Invasion from the East

20 After this the Moabites and Ammonites, and with them some of the Meunites,^[a] came against Jehoshaphat for battle. ² Messengers^[b] came and told Jehoshaphat, “A great multitude is coming against you from Edom,^[c] from beyond the sea; already they are at Hazazon-tamar” (that is, En-gedi).^{(A) 3} Jehoshaphat was afraid; he set himself to seek the Lord and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.^{(B) 4} Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord; from all the towns of Judah they came to seek the Lord.

Jehoshaphat’s Prayer and Victory

⁵ Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court, ⁶ and said, “O Lord, God of our ancestors, are you not God in heaven? Do you not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations? In your hand are power and might, so that no one is able to withstand you.^{(C) 7} Did you not, O our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of your friend Abraham?^{(D) 8} They have lived in it and in it have built you a sanctuary for your name, saying, ⁹ ‘If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment,^[d] or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before you, for your name is in this house, and cry to you in our distress, and you will hear and save.’^{(E) 10} See now, the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, whom you would not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt and whom they avoided and did not destroy,^{(F) 11} they reward us by coming to drive us out of your possession that you have given us to inherit.^{(G) 12} O our God, will you not execute judgment upon them? For we are powerless against this great multitude that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”^(H)

¹³ Meanwhile, all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. ¹⁴ Then the spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the middle of the assembly.^{(I) 15} He said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you: Do not fear or be dismayed at this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s.^{(J) 16} Tomorrow go down against them; they will come up by the ascent of Ziz; you will find them at the end of the valley, before the wilderness of Jeruel. ¹⁷ This battle is not for you to fight; take your position, stand still, and see the victory of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you.”^(K)

¹⁸ Then Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord.^{(L) 19} And the Levites of the Kohathites and the Korahites stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.

²⁰ They rose early in the morning and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa, and as they went out Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God and you will be established; believe his prophets and you will succeed.”^{(M) 21} When he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the Lord and praise him in holy splendor, as they went before the army, saying,

²² As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set an ambush against the Ammonites, Moab, and Mount Seir who had come against Judah, so that they were routed.^{(O) 23} For the Ammonites and Moab attacked the inhabitants of Mount Seir, destroying them utterly, and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they all helped to destroy one another.^(P)

²⁴ When Judah came to the watchtower of the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude; they were corpses lying on the ground; no one had escaped. ²⁵ When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take the spoil from them, they found livestock^[e] in great numbers, goods, clothing, and precious things, which they took for themselves until they could carry no more. They spent three days taking the spoil because of its abundance. ²⁶ On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Beracah, for there they blessed the Lord; therefore that place has been called the Valley of Beracah^[f] to this day. ²⁷ Then all the people of Judah and Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat at their head, returned to Jerusalem with joy, for the Lord had enabled them to rejoice over their enemies.^{(Q) 28} They came to Jerusalem with harps and lyres and trumpets to the house of the Lord. ²⁹ The fear of God came on all the kingdoms of the countries when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel.^{(R) 30} And the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his God gave him rest all around.^(S)

The End of Jehoshaphat’s Reign

³¹ So Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he began to reign; he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Azubah daughter of Shilhi.^{(T) 32} He walked in the way of his father Asa and did not turn aside from it, doing what was right in the sight of the Lord. ³³ Yet the high places were not removed; the people had not yet set their hearts upon the God of their ancestors.^(U)

³⁴ Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, from first to last, are written in the Annals of Jehu son of Hanani, which are recorded in the Book of the Kings of Israel.^(V)

³⁵ After this King Jehoshaphat of Judah joined with King Ahaziah of Israel, who did wickedly.^{(W) 36} He joined him in building ships to go to Tarshish; they built the ships in Ezion-geber. ³⁷ Then Eliezer son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you have joined with Ahaziah, the Lord will destroy what you have made.” And the ships were wrecked and were not able to go to Tarshish.^(X)

Jehoram’s Reign

21 Jehoshaphat slept with his ancestors and was buried with his ancestors in the city of David; his son Jehoram succeeded him.^{(Y) 2} He had brothers, the sons of Jehoshaphat: Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariah, Michael, and Shephatiah; all these were the sons of King Jehoshaphat of Judah.^{[g] 3} Their father gave them many gifts of silver, gold, and valuable possessions, together with fortified cities in Judah, but he gave the kingdom to Jehoram because he was the firstborn.^{(Z) 4} Jehoram ascended the throne of his father, and he strengthened himself, and he put all his brothers to the sword, as well as some of the officials of Israel. ⁵ Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he began to reign; he reigned eight years in Jerusalem.^{(AA) 6} He walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for the daughter of Ahab was his wife. He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. ⁷ Yet the Lord would not destroy the house of David because of the covenant that he had made with David and since he had promised to give a lamp to him and to his descendants forever.^(AB)

Revolt of Edom

⁸ In his days Edom revolted against the rule of Judah and set up a king of their own.^{(AC) 9} Then Jehoram crossed over with his commanders and all his chariots. He set out by night and attacked the Edomites, who had surrounded him and his chariot commanders. ¹⁰ So Edom has been in revolt against the rule of Judah to this day. At that time Libnah also revolted against his rule because he had forsaken the Lord, the God of his ancestors.

Elijah’s Letter

¹¹ Moreover he made high places in the hill country of Judah and led the inhabitants of Jerusalem into unfaithfulness and made Judah go astray.^{(AD) 12} A letter came to him from the prophet Elijah, saying, “Thus says the Lord, the God of your father David: Because you have not walked in the ways of your father Jehoshaphat or in the ways of King Asa of Judah^{(AE) 13} but have walked in the way of the kings of Israel and have led Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem into unfaithfulness, as the house of Ahab led Israel into unfaithfulness, and because you also have killed your brothers, members of your father’s house, who were better than you,^{(AF) 14} see, the Lord will bring a great plague on your people, your children, your wives, and all your possessions, ¹⁵ and you yourself will have a severe sickness with a disease of your bowels until your bowels come out, day after day, because of the disease.”^(AG)

¹⁶ The Lord aroused against Jehoram the anger of the Philistines and of the Arabs who are near the Cushites.^{(AH) 17} They came up against Judah, invaded it, and carried away all the possessions they found that belonged to the king’s house, along with his sons and his wives, so that no son was left to him except Jehoahaz, his youngest son.^(AI)

Disease and Death of Jehoram

¹⁸ After all this the Lord struck him in his bowels with an incurable disease.^{(AJ) 19} In the course of time, at the end of two years, his bowels came out because of the disease, and he died in great agony. His people made no fire in his honor like the fires made for his ancestors.^{(AK) 20} He was thirty-two years old when he began to reign; he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. He departed with no one’s regret. They buried him in the city of David but not in the tombs of the kings.^(AL)

Ahaziah’s Reign

22 The inhabitants of Jerusalem made his youngest son Ahaziah king as his successor, for the troops who came with the Arabs to the camp had killed all the older sons. So Ahaziah son of Jehoram reigned as king of Judah.^{(AM) 2} Ahaziah was forty-two years old when he began to reign; he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Athaliah, a granddaughter of Omri.^{(AN) 3} He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother was his counselor in doing wickedly. ⁴ He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord like the house of Ahab, for after the death of his father they were his counselors, to his ruin. ⁵ He even followed their advice and went with Jehoram son of King Ahab of Israel to make war against King Hazael of Aram at Ramoth-gilead. The Arameans wounded Joram,^{(AO) 6} and he returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds that he had received at Ramah, when he fought King Hazael of Aram. And Ahaziah son of King Jehoram of Judah went down to see Joram son of Ahab in Jezreel because he was sick.^(AP)

⁷ But it was ordained by God that the downfall of Ahaziah should come about through his going to visit Joram. For when he came there he went out with Jehoram to meet Jehu son of Nimshi, whom the Lord had anointed to destroy the house of Ahab.^{(AQ) 8} When Jehu was executing judgment on the house of Ahab, he met the officials of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah’s brothers, who attended Ahaziah, and he killed them.^{(AR) 9} He searched for Ahaziah, who was captured while hiding in Samaria and was brought to Jehu and put to death. They buried him, for they said, “He is the grandson of Jehoshaphat, who sought the Lord with all his heart.” And the house of Ahaziah had no one able to rule the kingdom.^(AS)

Athaliah Seizes the Throne

¹⁰ Now when Athaliah, Ahaziah’s mother, saw that her son was dead, she set about to destroy all the royal family of the house of Judah.^{(AT) 11} But Jehoshabeath, the king’s daughter, took Joash son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the king’s children who were about to be killed; she put him and his nurse in a bedroom. Thus Jehoshabeath daughter of King Jehoram and wife of the priest Jehoiada—because she was a sister of Ahaziah—hid him from Athaliah, so that she did not kill him; ¹² he remained with them six years hidden in the house of God, while Athaliah reigned over the land.