2 Chronicles 17

Evangelical Heritage Version

Jehoshaphat, King of Judah^[a]

17 Asa’s son Jehoshaphat ruled in his place. He strengthened his position against Israel and ² placed troops in all the fortified cities of Judah. He placed garrisons in the land of Judah and in the cities of Ephraim that his father Asa had captured.

³ The Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he walked in the ways that his father David walked in the beginning. He did not seek the Baals, ⁴ but he sought the God of his father, and he walked in his commandments. He did not follow the example of Israel. ⁵ So the Lord established the kingdom in his hand. All Judah gave tribute to Jehoshaphat. He had abundant riches and honor. ⁶ His heart was bold in the ways of the Lord. Furthermore, he removed the high places and the Asherah poles from Judah.

⁷ In the third year of his reign he sent his officials Ben Hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah to teach in the cities of Judah. ⁸ Along with them he sent these Levites: Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tobadonijah, as well as the priests Elishama and Jehoram. ⁹ They taught in Judah. They took the Book of the Law^[b] of the Lord with them and traveled around through all the cities of Judah, teaching among the people.

¹⁰ The fear of the Lord fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands surrounding Judah. They did not wage war against Jehoshaphat. ¹¹ Some of the Philistines brought gifts and silver to Jehoshaphat as tribute. Also the Arabs brought flocks to him: seven thousand seven hundred rams and seven thousand seven hundred male goats.

¹² Jehoshaphat was continually becoming greater and greater. He built fortresses and towns for storehouses in Judah.

¹³ He had large amounts of supplies^[c] in the cities of Judah, and soldiers who were powerful warriors were stationed in Jerusalem. ¹⁴ Their numbers, based on their fathers’ houses, were as follows.

Belonging to Judah, these were the commanders of units of a thousand:

¹⁷ From Benjamin:

¹⁹ These were the men who served the king, in addition to those forces that the king had placed in the fortified cities throughout Judah.