Bible in 90 Days

The Lord speaks to Solomon

¹¹ Solomon had finished building the Lord's temple and the king's palace. He had done everything that he wanted to do for the temple and his palace. ¹² Then the Lord appeared to Solomon at night. He said to Solomon, ‘I have heard your prayer. I have chosen this place as my temple where people can offer sacrifices to me.

¹³ Sometimes I may stop the rain falling from the sky. I may send locusts to destroy your crops. Or I may send a bad disease to hurt my people. ¹⁴ If that happens, my people who belong to me should be humble and they should pray to me. They should turn away from their sins and try to please me. Then I will hear them from heaven. I will forgive their sins and I will make their land successful again. ¹⁵ Now I will watch over this place. I will answer the prayers that people offer to me here. ¹⁶ I have chosen this temple to be my special home. People will worship me there for ever. I will always be there to watch over it.

¹⁷ But you must all continue to serve me well, as your father David did. Do everything that I have commanded you to do. Obey my rules and my laws. ¹⁸ If you do that, I will always cause one of your descendants to rule as king. That is what I promised to your father David when I said, “There will always be someone from your family to rule over Israel.”

¹⁹ But if any of you turn away from me, I will punish your people. I will do that if you do not obey the laws and rules that I have given to you. I will do it if you choose to serve and to worship other gods. ²⁰ I will remove the people from the land that I have given to them. I will turn away from this temple that I have made a special place for my people to worship me. People from all the other nations will insult them and they will laugh at them. ²¹ This beautiful temple will became a heap of stones. Everyone who sees it will be very surprised. They will laugh about it! They will ask, “Why has the Lord destroyed this land and this temple?” ²² People will answer, “He has done it because they have turned away from the Lord, the God of their ancestors. He brought their ancestors out of Egypt. But now they have chosen to worship other gods and to serve them. That is why the Lord has caused this trouble to happen to them.” ’

Solomon builds more towns

8 Solomon was building the Lord's temple and the king's palace for 20 years. ² After that, he built again the towns that King Hiram had given to him. He sent Israelites to live in them.

³ Then Solomon went to Hamath-Zobah and he took it for Israel. ⁴ He made the buildings in Tadmor strong again. That was a town in the wilderness. He did the same thing for the towns that he had built in Hamath region to store things. ⁵ He built again Higher Beth-Horon and Lower Beth-Horon. He made those cities strong. He built walls around them with strong gates. ⁶ He also made Baalath strong, and all his cities where he stored things, as well as all the cities where he kept his chariots and horses. He built everything that he wanted to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon and everywhere in his kingdom.

⁷ Solomon only made people who were not Israelites do the hard work for him. They were Canaanite people who still lived in the land after the Israelites took it for themselves. They were Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. ⁸ The Israelites had not been able to destroy all of these people, so their descendants remained in the land. So Solomon made them do hard work as his slaves. They are still slaves of the Israelites today. ⁹ But Solomon did not cause any Israelites to do the hard work as slaves. Instead, they became his soldiers and army officers. Some of the soldiers drove chariots and some were leaders of the chariot drivers. ¹⁰ King Solomon had 250 Israelite officers who had authority over the workers.

Solomon gives a house to Pharaoh's daughter

¹¹ Solomon had built a palace for his wife, Pharaoh's daughter. When the palace was ready, he brought her up there from the City of David. He said, ‘My wife must not live in the palace of David, king of Israel. The Lord's Covenant Box has been there, so it is a holy place.’

The work of the priests and Levites

¹² Solomon offered burnt offerings to the Lord on the altar that he had built. The altar was outside the entrance of the temple. ¹³ He offered the sacrifices every day that Moses had told them to do. There were rules about sacrifices on Sabbath days, on festivals for each new moon and on the three special festivals each year. Those were the Festival of Flat Bread, the Festival of Weeks and the Festival of Huts.^{[a] 14} Solomon gave jobs to each group of priests as his father David had commanded. He also gave the Levites their jobs to do each day. They led the music to worship God and they helped the priests with their work. He gave each group of guards a job to watch the gates of the temple. He told them all to do this in the way that God's servant David had commanded. ¹⁵ All the priests and the Levites were careful to do exactly what the king had commanded. That included the rooms where they stored valuable things.

¹⁶ Solomon's workers did all the jobs that he told them to do. They started on the day when they built the foundation of the Lord's temple. They continued to work until they had finished everything. In that way, work on the Lord's temple was complete.

¹⁷ Then Solomon went to Ezion-Geber and to Elath. They were towns on the coast of the sea, in the land of Edom. ¹⁸ King Hiram had sailors who knew how to sail ships on the sea. He sent some of these men to work with Solomon's sailors. They sailed to Ophir and they brought back about 15 tons of gold. They gave it to King Solomon.

The Queen of Sheba visits Solomon

9 The Queen of Sheba heard news that Solomon was a great king. So she came to ask Solomon some difficult questions to see how wise he was. She arrived at Jerusalem with a big group of servants. She had many camels that carried spices. They also carried a lot of gold and valuable jewels. When she came to Solomon, she talked to him about everything that was in her mind. ² Solomon answered all her questions. There was nothing that was too difficult for him to explain to her. ³ The Queen of Sheba saw that Solomon was very wise.^[b] She saw the palace that he had built. ⁴ She saw all the food that he ate in his palace. She saw all his servants and officers and their beautiful clothes. She saw the servants who prepared his food and wine. She saw the burnt offerings that he offered in the Lord's temple. All these things caused her to hold her breath in surprise.

⁵ She said to the king, ‘In my own country I heard news about your wisdom and about all the things that you had done. Everything that I heard was true! ⁶ But I did not believe those things until I came here. Now I have seen everything with my own eyes, and it is true! Really, they told me less than half of what was true! You are even wiser than the report that people told me. ⁷ God has blessed your people and your officers! They are always with you, and they can listen to your wise words. ⁸ So we should praise the Lord your God! He is happy with you and he has chosen you to rule Israel on his behalf. Your God will continue to love Israel for ever, and he will always make them strong. So he has made you king to rule them in a fair and honest way.’

⁹ The Queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon more than four tons of gold, a lot of spices and many valuable jewels. Nobody has ever brought such a great number of spices as she gave to the king.

¹⁰ King Hiram's men had brought gold from Ophir. King Solomon's men had helped them to do this. They also brought very good wood, and valuable jewels. ¹¹ The king used the wood to make steps for the Lord's temple and for the king's palace. He also used it to make harps and lyres for the musicians. Nobody had ever seen things like those in Judah.

¹² King Solomon gave to the Queen of Sheba everything that she wanted. He gave more things to her than she had brought to him. Then she left with all her servants and she returned to her own country.

Solomon's riches

¹³ Solomon received 25 tons of gold each year. ¹⁴ He also received money from traders and from people who travelled to buy things. The kings of Arabia and the rulers of each region in Israel also brought gold and silver to Solomon.

¹⁵ King Solomon's workers used gold to make 200 large shields. They hit the gold with hammers to make it flat. They used about four kilograms of gold to cover each shield. ¹⁶ They also made 300 small shields in the same way. They used about 2 kilograms of gold to cover each shield. He put these shields in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.^[c]

¹⁷ The king used ivory to make a large throne. He covered it with pure gold. ¹⁸ There were six steps up to the throne. They fixed a gold box to the throne for the king to put his feet on. On both sides of the seat there were places to put his arms. An image of a lion stood on each side of the throne. ¹⁹ There were 12 more images of lions on the six steps. There was one lion at each end of every step. There was no throne like it in any other kingdom. ²⁰ They used gold to make all King Solomon's cups that he drank from. In the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon, all the dishes and other things were made with gold. They used pure gold. They did not make anything with silver. In Solomon's time, people did not think that silver was very valuable. ²¹ The king had many large ships that King Hiram's men could sail across the seas.^[d] Every three years they returned to Solomon with their loads. They brought to him gold, silver and ivory. They also brought apes and monkeys.^[e]

²² King Solomon was richer and wiser than any other king in the world. ²³ The kings of every nation in the world wanted to talk to Solomon. They wanted to listen to the wisdom that God had given to him. ²⁴ Every year, people who came to visit Solomon brought him gifts. They brought things that were made from silver and gold, as well as clothes, weapons, spices, horses and mules.

²⁵ Solomon had places to keep 4,000 horses that pulled his chariots. He also had 12,000 horses. He kept them in the cities that he had chosen for this and also in Jerusalem where he lived. ²⁶ He ruled over all the kings around Israel, from the Euphrates river as far as the Philistines' country and the border of Egypt. ²⁷ While Solomon ruled as king, there was as much silver in Jerusalem as stones! There was as much wood from cedar trees as there were fig trees that grew in the low hills in the west. ²⁸ People brought horses to Solomon from Egypt and from all the other countries.

Solomon dies

²⁹ People wrote down everything else that Solomon did while he ruled as king, from the beginning to the end. The prophet Nathan wrote them down in his book. The prophet Ahijah who came from Shiloh also wrote them down. The prophet Iddo also wrote about them in his book of the visions that he saw about Nebat's son Jeroboam. ³⁰ Solomon ruled over all Israel for 40 years while he lived in Jerusalem. ³¹ Then he died. They buried him with his ancestors, in the city of his father David. His son Rehoboam became king after him.

The Israelites ask Rehoboam to make their work easier

10 Rehoboam went to Shechem, because all the Israelites had gone there to make him king.^{[f] 2} At this time, Nebat's son Jeroboam was in Egypt. He had been living there since he ran away from King Solomon. When he heard the news about Rehoboam, he returned from Egypt. ³ The Israelites sent a message to Jeroboam to meet with them. Then Jeroboam and all the Israelites went to speak to Rehoboam. They said to him, ⁴ ‘Your father caused us to work too hard. Please make the work easier for us. If you do that, we will serve you as our king.’ ⁵ Rehoboam answered them, ‘Go away for three days. Then come back to me.’ So the people went away.

⁶ Then King Rehoboam went to talk to the older advisors who had served his father Solomon. He asked them, ‘What answer should I give to these people?’

⁷ They replied, ‘If you agree to be kind to these people and help them, they will always serve you as their king. So do what they are asking you to do.’

⁸ But Rehoboam did not agree with their advice. Instead he talked to some younger men. They had been his friends since they were young and now they were his advisors. ⁹ He asked them, ‘What do you think that I should say to these people? They want me to make their work easier.’

¹⁰ Rehoboam's young advisors said, ‘The people said to you, “Your father made us work too hard. Please make our work easier.” You should tell them, “Even my little finger is thicker than my father's whole body! ¹¹ My father made you work hard. I will make you work even harder! My father punished you with little whips. I will punish you with whips that bite your skin!” ’

Rehoboam refuses to do what the people want

¹² Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam after three days. That was because the king had said, ‘Return to me in three days.’

¹³ King Rehoboam spoke cruel words to the people. He did not agree to say what the older men had told him to say. ¹⁴ Instead, he did what the young men had suggested. He said to the people, ‘My father gave you work that was too hard for you. I will make it even worse! My father punished you with little whips. I will punish you with whips that bite!’

¹⁵ So the king did not agree to do what the people wanted him to do. It was God who caused this to happen. He had already given his message about this to Nebat's son Jeroboam. The prophet Ahijah who came from Shiloh had spoken the Lord's message to Jeroboam.^[g]

Israel and Judah become separate kingdoms

¹⁶ All the Israelites realized that the king refused to listen to them. So they said to the king,

So the Israelites went to their homes. ¹⁷ But Rehoboam continued to rule over the Israelites who lived in the towns of Judah.^[h]

¹⁸ King Rehoboam sent a man called Adoniram to talk to the Israelite people. Adoniram had authority over the men who had to work for Rehoboam. But the Israelites threw stones at Adoniram and they killed him.^[i] So King Rehoboam quickly got into his chariot and he escaped to Jerusalem.

¹⁹ Since that time, the tribes in the north of Israel have not accepted the authority of King David's descendants.

11 Rehoboam arrived back in Jerusalem. He brought together all the men from the tribes of Judah and Benjamin who knew how to fight. There were 180,000 of them. Rehoboam wanted to attack the Israelite tribes so that he could rule them again as king. ² But the Lord told the prophet Shemaiah, ³ ‘Say this to Solomon's son Rehoboam, the king of Judah. Say it to all the Israelite people who belong to the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. ⁴ This is what the Lord says: “Do not go and attack your brothers. Do not fight against them. Instead, you must all go home. I, the Lord, have decided that this must happen.” ’

So they obeyed the Lord's message. They did not go to attack Jeroboam.^[j]

Rehoboam rules Judah as king

⁵ Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem. He built these strong cities in Judah to make it safe:

He made all those cities in Judah and Benjamin very strong. ¹¹ He made their buildings stronger. He put important officers in them to rule over them. He stored food, olive oil and wine in them. ¹² He supplied every city with shields and spears. He did all these things to make them very strong places. So Rehoboam kept his authority over Judah and Benjamin.

¹³ The priests and Levites who lived everywhere in Israel agreed to serve Rehoboam. ¹⁴ The Levites even left their lands and their houses to come to Judah and Jerusalem.^[k] They came because Jeroboam and his sons refused to let them serve the Lord as his priests. ¹⁵ Jeroboam chose his own priests to offer sacrifices at the altars that he had built on the hills. They worshipped the idols of goats and young bulls that Jeroboam had made. ¹⁶ But some people from every tribe in Israel still wanted to worship the Lord, Israel's God. So they came with the Levites to Jerusalem. They came to offer sacrifices to the Lord, the God of their ancestors. ¹⁷ These people helped to make the kingdom of Judah stronger. They were faithful to Solomon's son Rehoboam for three years. During that time, they lived in the way that David and Solomon had taught them to live.

Rehoboam's family

¹⁸ Rehoboam married Mahalath. Her father was David's son Jerimoth. Her mother was Abihail, the daughter of Jesse's son Eliab. ¹⁹ She gave birth to three sons for Rehoboam. Their names were Jeush, Shemariah and Zaham. ²⁰ Then Rehoboam married Absalom's daughter Maakah. She gave birth to Abijah, Attai, Ziza and Shelomith for him. ²¹ Rehoboam loved Absalom's daughter Maakah better than he loved any of his other wives. He had 18 wives and 60 slave wives. He was the father of 28 sons and 60 daughters.

²² Rehoboam chose Maakah's son Abijah to be the leader over his other sons. He wanted Abijah to become the next king. ²³ He did a wise thing with his other sons. He sent many of them to the different regions of Judah and Benjamin, to live in all the strong cities. He supplied them with plenty of food. He also found many women to become their wives.

Rehoboam turns away from the Lord

12 Rehoboam became a strong king who ruled with authority. But after that, he stopped obeying the law of the Lord. All the Israelites did the same thing. ² They did not serve the Lord in a faithful way. Because of that, King Shishak of Egypt attacked Jerusalem in the fifth year that Rehoboam was king Judah. ³ King Shishak's army had 1,200 chariots and 60,000 soldiers who rode on horses. Many other soldiers came with him from Egypt. They included men from Libya, Sukkoth and Ethiopia. ⁴ He took power over Judah's strong cities. Then his army marched to attack Jerusalem.

⁵ The prophet Shemaiah then came to speak to Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah. They had met together in Jerusalem because they were afraid of King Shishak. Shemaiah said to them, ‘The Lord says this: “You have turned away from me. So now I have turned away from you. I will let Shishak take power over you.” ’

⁶ The leaders of Israel and the king made themselves humble. They said, ‘The Lord is right to do that.’

⁷ The Lord saw that they had made themselves humble. So he said to Shemaiah, ‘Because they have made themselves humble, I will not destroy them. I will soon rescue them. I will not use Shishak to completely destroy Jerusalem's people. But because I am angry, ⁸ they will become his servants. Then they will learn what it is like to serve a foreign king instead of me.’

⁹ King Shishak of Egypt then attacked Jerusalem. He took away the valuable things that were in the Lord's temple and in the king's palace. He took everything for himself. That included the gold shields that King Solomon had made. ¹⁰ So Rehoboam used bronze to make other shields instead. He gave them to the officers of his own soldiers. These soldiers stood as guards at the entrance of the king's palace. ¹¹ Every time that the king went to the Lord's temple, the guards carried the shields. After that, they took them back to the guards' room where they stored them.

Rehoboam turns back to the Lord

¹² Rehoboam made himself humble. So the Lord did not destroy him. He stopped being angry with Rehoboam. He caused good things to happen in Judah.

¹³ Rehoboam made his authority as king in Jerusalem very strong. He was 41 years old when he became king. He ruled for 17 years in Jerusalem. That was the city that the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel. He chose it as the place where people would give honour to his name. Rehoboam's mother was an Ammonite woman. Her name was Naamah. ¹⁴ Rehoboam did wicked things because he did not want to serve the Lord faithfully.

¹⁵ All the things that happened while Rehoboam was king of Judah are written in some books. The prophet Shemaiah and the prophet Iddo wrote those things in their books. The books include lists of the ancestors of Rehoboam's family. Rehoboam and Jeroboam fought wars against each other all the time.

¹⁶ Rehoboam died and they buried him beside his ancestors in the City of David. His son Abijah became king after him.^[l]

Abijah rules Judah as king

13 Abijah became king of Judah after Jeroboam had been king of Israel for 18 years. ² Abijah ruled in Jerusalem as king for three years. His mother's name was Micaiah. She was the daughter of Uriel from Gibeah.

Abijah and Jeroboam fought a war against each other. ³ Abijah attacked with an army of 400,000 brave soldiers that he had chosen. Jeroboam prepared to fight against him with 800,000 strong brave soldiers that he had chosen.

⁴ Abijah went to stand on Mount Zemaraim, in the hill country of Ephraim. He shouted, ‘Listen to me, Jeroboam and all you Israelites! ⁵ The Lord, Israel's God, has chosen David and his descendants to be kings of Israel for all time. You know that God has promised that must happen. ⁶ Nebat's son Jeroboam was a servant of David's son, King Solomon. But he turned against his master. ⁷ He took some wicked useless men to join his group. They made themselves strong against Solomon's son, Rehoboam. Rehoboam was young and he had not been king for very long. So he was not strong enough to stop them.

⁸ Now you want to fight against the Lord's own kingdom that he has chosen David's descendants to rule over. You have a very large army. You bring with you the gold statues of young bulls that Jeroboam made for you as your gods. ⁹ But you chased away the Lord's own priests, the descendants of Aaron. You chased away the Levites. Instead you chose your own priests, as the people in other nations do. Anyone can become a priest to serve your false gods. He only has to come with a sacrifice of a young bull and seven male sheep!

¹⁰ But we still serve the Lord as our God. We have not turned away from him. We have the descendants of Aaron to serve as our priests. The Levites help them in their work. ¹¹ They offer burnt offerings and sweet incense to the Lord every morning and every evening. They put out the special bread on his table every day. They light the lamps on the gold lampstand every evening. So we are the people who are obeying the rules of the Lord our God. But you have turned away from him.

¹² Listen to me! God himself is our leader. He is here to help us. His priests are ready to make a loud noise with their trumpets to start the battle against you. Israelite people, do not fight against the Lord, the God of your ancestors. You will not win the battle.’

¹³ But Jeroboam had sent some soldiers around behind Judah's army. Jeroboam was with the rest of his army, in front of Judah's army. The other soldiers were ready to attack from behind. ¹⁴ Judah's soldiers turned around. They saw that Jeroboam's soldiers were in front of them and behind them. So they called out to the Lord for help. The priests made a noise with their trumpets.

¹⁵ Judah's soldiers shouted very loudly. As King Abijah led Judah's soldiers into the battle, the Lord knocked down Jeroboam and all Israel's army. ¹⁶ Israel's soldiers ran away as Judah's army chased after them. God caused Judah's soldiers to win the fight. ¹⁷ Abijah and his army killed many of the Israel soldiers. 500,000 of Israel's best soldiers died. ¹⁸ Judah's soldiers trusted the Lord, the God of their ancestors, to help them. That was why they won the battle that day against Israel's army.

¹⁹ King Abijah chased King Jeroboam. He took these Israelite towns for himself: Bethel, Jeshanah and Ephron, as well as the villages around them.

²⁰ After that, while Abijah was Judah's king, Jeroboam never became strong again. Finally, the Lord punished Jeroboam so that he died. ²¹ But Abijah became more powerful. He married 14 wives. He became the father of 22 sons and 16 daughters.

²² All the other things that happened while Abijah ruled as king are written in the book of the prophet Iddo. It includes the things that Abijah did and the things that he said.

Abijah dies

14 Abijah died and they buried him beside his ancestors in the City of David. Abijah's son Asa became king after him. The country had peace for ten years while Asa was king.

Asa rules Judah as king

² Asa did things that pleased the Lord his God. ³ He removed the altars and other places where people worshipped foreign gods. He broke the stone pillars and he cut down the Asherah poles.^{[m] 4} Asa commanded the people of Judah to worship the Lord, the God of their ancestors. He told them to obey God's law and his commands. ⁵ He removed the altars on the hills. He also removed the altars in all Judah's cities where people burned incense. There was peace in his kingdom while he ruled.

⁶ While there was peace in the land, Asa made the cities of Judah strong and safe. No enemies fought wars against Judah during that time. The Lord gave Asa rest from any trouble.

⁷ Asa said to Judah's people, ‘We should build these towns and make them stronger. We must put walls around them, with towers and strong gates. Judah still belongs to us because we have obeyed the Lord our God. He has made us safe from our enemies all around us.’

So the people made these towns strong. Everything went well for them.

Zerah attacks Asa

⁸ Asa had an army of 300,000 men from Judah. They carried big shields and spears. He also had 280,000 men from Benjamin's tribe. Those men carried small shields and they could shoot arrows with their bows. They were all brave soldiers who could fight well.

⁹ A man from Ethiopia called Zerah marched out to attack Judah. He had a very big army of a million soldiers and 300 chariots. When he reached Mareshah, ¹⁰ Asa went out to fight against him. The two armies prepared to fight a battle in Zephathah valley, near Mareshah.

¹¹ Then Asa called out to the Lord his God to help him. He prayed, ‘There is nobody like you Lord. You have power to help a few weak people against many strong people. Help us, Lord our God, because we trust you. We want people to give honour to your name. That is why we have come to fight against this large army. Lord, you are our God. You cannot let these men win against you.’

¹² So the Lord knocked down Zerah's soldiers as Asa and Judah's army attacked them. The Ethiopian soldiers ran away. ¹³ Asa and his soldiers chased after them until they reached Gerar. So many Ethiopian soldiers died there that their army could not fight any more. The Lord and his army completely destroyed them. Judah's soldiers carried away lots of their enemies' things for themselves.

¹⁴ The Lord caused the people in the towns near Gerar to become very afraid. So Judah's soldiers were able to attack those towns. There were many valuable things in all those towns and Judah's men took them away for themselves. ¹⁵ They also attacked the tents of the people who took care of animals. They took away many sheep and camels from there. Then they returned to Jerusalem.

Azariah speaks to Asa

15 God's Spirit came to Oded's son Azariah. ² Azariah went to meet King Asa. He said to him, ‘Listen to me Asa and all you people of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. The Lord will be with you while you are faithful to him. If you ask him for help, he will answer you. But if you turn away from him, he will turn away from you. ³ For a long time, the Israelites did not serve the true God. They did not have any priests to teach them what was right. They did not know God's law. ⁴ But when they were in trouble, they turned to the Lord, Israel's God. They asked him to help them and he answered them. ⁵ At that time it was not safe to travel very far. There was too much trouble among the people of other countries. ⁶ One nation would attack and destroy another nation. The people of one city destroyed other cities. God caused all this trouble to happen to those people. ⁷ But you must be strong. Continue to be brave. God will make your work successful.’

⁸ Asa felt strong again when he heard God's message from Azariah, son of the prophet Oded. He removed the disgusting idols from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin. He also removed them from the towns that he had taken in the hill country of Ephraim. He repaired the Lord's altar that was in the yard at the front of the Lord's temple.

Asa brings all the people together in Jerusalem

⁹ Then King Asa brought all the people together who belonged to the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. He also brought people from the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who had come to live in Judah. Many people from the other tribes of Israel had come to Judah to serve King Asa. They had seen that the Lord his God was with him to help him.

¹⁰ All these people met together in Jerusalem in the 15th year after Asa had become king. They met in the third month of the year. ¹¹ At that time they offered many animals to the Lord as sacrifices. They were animals that they had taken from their enemies. There were 700 bulls and 7,000 sheep. ¹² They made a serious promise that they would faithfully serve the Lord, the God of their ancestors. ¹³ If anyone refused to worship the Lord, Israel's God, they would punish that person with death. They agreed to do that, whoever the person was, young or old, male or female. ¹⁴ As they made this promise to the Lord, they shouted loudly to show that they agreed. They also made a loud noise with trumpets and sheep's horns. ¹⁵ All Judah's people were happy to make this promise, because they truly wanted to serve the Lord. They wanted him to help them and he answered them.

After that, the Lord made them safe from their enemies all around them.

Asa punishes Maakah because she worshipped idols

¹⁶ King Asa also told his grandmother Maakah that she could no longer have authority as the Queen Mother.^[n] This was because she had made a disgusting Asherah pole to worship. Asa cut down the Asherah pole and he burned it in the Kidron Valley.^{[o] 17} Asa did not remove the altars on all the hills in Israel, but he served the Lord faithfully for his whole life. ¹⁸ He brought into God's temple the things that he and his father had made as gifts for God. They used silver and gold to make some of these things.

¹⁹ There were no more wars in Judah until Asa had been king for 35 years.

King Baasha of Israel attacks Judah

16 After Asa had been king of Judah for 36 years, King Baasha of Israel attacked Judah.^[p] He put a group of his soldiers in Ramah and he made it a strong town. As a result, nobody could travel into Judah or out of Judah, where King Asa ruled.^[q]

² Then Asa took all the silver and gold that they had stored in the Lord's temple and in the king's palace. He sent it to Ben-Hadad, king of Syria, who lived in Damascus. ³ He also sent this message to Ben-Hadad: ‘We should make an agreement to be friends, as our fathers did. I am sending you this silver and gold. Please stop being friends with Baasha, king of Israel. If you no longer help him, he will have to take his soldiers out of my country.’

⁴ Ben-Hadad agreed to do what King Asa asked him to do. He sent his army with its leaders to attack towns in Israel. They won the battles at Ijon, Dan, Abel-Maim and all the cities of Naphtali's tribe where they stored things. ⁵ When King Baasha heard this news, he stopped the work in Ramah and he went away. ⁶ Then King Asa told all the men in Judah to do some hard work. They had to carry away from Ramah all the big stones and the wood that Baasha had been using there. Then King Asa used those things to make Geba and Mizpah strong towns again.

Hanani warns King Asa

⁷ At that time, the prophet Hanani went to visit Asa, king of Judah. He said to him, ‘You asked the king of Syria to help you. You should have trusted the Lord your God to help you instead. Because of that, the army of Syria's king has escaped from your power. ⁸ The armies of Ethiopia and Libya were very large. They had lots of chariots and soldiers who rode on horses. But you trusted the Lord when they attacked you, and he put them under your power. ⁹ The Lord carefully watches over the whole earth. If people serve him faithfully, he makes them strong. But you have done a foolish thing. As a result, you will now always be fighting wars.’

¹⁰ Asa was angry with the prophet, so he put him in prison. At that time Asa also started to do cruel things to some people.

Asa dies

¹¹ All the things that happened while Asa was king are written in a book. The book is called ‘The history of the kings of Judah and Israel’. ¹² When Asa had been king for 39 years, he had a disease in his feet. He became very ill, but he did not ask the Lord to help him. Instead, he asked doctors to make him better.

¹³ Asa died when he had been king for 41 years. ¹⁴ His people buried him in the grave that he had prepared for himself in the City of David. They put him on a special bed that had spices and different kinds of perfume on it. They burned a large fire to give him honour.

Jehoshaphat rules Judah as king

17 Asa's son Jehoshaphat became the next king of Judah. He made his kingdom strong to fight against Israel. ² He put soldiers in all Judah's cities that had walls around them and in other places in Judah. He also put soldiers in the towns of Ephraim that his father Asa had taken power over.

³ Jehoshaphat obeyed the Lord as his ancestor David had done when he first ruled as king. So the Lord was with him to help him. Jehoshaphat did not worship the idols of Baal. ⁴ Instead, he served the God that his father had served. He obeyed the Lord's commands. He did not do the wrong things that Israel's people did. ⁵ The Lord gave Jehoshaphat power over the kingdom of Judah. All Judah's people brought gifts to him. So Jehoshaphat became rich and people respected him. ⁶ He served the Lord with all his strength. He removed from Judah the altars on the hills and the Asherah poles.

⁷ In the third year that Jehoshaphat ruled Judah as king, he sent his officers to teach people in all Judah's towns. The names of those officers were Ben-Hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel and Micaiah. ⁸ He sent these Levites to go with them: Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tob-Adonijah. He also sent the priests, Elishama and Jehoram. ⁹ These men travelled everywhere in Judah to teach people. They took with them the book which was a copy of the Lord's law. They used it to teach people in all Judah's towns.

Jehoshaphat becomes very strong as king

¹⁰ The people in all the kingdoms around Judah were afraid of the Lord's power. So they did not want to fight a war against Jehoshaphat. ¹¹ Some Philistines brought silver and other gifts to Jehoshaphat to make him happy. People from Arabia also brought gifts to him. They brought 7,700 male sheep and 7,700 male goats.

¹² Jehoshaphat became more and more powerful. He built strong buildings and places to store things everywhere in Judah. ¹³ He kept lots of things in Judah's towns. He had a big army of strong, brave soldiers in Jerusalem. ¹⁴ These are the groups of the soldiers in each clan:

From Judah's tribe, the officer who led the soldiers was Adnah. He had authority over 300,000 soldiers, in groups of 1,000.

¹⁵ The next officer was Jehohanan. He had authority over 280,000 soldiers.

¹⁶ After him, the next officer was Zikri's son, Amasiah. He himself chose to serve the Lord in this way. He had authority over 200,000 soldiers.

¹⁷ From Benjamin's tribe, the officer who led the soldiers was Eliada, a brave soldier. He had authority over 200,000 soldiers who had bows and arrows, as well as shields.

¹⁸ After him, the next officer was Jehozabad. He had authority over 180,000 soldiers who had their weapons ready to fight.

¹⁹ All these men served as the king's soldiers in Jerusalem. He also had soldiers that he put in Judah's other strong cities.

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.^[r] 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?’^[s]

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.^[t] 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.” ’^[u]

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.’^[v]

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.^{[w] 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.^[x] 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.^[y]

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.^[z]

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.

Jehoram becomes king of Judah

21 Jehoshaphat died and they buried him beside his ancestors in the City of David. Jehoshaphat's son Jehoram became king after him. ² Jehoram had brothers who were also sons of Jehoshaphat. They were Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariahu, Michael and Shephatiah. All these men were sons of King Jehoshaphat of Judah.^{[aa] 3} Their father had given them many gifts of silver, gold and other valuable things. He gave them authority over the strong cities of Judah. But Jehoshaphat chose Jehoram be the next king because he was his oldest son.

⁴ Jehoram made himself a strong king to rule over his father's kingdom. Then he killed all his brothers, as well as some of the Israelite leaders. ⁵ He was 32 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for eight years.

⁶ He lived in the same bad way that the kings of Israel did. He did what the family of Ahab had done. He married a daughter of King Ahab and he became as wicked as King Ahab's family was. He did things that the Lord said were evil. ⁷ But the Lord did not want to destroy all David's descendants, because of his promise to David. He had promised that King David would always have descendants who would rule the nation.

Edom fights against Judah

⁸ While Jehoram was king, Edom's people turned against Judah. They would no longer accept the king of Judah's authority over them. They decided to have their own king. ⁹ So King Jehoram travelled to Zair with his army officers and all his chariots.^[ab] The Edomite army came and they were all around him. But that night, Jehoram and his officers attacked the Edomites and they escaped. ¹⁰ Even today, Edom's people do not obey the rulers of Judah. The people of Libnah city also turned against Judah at the same time. That happened because Jehoram had turned away from the Lord, the God of his ancestors.

¹¹ He also built altars on the hills of Judah. He caused the people of Judah and Jerusalem to turn away from the Lord and worship false gods.^[ac]

Elijah gives a message to King Jehoram

¹² The prophet Elijah wrote a letter to Jehoram. This is what it said:

‘The Lord, the God of your ancestor David says, “You have not lived in a good way as your father Jehoshaphat did and as King Asa of Judah did. ¹³ Instead, you have lived in the way that the kings of Israel live. You have caused the people of Judah and Jerusalem to turn away from the Lord and worship false gods. That is the same as King Ahab's family has done in Israel. You have also killed your own brothers, your father's sons. They were better men than you are. ¹⁴ So now the Lord will send terrible trouble on your people, including your children, your wives and everything that belongs to you. ¹⁵ You will have a bad disease. You will have terrible pain in your stomach that becomes worse and worse. Finally, your inside parts will come out of your body.” ’

¹⁶ There were some Philistines and Arabs who lived near people from Ethiopia. The Lord caused them to be angry with Jehoram. ¹⁷ They attacked Judah and they took power over the land. They took away all the valuable things in the king's palace. They took his sons and his wives as their prisoners. The only son of Jehoram that remained was his youngest son, Ahaziah.^[ad]

Jehoram dies

¹⁸ After all this happened, the Lord caused Jehoram to have a bad disease in his stomach. He could not become well again. ¹⁹ He was very ill for two years, and then his inside parts came out because of the illness. So he had a lot of pain until he died. His people did not make a big fire to give him honour, as they had done for his ancestors.

²⁰ Jehoram was 32 years old when he started to rule. He ruled in Jerusalem for eight years. When he died, nobody was sad. They buried him in the City of David, but not in the place where they had buried the other kings.

Ahaziah becomes king of Judah

22 The people who lived in Jerusalem chose Jehoram's youngest son, Ahaziah, to become king. The group of men who came into the city with the Arabs had killed all Jehoram's older sons. So Jehoram's son Ahaziah became the king of Judah.

² Ahaziah was 22 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for one year. His mother's name was Athaliah. She was a granddaughter of Omri, king of Israel.^[ae]

³ Ahaziah lived in the same bad way that Ahab's family had done. His mother taught him to do wicked things. ⁴ He did things that the Lord said were evil, as Ahab's family had done. Ahab's family became advisors to Ahaziah after his father died, and they caused Ahaziah's death. ⁵ They told him to join with Ahab's son, King Joram of Israel, to fight against King Hazael of Syria. They fought a battle at Ramoth Gilead. The Syrian army won the fight and they hurt King Joram. ⁶ Joram returned to Jezreel, so that his wounds could get better after the battle. While he was there, King Ahaziah of Judah went to visit him, because of his wounds.

Jehu kills Ahaziah and his people

⁷ When Ahaziah visited Joram, God used it to cause Ahaziah's death. When Ahaziah arrived, he went with Joram to meet Nimshi's son Jehu. But the Lord had chosen Jehu to kill all Ahab's family. ⁸ While Jehu was destroying Ahab's family, he met some of the officers of Judah who had come with Ahaziah. Jehu killed them, as well as some of Ahaziah's relatives who had travelled with him. ⁹ Then he went to look for Ahaziah. Jehu's men caught him in the city of Samaria, where he was hiding. They took him to Jehu. Then they punished him with death. They buried him properly, because they said, ‘He was the grandson of King Jehoshaphat who served the Lord faithfully.’

Now there was nobody in Ahaziah's family who had the authority to rule Judah as king.

Athaliah rules Judah

¹⁰ Ahaziah's mother Athaliah heard the news that her son was dead. So she started to kill everyone in Judah's royal family.

¹¹ But King Jehoram's daughter Jehosheba rescued Ahaziah's son Joash. When Athaliah's servants had come to murder the royal sons, Jehosheba took Joash away and she hid him. She put him in a bedroom in the temple with his nurse. Jehosheba was Ahaziah's sister and she was the wife of Jehoiada, the priest. So she hid Joash from Athaliah to stop her from killing him. ¹² Joash stayed safely in a room in God's temple while Queen Athaliah ruled Judah for six years.

Joash becomes king of Judah

23 In the seventh year that Queen Athaliah ruled Judah, the priest Jehoiada decided to be brave. He made an agreement with some officers in the army. Each of these men had authority over 100 soldiers. They were: Jeroham's son Azariah, Jehohanan's son Ishmael, Obed's son Azariah, Adaiah's son Maaseiah and Zikri's son Elishaphat. ² They travelled around all the land of Judah. They brought together the Levites from the different cities and the leaders of Israel's clans. They all came to Jerusalem. ³ They met together in God's temple to make a promise to the new king.

Jehoiada said to them, ‘Here is the king's son.^[af] He must become king, as the Lord promised that David's descendants would be. ⁴ This is what you must do: The priests and Levites who come to work on the Sabbath day must make three groups. One group must be guards who watch at the doors of the temple. ⁵ Another group will watch at the king's palace. The third group will stand at the Foundation Gate. All the other men will stand in the yards around the Lord's temple. ⁶ Only the priests and the Levites who have work there on that day may go into the Lord's temple. They may go in because they have made themselves clean to serve God. All the other people must do the jobs that the Lord has given to them. ⁷ The Levites must stand around the king. Each man must hold his weapon in his hand. If anyone tries to come into the temple, you must kill them. You must stay near to the king everywhere that he goes.’

⁸ The Levites and all the men of Judah did what Jehoiada the priest told them to do. Each officer brought his group of men. That included the men who worked on the Sabbath and those who did not. Jehoiada the priest did not allow any of the groups of men to go home. ⁹ Then Jehoiada gave some weapons that were in God's temple to the officers. He gave them the spears and the shields that had belonged to King David. ¹⁰ Then he put the men in their proper places around the king. They all held their weapons in their hands. They stood in a line from the south side of the temple to the north side. They were around the altar at the front of the temple.

¹¹ Jehoiada and his sons brought the king's son out of the temple room. They put the crown onto Joash's head. They gave him a copy of the royal covenant. They poured olive oil on his head to show that he was now the king. They shouted, ‘May the king have a long life!’

Queen Athaliah dies

¹² Queen Athaliah heard the soldiers and the people as they shouted and praised the new king. So she went to the Lord's temple where all the people were. ¹³ Then she saw the king! He was standing in the king's place beside the pillar at the entrance of the temple.^[ag] The army officers and the men with trumpets were standing beside the king. All the people of Judah were shouting with joy. There were musicians making music with trumpets and other musical instruments. They helped the people to sing and to praise God.

When Athaliah saw this, she was very upset. She tore her clothes. She shouted, ‘Treason! Treason!’^[ah]

¹⁴ Jehoiada the priest sent a message to the army officers who had authority over groups of 100 soldiers. He told them, ‘Bring her out of the temple to the line of guards outside. Use your swords to kill anyone who follows her.’ That was because Jehoiada had said, ‘You must not kill her inside the Lord's temple.’ ¹⁵ So they took hold of Athaliah. They took her through the gate for the king's horses into the yard of the palace. They killed her there.