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28 The king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah attacked Ramoth Gilead. 29 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and then enter[a] the battle, but you wear your royal attire.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and they entered the battle. 30 Now the king of Syria had ordered his chariot commanders, “Do not fight common soldiers or high ranking officers;[b] fight only the king of Israel!” 31 When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they said, “He must be the king of Israel!” So they turned and attacked him, but Jehoshaphat cried out. The Lord helped him; God lured them away from him. 32 When the chariot commanders realized he was not the king of Israel, they turned away from him. 33 Now an archer shot an arrow at random,[c] and it struck the king of Israel between the plates of his armor. The king[d] ordered his charioteer, “Turn around and take me from the battle line,[e] for I am wounded.” 34 While the battle raged throughout the day, the king of Israel stood propped up in his chariot opposite the Syrians. He died in the evening as the sun was setting.

19 When King Jehoshaphat of Judah returned home safely to Jerusalem, the prophet[f] Jehu son of Hanani confronted him;[g] he said to King Jehoshaphat, “Is it right to help the wicked and be an ally of those who oppose the Lord?[h] Because you have done this, the Lord is angry with you![i] Nevertheless you have done some good things;[j] you removed[k] the Asherah poles from the land and you were determined to follow God.”[l]

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 18:29 tn The Hebrew verbal forms could be imperatives (“Disguise yourself and enter”), but this would make no sense in light of the immediately following context. The forms are better interpreted as infinitives absolute functioning as cohortatives (see IBHS 594 §35.5.2a). Some prefer to emend the forms to imperfects.
  2. 2 Chronicles 18:30 tn Heb “small or great.”
  3. 2 Chronicles 18:33 tn Heb “now a man drew a bow in his innocence” (i.e., with no specific target in mind, or at least without realizing his target was the king of Israel).
  4. 2 Chronicles 18:33 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  5. 2 Chronicles 18:33 tn Heb “camp.”
  6. 2 Chronicles 19:2 tn Or “seer.”
  7. 2 Chronicles 19:2 tn Heb “went out to his face.”
  8. 2 Chronicles 19:2 tn Heb “and love those who hate the Lord?”
  9. 2 Chronicles 19:2 tn Heb “and because of this upon you is anger from before the Lord.”
  10. 2 Chronicles 19:3 tn Heb “nevertheless good things are found with you.”
  11. 2 Chronicles 19:3 tn Here בָּעַר (baʿar) is not the well attested verb “burn,” but the less common homonym meaning “devastate, sweep away, remove.” See HALOT 146 s.v. II בער.
  12. 2 Chronicles 19:3 tn Heb “and you set your heart to seek God.”

28 So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead. 29 And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself, and go into the battle; but put thou on thy robes. So the king of Israel disguised himself; and they went into the battle. 30 Now the king of Syria had commanded the captains of his chariots, saying, Fight neither with small nor great, save only with the king of Israel. 31 And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, It is the king of Israel. Therefore they turned about to fight against him: but Jehoshaphat cried out, and Jehovah helped him; and God moved them to depart from him. 32 And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, that they turned back from pursuing him. 33 And a certain man drew his bow [a]at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between [b]the joints of the armor: wherefore he said to the driver of the chariot, Turn thy hand, and carry me out of the host; for I am sore wounded. 34 And the battle increased that day: howbeit the king of Israel stayed himself up in his chariot against the Syrians until the even; and about the time of the going down of the sun he died.

19 And Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned to his house in peace to Jerusalem. And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to king Jehoshaphat, Shouldest thou help the wicked, and love them that hate Jehovah? for this thing wrath is upon thee from before Jehovah. Nevertheless there are good things found in thee, in that thou hast put away the Asheroth out of the land, and hast set thy heart to seek God.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 18:33 Hebrew in his simplicity.
  2. 2 Chronicles 18:33 Or, the lower armor and the breastplate