Jehu Rebukes Jehoshaphat

19 Then Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned in safety to his house in Jerusalem. ^2 (A)And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him and said to King Jehoshaphat, “^(B)Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord, and ^[a](C)by doing so bring wrath on yourself from the Lord? ³ But ^[b](D)there is some good in you, for ^(E)you have removed the ^[c]Asheroth from the land and you ^(F)have set your heart to seek God.”

⁴ So Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem and went out again among the people from Beersheba to the hill country of Ephraim, and ^(G)brought them back to the Lord, the God of their fathers.

Reforms Instituted

⁵ He appointed ^(H)judges in the land in all the fortified cities of Judah, city by city. ⁶ He said to the judges, “Consider what you are doing, for ^(I)you do not judge for mankind but for the Lord who is with you ^[d]when you render judgment. ⁷ Now then, let the fear of the Lord be upon you; be careful ^[e]about what you do, for ^[f]the Lord our God will ^(J)have no part in injustice ^(K)or partiality, or in the taking of a bribe.”

⁸ In Jerusalem Jehoshaphat also appointed some ^(L)of the Levites and priests, and some of the heads of the fathers’ households of Israel, for the judgment of the Lord, and ^[g]to judge disputes among the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ⁹ Then he commanded them, saying, “This is what you shall do in the fear of the Lord, faithfully and wholeheartedly. ^10 (M)Whenever any dispute comes to you from your countrymen who live in their cities, between blood and blood, between law and commandment, statutes and ordinances, you shall warn them so that they will not be guilty before the Lord, and ^(N)wrath will not come on you and your countrymen. This you shall do and you will not be guilty. ¹¹ Behold, Amariah the chief priest will be over you in ^(O)every matter ^[h]that pertains to the Lord, and Zebadiah the son of Ishmael, the ruler of the house of Judah, in all that pertains to the king. Also the Levites shall be officers before you. ^[i](P)Act resolutely, and may the Lord be with the upright.”

Judah Invaded

20 Now it came about after this, that the sons of Moab and the sons of Ammon, together with some of the ^[j](Q)Meunites, came to make war against Jehoshaphat. ² Then some came and reported to Jehoshaphat, saying, “A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, from ^[k]Aram; and behold, they are in ^(R)Hazazon-tamar (that is Engedi).” ³ Jehoshaphat was afraid and ^[l](S)turned his attention to seek the Lord; and he ^(T)proclaimed a period of fasting throughout Judah. ⁴ So Judah gathered together to ^(U)seek help from the Lord; they even came from all the cities of Judah to seek the Lord.

Jehoshaphat’s Prayer

⁵ Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord in front of the new courtyard; ⁶ and he said, “Lord, God of our fathers, ^(V)are You not God in the heavens? And ^(W)are You not ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in Your hand so that no one can stand against You. ⁷ Did You not, our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land from Your people Israel, and ^(X)give it to the descendants of ^(Y)Your friend Abraham forever? ⁸ They have lived in it, and have built You a sanctuary in it for Your name, saying, ⁹ ‘^(Z)If disaster comes upon us, the sword, or judgment, or plague, or famine, we will stand before this house and before You (for ^(AA)Your name is in this house), and cry out to You in our distress, and You will hear and save us.’ ¹⁰ Now behold, ^(AB)the sons of Ammon, Moab, and ^[m]Mount Seir, ^(AC)whom You did not allow Israel to invade when they came out of the land of Egypt (for they turned aside from them and did not destroy them), ¹¹ see how they are rewarding us by ^(AD)coming to drive us out from Your possession which You have given us as an inheritance. ¹² Our God, ^(AE)will You not judge them? For we are powerless before this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but ^(AF)our eyes are on You.”

¹³ All Judah was standing before the Lord, with their infants, their wives, and their children.

Jahaziel Answers the Prayer

¹⁴ Then in the midst of the assembly ^(AG)the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, the Levite of the sons of Asaph; ¹⁵ and he said, “Listen, all you of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat: This is what the Lord says to you: ‘^(AH)Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for ^(AI)the battle is not yours but God’s. ¹⁶ Tomorrow, go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the valley in front of the wilderness of Jeruel. ¹⁷ You need not fight in this battle; take your position, ^(AJ)stand and watch the salvation of the Lord in your behalf, Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow, go out to face them, ^(AK)for the Lord is with you.”

¹⁸ Jehoshaphat ^(AL)bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. ¹⁹ The Levites, from the sons of the Kohathites and from the sons of the Korahites, stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel, with a very loud voice.

Enemies Destroy Themselves

²⁰ They rose early in the morning and went out to the wilderness of Tekoa; and when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: ^(AM)Put your trust in the Lord your God and you will endure. Put your trust in His prophets, and succeed.” ²¹ When he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who sang to the Lord and those who ^(AN)praised Him in holy attire, as they went out before the army and said, “^(AO)Give thanks to the Lord, for His faithfulness is everlasting.” ²² When they began singing and praising, the Lord ^(AP)set ambushes against the sons of ^(AQ)Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; so they were struck down. ²³ For the sons of Ammon and Moab rose up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, completely destroying them; and when they had finished with the inhabitants of Seir, ^(AR)they helped to destroy one another.

²⁴ When Judah came to the watchtower of the wilderness, they turned toward the multitude, and behold, they were corpses lying on the ground, and there was no survivor. ²⁵ When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take their spoils, they found much among them, including goods, ^[n]garments, and valuable things which they took for themselves, more than they could carry. And they were taking the spoils for three days because there was so much.

Triumphant Return to Jerusalem

²⁶ Then on the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Beracah, for they blessed the Lord there. Therefore they have named that place “The Valley of ^[o]Beracah” until today. ²⁷ Every man of Judah and Jerusalem returned, with Jehoshaphat at their head, returning to Jerusalem with joy, ^(AS)for the Lord had helped them to rejoice over their enemies. ²⁸ They came to Jerusalem with harps, lyres, and trumpets, to the house of the Lord. ²⁹ And ^(AT)the dread of God was on all the kingdoms of the lands when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. ³⁰ So the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, ^(AU)for his God gave him rest on all sides.

^31 (AV)Now Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for twenty-five years. And his mother’s name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. ³² He walked in the way of his father Asa and did not deviate from it, doing right in the sight of the Lord. ^33 (AW)The high places, however, were not removed; ^(AX)the people had not yet directed their hearts to the God of their fathers.

³⁴ Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first ^[p]to last, behold, they are written in the annals of ^(AY)Jehu the son of Hanani, which is ^[q]recorded in the Book of the Kings of Israel.

Alliance Displeases God

^35 (AZ)After this Jehoshaphat king of Judah allied himself with Ahaziah king of Israel. He acted wickedly ^[r]in so doing. ³⁶ So he allied himself with him to make ships to go ^(BA)to Tarshish, and they made the ships in Ezion-geber. ³⁷ Then Eliezer the son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you have allied yourself with Ahaziah, the Lord has destroyed your works.” So the ships were wrecked and could not go to Tarshish.

Ahaziah’s Messengers Meet Elijah

1 Now ^(A)Moab broke with Israel after the death of Ahab. ² And Ahaziah fell through the window lattice in his upper chamber which was in Samaria, and became ill. So he sent messengers and said to them, “Go, ^(B)inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, ^(C)whether I will recover from this sickness.” ³ But the angel of the Lord said to ^(D)Elijah the Tishbite, “Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and say to them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of ^(E)Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?’ ⁴ Now therefore, this is what the Lord says: ‘^[a](F)You will not get down from the bed upon which you have lain, but you shall certainly die.’” Then Elijah departed.

⁵ When the messengers returned to ^[b]Ahaziah, he said to them, “^[c]Why have you returned?” ⁶ They said to him, “A man came up to meet us and said to us, ‘Go, return to the king who sent you and say to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending messengers ^(G)to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore ^[d]you will not get down from the bed upon which you have lain, but you shall certainly die.’”’” ⁷ Then he said to them, “What ^[e]did the man look like, who came up to meet you and spoke these words to you?” ⁸ And they said to him, “^(H)He was a hairy man with a leather ^[f]belt worn around his waist.” And he said, “It is Elijah the Tishbite.”

⁹ Then the king ^(I)sent to him a captain of fifty with his fifty men. And he went up to him, and behold, he was sitting on the top of the hill. And he said to him, “You man of God, the king says, ‘Come down.’” ¹⁰ But Elijah replied to the captain of fifty, “If I am a man of God, ^(J)may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” ^(K)Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men.

¹¹ So the king again sent to him another captain of fifty with his fifty men. And he said to him, “You man of God, this is what the king says: ‘Come down quickly!’” ¹² But Elijah replied to them, “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men.

¹³ So the king ^(L)again sent the captain of a third fifty with his fifty men. When the third captain of fifty went up, he came and bowed down on his knees before Elijah, and begged him and said to him, “You man of God, please let my life and the lives of these fifty servants of yours be precious in your sight. ¹⁴ Behold, fire came down from heaven and consumed the first two captains of fifty with their fifties; but now let my ^[g]life be precious in your sight.” ¹⁵ And ^(M)the angel of the Lord said to Elijah, “Go down with him; ^(N)do not be afraid of him.” So he got up and went down with him to the king. ¹⁶ Then he said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Since you have sent messengers ^(O)to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron—is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of His word? Therefore ^[h]you will not get down from the bed upon which you have lain, but you shall certainly die.’”

Jehoram Reigns over Israel

¹⁷ So Ahaziah died in accordance with the word of the Lord which Elijah had spoken. And since he had no son, Jehoram became king in his place ^(P)in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. ¹⁸ Now as for the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

Prayer for Victory over Enemies.

For the music director. A Psalm of David.

The Preaching of John the Baptist

3 Now ^(A)in those days ^(B)John the Baptist *^[a]came, ^[b]preaching in the ^(C)wilderness of Judea, saying, ² “^(D)Repent, for ^(E)the kingdom of heaven has come near.” ³ For this is the ^(F)one referred to ^[c]by Isaiah the prophet when he said,

⁴ Now John himself had ^[f](I)a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was ^(J)locusts and wild honey. ⁵ At that time Jerusalem ^(K)was going out to him, and all Judea and all ^(L)the region around the Jordan; ⁶ and they were being ^(M)baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.

⁷ But when he saw many of the ^(N)Pharisees and ^(O)Sadducees coming for ^[g]baptism, he said to them, “You ^[h](P)offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from ^(Q)the wrath to come? ^8 (R)Therefore produce fruit ^(S)consistent with repentance; ⁹ and do not assume that you can say to yourselves, ‘^(T)We have Abraham as our father’; for I tell you that God is able, from these stones, to raise up children for Abraham. ¹⁰ And the ^(U)axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore, ^(V)every tree that does not bear good fruit is being cut down and thrown into the fire.

¹¹ “As for me, ^(W)I baptize you ^[i]with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; ^(X)He will baptize you ^[j]with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹² His ^(Y)winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will ^(Z)gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the ^(AA)chaff with ^(AB)unquenchable fire.”

The Baptism of Jesus

^13 (AC)Then Jesus *arrived ^(AD)from Galilee at the Jordan, coming to John to be baptized by him. ¹⁴ But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I have the need to be baptized by You, and yet You are coming to me?” ¹⁵ But Jesus, answering, said to him, “Allow it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us ^(AE)to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he *allowed Him. ¹⁶ After He was baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and ^[k](AF)he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and ^[l]settling on Him, ¹⁷ and behold, a voice from the heavens said, “^(AG)This is ^[m]My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”