Jehoshaphat Reigns in Judah

17 Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his place and strengthened himself against Israel. ² He placed forces in all the ^(A)fortified cities of Judah and set garrisons in the land of Judah, and in the cities of Ephraim ^(B)that Asa his father had captured. ³ The Lord was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the earlier ways of his father David. He did not seek the Baals, ⁴ but sought the God of his father and walked in his commandments, ^(C)and not according to the practices of Israel. ⁵ Therefore the Lord established the kingdom in his hand. And all Judah ^(D)brought tribute to Jehoshaphat, ^(E)and he had great riches and honor. ⁶ His heart was courageous in the ways of the Lord. And furthermore, ^(F)he took the high places and the Asherim out of Judah.

⁷ In the third year of his reign he sent his officials, Ben-hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah, ^(G)to teach in the cities of Judah; ^8 (H)and with them the Levites, Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tobadonijah; and with these Levites, the priests Elishama and Jehoram. ⁹ And ^(I)they taught in Judah, having the Book of the Law of the Lord with them. They went about through all the cities of Judah and taught among the people.

^10 (J)And the fear of the Lord fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were around Judah, and they made no war against Jehoshaphat. ¹¹ Some of the Philistines ^(K)brought Jehoshaphat presents and silver for tribute, and the Arabians also brought him 7,700 rams and 7,700 goats. ¹² And Jehoshaphat grew steadily greater. He built in Judah fortresses and store cities, ¹³ and he had large supplies in the cities of Judah. He had soldiers, mighty men of valor, in Jerusalem. ¹⁴ This was the muster of them by fathers' houses: Of Judah, the commanders of thousands: Adnah the commander, with 300,000 mighty men of valor; ¹⁵ and next to him Jehohanan the commander, with 280,000; ¹⁶ and next to him Amasiah the son of Zichri, ^(L)a volunteer for the service of the Lord, with 200,000 mighty men of valor. ¹⁷ Of Benjamin: Eliada, a mighty man of valor, with 200,000 men ^(M)armed with bow and shield; ¹⁸ and next to him Jehozabad with 180,000 armed for war. ¹⁹ These were in the service of the king, besides ^(N)those whom the king had placed in the fortified cities throughout all Judah.

Jehoshaphat Allies with Ahab

18 Now Jehoshaphat ^(O)had great riches and honor, ^(P)and he made a marriage alliance with Ahab. ^2 (Q)After some years he went down to Ahab in Samaria. And Ahab killed an abundance of sheep and oxen for him and for the people who were with him, and induced him to go up against Ramoth-gilead. ³ Ahab king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, “Will you go with me to Ramoth-gilead?” He answered him, “I am as you are, my people as your people. We will be with you in the war.”

⁴ And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Inquire first for the word of the Lord.” ⁵ Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall we go to battle against Ramoth-gilead, or shall I refrain?” And they said, “Go up, for God will give it into the hand of the king.” ⁶ But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not here another prophet of the Lord of whom we may inquire?” ⁷ And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord, Micaiah the son of Imlah; but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me, but always evil.” And Jehoshaphat said, “Let not the king say so.” ⁸ Then the king of Israel summoned an officer and said, “Bring quickly Micaiah the son of Imlah.” ⁹ Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah were sitting on their thrones, arrayed in their robes. And they were sitting at the threshing floor ^(R)at the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying before them. ¹⁰ And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made for himself horns of iron and said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘With these you shall push the Syrians until they are destroyed.’” ¹¹ And all the prophets prophesied so and said, “Go up to Ramoth-gilead and triumph. The Lord will give it into the hand of the king.”

¹² And the messenger who went to summon Micaiah said to him, “Behold, the words of the prophets with one accord are favorable to the king. Let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak favorably.” ¹³ But Micaiah said, ^(S)“As the Lord lives, ^(T)what my God says, that I will speak.” ¹⁴ And when he had come to the king, the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I refrain?” And he answered, “Go up and triumph; they will be given into your hand.” ¹⁵ But the king said to him, “How many times shall I make you swear that you speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?” ¹⁶ And he said, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, ^(U)as sheep that have no shepherd. And the Lord said, ‘These have no master; let each return to his home in peace.’” ¹⁷ And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?” ¹⁸ And Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: ^(V)I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing on his right hand and on his left. ¹⁹ And the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab the king of Israel, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one said one thing, and another said another. ²⁰ Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, saying, ‘I will entice him.’ And the Lord said to him, ‘By what means?’ ²¹ And he said, ‘I will go out, and will be ^(W)a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And he said, ‘You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do so.’ ²² Now therefore behold, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of these your prophets. The Lord has declared disaster concerning you.”

²³ Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near ^(X)and struck Micaiah on the cheek and said, “Which way did the Spirit of the Lord go from me to speak to you?” ²⁴ And Micaiah said, “Behold, you shall see on that day when you go into an inner chamber to hide yourself.” ²⁵ And the king of Israel said, “Seize Micaiah and take him back to Amon ^(Y)the governor of the city and to Joash the king's son, ²⁶ and say, ‘Thus says the king, ^(Z)Put this fellow in prison and feed him with meager rations of bread and water until I return in peace.’” ²⁷ And Micaiah said, “If you return in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me.” And he said, ^(AA)“Hear, all you peoples!”

The Defeat and Death of Ahab

²⁸ So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead. ²⁹ And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you wear your robes.” And the king of Israel disguised himself, and they went into battle. ³⁰ Now the king of Syria had commanded the captains of his chariots, “Fight with neither small nor great, but only with the king of Israel.” ³¹ As soon as the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, “It is the king of Israel.” So they turned to fight against him. And Jehoshaphat cried out, and the Lord helped him; God drew them away from him. ³² For as soon as the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him. ³³ But a certain man drew his bow at random^[a] and struck the king of Israel between the scale armor and the breastplate. Therefore he said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn around and carry me out of the battle, for I am wounded.” ³⁴ And the battle continued that day, and the king of Israel was propped up in his chariot facing the Syrians until evening. Then at sunset he died.

Dedication to Theophilus

1 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that ^(A)have been accomplished among us, ^2 (B)just as those who ^(C)from the beginning were ^(D)eyewitnesses and ^(E)ministers of ^(F)the word ^(G)have delivered them to us, ³ it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write ^(H)an orderly account for you, ^(I)most excellent ^(J)Theophilus, ⁴ that you may have ^(K)certainty concerning the things ^(L)you have been taught.

Birth of John the Baptist Foretold

^5 (M)In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah,^{[a] (N)}of ^(O)the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. ⁶ And they were both ^(P)righteous before God, walking ^(Q)blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. ⁷ But they had no child, because ^(R)Elizabeth was barren, and ^(S)both were advanced in years.

⁸ Now ^(T)while he was serving as priest before God when ^(U)his division was on duty, ⁹ according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot ^(V)to enter ^(W)the temple of the Lord and burn incense. ¹⁰ And the whole multitude of the people ^(X)were praying ^(Y)outside at the hour of incense. ¹¹ And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of ^(Z)the altar of incense. ¹² And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and ^(AA)fear fell upon him. ¹³ But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for ^(AB)your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and ^(AC)you shall call his name John. ¹⁴ And you will have joy and gladness, and many will ^(AD)rejoice at his birth, ¹⁵ for he will be ^(AE)great before the Lord. And ^(AF)he must not drink wine or strong ^(AG)drink, and ^(AH)he will be ^(AI)filled with the Holy Spirit, ^(AJ)even from his mother's womb. ¹⁶ And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, ¹⁷ and ^(AK)he will go before him ^(AL)in the spirit and power of Elijah, ^(AM)to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and ^(AN)the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, ^(AO)to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

¹⁸ And Zechariah said to the angel, ^(AP)“How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” ¹⁹ And the angel answered him, “I am ^(AQ)Gabriel. ^(AR)I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. ²⁰ And behold, ^(AS)you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” ²¹ And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in ^(AT)the temple. ²² And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in ^(AU)the temple. And ^(AV)he kept making signs to them and remained mute. ²³ And ^(AW)when his time of ^(AX)service was ended, he went to his home.

²⁴ After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, ²⁵ “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, ^(AY)to take away my reproach among people.”

Birth of Jesus Foretold

²⁶ In the sixth month the angel ^(AZ)Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named ^(BA)Nazareth, ^27 (BB)to a virgin betrothed^[b] to a man whose name was Joseph, ^(BC)of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. ²⁸ And he came to her and said, “Greetings, ^(BD)O favored one, ^(BE)the Lord is with you!”^{[c] 29} But ^(BF)she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. ³⁰ And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for ^(BG)you have found favor with God. ³¹ And behold, ^(BH)you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and ^(BI)you shall call his name Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of ^(BJ)the Most High. And the Lord God ^(BK)will give to him the throne of ^(BL)his father David, ³³ and he will reign over the house of Jacob ^(BM)forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

³⁴ And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”^[d]

³⁵ And the angel answered her, ^(BN)“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of ^(BO)the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born^[e] will be called ^(BP)holy—^(BQ)the Son of God. ³⁶ And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her ^(BR)who was called barren. ³⁷ For ^(BS)nothing will be impossible with God.” ³⁸ And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant^[f] of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And ^(BT)the angel departed from her.

Mary Visits Elizabeth

³⁹ In those days Mary arose and went with haste into ^(BU)the hill country, to a town in Judah, ⁴⁰ and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹ And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth ^(BV)was filled with the Holy Spirit, ⁴² and she exclaimed with a loud cry, ^(BW)“Blessed are you among women, and ^(BX)blessed is ^(BY)the fruit of your womb! ⁴³ And why is this granted to me that the mother of ^(BZ)my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴ For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵ And ^(CA)blessed is she who believed that there would be^[g] a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

Mary's Song of Praise: The Magnificat

⁴⁶ And Mary said,

⁵⁶ And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.

The Birth of John the Baptist

⁵⁷ Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. ⁵⁸ And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord ^(CY)had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. ⁵⁹ And ^(CZ)on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, ⁶⁰ but his mother answered, “No; ^(DA)he shall be called John.” ⁶¹ And they said to her, “None of your relatives is called by this name.” ⁶² And ^(DB)they made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called. ⁶³ And he asked for ^(DC)a writing tablet and wrote, ^(DD)“His name is John.” And they all wondered. ^64 (DE)And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue ^(DF)loosed, and he spoke, ^(DG)blessing God. ⁶⁵ And ^(DH)fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all ^(DI)the hill country of Judea, ⁶⁶ and all who heard them ^(DJ)laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” For ^(DK)the hand of the Lord was with him.

Zechariah's Prophecy

⁶⁷ And his father Zechariah ^(DL)was filled with the Holy Spirit and ^(DM)prophesied, saying,

^80 (EQ)And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was ^(ER)in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.