagan shrines, and the people still offered sacrifices and burned incense there.

Jehoshaphat Rules in Judah

17 Then Jehoshaphat, Asa’s son, became the next king. He strengthened Judah to stand against any attack from Israel. ² He stationed troops in all the fortified towns of Judah, and he assigned additional garrisons to the land of Judah and to the towns of Ephraim that his father, Asa, had captured.

³ The Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he followed the example of his father’s early years^[a] and did not worship the images of Baal. ⁴ He sought his father’s God and obeyed his commands instead of following the evil practices of the kingdom of Israel. ⁵ So the Lord established Jehoshaphat’s control over the kingdom of Judah. All the people of Judah brought gifts to Jehoshaphat, so he became very wealthy and highly esteemed. ⁶ He was deeply committed to^[b] the ways of the Lord. He removed the pagan shrines and Asherah poles from Judah.

⁷ In the third year of his reign Jehoshaphat sent his officials to teach in all the towns of Judah. These officials included Ben-hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah. ⁸ He sent Levites along with them, including Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tob-Adonijah. He also sent out the priests Elishama and Jehoram. ⁹ They took copies of the Book of the Law of the Lord and traveled around through all the towns of Judah, teaching the people.