19 So then Pilate took Jesus and scourged (flogged, whipped) Him.

² And the soldiers, having twisted together a crown of thorns, put it on His head, and threw a purple cloak around Him.

³ And they kept coming to Him and saying, Hail, King of the Jews! [Good health to you! Peace to you! Long life to you, King of the Jews!] And they struck Him with the palms of their hands.^(A)

⁴ Then Pilate went out again and said to them, See, I bring Him out to you, so that you may know that I find no fault (crime, cause for accusation) in Him.

⁵ So Jesus came out wearing the thorny crown and purple cloak, and Pilate said to them, See, [here is] the ^[a]Man!

⁶ When the chief priests and attendants (guards) saw Him, they cried out, Crucify Him! Crucify Him! Pilate said to them, Take Him yourselves and crucify Him, for I find no fault (crime) in Him.

⁷ The Jews answered him, We have a law, and according to that law He should die, because He has claimed and made Himself out to be the Son of God.

⁸ So, when Pilate heard this said, he was more alarmed and awestricken and afraid than before.

⁹ He went into the judgment hall again and said to Jesus, Where are You from? [To what world do You belong?] But Jesus did not answer him.

¹⁰ So Pilate said to Him, Will You not speak [even] to me? Do You not know that I have power (authority) to release You and I have power to crucify You?

¹¹ Jesus answered, You would not have any power or authority whatsoever against (over) Me if it were not given you from above. For this reason the sin and guilt of the one who delivered Me over to you is greater.

¹² Upon this, Pilate wanted (sought, was anxious) to release Him, but the Jews kept shrieking, If you release this Man, you are no friend of Caesar! Anybody who makes himself [out to be] a king sets himself up against Caesar [is a rebel against the emperor]!

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19 Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned safely to his house in Jerusalem.

² Jehu son of Hanani, the seer, went out to meet him and said to Jehoshaphat, Should you help the ungodly and love those who hate the Lord? Because of this, wrath has gone out against you from the Lord.

³ But there are good things found in you, for you have destroyed the Asherim out of the land and have set your heart to seek God [with all your soul’s desire].

⁴ Jehoshaphat dwelt at Jerusalem, and he went out again among the people from Beersheba to the hill country of Ephraim and brought them back to the Lord, the God of their fathers.

⁵ He appointed judges throughout all the fortified cities of Judah, city by city,

⁶ And said to the judges, Be careful what you do, for you judge not for man but for the Lord, and He is with you in the matter of judgment.

⁷ So now let the reverence and fear of the Lord be upon you; take heed what you do, for there is no injustice with the Lord our God, or partiality or taking of bribes.

⁸ Also in Jerusalem, Jehoshaphat set certain Levites, priests, and heads of families of Israel to give judgment for the Lord and decide controversies. When they [of the commission] returned to Jerusalem,

⁹ The king charged them, Do this in the fear of the Lord, faithfully, with integrity and a blameless heart.

¹⁰ Whenever any controversy shall come to you from your brethren who dwell in their cities, between blood and blood, between law and commandment, statutes and judgments, you shall warn and instruct them that they may not be guilty before the Lord; otherwise wrath will come upon you and your brethren. Do this and you will not be guilty.

¹¹ And behold, Amariah the chief priest is over you in all matters of the Lord, and Zebadiah son of Ishmael, the governor of the house of Judah, in all the king’s matters; also the Levites will serve you as officers. Deal courageously [be strong and do], and may the Lord be with the good!

20 After this, the Moabites, the Ammonites, and with them the Meunites came against Jehoshaphat to battle.

² It was told Jehoshaphat, A great multitude has come against you from beyond the [Dead] Sea, from Edom; and behold they are in Hazazon-tamar, which is En-gedi.

³ Then Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself [determinedly, as his vital need] to seek the Lord; he proclaimed a fast in all Judah.

⁴ And Judah gathered together to ask help from the Lord; even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord [yearning for Him with all their desire].

⁵ And 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 fathers, are You not God in heaven? And do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations? In Your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand You.

⁷ Did not You, O our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham Your friend?

⁸ They dwelt in it and have built You a sanctuary in it for Your Name, saying,

⁹ If evil comes upon us, the sword of judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before You—for Your Name [and the symbol of Your presence] is in this house—and cry to You in our affliction, and You will hear and save.

¹⁰ And now behold, the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, whom You would not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt, and whom they turned from and did not destroy—^(A)

¹¹ Behold, they reward us by coming to drive us out of Your possession which You have given us to inherit.

¹² O our God, will You not exercise judgment upon them? For we have no might to stand against this great company that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.

¹³ And all Judah stood before the Lord, with their children and their wives.

¹⁴ Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly.

¹⁵ He said, Hearken, all Judah, you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you King Jehoshaphat. The Lord says this to you: Be not afraid or dismayed at this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.

¹⁶ Tomorrow go down to them. Behold, they will come up by the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the ravine before the Wilderness of Jeruel.

¹⁷ You shall not need to fight in this battle; take your positions, stand still, and see the deliverance of the Lord [Who is] with you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Fear not nor be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you.

¹⁸ And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping Him.

¹⁹ And some Levites of the Kohathites and Korahites stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.

²⁰ And they rose early in the morning and went out into the Wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and you inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God and you shall be established; believe and remain steadfast to His prophets and you shall prosper.

²¹ When he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers to sing to the Lord and praise Him in their holy [priestly] garments as they went out before the army, saying, Give thanks to the Lord, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever!

²² And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir who had come against Judah, and they were [self-] slaughtered;

²³ For [suspecting betrayal] the men of Ammon and Moab rose against those of Mount Seir, utterly destroying them. And when they had made an end of the men of Seir, they all helped to destroy one another.

²⁴ And when Judah came to the watchtower of the wilderness, they looked at the multitude, and behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none had escaped!

²⁵ When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take the spoil, they found among them much cattle, goods, garments, and precious things which they took for themselves, more than they could carry away, so much they were three days in gathering the spoil.

²⁶ On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Beracah. There they blessed the Lord. So the name of the place is still called the Valley of Beracah [blessing].

²⁷ Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, Jehoshaphat leading them, to Jerusalem with joy, for the Lord had made them to rejoice over their enemies.

²⁸ They came to Jerusalem with harps, lyres, and trumpets to the house of the Lord.

²⁹ And the fear of God came upon all the kingdoms of those countries when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel.

³⁰ So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his God gave him rest round about.

³¹ Thus Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he began his twenty-five-year reign in Jerusalem. His mother was Azubah daughter of Shilhi.

³² And he walked in the ways of Asa his father and departed not from it, doing what was right in the sight of the Lord.

³³ But the high places [of idolatry] were not taken away, for the people had not yet set their hearts on their fathers’ God.

³⁴ Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, from first to last, they are written in the records of Jehu son of Hanani, which are in the Book of the Kings of Israel.

³⁵ After this, Jehoshaphat king of Judah joined with Ahaziah king of Israel, who did very wickedly.

³⁶ He joined him in building ships to go to Tarshish, building them in Ezion-geber.

³⁷ Then Eliezer son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, Because you have joined Ahaziah, the Lord will destroy your works. So the ships were wrecked and unable to go to Tarshish.