Beginning

Chapter 18

Alliance with Israel. ^1 (A)Jehoshaphat therefore had wealth and glory in abundance; but he became related to Ahab by marriage. ² After some years he went down to Ahab at Samaria; Ahab slaughtered numerous sheep and oxen for him and for the people with him, and incited him to go up against Ramoth-gilead. ³ Ahab, king of Israel, asked Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, “Will you come with me to Ramoth-gilead?” He answered, “You and I are as one, and your people and my people as well. We will be with you in the battle.” ⁴ Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, “Seek the word of the Lord at once.”

Prophets in Conflict. ⁵ The king of Israel assembled the prophets, four hundred of them, and asked, “Shall we go to fight against Ramoth-gilead, or shall I refrain?” They said, “Attack. God will give it into the power of the king.” ⁶ But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there no other prophet of the Lord here we might consult?” ⁷ The king of Israel answered, “There is one other man through whom we may consult the Lord; but I hate him, because he prophesies not good but always evil about me. He is Micaiah, son of Imlah.” Jeshoshaphat said, “Let not the king say that.” ⁸ So the king of Israel called an official, and said to him, “Get Micaiah, son of Imlah, at once.” ⁹ The king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, were seated, each on his throne, clothed in their robes of state in the square at the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying before them.

¹⁰ Zedekiah, son of Chenaanah, made himself two horns of iron and said: “The Lord says: With these you shall gore Aram until you have destroyed them.” ¹¹ The other prophets prophesied in the same vein, saying: “Attack Ramoth-gilead, and conquer! The Lord will give it into the power of the king.” ^12 [a]Meanwhile the messenger who had gone to call Micaiah said to him: “Look now, the words of the prophets are as one in speaking good for the king. Let your word be at one with theirs; speak a good word.” ¹³ Micaiah said, “As the Lord lives, I shall speak whatever my God says.”

¹⁴ When he came to the king, the king said to him, “Micah, shall we go to fight at Ramoth-gilead, or shall I refrain?” He said, “Attack and conquer! They will be delivered into your power.” ¹⁵ But the king answered him, “How many times must I adjure you to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?” ¹⁶ So Micaiah said:

¹⁷ The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you, he does not prophesy good about me, but only evil?” ¹⁸ Micaiah continued: “Therefore hear the word of the Lord. I saw the Lord seated on his throne, with the whole host of heaven standing to his right and to his left. ¹⁹ The Lord asked: Who will deceive Ahab, king of Israel, so that he will go up and fall on Ramoth-gilead? And one said this, another that, ²⁰ until this spirit came forth and stood before the Lord, saying, ‘I will deceive him.’ The Lord asked: How? ²¹ He answered, ‘I will go forth and become a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets.’ The Lord replied: You shall succeed in deceiving him. Go forth and do this. ²² So now the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouths of these prophets of yours; but the Lord himself has decreed evil against you.”

²³ Thereupon Zedekiah, son of Chenaanah, came up and struck Micaiah on the cheek, saying, “Has the spirit of the Lord, then, passed from me to speak with you?” ²⁴ Micaiah said, “You shall find out on the day you go into an innermost room to hide.” ²⁵ The king of Israel then said: “Seize Micaiah and take him back to Amon, prefect of the city, and to Joash the king’s son, ²⁶ and say, ‘This is the king’s order: Put this man in prison and feed him scanty rations of bread and water until I come back in safety!’” ²⁷ But Micaiah said, “If ever you return in safety, the Lord has not spoken through me.” (He also said, “Hear, O peoples, all of you!”)^[b]

Ahab’s Death. ²⁸ The king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, 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, put on your own robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and they entered the battle. ³⁰ In the meantime, the king of Aram had given his chariot commanders the order, “Fight with no one, great or small, except the king of Israel alone.” ³¹ When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they thought, “There is the king of Israel!” and wheeled to fight him. But Jehoshaphat cried out and the Lord helped him; God induced them to leave him alone. ³² The chariot commanders, seeing that he was not the king of Israel, turned away from him. ³³ But someone drew his bow at random and hit the king of Israel between the joints of his breastplate. He ordered his charioteer, “Rein about and take me out of the ranks, for I am wounded.”^{(B) 34} The battle grew fierce during the day, and the king of Israel braced himself up in his chariot facing the Arameans until evening. He died as the sun was setting.

Chapter 19

Jehoshaphat Rebuked. ¹ Jehoshaphat king of Judah returned in safety to his house in Jerusalem. ² Jehu the seer, son of Hanani,^[c] went out to meet King Jehoshaphat and said to him: “Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord? For this reason, wrath is upon you from the Lord. ³ Yet some good has been found^[d] in you, since you have removed the asherahs from the land and have set your heart to seek God.”

Judges Appointed. ⁴ Jehoshaphat dwelt in Jerusalem; but he went out again among the people from Beer-sheba to the highlands of Ephraim and brought them back to the Lord, the God of their ancestors. ⁵ He appointed judges in the land, in all the fortified cities of Judah, city by city, ⁶ and he said to them: “Take care what you do, for the judgment you give is not human but divine; for when it comes to judgment God will be with you.^{(C) 7} And now, let the fear of the Lord be upon you. Act carefully, for with the Lord, our God, there is no injustice, no partiality, no bribe-taking.”^{(D) 8} In Jerusalem also, Jehoshaphat appointed some Levites and priests and some of the family heads of Israel for the Lord’s judgment and the disputes of those who dwell in Jerusalem.^{(E) 9} He gave them this command: “Thus you shall act: in the fear of the Lord, with fidelity and with an undivided heart. ¹⁰ And in every dispute that comes to you from your kin living in their cities, whether it concerns bloodguilt or questions of law, command, statutes, or ordinances, warn them lest they incur guilt before the Lord and his wrath come upon you and your kin. Do that and you shall not incur guilt.^{(F) 11} See now, Amariah is chief priest over you for everything that pertains to the Lord, and Zebadiah, son of Ishmael, is leader of the house of Judah in all that pertains to the king; and the Levites will be your officials. Take firm action, and the Lord will be with the good.”

Chapter 20

Invasion from Edom. ^1 [e]After this the Moabites, the Ammonites, and with them some Meunites came to fight against Jehoshaphat. ² Jehoshaphat was told: “A great multitude is coming against you from across the sea, from Edom; they are already in Hazazon-tamar” (which is En-gedi). ³ Frightened, Jehoshaphat resolved to consult the Lord. He proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. ⁴ Then Judah gathered to seek the Lord’s help; from every one of the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.^(G)

Jehoshaphat’s Prayer. ⁵ Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem in the house of the Lord before the new court, ⁶ and he said: “Lord, God of our ancestors, are you not God in heaven, and do you not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations? In your hand is power and might, and no one can withstand you.^{(H) 7} Was it not you, our God, who dispossessed the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and gave it forever to the descendants of Abraham, your friend? ⁸ They have dwelt in it and they built in it a sanctuary for your name. They have said: 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 is in this house, and we will cry out to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save!’^{(I) 10} And now, see the Ammonites, Moabites, and those of Mount Seir whom you did not allow Israel to invade when they came from the land of Egypt, but instead they passed them by and did not destroy them:^{(J) 11} See how they are now repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession you have given us. ¹² O our God, will you not bring judgment on them? We are powerless before this vast multitude that is coming against us. We ourselves do not know what to do, so our eyes are turned toward you.”

Victory Prophesied. ¹³ All Judah was standing before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. ¹⁴ And the spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel, son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the clan of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly, ¹⁵ and he said: “Pay attention, all of Judah, inhabitants of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat! The Lord says to you: Do not fear or be dismayed at the sight of this vast multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s. ¹⁶ Go down against them tomorrow. You will see them coming up by the ascent of Ziz, and you will come upon them at the end of the wadi which opens on the wilderness of Jeruel. ¹⁷ You will not have to fight in this encounter. Take your places, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord; he will be with you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not fear or be dismayed. Tomorrow go out to meet them, and the Lord will be with you.”^{(K) 18} Then Jehoshaphat knelt down with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord in worship. ¹⁹ Levites from among the Kohathites and Korahites stood up to sing the praises of the Lord, the God of Israel, their voices ever louder.

The Invaders Destroyed. ²⁰ Early in the morning they went out to the wilderness of Tekoa. As they were going out, Jehoshaphat halted and said: “Listen to me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Let your faith in the Lord, your God, be firm, and you will be firm.^(L) Have faith in his prophets and you will succeed.” ^21 [f]After taking counsel with the people, he appointed some to sing to the Lord and some to praise the holy Splendor as it went forth at the head of the army. They sang: “Give thanks to the Lord, whose love endures forever.”^{(M) 22} At the moment they began their jubilant praise, the Lord laid an ambush against the Ammonites, Moabites, and those of Mount Seir who were coming against Judah, so that they were defeated. ²³ For the Ammonites and Moabites set upon the inhabitants of Mount Seir and exterminated them according to the ban.^(N) And when they had finished with the inhabitants of Seir, each helped to destroy the other.

²⁴ When Judah came to the watchtower of the wilderness and looked toward the throng, there were only corpses fallen on the ground, with no survivors. ²⁵ Jehoshaphat and his people came to gather the spoils, and they found an abundance of cattle and personal property, garments and precious vessels. They took so much that they were unable to carry it all; it took them three days to gather the spoils, there was so much of it. ²⁶ On the fourth day they held an assembly in the Valley of Berakah^[g]—for there they blessed the Lord; that is why the place is called the Valley of Berakah to this day. ²⁷ Then all the men of Judah and Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat at their head, returned to Jerusalem with joy; for the Lord had given them joy 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 the surrounding lands when they heard how the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. ³⁰ Thereafter Jehoshaphat’s kingdom had peace, for his God gave him rest on every side.

Jehoshaphat’s Other Deeds. ^31 (O)Thus Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Azubah, daughter of Shilhi. ³² He walked in the way of Asa his father unceasingly, doing what was right in the Lord’s sight. ³³ Nevertheless, the high places did not disappear and the people had not yet set their hearts on the God of their ancestors.

³⁴ The rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last, are recorded in the chronicle of Jehu, son of Hanani, which was incorporated into the book of the kings of Israel. ³⁵ After this, Jehoshaphat king of Judah joined with Ahaziah king of Israel—he acted wickedly. ^36 (P)He joined with him in building ships to go to Tarshish; the fleet was built at Ezion-geber. ³⁷ But Eliezer, son of Dodavahu from Mareshah, prophesied against Jehoshaphat. He said: “Because you have joined with Ahaziah, the Lord will shatter your work.” And the ships were wrecked and were unable to sail to Tarshish.