Beginning
King Jehoshaphat becomes a friend of King Ahab
18 Jehoshaphat became very rich. People respected him very much. His son married Ahab's daughter, so he and Ahab became friends. 2 After some years, he went to visit Ahab in Samaria.[a] Ahab killed many sheep and cows to give honour to Jehoshaphat and the people who were with him. Ahab wanted to attack Ramoth Gilead, so he asked Jehoshaphat to help him.
3 King Ahab of Israel said to King Jehoshaphat of Judah, ‘Will you go with me to attack Ramoth Gilead?’ Jehoshaphat replied, ‘Yes, we should work together! Use my soldiers as if they belonged to you. My army will join with your army in the war.’ 4 Then Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, ‘Before we go to fight, we must ask the Lord what we should do.’
5 So the king of Israel brought together 400 prophets. He asked them, ‘Should we attack Ramoth Gilead, or not?’ They answered, ‘Yes, go and attack it, because the God will give it to you, our king.’
6 But Jehoshaphat then asked, ‘Is there any other prophet of the Lord that we could ask?’[b]
7 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, ‘There is still one man. We could ask him what the Lord wants us to do. But I do not like him, because he never says that anything good will happen to me. He always says that I will have trouble. He is Imlah's son, Micaiah.’
Jehoshaphat said, ‘The king should not talk like that.’
8 So the king of Israel said to one of his officers, ‘Bring Imlah's son Micaiah here quickly.’
9 The king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, were each sitting on their thrones. They were wearing their royal clothes. They sat near the threshing floor at Samaria's city gate.[c] All the prophets stood in front of them and they were speaking messages from God. 10 Kenaanah's son Zedekiah had used iron to make sharp points like a bull's horns. He said, ‘This is what the Lord says: “With these sharp horns you will attack Syria's army. You will destroy them all.” ’[d]
11 All the other prophets were speaking the same message. They said, ‘Attack Ramoth Gilead. You will win the fight. The Lord will give the city to you, our king.’
12 The man who had gone to fetch Micaiah said to him, ‘All the other prophets are saying the same thing. They say that the king will win the fight. So you must agree with what they are saying. Promise that something good will happen.’
13 But Micaiah said, ‘I can only speak what my God tells me to say. As surely as the Lord lives, that is what I must do.’
14 When Micaiah arrived, the king asked him, ‘Micaiah, should we attack Ramoth Gilead or not?’
Micaiah answered, ‘Yes, attack it. You will surely win the fight. You will take power over the city.’
15 Then King Ahab said to Micaiah, ‘I have already told you many times to tell me only what is true! You must promise to do this in the name of the Lord!’
16 Then Micaiah said, ‘I saw the whole army of Israel and they were walking about on the hills without any leader. They were like sheep with no shepherd as their guide. The Lord told me, “These people have no master. They should go home quietly and they should not fight.” ’
17 The king of Israel said to King Jehoshaphat, ‘I told you what he would say! He never says that anything good will happen to me. He only says that I will have trouble.’
18 Then Micaiah said, ‘So now listen to the Lord's message! I saw the Lord as he was sitting on his throne. The great crowd of his angels in heaven were standing around him, on his right side and on his left side. 19 The Lord asked, “Who will go and deceive King Ahab of Israel so that he attacks Ramoth Gilead and he dies there?” Many of the angels suggested different things. 20 Then a spirit came and stood in front of the Lord. The spirit said, “I will deceive Ahab.”
The Lord asked, “How will you do it?” 21 The spirit said, “I will give a message to all Ahab's prophets. I will cause them to speak lies.” The Lord said, “Go and deceive King Ahab, as you have said. He will do what you say.”
22 So you see what has happened. The Lord has sent a spirit to these prophets who serve you. This spirit has caused them to speak lies. The Lord has decided that terrible trouble will come on you.’
23 Then Kenaanah's son Zedekiah went to Micaiah. He hit Micaiah on his face. He asked Micaiah, ‘Do you say that the Lord's spirit has gone away from me and has spoken to you instead? How did he do that?’
24 Micaiah answered him, ‘One day, you will know which of us has spoken the truth. That will be the day that you go to hide in a room at the back of a house.’[e]
25 Then the king of Israel said to his men, ‘Take hold of Micaiah. Take him back to Amon, the city officer, and to Joash, the king's son. 26 Say to them, “The king commands you to put this man in prison. Feed him with only a little bread and water until I return safely from the battle.” ’
27 Micaiah said, ‘If you do return safely, it will show that I have not spoken the Lord's message.’ Then he said to all the people who were there, ‘Remember what I have said to King Ahab!’
Ahab and Jehoshaphat go to fight at Ramoth Gilead
28 So King Ahab of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah went to attack Ramoth Gilead. 29 King Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, ‘When we go into the battle, I will wear ordinary clothes. People will not recognize me as the king. But you should wear your royal clothes.’ So the king of Israel went into the battle as if he was an ordinary soldier.
30 But the king of Syria had said to his chariot officers, ‘Only fight the king of Israel. Do not fight against anyone else, whoever they are.’ 31 The chariot officers saw King Jehoshaphat in his royal clothes. So they thought, ‘That is the king of Israel!’ They turned towards him to attack him. Jehoshaphat shouted out and the Lord helped him. God caused the officers to turn away from him. 32 The chariot officers realized that he was not the king of Israel. So they did not chase him any more.
33 Then a Syrian soldier shot an arrow into the air. He did not try to shoot at anyone, but the arrow hit the king of Israel. The arrow went through a space in the king's armour. The king commanded the man who drove his chariot, ‘Turn the chariot around. Take me away from the battle. An arrow has hit me.’ 34 The soldiers fought the battle all day. While they were fighting, King Ahab sat in his chariot where he could see the Syrian soldiers. Then, at sunset, he died.
Jehu warns King Jehoshaphat
19 King Jehoshaphat of Judah returned safely to his home in Jerusalem. 2 The prophet Jehu, Hanani's son, went to meet him. He said to King Jehoshaphat, ‘You agreed to help a wicked man. You became the friend of someone who hates the Lord. You should not have done that. You have caused the Lord to be very angry with you.[f] 3 But you have done some good things. You have removed the Asherah poles from Judah's land. You have chosen to serve God.’
Jehoshaphat chooses some men to be judges
4 King Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem. He also travelled around the country to meet people. He went everywhere, from Beersheba to the hill country of Ephraim.[g] He warned the people to turn back to the Lord, the God of their ancestors. 5 He chose men to be judges. He put them everywhere in Judah, in each strong city. 6 He said to them, ‘Be careful how you do your job. Remember that you are not being a judge to please men. You are doing it to please the Lord. He will help you to decide what is right. 7 Respect the Lord's authority. Be careful to do your job well. The Lord our God is always fair. So be fair to everyone, whoever they are. Do not cheat people. Do not accept bribes.’
8 Jehoshaphat also chose some Levites, priests and clan leaders to serve the Lord as judges in Jerusalem. They used God's law to decide who was right when people who lived in Jerusalem had arguments.
9 He said to them, ‘Serve the Lord faithfully and respect his authority. 10 You must warn the people who come from their towns and they ask you to judge an argument for them. The argument may be about a murder, or about anyone who has not obeyed God's laws, rules and commands. Whatever it is, you must warn people not to do things that the Lord says are wrong. If you do not warn them, God will be angry with you and the people of Judah. But if you do warn them, you will not be guilty of a sin.
11 Amariah, the most important priest, will have authority over you. He will tell you what the Lord's law says is right. But if it is an argument about the king's laws, Ishmael's son Zebadiah, the officer who rules Judah, will decide what is right. The Levites will serve as your officers. Be brave and do your work well. The Lord will help you to do what is right!’
Jehoshaphat fights against Moab and Ammon
20 After that, armies from Moab and Ammon, as well as some Meunites, attacked Jehoshaphat.[h]
2 Some men brought this news to Jehoshaphat: ‘A large army is coming from the other side of the Dead Sea to attack you. They came from Edom and they are already in Hazezon Tamar.’ (That is another name for En Gedi.)
3 Jehoshaphat was afraid. So he decided to ask the Lord what he should do. He commanded all the people in Judah that they must fast. 4 Judah's people came together to ask the Lord for his help. They came from every town in Judah to pray to the Lord.
Jehoshaphat's prayer
5 Then Jehoshaphat stood up in front of the people of Jerusalem and the other places in Judah. He was standing in front of the new yard of the Lord's temple. 6 He prayed, ‘Lord, you are the God of our ancestors. You are the God who is in heaven and you rule over all kingdoms and nations. You are strong and powerful. Nobody can fight against you and win. 7 Our God, you chased out the people who were living in this land, so that your people, the Israelites, could move in. You have given this land to the descendants of your friend Abraham. It belongs to them for ever. 8 Your people made their homes here and they built a temple to give honour to your name. When they built it, they said, 9 “In the future, we may have trouble. There might be war, disease, famine or some other punishment. If that happens, we will come to you and we will stand in front of this temple. You have chosen this place to be your home. We will call out to you to help us when we are in trouble. Then you will hear us and you will rescue us.”
10 But now soldiers from Ammon, Moab and Edom are coming to attack us. When the Israelites were escaping from Egypt, you would not allow them to attack those lands. So our people turned away and they did not destroy those people. 11 But now those people want to destroy us! They are coming to chase us out of the land that you gave to us as our home. 12 So, our God, please punish these people! We are not strong enough to fight against this large army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do. But we are asking you to help us.’
The Lord speaks to Jahaziel
13 As King Jehoshaphat prayed, all the men of Judah were standing there at the temple. They had their babies, their wives and their children with them.
14 Then the Lord's Spirit came with power to Jahaziel as he stood among the people. Jahaziel was a Levite, a descendant of Asaph. He was the son of Zechariah, who was the son of Benaiah, who was the son of Jeiel, who was the son of Mattaniah.
15 Jahaziel said, ‘Listen to me all you people of Judah. That includes you people who live in Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat too. The Lord says to you, “Do not be afraid because this large army is coming to attack you. You must be brave! This is God's battle, not your battle. 16 Tomorrow, you must march out of here to attack them. They will be coming up the road through the hills at Ziz. You will meet them at the end of the narrow valley that is on the east side of the Jeruel desert. 17 You will not have to fight in this battle. Go to your places and stand still. Then you will see the Lord rescue you. People of Judah and Jerusalem, do not be afraid. Be brave! Tomorrow you must march out of here towards the enemy army. The Lord is with you!” ’
18 Then Jehoshaphat bent down with his face towards the ground. All the people of Judah and the people who lived in Jerusalem also bent down to worship the Lord. 19 Then some Levites stood up. They praised the Lord, Israel's God, with loud voices. They belonged to the clans of Kohath and Korah.
The Lord fights against Judah's enemies
20 Early the next morning, Jehoshaphat prepared to leave with his army. They started to march to the Tekoa desert. When they were ready to leave, Jehoshaphat stood up and he said, ‘Listen to me, people of Judah and people who live in Jerusalem! Trust in the Lord your God. Then you will be safe. Believe the message that his prophets have spoken. Then you will win the battle.’
21 Jehoshaphat spoke with the people. He chose some musicians to march in front of his army. They sang songs to worship the Lord and to praise him for his holy power. As they marched, they sang, ‘We thank the Lord! His faithful love continues for ever!’
22 As the musicians began to sing, the Lord suddenly made the soldiers of Judah's enemies confused. 23 The soldiers from Ammon and Moab started to attack the soldiers from Edom. They destroyed Edom's army. When they had done that, they started to fight against each other. So they all destroyed one another. 24 Judah's soldiers came to a tower from where they could see the desert. They looked at the large army of their enemies. But they could not see any soldier who was still alive! They only saw dead bodies that were lying on the ground.
25 So Jehoshaphat and his men went to take things from the dead soldiers. They found a lot of weapons, clothes and other valuable things. They took as many things as they could carry. There were so many things that it took them three days to take them all away. 26 On the fourth day they all met together in Berakah valley. There they praised the Lord. That is why that place is still called Berakah valley.[i]
Judah's people return to Jerusalem
27 Then all the men of Judah and Jerusalem returned to Jerusalem. Jehoshaphat marched in front of them. They were very happy because the Lord had helped them. He had caused them to win the fight against their enemies. 28 As they went into Jerusalem, they made music with harps, lyres and trumpets. They went to the Lord's temple.
29 People in all the kingdoms around Judah heard that the Lord had fought against Israel's enemies. So they became afraid of God's power. 30 There was a time of peace in Jehoshaphat's kingdom. God kept them safe from the nations all around.
Jehoshaphat continues to rule Judah
31 So Jehoshaphat continued to rule Judah as king. He was 35 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 25 years. His mother's name was Azubah. She was the daughter of Shilhi. 32 Jehoshaphat lived in the good way that his father Asa had lived. He only did things that the Lord says are right. 33 But he did not remove all the altars that were on the hills. The people still did not want to be completely faithful to the God of their ancestors.
34 The other things that happened while Jehoshaphat was king are written in a book. Hanani's son Jehu recorded all of them in his book, which is part of ‘The history of Israel's kings’.
35 While Jehoshaphat was king, he became a friend of King Ahaziah of Israel, who did evil things. 36 They agreed to build big ships that would bring things from countries that were far away. They built the ships in Ezion-Geber. 37 Dodavahu's son Eliezer from Mareshah warned Jehoshaphat with a message from the Lord. He said, ‘You should not have become a friend of Ahaziah. Because of that, the Lord will destroy the things that you have made.’
A storm destroyed the ships and they never went anywhere.
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