Beginning

Micaiah Prophesies Against Ahab^(A)

18 Now Jehoshaphat had great riches and honor, and he married into the family of Ahab. ² At the end of some years he went down to Ahab in Samaria. And Ahab slaughtered a great amount of sheep and oxen for Jehoshaphat and those who journeyed with him and then lured him up to Ramoth Gilead. ³ And King Ahab of Israel said to King Jehoshaphat of Judah, “Will you go up with me to Ramoth Gilead?”

And he responded, “I am as you are, and as your people also my people are. We will be with you in this war.” ⁴ And Jehoshaphat further said to the king of Israel, “Inquire today the word of the Lord on this.”

⁵ So the king of Israel gathered together four hundred prophets, and he inquired from them, “Should I go up to Ramoth Gilead for battle, or should I cease from this?”

They said, “Go up, for God will give this to the hand of the king.”

⁶ But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not still here another prophet for the Lord from whom we might inquire?”

⁷ Then the king of Israel responded to Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man from whom we can seek the Lord, but I hate him because he does not prophesy anything good for me but always disaster. He is Micaiah the son of Imlah.”

And Jehoshaphat said, “May the king not speak like this.”

⁸ So the king of Israel called to a court eunuch and said, “Hurry and bring Micaiah the son of Imlah.”

⁹ And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah were sitting on their own thrones, clothed in their royal garments, at the threshing floor at the entrance at the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying before them. ¹⁰ Then Zedekiah the son of Kenaanah made for himself iron horns, and he said, “Thus says the Lord: With these you will thrust out the Arameans in Syria until they are finished.”

¹¹ And all the prophets were prophesying the same, “Go up to Ramoth Gilead and find success, because the Lord has given the king into your hands.”

¹² And the messenger who went to call Micaiah said to him, “The words of the prophets are as one voice and only for good to the king, so may your word be like one of them, and you speak favorably.”

¹³ And Micaiah said, “As the Lord lives, whatever my God says, that will I speak.”

¹⁴ When he came to the king, the king said to him, “Micaiah, should we go up to Ramoth Gilead for battle, or should I cease?”

He said, “All of you go up and be successful, and they will be given into your hands.”

¹⁵ Then the king said to him, “How many times must I cause you to swear that you speak to me only truth in the name of the Lord?”

¹⁶ Then he said, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains like sheep that have no shepherd. The Lord said, ‘There are no masters for them. Let each man return to his home in peace.’ ”

¹⁷ Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not say to you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?”

¹⁸ So the prophet said, “Now hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on His throne and the heavenly assembly was standing at His right and His left. ¹⁹ And the Lord said, ‘Who will deceive Ahab king of Israel so that he might go up and fall at Ramoth Gilead?’

“One was saying one thing, and another was saying something else. ²⁰ Then a spirit came out and stood before the Lord, and he said, ‘I will deceive him.’

“Then the Lord said to him, ‘How?’

²¹ “Then he said, ‘I will go out and be a spirit of deception in the mouth of all the prophets.’

“Then the Lord said, ‘You will deceive and find success. Go out and do this.’

²² “Now see that the Lord has put a spirit of deception in the mouth of your prophets. So the Lord has declared disaster over you.”

²³ Then Zedekiah the son of Kenaanah came near to Micaiah and struck him on the cheek. And he said, “Which way then did the spirit from the Lord pass from me to speak with you?”

²⁴ Then Micaiah said, “You will see it on the day when you enter an inner chamber to hide yourself.”

²⁵ And the king of Israel said, “Seize Micaiah and take him to Amon, the governor of the city, and to Joash the son of the king, ²⁶ and you will say, ‘So says the king: Put him in a prison, and feed him a little food and water until I return in peace.’ ”

²⁷ Then Micaiah said, “If you certainly return in peace, then the Lord has not spoken by me. Listen, all you people!”

The Death of Ahab^(B)

²⁸ So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth Gilead. ²⁹ Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you will put on your clothes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself, and they both entered into battle.

³⁰ And the king of Aram ordered the commanders of his chariots, “Do not wage war with the small or great but with the king of Israel alone.” ³¹ And it happened when the commanders of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat they said, “It is the king of Israel.” So they turned on him to wage war. But Jehoshaphat cried out, and the Lord helped him, then God drew them away from the king. ³² And it happened when the commanders of the chariots saw that he was not the king of Israel, then they turned away from him.

³³ But a man pulled his bow at random and struck the king of Israel between his armor scales and body armor. He said to the commander of the chariot, “Turn and remove me from the battle because I am wounded.” ³⁴ And the battle continued on that day, and the king of Israel was set up in his chariot before the Arameans until evening. Then he died when the sun set.

19 But Jehoshaphat king of Judah returned to his palace in Jerusalem in peace. ² And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and he said to King Jehoshaphat, “How do you help those who are wicked and love those who hate the Lord? Because of this, wrath has gone out against you from the Lord. ³ However, some good things are found in you for you swept away the Asherah poles from the land, and you set your heart to seek after God.”

The Reforms of Jehoshaphat

⁴ Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem, but he went out among the people from Beersheba to the hill country of Ephraim, and he brought them back to the Lord God of their fathers. ⁵ And he set judges in the land among all the fortified cities of Judah, one by one. ⁶ And he said to the judges, “Consider carefully what you do because you do not judge according to man but the Lord, and He is with you in the matter of judgment. ⁷ So now may the fear of the Lord be on you. Consider and act well because there is no injustice, partiality, or bribe taking with the Lord our God.”

⁸ Moreover, Jehoshaphat appointed in Jerusalem some from the Levites and the priests and some from the heads of the families of Israel, in order to render judgment and decide disputes before the Lord; and they lived in Jerusalem. ⁹ And he commanded them, “So you will act in the fear of the Lord, in honesty, and with a complete heart. ¹⁰ And any dispute that comes before you all from your brothers who live in their cities, concerning bloodshed or offenses against law or commandment, against statutes or judgments, you will warn them, lest they trespass against the Lord and wrath come upon you and your brothers. Do this, and you will not trespass.

¹¹ “Note that Amariah the chief priest is over you in all matters of the Lord; and Zebadiah the son of Ishmael, the ruler of the house of Judah, for all the king’s matters; also, the Levites will be officials before you. Deal courageously, and the Lord will be with the good.”

Jehoshaphat Defeats Moab and Ammon

20 After that, the Moabites and the Ammonites, together with some Meunites,^[a] came against Jehoshaphat for battle.

² And some came and declared this to Jehoshaphat, “A large multitude is coming against you from across the Dead Sea from Edom; and observe, they are in Hazezon Tamar” (that is, En Gedi). ³ Then Jehoshaphat was fearful and set himself to seek the Lord, and he called for a fast throughout all Judah. ⁴ And Judah was assembled to seek the Lord; even from all the cities of Judah, they came to obtain aid from the Lord.

⁵ And Jehoshaphat stood in the midst of the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem in the house of the Lord before the new courtyard, ⁶ and he said:

“O Lord God of our fathers, are You not God in the heavens? And do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations? In Your hand are strength and might, and there is no one who can oppose You. ⁷ Did You not, our God, drive out those who lived in this land before Your people Israel, and You gave it perpetually to the descendants of Abraham, who was in covenant love with You. ⁸ And they have dwelled in it and have built in it for You a sanctuary for Your name saying, ⁹ ‘If disaster comes upon us, the sword, or judgment, or pestilence, or famine, then we will stand before this temple and before You because Your name is in this temple. And we will cry out to You in our distress, and You will hear and deliver.’

¹⁰ “Now here are the sons of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom You did not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, when they turned away from them and did not destroy them. ¹¹ See how they are rewarding us by coming to drive us out of Your possession, which You have given us to inherit. ¹² O our God, will You not render judgment on them? For we have not strength enough to stand before this great army that is coming against us. And we do not know what we should do, but our eyes are on You.”

¹³ Now all of Judah was standing before the Lord, even their infants, wives, and children.

¹⁴ And in the midst of the assembly the Spirit of the Lord came on Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite from the line of Asaph.

¹⁵ And he said, “Pay attention all Judah, and those dwelling in Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you, ‘Do not fear, nor be dismayed because of this great army, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. ¹⁶ Tomorrow, go down against them. They will travel up by the Ascent of Ziz. You will find them at the back of the valley, before the Wilderness of Jeruel. ¹⁷ It will not be necessary for you to fight in this conflict. Take your positions, stand, and observe the deliverance of the Lord for you, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not fear or be filled with terror. Tomorrow, go out before them, and the Lord will be with you.”

¹⁸ Then Jehoshaphat bowed his face to the ground, and all Judah and those dwelling in Jerusalem fell before the Lord to worship Him. ¹⁹ And the Levites from the descendants of the Kohathites and Korahites rose up to praise the Lord God of Israel with a very loud voice.

²⁰ So they rose up 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 those dwelling in Jerusalem. Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be supported. Believe His prophets, and you will succeed.” ²¹ And he consulted with the people and then appointed singers for the Lord and those praising Him in holy attire as they went before those equipped for battle saying,

²² When they began singing and praising, the Lord set ambushes against Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; so they were defeated. ²³ Then the Ammonites and Moabites stood up against those dwelling from Mount Seir to destroy and finish them. Then when they made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, each man attacked his companion to destroy each other.

²⁴ And Judah came to the watchtower of the wilderness, and they turned to the vast army and saw only corpses lying on the ground. And no one was spared. ²⁵ Then Jehoshaphat and his people came to gather their plunder, and they found among them an abundance of riches with the corpses, and precious jewelry, which they took for themselves, more than they could carry. They were gathering the plunder for three days because there was so much to carry. ²⁶ On the fourth day they gathered at the Valley of Berakah, because there they blessed the Lord. For this reason people have called the name of this place the Valley of Berakah until this day.

²⁷ Then they all returned, every man from Judah and Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat as their head, to Jerusalem with joy because the Lord made them rejoice because of the death of their enemies. ²⁸ So they entered Jerusalem with harps, lyres, and trumpets to the house of the Lord.

²⁹ And it happened that the terror of God was on all the kingdoms of the lands who heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. ³⁰ So the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was quiet, because his God gave him rest on all sides.

The End of Jehoshaphat’s Reign^(C)

³¹ And Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he began his reign, and he was king in Jerusalem for twenty-five years. The name of his mother was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. ³² He walked in the way of his father Asa, and he did not turn aside from doing what was right in the eyes of the Lord. ³³ Only the high places were not taken down. The people had yet to set their hearts to the God of their fathers.

³⁴ And the remainder of the acts of Jehoshaphat, from beginning to end, are written in the annals of Jehu son of Hanani, which are taken up in the book of the kings of Israel.

³⁵ Also, Jehoshaphat king of Judah was united with Ahaziah king of Israel, who acted wickedly. ³⁶ Jehoshaphat joined with him to make ships to travel to Tarshish, and they made ships in Ezion Geber. ³⁷ And Eliezer son of Dodavahu from Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat saying, “Because you have joined with Ahaziah, the Lord will tear down your works.” So the ships were wrecked, so that they were not able to journey to Tarshish.