Bible in 90 Days
11 Solomon completed the Lord’s house and the king’s house. Solomon accomplished everything that was on his heart, everything he wanted to accomplish for the house for the Lord and for the house for the king.
The Lord Renews His Promises to Solomon
12 Then the Lord appeared to Solomon at night and said to him:
I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a house for sacrifice. 13 When I close up the sky and there is no rain, or I command locusts to eat up the land, or I send a plague on my people, 14 and my people, who are called by my Name, humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sins and heal their land.
15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer from this place. 16 I have chosen and consecrated this house for my Name to be there forever. My eyes and my heart will be there every day. 17 And you, if you walk before me as your father David walked, and if you do everything I have commanded you and keep my statutes and ordinances, 18 I will establish the throne of your kingdom as I affirmed in my covenant with your father David: “You will never fail to have a man ruling over Israel.”
19 But if your people turn away and forsake my statutes and my commands which I have given them, and they go to serve and worship other gods, 20 I will uproot them from my soil I have given to them. This house, which I have consecrated to my Name, I will toss away, out of my sight. I will make it proverbial as an object of ridicule among all the peoples.
21 Though this house is now exalted, everyone who passes by it will be appalled and say, “Why has the Lord done this to this land and this house?”
22 The answer will be: “Because they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who brought them out from the land of Egypt, and they embraced other gods, worshipped them, and served them. That is why he has brought all this disaster on them.”
Solomon’s Other Accomplishments
8 At the end of the twenty years during which Solomon had built the house of the Lord and his own house, 2 Solomon also rebuilt[a] the cities that Huram had given to him, and he settled Israelites in them.
3 Solomon went to Hamath Zobah and seized it. 4 He built Tadmor in the wilderness and all the towns for storehouses in Hamath. 5 He built Upper Beth Horon and Lower Beth Horon as fortified cities with walls and barred gates. 6 He also built Baalath, all the towns for storehouses which belonged to him, and all the cities which housed the chariots and the charioteers. Solomon built everything he desired in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land of his kingdom.
7 All the people who remained from the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not part of the people of Israel— 8 their descendants remaining in the land, who had not been completely destroyed by Israel—were drafted for forced labor by Solomon. They are serving right up to this day. 9 But Solomon did not press the people of Israel into service. Rather, they were soldiers, leaders among his officers, and commanders of his chariots and charioteers.
10 There were two hundred fifty[b] leaders of King Solomon’s officials who exercised authority over the people.
11 Solomon brought Pharaoh’s daughter up from the City of David to the house which he had built for her, because he said, “My wife will not live in the house of David, king of Israel, because those places to which the Ark of the Lord has come are holy.”
12 At that time Solomon offered whole burnt offerings to the Lord on the altar of the Lord, which he had built in front of the porch, 13 in keeping with the day-by-day requirement for burnt offerings commanded by Moses for the sabbaths, for the new moons, and for the appointed festivals three times during the year, namely, the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks, and the Festival of Shelters.
14 He appointed the divisions of the priests to serve according to the regulations of his father David, as well as the Levites for their offices of praise and service in the presence of the priests, in keeping with each day’s requirement. He also appointed the gatekeepers by their divisions, gate by gate, because this was the command of David, the man of God. 15 They did not turn aside from the king’s command for the priests and the Levites concerning any matter, including the treasuries.
16 So all Solomon’s work was accomplished, from the day that the foundation of the Lord’s house was laid until its completion. So the House of the Lord was finished.
17 Then Solomon went to Ezion Geber and to Elat on the shore of the sea in the land of Edom. 18 Huram sent him ships and experienced crews, who knew the sea. They were under the direction of his officers. They went to Ophir with Solomon’s crews, and from there they obtained four hundred fifty talents[c] of gold and brought it to King Solomon.
The Queen of Sheba Visits Solomon
9 The Queen of Sheba heard about Solomon’s fame, so she came to Jerusalem to test Solomon with difficult questions. She came with a very great entourage,[d] with camels carrying spices, a large quantity of gold, and precious stones. She came to Solomon and spoke with him about everything that was on her heart.
2 Solomon answered all her questions. There was nothing hidden from Solomon that he could not explain to her.
3 When the Queen of Sheba saw the wisdom of Solomon, the house which he had built, 4 the food on his table, the council meeting of his officials, the careful attention of his ministers and their attire, also his cupbearers and their attire, and the passageway by which he went up to the House of the Lord,[e] it took her breath away.
5 She said to the king, “The report I heard in my land about your accomplishments[f] and about your wisdom is true. 6 I did not believe the report, until I came and saw it with my own eyes. Now I find that I was not informed about even half of the greatness of your wisdom. You surpass the report that I heard. 7 Blessed are your men! Blessed are your servants, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom!
8 “Blessed be the Lord your God, who has been delighted with you and has placed you on his throne as king to serve the Lord your God. Because of your God’s love for Israel and his purpose of establishing Israel forever, he has placed you over them as king to administer justice and righteousness.”
9 Then she gave the king one hundred twenty talents[g] of gold, a very great quantity of spices and incense,[h] and precious stones. There was nothing comparable to these spices and incense that the Queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
10 In addition, the servants of Huram and Solomon who brought gold from Ophir also brought algum[i] wood and precious stones. 11 The king made the algum wood into steps[j] for the Lord’s house and for the house of the king and into lyres and harps for the singers. Nothing like them had ever been seen before in the land of Judah.
12 King Solomon gave the Queen of Sheba everything she desired, whatever she asked for, more than what she had brought to the king. Then she returned to her land along with her servants.
Solomon’s Wealth
13 The weight of the gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred sixty-six talents,[k] 14 not counting what the traders and merchants were bringing. All the kings of Arabia and the governors of the land also kept bringing gold and silver to Solomon.
15 King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold. Seven and a half pounds[l] of hammered gold went into each shield. 16 He made three hundred small shields of hammered gold. Almost four pounds[m] of gold went into each shield. The king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.
17 The king made a large ivory throne and overlaid it with pure gold. 18 There were six steps up to the throne. A golden footstool was attached to the throne, and there were armrests on either side of the seat. There were two lions standing beside the armrests 19 and twelve lions standing on the steps, one on each end of each step. Nothing like it had ever been made for any kingdom.
20 All of King Solomon’s drinking vessels were gold. All the utensils in the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold.[n] Silver was not thought to be worth anything in the days of Solomon, 21 because the king’s ships would go to Tarshish[o] with the servants of Huram, and once every three years the Tarshish ships would return, bringing gold, silver, ivory, monkeys, and peacocks.[p]
22 King Solomon was greater than all the kings of the earth in wealth and wisdom. 23 All the kings of the earth were seeking an audience with Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. 24 Each of them would bring his gift: articles of silver and gold, clothing, scents,[q] spices, horses, and mules, year after year.
25 Solomon had four thousand teams[r] of horses and chariots and twelve thousand charioteers. He stationed them in the chariot cities and in Jerusalem with him.
26 He was ruling over all the kings from the Euphrates to the land of the Philistines, to the border of Egypt.
27 The king made silver in Jerusalem as plentiful as ordinary stones, and the cedars were like the sycamore fig trees, which are so abundant in the Shephelah.[s]
28 Horses were imported for Solomon from Egypt and from all the lands.
The Death of Solomon
29 The rest of the acts of Solomon, from the first to the last, are they not written in the records of Nathan the prophet, in the prophecy of Ahijah from Shiloh, and in the visions of Iddo the seer about Jeroboam son of Nebat?
30 Solomon ruled in Jerusalem and over all Israel for forty years, 31 and then Solomon rested with his fathers and was buried in the city of his father David. His son Rehoboam became king in his place.
Rehoboam King of Judah
10 Rehoboam went to Shechem, because all Israel had gone to Shechem to make him king.
2 When Jeroboam son of Nebat, who was still in Egypt where he had fled from King Solomon, heard about this, he returned from Egypt, 3 and the people then sent for Jeroboam.
Jeroboam and all Israel came to Rehoboam and said, 4 “Your father made our yoke heavy. Now lighten your father’s harsh service and the heavy yoke that he laid on us, and we will serve you.”
5 Rehoboam said to them, “Return to me in three days.” So the people left.
6 King Rehoboam asked for advice from the old men[t] who had served his father Solomon while he was alive: “How would you advise me to respond to these people?”
7 They said to him, “If you are good to these people and respond favorably to their request, and you speak accommodating words to them, they will be your servants forever.”
8 But Rehoboam did not follow the advice the old men gave him. Instead, he consulted the young men who had grown up with him, who were serving as his advisors. 9 He said to them, “How would you advise me to respond to these people who said to me, ‘Lighten the yoke which your father laid upon us’?”
10 The young men who had grown up with him said to him, “This is what you should say to the people who said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy. You make it light for us.’ This is what you should say to them: ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist.[u] 11 My father imposed a heavy yoke on you. I will add to your yoke. My father punished you with whips, but I will punish you with scorpions.’”[v]
12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day as the king had directed: “Come back to me on the third day.”
13 The king answered them harshly. King Rehoboam rejected the advice of the old men.
14 Instead, he spoke to them as the young men had advised: “My father made your yoke heavy. I will add to it. My father punished you with whips. I will punish you with scorpions.”
15 The king did not listen to the people, because this turn of events was from God, so that the Lord would keep his word, as he had spoken it to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah from Shiloh.
16 When all Israel saw[w] that the king did not listen to them, they responded to the king:
What share do we have in David?
No inheritance with the son of Jesse!
To your tents, Israel!
Now, look after your own house, David!
So all Israel went to their tents.[x]
17 Rehoboam continued to rule over the people of Israel who were living in the cities of Judah.
18 King Rehoboam sent Hadoram,[y] who was in charge of the forced labor, but the people of Israel stoned Hadoram to death. King Rehoboam, however, was able to get into his chariot to flee to Jerusalem.
19 So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David until this day.
(1 Kings 12:21-24)
11 When Rehoboam returned to Jerusalem, he assembled the house of Judah and Benjamin, one hundred eighty thousand specially chosen[z] soldiers, to wage war against Israel in order to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam.
2 But the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah, the man of God: 3 “Say the following to Rehoboam son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin: 4 This is what the Lord says. Do not attack and do not fight against your brother Israelites. Go home, every one of you, for this turn of events is from me.”
They listened to the words of the Lord and refrained from going against Jeroboam.
Rehoboam Builds Cities for Defense
5 Rehoboam resided in Jerusalem. He built cities for defense in Judah. 6 He built Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, 7 Beth Zur, Soko, Adullam, 8 Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, 9 Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, 10 Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron. These are fortified cities in Judah and in Benjamin. 11 He built up their fortifications. He placed commanders in them and stores of food, oil, and wine. 12 In each and every city he placed shields and spears and made the cities very strong. Judah and Benjamin belonged to him.
Faithful Priests and People Come to Rehoboam
13 The priests and Levites who were living in Israel left the land allotted to them and took their stand with Rehoboam. 14 The Levites left their pasturelands and their holdings. They came to Judah and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his sons had removed them from their ministry as priests of the Lord.
15 Jeroboam had appointed his own priests for the high places and for the goats and calves he had made.
16 From all the tribes of Israel, those people who set their hearts on seeking the Lord, the God of Israel, followed the priests and Levites and came to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the Lord, the God of their fathers. 17 They strengthened the kingdom of Judah and made Rehoboam son of Solomon secure for three years, because for those three years they walked in the way of David and Solomon.
The Family of Rehoboam
18 Rehoboam took as his wife Mahalath, who was the daughter[aa] of David’s son Jerimoth and of Abihail, the daughter of Jesse’s son Eliab. 19 She gave birth to these sons for him: Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham.
20 In addition to her, he took Ma’akah, the granddaughter[ab] of Absalom. She gave birth for him to Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith.
21 Rehoboam loved Ma’akah, the granddaughter of Absalom, more than any of his other wives and concubines. He took eighteen wives and sixty concubines and fathered twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters.
22 Rehoboam appointed Abijah, the son of Ma’akah, as crown prince among his brothers, because he was going to make him king. 23 Rehoboam acted wisely and dispersed his sons throughout all the areas of Judah and Benjamin, in all the fortified cities. He provided them with abundant provisions and obtained many wives for them.
Shishak Attacks Jerusalem
12 When Rehoboam had established his rule as king and had become strong, he abandoned the law of the Lord. All Israel went along with him.
2 In the fifth year of King Rehoboam’s reign, Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, because Israel had been unfaithful to the Lord. 3 He came with twelve hundred chariots and sixty thousand charioteers.[ac] The forces that came with him from Egypt, including Libyans, Sukkites, and Cushites, could not be counted. 4 He captured the fortified cities of Judah and advanced as far as Jerusalem.
5 Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and to the officials of Judah, who had gathered at Jerusalem because of Shishak. He said to them, “This is what the Lord says. You abandoned me, so now I have abandoned you to the hand of Shishak.”
6 Then the officials of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, “The Lord is righteous.”
7 When the Lord saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah, saying: “They have humbled themselves, so I will not destroy them. I will give them deliverance in a little while. My anger will not be poured out on Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak. 8 However, they will become his servants. They will learn what it is to serve me and to serve the kingdoms of the foreign lands.”
9 Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem. He took away the treasures from the house of the Lord and the treasures from the house of the king. He took everything, including the gold shields that Solomon had made. 10 King Rehoboam made bronze shields in their place, and he entrusted them to the captains of the guard who were keeping watch at the entrance of the king’s palace. 11 Whenever the king went to the House of the Lord, the guards would go along and carry the shields. Then they would return them to the guardroom.[ad]
12 Because he humbled himself, the anger of the Lord turned from him. He did not completely destroy them, so conditions were good in Judah.[ae]
The Closing Summary of Rehoboam’s Reign
13 King Rehoboam strengthened his position in Jerusalem and ruled as king. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he became king, and for seventeen years he ruled as king in Jerusalem, the city that the Lord had chosen from among all the tribes of Israel to put his Name there. Rehoboam’s mother’s name was Na’amah the Ammonite.
14 He did evil, because he did not set his heart to seek the Lord.
15 The acts of Rehoboam, from first to last, are they not written in the annals of Shemaiah the prophet and Iddo the seer, which deal with genealogy? Rehoboam and Jeroboam waged war with each other throughout all their days.
16 Rehoboam rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David. His son Abijah ruled as king in his place.
Abijah King of Judah
13 In the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, Abijah became king over Judah. 2 He ruled for three years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Micaiah,[af] the daughter of Uriel from Gibeah.[ag]
There was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. 3 Abijah got ready for battle with an army of four hundred thousand strong warriors, each man specially chosen.[ah] Jeroboam lined up for battle against him with eight hundred thousand strong warriors, each man specially chosen.
4 Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim in the hill country of Ephraim and said this to them:
Listen to me, Jeroboam and all Israel. 5 You should know that the Lord, the God of Israel, gave the kingship over Israel to David forever, to him and to his sons, with a covenant of salt. 6 But Jeroboam son of Nebat, an official who served Solomon, the son of David, rose up and rebelled against his master. 7 Worthless, good-for-nothing men gathered around him. They strongly opposed Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, when he was young and indecisive and not strong enough to stand up against them. 8 Now you are planning to take your stand against the kingdom of the Lord, which is under the control of the sons of David. You are a great horde, and you have the golden calves with you, which Jeroboam made to be your gods.
9 But haven’t you driven out the priests of the Lord, who are the descendants of Aaron, as well as the Levites? You have made priests for yourselves like the peoples of other lands. Anyone who comes with a young bull and seven rams can ordain himself—but only as a priest to nonexistent gods!
10 As for us, the Lord is our God, and we have not abandoned him, and we have not abandoned the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who minister to the Lord, or the Levites, who serve with them. 11 They send burnt offerings up to the Lord in smoke, every morning and every evening, along with incense made of sweet spices. They arrange the bread on the pure table and take care of the gold lampstand, lighting its lamps every evening. We are fulfilling our duties to the Lord our God, but you have forsaken him.
12 Look! God is with us as our head, and his priests with their trumpets are sounding the call to battle against you. People of Israel, do not fight against the Lord, the God of your fathers, for you will not succeed.
13 However, Jeroboam had set up an ambush to come around them from behind. So the main enemy forces were in front of Judah, and the ambush was behind them. 14 When Judah turned and saw that the battle line was in front of them and behind them, they cried out to the Lord while the priests kept blowing the trumpets.
15 The men of Judah raised a battle cry. When they raised the battle cry, God defeated Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. 16 The men of Israel fled from Judah, and God gave them into their hand. 17 Abijah and his people inflicted very heavy casualties on them. Five hundred thousand specially chosen men of Israel fell in battle.
18 So the men of Israel were subdued at that time. The men of Judah prevailed because they relied on the Lord, the God of their fathers. 19 Abijah pursued Jeroboam and took these cities from him: Bethel and its villages, Jeshanah and its villages, and Ephron and its villages. 20 Jeroboam never recovered his power during the days of Abijah. Then the Lord struck Jeroboam, and he died.
21 But Abijah grew strong. He took for himself fourteen wives and fathered twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters.
22 The rest of the acts of Abijah, his ways and his words, are written in the notes of the prophet Iddo.
14 Abijah rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David. His son Asa became king in his place. In his days the land was quiet for ten years.[ai]
Asa King of Judah
2 Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God. 3 He removed the foreign altars and the high places. He demolished the sacred memorial stones and chopped down the Asherah poles. 4 He told Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, and to obey his law and command. 5 He removed the high places and the sun pillars[aj] from all the cities of Judah. The kingdom enjoyed peace and quiet under him.
6 He built fortified cities in Judah because the land was quiet. He had no wars in those years because the Lord gave him rest.
7 Asa said to Judah, “We will build these cities and surround them with walls, towers, and barred gates. The land before us is still ours, because we have sought the Lord our God. We sought him, and he has given us peace all around.”
So they built and prospered.
8 Asa had an army of three hundred thousand men from Judah, who carried large shields and spears, and two hundred eighty thousand men from Benjamin, who carried shields and were armed with bows. These were all strong, powerful warriors.
9 Zerah the Cushite[ak] came out against them with an army of a million[al] men and three hundred chariots and advanced as far as Mareshah. 10 Asa went out to confront him, and they formed battle lines in the Valley of Zephathah at Mareshah.
11 Asa cried to the Lord his God, “Lord, there is no one except you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, O Lord our God, because we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this horde.[am] Lord, you are our God. Men will not prevail against you.”
12 The Lord defeated the Cushites before Asa and Judah, and the Cushites fled. 13 Asa and the people who were with him pursued them as far as Gerar. The Cushites fell until none of them were left alive, because they were broken before the Lord and before his army, who carried away a large amount of plunder. 14 They struck all the cities around Gerar, because the dread of the Lord was upon them. They looted all the cities because there was a great deal of plunder in them. 15 Also they struck the tents of the herdsmen and carried off very many sheep and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.
Asa’s Reformation
15 The Spirit of God came upon Azariah son of Oded. 2 He went out to meet Asa and said this to him:
Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin.
The Lord is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he is there to be found. If you forsake him, he will forsake you.
3 For a long time Israel was without the true God, without a priest to teach, and without the law. 4 Then in their distress they turned to the Lord, the God of Israel. They sought him, and he was found by them. 5 During those times there was no peace for those who went out and came in, because there were great disturbances affecting all the inhabitants of the lands.
6 It was nation against nation and city against city. They were broken in pieces because God troubled them with every kind of distress. 7 But take courage and do not let your hands be slack, because there will be a reward for your work.
8 When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Azariah son of[an] Oded the prophet, he took courage. He put away the disgusting idols from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities which he had taken from the hill country of Ephraim. He repaired the altar of the Lord, which was in front of the porch of the Lord’s house.
9 He gathered all Judah and Benjamin, as well as those who had settled among them from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon, because people from Israel had gone over to Asa in great numbers since they saw that the Lord his God was with him. 10 They gathered at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign. 11 On that day they sacrificed to the Lord seven hundred cattle and seven thousand sheep from the plunder they had brought.
12 They entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and with all their soul. 13 Anyone who did not seek the Lord, the God of Israel, was to be put to death, whether young or old,[ao] man or woman. 14 They swore an oath to the Lord with a loud voice, with shouting, and with trumpets and ram’s horns. 15 All Judah rejoiced over the oath, because they had sworn with all their heart, and they very eagerly sought the Lord. He was found by them, and the Lord gave them rest on every side.
(1 Kings 15:13-15)
16 Asa even removed his grandmother Ma’akah from her position as queen mother, because she had made an obscene image for Asherah. Asa cut down her image and crushed it and burned it in the Kidron Valley.
17 The high places, however, were not removed from Israel. Nevertheless, Asa’s heart was completely committed throughout all his days. 18 He brought silver and gold and vessels and utensils to the House of the Lord as dedicated offerings for himself and his father.
Asa’s Treaty With Aram
19 There was no war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign.
16 In the thirty-sixth year of the reign of Asa, Ba’asha king of Israel attacked Judah, and he fortified Ramah, in order to keep anyone from going in or coming out from Asa king of Judah. 2 So Asa took silver and gold from the treasuries of the House of the Lord and from the palace of the king and sent it to Ben Hadad king of Aram, who ruled in Damascus.
He said, 3 “There should be a treaty between you and me as there was between my father and your father. Look! I have sent you silver and gold. Go, break your treaty with Ba’asha king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me.”
4 Ben Hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel. They conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel Maim,[ap] and all the towns for storehouses in Naphtali. 5 When Ba’asha heard about it, he stopped building Ramah and put an end to his work on it. 6 King Asa then summoned all Judah, and they carried away from Ramah the stones and the timber which Ba’asha had been using to build it. With them he built Geba and Mizpah.
Hanani the Seer Delivers a Message to Asa
7 At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him, “Because you relied on the king of Aram, and you did not rely on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand. 8 Weren’t the Cushites and the Libyans a huge army, with very many chariots and charioteers? When you relied on the Lord, he gave them into your hand. 9 The Lord! It is his eyes that go back and forth over all the earth to offer strong support to the hearts of those who are completely committed to[aq] him. You have acted foolishly in this. From now on you will be at war.”
10 Asa was angry with the seer, so he put him in prison because he was in a rage against him on account of this. At this time Asa also crushed some of the people.
Asa’s Disease and Death
11 You can find the acts of Asa, from first to last, written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.
12 Asa’s feet became diseased in the thirty-ninth year of his reign. His disease was very serious, but even when he was sick, he did not seek the Lord, but only his physicians.
13 Asa rested with his fathers. He died in the forty-first year of his reign. 14 They buried him in his tomb, which he had cut out for himself in the City of David. They laid him on a bier[ar] that was covered with all kinds of fragrant spices and perfumed ointments, skillfully blended by the perfume makers. They burned a very large bonfire in his honor.
Jehoshaphat, King of Judah[as]
17 Asa’s son Jehoshaphat ruled in his place. He strengthened his position against Israel and 2 placed troops in all the fortified cities of Judah. He placed garrisons in the land of Judah and in the cities of Ephraim that his father Asa had captured.
3 The Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he walked in the ways that his father David walked in the beginning. He did not seek the Baals, 4 but he sought the God of his father, and he walked in his commandments. He did not follow the example of Israel. 5 So the Lord established the kingdom in his hand. All Judah gave tribute to Jehoshaphat. He had abundant riches and honor. 6 His heart was bold in the ways of the Lord. Furthermore, he removed the high places and the Asherah poles from Judah.
7 In the third year of his reign he sent his officials Ben Hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah to teach in the cities of Judah. 8 Along with them he sent these Levites: Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tobadonijah, as well as the priests Elishama and Jehoram. 9 They taught in Judah. They took the Book of the Law[at] of the Lord with them and traveled around through all the cities of Judah, teaching among the people.
10 The fear of the Lord fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands surrounding Judah. They did not wage war against Jehoshaphat. 11 Some of the Philistines brought gifts and silver to Jehoshaphat as tribute. Also the Arabs brought flocks to him: seven thousand seven hundred rams and seven thousand seven hundred male goats.
12 Jehoshaphat was continually becoming greater and greater. He built fortresses and towns for storehouses in Judah.
13 He had large amounts of supplies[au] in the cities of Judah, and soldiers who were powerful warriors were stationed in Jerusalem. 14 Their numbers, based on their fathers’ houses, were as follows.
Belonging to Judah, these were the commanders of units of a thousand:
Adnah the commander, and with him 300,000 powerful warriors.
15 Next to him Jehohanan the captain, and with him 280,000.
16 Next to him Amasiah son of Zikri, who volunteered to serve the Lord, and with him 200,000 powerful warriors.
17 From Benjamin:
Eliada, a powerful warrior, and with him 200,000 men armed with bow and shield.
18 Next to him Jehozabad, and with him 180,000 men armed for war.
19 These were the men who served the king, in addition to those forces that the king had placed in the fortified cities throughout Judah.
Micaiah Prophesies Against Ahab
18 Jehoshaphat had abundant riches and honor. He also formed a marriage alliance with Ahab.
2 After some years passed, Jehoshaphat went down to visit Ahab in Samaria. Ahab sacrificed sheep and cattle in great numbers for him and for the troops with him. So Ahab persuaded him to go up against Ramoth Gilead.
3 Ahab king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, “Will you go with me to Ramoth Gilead?”
Jehoshaphat answered him, “I am like you. My people are like your people. We are with you in the war.”
4 But Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, “Please seek the word of the Lord today.”
5 So the king of Israel assembled the prophets, four hundred men, and he said to them, “Should we go up to make war on Ramoth Gilead, or should I refrain?”
They said, “Go up! God will give it into the hand of the king.”
6 But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there no longer a prophet of the Lord here? We should inquire from him.”
7 Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man from whom we could inquire of the Lord, but I hate him because he doesn’t prophesy anything good about me. He continually prophesies only bad things. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.”
Jehoshaphat said, “The king should not talk like that.”
8 So the king of Israel summoned one of his officials and said, “Quickly bring Micaiah son of Imlah here.”
9 Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah were sitting on their thrones, arrayed in their robes. They were sitting by the threshing floor at the entrance to the gate to Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying before them.
10 Zedekiah son of Kena’anah had made iron horns for himself, and he said, “This is what the Lord says. With these you will gore the Arameans until they are destroyed.” 11 All the prophets were prophesying in this same way: “Go up to Ramoth Gilead and triumph, for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.”
12 The messenger who was sent to summon Micaiah said to him, “Pay attention to the words of the prophets. With one mouth they are promising good things to the king. Please! Your words should be like the words of one of them. You should say something good.”
13 But Micaiah said, “As surely as the Lord lives, whatever my God says, that is what I will say.”
14 Then he came to the king, and the king said to him, “Micaiah, should we go to Ramoth Gilead for battle, or should I refrain?”
Micaiah answered him, “Go up and triumph. They will be given into your hand.”
15 The king said to him, “How many times must I make you swear to me that you will tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?”
16 Micaiah said, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains like sheep that have no shepherd. The Lord said, ‘They have no masters. Let each one return to his home in peace.’”
17 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Didn’t I tell you that he does not prophesy anything good about me but only bad?”
18 Then Micaiah proclaimed:
Now hear this word from the Lord.
I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and the whole army of heaven was standing on his right and on his left.
19 The Lord said, “Who will entice Ahab king of Israel, so that he goes up and falls at Ramoth Gilead?”
One spirit said this; another one said that. 20 Finally a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord and said, “I will entice him.”
The Lord said to him, “How?”
21 He said, “I will go and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.”
The Lord said, “You will entice him successfully. Go and do that.”
22 Now look! The Lord has put a lying spirit into the mouth of all your prophets, for the Lord has decreed disaster for you.
23 Then Zedekiah son of Kena’anah came over and struck Micaiah on his cheek and said, “Where is this pathway on which the spirit of the Lord has traveled from me to speak to you?”
24 Micaiah said, “You will see on the day you go into the inner room to hide.”
25 Then the king of Israel said, “Seize Micaiah and take him back to Amon, the administrator of the city, and to Joash, son of the king. 26 You are to say to them, ‘This is what the king says. Put this man in prison and feed him nothing more than bread and water until I come back safely.’”
27 Micaiah said, “If you ever come back safely, then the Lord has not spoken through me.”
He also said, “Hear this, you people, all of you!”
Ahab Dies in Battle
28 Then the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up to Ramoth Gilead.
29 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself when I go into the battle, but you wear your robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself, and they went into battle.
30 The king of Aram had ordered his chariot commanders, “Do not fight against anyone, whether small or great, but only against the king of Israel.”
31 When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they said, “That is the king of Israel!” So they turned to fight against him.
Jehoshaphat cried out, and the Lord helped him. God drew them away from him.
32 When the chariot commanders realized that he was not the king of Israel, they stopped pursuing him.
33 But a man shot an arrow at random and struck the king of Israel in the seam between two parts of his armor.
Ahab said to the chariot driver, “Turn around and take me out of the battle, because I have been wounded.”
34 The battle increased in intensity all that day. The king of Israel was propped up in his chariot facing Aram until evening. He died at sunset.
19 Jehoshaphat king of Judah returned to his house in Jerusalem safely.
2 Jehu son of Hanani, the seer, went out to meet King Jehoshaphat and said to him, “Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord? Because of this, wrath from the Lord is upon you. 3 Nevertheless, good things are present in you, because you destroyed the Asherah poles from the land and have set your heart to seek God.”
Jehoshaphat Appoints Judges
4 Jehoshaphat ruled from[av] Jerusalem.
He once again went out 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 the land in all the fortified cities of Judah, city by city.
6 He said to the judges, “Watch what you do, because you are not judging for the people, but for the Lord. He is with you as you judge. 7 Now may the dread of the Lord be upon you. Watch what you do, because there is no injustice, partiality, or taking bribes with the Lord our God.”
8 In Jerusalem too Jehoshaphat appointed men from the Levites, the priests, and the leading fathers of Israel to act as judges on behalf of the Lord and to settle disputes, and they presided in[aw] Jerusalem.
9 He commanded them:
This is how you are to conduct yourselves in the fear of the Lord, in faithfulness, and with your whole heart. 10 In every case concerning bloodshed, law, commands, statutes, or ordinances that comes to you from your brother Israelites who live in their cities, you will instruct them so that they will not incur guilt before the Lord, and so that wrath does not come upon you and upon your brothers. If you do this, you will not incur guilt.
11 Take note of this. Amariah the head priest is over you in all matters concerning the Lord. Zebadiah son of Ishmael is the governor for the house of Judah in all matters concerning the king. The Levites are officials for you. Act courageously. The Lord will be with those who do what is good.
Jehoshaphat Defeats the Moabites and Ammonites
20 After this the Moabites, the Ammonites, and some of the Meunites[ax] with them, all came against Jehoshaphat for battle. 2 Jehoshaphat was told, “A huge horde is coming against you from beyond the sea[ay] and from Edom.[az] Look! They are already in Hazazon Tamar” (that is, En Gedi).
3 Jehoshaphat was afraid, but he focused on seeking the Lord. He proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. 4 So Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord. From all the cities of Judah people came to seek the Lord.
Jehoshaphat’s Speech
5 Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem in the House of the Lord in front of the new courtyard. 6 He said:
Lord, God of our fathers, are you not the God in heaven? You are ruling over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might. There is no one who can stand up against you.
7 Was it not you, our God, who drove out the inhabitants of this land in front of your people Israel? You gave it to the descendants of your friend Abraham forever. 8 They have lived in it, and in it they have built a holy place for your Name, and they said, 9 “If disaster comes on us—the sword of judgment, plague, and famine, we will stand before this house and before you, for your Name is in this house. We will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear and save.”
10 Now look! Men from Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir have invaded. When Israel came up from the land of Egypt, you did not allow Israel to invade their land. So Israel went around them and did not destroy them. 11 Look how they are rewarding us by coming to drive us out from your possession, which you have given to us as an inheritance. 12 Our God, will you not judge them? For there is no power in us to face this huge horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.
13 All Judah was standing before the Lord along with their dependents, their wives, and their children.
14 The Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel, the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite from the descendants of Asaph. He was standing in the middle of the assembly. 15 He said:
Listen, all Judah, all you residents of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat. This is what the Lord says to you. Do not be afraid. Do not be terrified because of this huge horde, for the battle is not yours. It is God’s. 16 Tomorrow go down against them. Look, they are coming up by the Ascent of Ziz. You will find them at the end of the valley east of the Wilderness of Jeruel.
17 It is not up to you to fight this battle. Just take up your position. Stand still, Judah and Jerusalem, and see that the victory of the Lord is with you. Do not be afraid. Do not be terrified. Tomorrow go out against them. The Lord will be with you.
18 Then Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the residents of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord to worship the Lord. 19 Then the Levites from the Kohathites and the Korahites stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.
20 They got up early in the morning and went out into the Wilderness of Tekoa. As they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and you residents of Jerusalem. Have faith in the Lord your God, and you will find him to be faithful. Believe his prophets and you will succeed.”
21 After he consulted with the people, he appointed singers to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness,[ba] as they went out ahead of the army, singing:
Give thanks to the Lord, for his mercy endures forever.
22 At the time when they began the jubilant songs of praise to the Lord, he set ambushes against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who were marching against Judah, and they were routed, 23 because the men of Ammon and Moab rose up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to destroy them and wipe them out. When they were finished with the inhabitants of Seir, they helped destroy each other.
24 When Judah came to a spot overlooking the wilderness and looked out toward that horde, they saw nothing but dead bodies lying on the ground. No one had escaped.
25 Jehoshaphat and his people came to gather the spoils. They found huge amounts of equipment and valuables among the bodies. They collected so much for themselves that they could not carry it. It took them three days to gather the spoils because there was so much.
26 On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Berakah, where they blessed the Lord. That is why that place is named the Valley of Berakah[bb] to this day.
27 Then all the men of Judah and Jerusalem joyfully returned to Jerusalem with Jehoshaphat at their head, because the Lord had given them reason to rejoice over their enemies. 28 They came to Jerusalem to the House of the Lord with harps, lyres, and trumpets.
29 The dread of the Lord was upon all the kingdoms of the lands, when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel.
30 Then Jehoshaphat’s kingdom was quiet. His God gave him rest on every side.
The Summary of Jehoshaphat’s Reign
31 Jehoshaphat ruled as king over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he ruled in Jerusalem for twenty-five years. His mother’s name was Azubah daughter of Shilhi.
32 He walked in the ways of his father Asa by doing what was right in the eyes of the Lord. He did not turn from it.
33 The high places, however, were not removed. The people still did not set their hearts toward the God of their fathers.
34 The rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, from first to last, are recorded in the annals of Jehu son of Hanani, which are included in the Book of the Kings of Israel.
35 After this, Jehoshaphat king of Judah joined with Ahaziah king of Israel, who did wicked things. 36 He joined with him to build ships to go to Tarshish.[bc] They built the ships in Ezion Geber. 37 Eliezer son of Dodavahu from Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat: “Because you joined with Ahaziah, the Lord has destroyed what you have made.” The ships were wrecked, so they were not able to go to Tarshish.
Jehoram (Joram) King of Judah
21 Jehoshaphat rested with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the City of David. His son Jehoram ruled in his place.
2 Jehoram had brothers, who were the sons of Jehoshaphat. They were Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariahu, Michael, and Shephatiah. All these were sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel. 3 Their father gave them many gifts: silver, gold, and valuable possessions, as well as fortified cities in Judah, but he gave the kingship to Jehoram because he was the firstborn.
4 Jehoram ascended to the throne of his father and strengthened his position. Then he killed all his brothers with the sword and also killed some of the officials of Israel.
5 Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he ruled as king in Jerusalem for eight years.
6 He walked in the way of the kings of Israel as the house of Ahab had done, because the daughter of Ahab was his wife. So he did evil in the eyes of the Lord.
7 But the Lord was not willing to destroy the house of David, because of the covenant he had made with David, when he promised him and his sons that he would keep a light shining for all time.[bd]
8 In Jehoram’s days Edom revolted from Judah’s control and set up a king for themselves. 9 So Jehoram crossed over to Edom with his commanders and with all the chariots. He got up at night and attacked the Edomites who had surrounded him and his chariot officers. 10 Edom has successfully revolted from the control of Judah to this day. Libnah also revolted from his control at that time because he had forsaken the Lord, the God of his fathers.
11 Jehoram also made high places in the hill country of Judah and caused those living in Jerusalem to prostitute themselves. He caused Judah to go astray.
12 A letter came to him from Elijah the prophet which said:
This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says. Because you have not walked in the ways of your father Jehoshaphat and in the ways of Asa king of Judah, 13 but you have walked in the way of the kings of Israel and have caused Judah and the residents of Jerusalem to prostitute themselves, as the house of Ahab led Israel to prostitute themselves, and because you have even killed your own brothers from your father’s household, who were better than you, 14 the Lord is going to strike a severe blow against your people, your children, your wives, and all your possessions. 15 You yourself will have great pain from a disease of your intestines, until your intestines fall out, because the disease is going to last so long.
16 The Lord stirred up against Jehoram the hostility[be] of the Philistines and the Arabs who were next to the Cushites. 17 They came up against Judah, successfully invaded it, and carried away all the possessions found at the king’s palace, as well as his sons and his wives. None of his sons were left except Jehoahaz,[bf] the youngest.
18 After all this the Lord struck Jehoram with an incurable disease in his intestines. 19 He suffered day after day, until the end of the second year, when his intestines fell out because of the disease. He died in great pain. His people did not make a bonfire for him like the fires for his fathers.
20 He was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned as king in Jerusalem for eight years. He departed without anyone regretting it. He was buried in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.
Ahaziah King of Judah
22 The residents of Jerusalem made Ahaziah, Jehoram’s youngest son, king in Jehoram’s place because the raiding band, which had come to the camp with the Arabs, had killed all the older sons. So Ahaziah son of Jehoram ruled as the king of Judah.
2 Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he ruled as king in Jerusalem for one year. His mother’s name was Athaliah, granddaughter of Omri.
3 He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, because his mother was advising him how to do wicked things. 4 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, as the house of Ahab did, because they were his advisors after the death of his father. This led to his destruction.
5 He also followed their advice and went with Jehoram,[bg] the son of Ahab, the king of Israel, to wage war against Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth Gilead. The Arameans wounded Joram there. 6 So he returned to Jezre’el to recover from the wounds he had received at Ramah when he was fighting against Hazael king of Aram. Ahaziah[bh] son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to visit Jehoram son of Ahab in Jezre’el because Jehoram had been wounded.
7 It was due to God that Ahaziah’s downfall came about when he went to visit Joram. After Ahaziah had arrived, he went out with Jehoram[bi] to meet Jehu son of Nimshi, whom the Lord had anointed to cut off the house of Ahab. 8 When Jehu was carrying out judgment on the house of Ahab, he met the officials of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah’s brothers,[bj] who attended Ahaziah, and he killed them. 9 He also searched for Ahaziah and captured him, while he was hiding in Samaria.[bk] They brought him to Jehu, who put him to death. They buried him, because they said, “He is the grandson of Jehoshaphat, who sought the Lord with all his heart.” There was nobody from the house of Ahaziah strong enough to rule the kingdom.
Athaliah
10 When Athaliah, the mother of Ahaziah, saw that her son was dead, she went into action and destroyed[bl] all the royal heirs[bm] belonging to the house of Judah. 11 But Jehoshabeath,[bn] the daughter of the king, took Joash, the son of Ahaziah. She stole him away from among the king’s sons, who were to be killed. She put him and his nurse in a bedroom. Because she was a sister of Ahaziah, Jehoshabeath, the daughter of King Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada the priest, hid Joash from Athaliah, so that she could not kill him.
12 He was kept hidden with them in the House of God for six years, while Athaliah was ruling over the land.
Jehoiada Anoints Joash as King
23 In the seventh year Jehoiada strengthened himself[bo] by entering into a covenant with the commanders of the hundreds, namely, Azariah son of Jeroham, Ishmael son of Jehohanan, Azariah son of Obed, Ma’aseiah son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat son of Zikri. 2 They went around Judah and gathered the Levites from all the cities of Judah and the leading fathers of Israel, who came to Jerusalem.
3 The whole assembly made a covenant with the king in the House of God. Jehoiada said to them:
Look! Here is the king’s son. He will rule as king, just as the Lord has promised concerning the sons of David.
4 This is what you will do. One third of you who are coming on duty on the Sabbath to perform your duties as priests and Levites are to guard the gates. 5 One third of you will be in the palace of the king, and one third at the Foundation Gate.[bp] All the people will be stationed in the courtyards of the House of the Lord.
6 No one will come into the house[bq] of the Lord except the priests and the Levites who are serving. They are allowed to enter because they are holy. All the rest of the people will follow the directions of the Lord.
7 The Levites will completely surround the king, each with his weapons in his hand. Anyone who enters the house will be put to death. You accompany the king when he comes in and goes out.
8 The Levites and all Judah did exactly as Jehoiada the priest had commanded. Each leader combined the men coming on duty on the Sabbath with those going off duty on the Sabbath, because Jehoiada the priest did not dismiss the divisions.
9 Jehoiada the priest gave the commanders of the hundreds the spears, the large shields, and the small shields[br] which belonged to King David and which were in the House of God. 10 He stationed all the people, each man with his weapon in his hand, in a circle from the south side of the temple building to the north side of the building, around the altar and all around the building, completely surrounding the king.
11 Then they brought out the king’s son. They set the crown on him and gave him the Testimony,[bs] and they made him king. Jehoiada and his sons anointed him and said, “Long live the king!”
Athaliah’s Death
12 When Athaliah heard the noise made by the people who were running and praising the king, she went to the crowd of people at the House of the Lord. 13 She looked, and there was the king standing by his pillar at the entrance. The officials and the trumpeters were beside the king. All the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing the trumpets. The singers with their musical instruments were leading the praise. Athaliah tore her clothes and shouted, “Treason! Treason!”
14 Then Jehoiada the priest brought out the commanders who were in charge of the units of a hundred in the army. He told them, “Bring her out between the ranks. Anyone who follows her is to be put to death with the sword,” but the priest also told them, “You must not put her to death in the House of the Lord.” 15 So they laid their hands on her, and she was taken to the entrance of the Horse Gate by the palace of the king, where she was put to death.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.