Bible in 90 Days

¹¹ Thus Solomon finished the house of the Lord and the king’s house. And Solomon successfully accomplished everything that came into his heart to do in the house of the Lord and in his own house.

The Lord Appears to Solomon^(A)

¹² Then the Lord appeared to Solomon at night, and He said to Solomon,

“I have heard your prayer, and I have chosen for Myself in this place a house of sacrifice.

¹³ “When I shut up the heaven and there is no rain, or when I command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence on My people, ¹⁴ if My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. ¹⁵ Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to the prayer of this place. ¹⁶ So now I have chosen and consecrated this house that My name be there continually. My eyes and heart will be there for all days.

¹⁷ “And you, if you walk before Me as David your father did to do everything that I command you to do, and you keep My statutes and judgments, ¹⁸ then I will set the throne of your kingdom as I made a covenant with David your father saying, ‘You will not lack a man to rule Israel.’

¹⁹ “But if the people turn aside and abandon My statutes and commandments that I have given to you, and you walk after and serve other gods and worship them, ²⁰ then I will uproot them from My land that I have given to them; and the house that I have consecrated for My name, I will throw it from before Me and set it as a proverb and taunt among the peoples. ²¹ And even though this house was majestic, it will lie desolate before all who pass by it, and they will say, ‘Why did the Lord do such a thing to this land and this house?’ ²² Then they will say, ‘Because they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers who brought them up from the land of Egypt, and they took hold of other gods and worshipped and served them; therefore He has brought on them all this disaster.”

Solomon’s Other Activities^(B)

8 It came that after twenty years, Solomon built the house of the Lord and his royal house, ² and Solomon even rebuilt the cities that Hiram had given to him, and he settled the sons of Israel in them. ³ Then Solomon went to Hamath Zobah and seized it. ⁴ He also built Tadmor in the wilderness and all the store cities that he built in Hamath. ⁵ He also built the Upper and Lower Beth Horon, fortified cities with walls, gates, and bars, ⁶ and Baalath, and all the store cities that Solomon had, and all the cities for his chariots, the cities for his cavalry, and whatever Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.

⁷ And all the people who remained from the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites who were not from Israel, ⁸ and from their descendants who remained from these peoples in the land and whom the sons of Israel did not finish destroying, Solomon brought them up to be forced labor, even to this day. ⁹ But from the sons of Israel Solomon did not make servants for his work. These were his soldiers, officers, commanders of his chariots, and horsemen. ¹⁰ And these were the two hundred and fifty chief officers for King Solomon who governed the people.

¹¹ And Solomon brought up the daughter of Pharaoh from the City of David to the house that he built for her, for he said, “My wife will not live in the house of David king of Israel, for the places where the ark of the Lord have been are holy.”

¹² At that time Solomon offered up burnt offerings on the altar of the Lord that he built before the vestibule, ¹³ according to the daily duty to offer up as the commandment of Moses for Sabbaths, New Moons, and the three annual festivals: the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles. ¹⁴ According to the ruling of David his father, he set the divisions of the priests for their service, and the Levites for their function to praise and serve before the priests according to the daily duty, and even the gatekeepers for their divisions at each gate, for this was the commandment of David the man of God. ¹⁵ And they did not turn from the commandment of the king, whether the priests or Levites, concerning any matter and concerning the treasury.

¹⁶ So all the work of Solomon was established from the day of the foundation of the house of the Lord and until its completion; and the house of the Lord was complete.

¹⁷ Then Solomon went to Ezion Geber and Elath at the shore of the sea in Edom. ¹⁸ And Hiram sent him ships by the hand of his servants, who knew the sea. And they went with the servants of Solomon to Ophir, and took from there four hundred and fifty talents^[a] of gold, and brought them to King Solomon.

The Queen of Sheba Visits^(C)

9 The queen of Sheba heard a report of Solomon, and she came to Jerusalem with a very impressive retinue—with camels carrying spices, an abundance of gold, and precious stones—to test Solomon with riddles. When she came to Solomon she shared with him everything that was on her heart. ² Solomon declared to her everything that she asked, and there was not any matter concealed from Solomon that he did not declare to her. ³ When the queen of Sheba had observed the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, ⁴ the food on his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, and their clothing, his valets, and their clothing, and his burnt offerings that he offered at the house of the Lord, there was no more spirit left in her.

⁵ Then she said to the king, “True was the report that I heard in my land concerning your words and wisdom. ⁶ But I did not believe their reports until I came and my eyes saw; and indeed, half the greatness of your wisdom was not declared to me. You have exceeded the report that I heard. ⁷ How happy your men must be! How happy these servants, those who are continually before you listening to your wisdom. ⁸ May the Lord your God be blessed, who has delighted in you, to set you as king on the throne of the Lord your God. Your God has loved Israel to establish them continually and has set you as king over them to perform justice and righteousness.”

⁹ Then she gave the king one hundred and twenty talents^[b] of gold and a great abundance of spices and precious stones. And there were no spices like those that the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

¹⁰ Moreover, the servants of Hiram and Solomon who brought gold from Ophir also brought algum wood and precious stones. ¹¹ And the king used the algum wood for steps for the house of the Lord and the palace of the king, even for lyres and harps for the singers. And there had not been anything seen like these in the land of Judah.

¹² And King Solomon gave everything to the queen of Sheba in which she had pleasure, even what she asked for in addition to what she brought to the king. Then she turned and left for her own land with her servants.

The Splendor of Solomon^(D)

¹³ The weight of gold that came to Solomon every year was six hundred and sixty-six talents^[c] of gold. ¹⁴ In addition to what the explorers and merchants brought in, all the kings of Arabia and governors of the land brought in gold and silver to Solomon.

¹⁵ King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold, and six hundred gold pieces^[d] were used for each large shield. ¹⁶ And he made three hundred shields of hammered gold; three hundred gold pieces^[e] were used for each shield. And the king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.

¹⁷ And the king made a great throne of ivory, and he covered it with fine gold. ¹⁸ And there were six steps and a gold footstool attached to the throne, and on each side at the place of the seat were armrests with two lions standing beside the armrests. ¹⁹ So twelve lions stood there on the six steps, one on each side, and there was nothing like this in any kingdom. ²⁰ Even all the drinking vessels of King Solomon were gold, and all the vessels in the House of the Forest of Lebanon were fine gold. And silver was not thought to be valuable in the days of Solomon. ²¹ The ships of Solomon went to Tarshish with the servants of Hiram. Once every three years the ships of Tarshish returned carrying gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.

²² So King Solomon was greater than all the kings of the earth in wealth and wisdom. ²³ All the kings of the earth sought out an audience before Solomon to hear his wisdom that God gave to his mind. ²⁴ Every year each man brought his own tribute, vessels of silver and gold, garments, myrrh, spices, horses, and mules.

²⁵ Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots and twelve thousand horses, and he put them in designated cities and with him in Jerusalem. ²⁶ He ruled over all the kings from the River^[f] to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt. ²⁷ So the king made silver in Jerusalem as abundant as stones and cedar as plentiful as sycamore trees in the lowlands of the Shephelah. ²⁸ The horses of Solomon were imported from Egypt and from all other lands.

The Death of Solomon^(E)

²⁹ And the rest of the acts of Solomon, from beginning to end, are they not written in the annals of Nathan the prophet, and the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam the son of Nebat? ³⁰ So Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel for forty years. ³¹ And Solomon slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the City of David his father. And Rehoboam his son then ruled in his place.

Israel Rebels Against Rehoboam^(F)

10 Rehoboam went to Shechem because all Israel journeyed to Shechem to make him king. ² It happened that Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard this—he was in Egypt, where he fled from King Solomon—so he returned from Egypt. ³ So they sent for him and called him. And Jeroboam and all Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam saying, ⁴ “Your father made our yoke heavy. Now therefore, lighten your father’s labor and heavy yoke that he put on us, and we will serve you.”

⁵ He responded, “Return again to me in three days.” So the people left.

⁶ Then King Rehoboam consulted with the elders who stood in the presence of Solomon his father when he was alive saying, “How do you counsel that I should give a response to this people?”

⁷ They said to him, “If you are good to this people and please them and speak well to them, then they will be servants to you all your days.”

⁸ But he abandoned the counsel of the elders that they gave to him. And he consulted the young men who grew up and stood before him. ⁹ Rehoboam said to them, “What do you counsel that we give as a response to this people who have spoken to me, ‘Lighten the yoke that your father placed on us’?”

¹⁰ The young men who had grown up with him said, “So you should speak to the people who have spoken to you saying, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you lighten it from us.’ So you will say to them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist! ¹¹ Whereas my father placed a heavy yoke on you, I will add to your yoke. My father chastened you with whips, but I will scourge you with scorpions.’ ”

¹² So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day, as the king had ordered saying, “Return to me on the third day.” ¹³ Then the king answered them harshly. King Rehoboam rejected the advice of the elders. ¹⁴ He spoke to them with the advice of the young men, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will increase it. My father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.” ¹⁵ The king did not listen to the people, for the event occurred because of God, that the Lord might establish His word that He spoke through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

¹⁶ When all Israel saw that the king would not listen to them, the people answered the king saying,

Then all Israel departed to their tents. ¹⁷ The sons of Israel dwelled in the cities of Judah, and Rehoboam reigned over them.

¹⁸ Then King Rehoboam sent Hadoram, who was over the forced labor, and the sons of Israel stoned him to death. And King Rehoboam hurried to mount his chariot and to flee to Jerusalem. ¹⁹ So Israel has rebelled against the house of David until this day.

11 When Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he called together from the house of Judah and Benjamin one hundred and eighty thousand^[g] choice men to make war and to battle with Israel in order to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam.

² But the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah the man of God saying: ³ Speak to Rehoboam, son of Solomon and king of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, ⁴ “So says the Lord: You are not to go up and fight against your brothers. Each man must return to his house, for this event is from Me.” So they obeyed the word of the Lord and turned back from attacking Jeroboam.

Rehoboam Secures the Kingdom

⁵ So Rehoboam dwelled in Jerusalem and built siege cities in Judah. ⁶ He built Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, ⁷ Beth Zur in the east, Soko, Adullam, ⁸ Gath, Mareshah in the west, Ziph, ⁹ Adoraim, Lachish in the south, Azekah, ¹⁰ Zorah, Aijalon in the northwest, and central Hebron, all of which were fortified cities in Judah and Benjamin. ¹¹ He strengthened the fortresses and set leaders in them with stockpiles of food, oil, and wine. ¹² And in all the cities he placed shields and spears, and he greatly strengthened these places. So he held Judah and Benjamin.

¹³ And the priests and Levites in all Israel came before him from all their territories. ¹⁴ For the Levites left their pasture lands and properties, and they traveled to Judah and Jerusalem because Jeroboam and his sons excluded them from serving as priests to the Lord. ¹⁵ And he set for himself priests for the high places and for the goat and calf idols that he made. ¹⁶ And those who set their hearts to seek the Lord God of Israel followed after them from all the tribes of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem to sacrifice to the Lord God of their fathers. ¹⁷ So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah and supported Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, for three years, for they walked in the way of David and Solomon for three years.

Rehoboam’s Family

¹⁸ And Rehoboam took Mahalath for a wife, the daughter of both Jerimoth the son of David and of Abihail the daughter of Eliab the son of Jesse, ¹⁹ and she bore sons to him: Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham. ²⁰ Then after her he took Maakah the daughter of Absalom. And she bore to him Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith. ²¹ And Rehoboam loved Maakah the daughter of Absalom more than his other wives and concubines (for he took eighteen wives and sixty concubines), and he had twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters.

²² And Rehoboam set Abijah the son of Maakah as chief and head over his brothers for he planned to make him king. ²³ And he was discerning and spread out all his sons to all the lands of Judah and Benjamin, even among the fortified cities, and he provided for them an abundance of provisions and wives.

Egypt Attacks Jerusalem^(G)

12 Now when the reign of Rehoboam was established and strong, he, and all of Israel with him, abandoned the law of the Lord. ² And in the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt went up against Jerusalem for they had acted unfaithfully against the Lord, ³ with one thousand two hundred chariots and sixty thousand horses. The people were without number who came with him from Egypt—Libyans, Sukkiktes, and Ethiopians. ⁴ And he captured the fortified cities that were in Judah, and he came even to Jerusalem.

⁵ Then Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and the rulers of Judah who were assembled in Jerusalem before Shishak, and he said to them, “So the Lord says: You have abandoned Me, so I have abandoned you into the hand of Shishak.”

⁶ Then the king and the rulers of Israel humbled themselves and said, “The Lord is righteous.”

⁷ So when the Lord observed that they had humbled themselves, the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah, “They have humbled themselves, so I will not destroy them. I will let some of them escape, and My anger will not pour out against Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak. ⁸ For they will be slaves to him so that they experience My labor and the labor of the kingdoms of other lands.”

⁹ So Shishak king of Egypt went up against Jerusalem and took away the treasures of the house of the Lord and of the palace of the king. He took everything, even the gold shields that Solomon made. ¹⁰ And King Rehoboam made bronze shields in their place and entrusted them to the hands of the rulers of the guards, those who guarded the entrance to the king’s palace. ¹¹ And it happened that whenever the king came to the house of the Lord, the guards came and carried the shields and then returned them to the guardroom.

¹² And when he humbled himself, the anger of the Lord turned away from him so that there was not a complete annihilation. Moreover, there were some good things in Judah during this time.

The Death of Rehoboam

¹³ So King Rehoboam was strong and reigned in Jerusalem. For Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned for seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city that the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put His name there. His mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonite. ¹⁴ And he acted evil because he did not set his heart to seek out the Lord.

¹⁵ Now, are not the acts of Rehoboam written from beginning to end in the annals of Shemaiah the prophet and Iddo the seer, according to genealogy? And there were battles between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days. ¹⁶ And Rehoboam slept with his fathers and was buried in the City of David, and Abijah ruled in his place.

Abijah, King of Judah^(H)

13 In the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, Abijah became king of Judah. ² He reigned for three years in Judah, and his mother’s name was Micaiah,^[h] the granddaughter of Uriel of Gibeah.

And there was a war between Abijah and Jeroboam. ³ Abijah set the battle in order with an army of valiant men of war, four hundred thousand choice men. Jeroboam also drew up battle lines against him with an army of eight hundred thousand men, mighty men of valor.

⁴ Then Abijah went up to Mount Zemaraim that is in the hills of Ephraim, and he said, “Listen to me, Jeroboam and all Israel! ⁵ Do you all not know that the Lord God of Israel has perpetually given the kingdom of Israel to David, even to him and to his sons with a covenant of salt? ⁶ And Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon son of David, stood up and rebelled against his lord Rehoboam. ⁷ Then vain, worthless men gathered together around him and defied Rehoboam son of Solomon. And Rehoboam was young and timid in heart and was not strong before them.

⁸ “And now you think that you can withstand before the kingdom of the Lord by the hand of the sons of David. And you all are a great multitude, and with you are the golden calves that Jeroboam has made for you to be gods. ⁹ Have you all not driven out the priests of the Lord, even the Levites and sons of Aaron, and made for yourselves priests from the peoples of other lands? Whoever comes to be dedicated and has in his hand a young bull or seven rams becomes a priest to what is not a god.

¹⁰ “But for us, the Lord is our God, and we have not abandoned Him. And our priests serve the Lord and are sons of Aaron, Levites with their service. ¹¹ They sacrifice burnt offerings to the Lord every morning and evening and put out an incense of spices. They also set the showbread in place on the ritual table and set the golden lampstand with its lamps to burn every evening. For we keep the duty of the Lord our God, but you all have abandoned Him. ¹² God is with us as a leader, and His priests with their battle trumpets to call for battle against you all. O sons of Israel, do not fight against the Lord the God of your fathers because you will not find success.”

¹³ So Jeroboam went around them with an ambush to come from behind them. Those from Israel were in front of Judah, while the ambush was behind them. ¹⁴ Then Judah turned and saw that the battle was both in front of and behind them. Then they cried out to the Lord, and the priests sounded their trumpets. ¹⁵ Then the men from Judah shouted out; and it happened when Judah shouted out, God struck down Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. ¹⁶ The men of Israel fled before Judah, and God gave them into their hand. ¹⁷ Abijah and his people struck them down with a great slaughter, and the slain from Israel who fell that day were five hundred thousand choice men. ¹⁸ So the sons of Israel were subdued at that time, and the people of Judah were strong for they depended on the Lord God of their fathers.

¹⁹ And Abijah chased after Jeroboam and captured cities from him: Bethel, Jeshanah, and Ephron with their surrounding villages. ²⁰ And Jeroboam did not again recover his strength in the days of Abijah, and the Lord struck down Jeroboam, and he died.

²¹ So Abijah grew strong and took fourteen wives and had twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters.

²² And the remainder of the acts of Abijah, both his ways and words, are written in the story of the prophet Iddo.

14 And Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the City of David. Asa his son then reigned in his place. In his days the land was quiet for ten years.

Asa, King of Judah^(I)

² Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God. ³ He took down the foreign altars and high places, and he shattered the pillars and cut down the images of Asherah. ⁴ Then he urged Judah to seek the Lord the God of their fathers and to keep the law and commandments. ⁵ And he also removed all the high places and incense altars in the cities in Judah. And the kingdom was at rest under Asa. ⁶ He built fortified cities in Judah because the land was quiet; and there was no war in these years, for the Lord gave peace to him.

⁷ And he said to Judah, “Let us build up these cities and let us surround them with walls, towers, gates, and bars for the land before us is still ours because we have sought after the Lord our God. We have sought Him, and He has given us peace all around.” So they built and had success.

⁸ And it happened that Asa had an army from Judah carrying large shields and spears numbering three hundred thousand. And from Benjamin he had an army carrying shields and bows numbering two hundred eighty thousand. All of these were mighty men of valor.

⁹ But Zerah the Ethiopian Cushite came out against them with an army of a million men and three hundred chariots. And he came up to Mareshah. ¹⁰ Then Asa went out to engage him, and they arranged for battle in the Valley of Zephathah near Mareshah.

¹¹ And Asa cried out the Lord his God, and said, “Lord, it is nothing with You to help, whether with many or with those who have no power. Help us, O Lord our God; for we trust in You, and in Your name we come against this multitude. O Lord, You are our God. Let no man prevail against You.”

¹² So the Lord struck down the Ethiopian Cushites before Asa and Judah, and the Cushites fled. ¹³ Then Asa and those with him pursued them until Gerar. And the Cushites fell till there was not one left alive because they were struck down before the Lord and His army. And those in Judah carried off a very great plunder. ¹⁴ And they struck down all the cities surrounding Gerar because the terror of the Lord was on them. And they plundered all the cities because there was a great amount of possessions in them. ¹⁵ And they also struck the tents holding livestock, and they carried off sheep and a great amount of camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.

The Reforms of Asa^(J)

15 Then the Spirit of God came on Azariah the son of Oded, ² and he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: The Lord is with you while you are with Him. If you all seek Him, He will be found with you. But if you forsake Him, He will forsake you. ³ For a long time Israel has been without the true God, and without a teaching priest and without law, ⁴ but when in their trouble they turned to the Lord God of Israel, and sought Him, He was found by them. ⁵ And at that time there was no peace to the one traveling in or out because there was a great panic on all those who dwelt in the land. ⁶ They were broken to pieces, nation against nation and city against city, because God confused them with every type of distress. ⁷ But you all must be strong and not lose heart, for there is a reward for your deeds.”

⁸ And when Asa heard these words of the prophecy of Azariah son of Oded the prophet, he was encouraged and removed the detestable idols from the entire land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities that he captured in the hills of Ephraim. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was before the vestibule of the Lord.

⁹ And he gathered together all of Judah and Benjamin and those who had settled among them from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon, for these had come down to him from Israel in a great number when they saw that the Lord his God was with him.

¹⁰ These were gathered in Jerusalem in the third month in the fifteenth year in the reign of Asa. ¹¹ They sacrificed to the Lord that day from the plunder that they brought in, seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep. ¹² And they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and soul. ¹³ But whoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel would be put to death, whether young or old, man or woman. ¹⁴ They swore an oath to the Lord in a loud voice, with shouting, trumpets, and horns. ¹⁵ And all Judah rejoiced over this oath because they swore with their whole heart and they sought Him with all their desire; and He was found by them, and the Lord gave them rest all around.

¹⁶ King Asa even removed his mother Maakah from being queen mother because she had made a detestable image for Asherah. Asa cut down her image, crushed it, and burned it in the Kidron Valley. ¹⁷ But they did not remove the high places from Israel. Nevertheless the heart of Asa was wholly committed all his days. ¹⁸ He brought into the house of God the sacred gifts of his father and his own sacred gifts—silver, gold, and utensils.

¹⁹ And there was no war until the thirty-fifth year of the reign of Asa.

Asa’s Last Years^(K)

16 But in the thirty-sixth year of the reign of Asa, Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and built Ramah and did not allow anyone to come in or go out to Asa king of Judah.

² Then Asa removed silver and gold from the storehouses of the house of the Lord and palace of the king, and he sent it to Ben-Hadad king of Aram in Syria, who lived in Damascus, saying, ³ “There is a covenant between me and you as between my father and your father. I am sending you silver and gold. Go and break your covenant with Baasha king of Israel so that he might leave me.”

⁴ And Ben-Hadad listened to King Asa, and he sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel. They struck down Ijon, Dan, Abel Maim, and all the depot cities of Naphtali. ⁵ And it happened when Baasha heard this, that he stopped building Ramah and he ceased his work. ⁶ Then King Asa took all of Judah, and they took the stones of Ramah and its timber that Baasha had used to build, and he built with them Geba and Mizpah.

⁷ And at that time Hanani the seer came to King Asa of Judah saying, “Because you depended on the king of Aram and did not depend on the Lord your God, therefore the army of the king of Aram escaped from your hand. ⁸ Were not the Cushites and Libyans a very large army with chariots and horses, but when you depended on the Lord, He gave them to your hand. ⁹ For the eyes of the Lord move about on all the earth to strengthen the heart that is completely toward Him. You have acted foolishly in this, and from this point forward you will have wars.”

¹⁰ Then Asa was angry with the seer and placed him in prison stocks, for he was enraged by these words. Asa even oppressed some of the people during this time.

The Death of Asa

¹¹ The events of Asa from beginning to end are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. ¹² In the thirty-ninth year of the reign of Asa, he had a sickness in his feet until his sickness became grave. Even in his disease he did not seek after the Lord, but the physicians. ¹³ So Asa slept with his fathers; he died in the forty-first year of his reign. ¹⁴ And they buried him in the tomb that he cut for himself in the City of David. And they placed him on a place filled with all types of spices mixed with ointments, and then they burned him up with a very great conflagration.

Jehoshaphat, King of Judah

17 Then Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his place, and he grew strong against Israel. ² He put an army in all the fortified cities of Judah and set military garrisons in the land of Judah, even in the cities of Ephraim that Asa his father had captured.

³ Now the Lord was with Jehoshaphat, for he walked in the previous ways of David his father, and he did not seek out the Baal cult. ⁴ For he sought out the God of his fathers and walked in his commandments, rather than the deeds of Israel. ⁵ So the Lord made firm the kingdom in his hand, and all Judah gave a tribute to Jehoshaphat. So he had an abundance of riches and honor. ⁶ His heart was raised up for the ways of the Lord. He even removed the high places and Asherah poles from Judah.

⁷ In the third year of his reign he sent officials, Ben-Hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah, to teach in the cities of Jerusalem, ⁸ and with them were also the Levites: Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tob-Adonijah, who were Levites. And with these were also Elishama and Jehoram, who were priests. ⁹ They taught the people in Judah, and they used the Book of the Law of the Lord and they traveled about all the cities of Judah and taught the people.

¹⁰ The terror of the Lord came on all the kingdoms of the land that surrounded Judah, and they did not bring war against Jehoshaphat. ¹¹ Some from the Philistine peoples brought gifts to Jehoshaphat such as silver for tribute. The Arabians even brought seven thousand seven hundred rams and seven thousand seven hundred goats to him.

¹² Jehoshaphat continued to increase in greatness, and he built citadels and storehouses in Judah. ¹³ And he had much property in the cities of Judah, and the men of war, mighty men of valor, were in Jerusalem. ¹⁴ This was their divisions by the houses of their father:

¹⁹ These were serving the king in addition to those the king placed in the fortified cities throughout Judah.

Micaiah Prophesies Against Ahab^(L)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Then the Lord said to him, ‘How?’

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Death of Ahab^(M)

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

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

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

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

The Reforms of Jehoshaphat

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

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

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

Jehoshaphat Defeats Moab and Ammon

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

²⁰ So they rose up early in the morning and went out to the Wilderness of Tekoa. And when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and those dwelling in Jerusalem. Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be supported. Believe His prophets, and you will succeed.” ²¹ And he consulted with the people and then appointed singers for the Lord and those praising Him in holy attire as they went before those equipped for battle saying,

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

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

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

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

The End of Jehoshaphat’s Reign^(N)

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

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

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

21 So Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers and was buried with them in the City of David, and Jehoram his son ruled in his place. ² And he had brothers, sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel, Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariahu, Michael, and Shephatiah. ³ And their father gave them great gifts of silver, gold, and excellent items, along with fortified cities in Judah, but he gave the kingdom to Jehoram because he was the firstborn.

Jehoram, King of Judah^(O)

⁴ Then Jehoram rose up over the kingdom of his father and he became strong. And he killed all his brothers with the sword and even some of the officials in Israel. ⁵ Now Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he began as king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. ⁶ And he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel as those from the house of Ahab did, for the daughter of Ahab was the wife of Jehoram. And 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 that He made with David, and because He said that He would give a lamp to David and his sons for all days.

⁸ In the days of Jehoram, Edom revolted from being under the hand of Judah, and they set a king for themselves. ⁹ So Jehoram passed over to the Edomite territory with his commanders and all his chariots, and it happened that he rose up at night and struck the Edomites, who had surrounded him and his chariot commanders. ¹⁰ So Edom revolted from being under the hand of Judah until this day.

At that time Libnah also revolted from being under their rule, because Jehoram had abandoned the Lord God of his fathers. ¹¹ He even made high places in the hill country of Judah and caused those in Jerusalem to be like prostitutes, and he led Judah astray.

¹² And a letter came to him from Elijah the prophet, saying,

“Thus says the Lord God of David your father: Because you have not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat your father, or in the ways of Asa king of Judah, ¹³ but have walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and have led Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem into whoredom, as the house of Ahab led Israel into whoredom, and also have killed your brothers, those of your father’s house, who were better than you, ¹⁴ the Lord will bring a great plague on your people, your children, your wives, and all your possessions; ¹⁵ and you will have great sickness with a disease of your intestines, until your intestines come out because of the disease, day by day.”

¹⁶ Then the Lord stirred up the spirit of the Philistines against Jehoram and also the Arabians who were near the Cushites. ¹⁷ And they went up against Judah and broke through, and they took every possession found in the palace of the king, even his sons and wives, so that no son was left with him except his youngest Ahaziah.

The Death of Jehoram

¹⁸ And after all this, the Lord struck him in his entrails with an incurable disease. ¹⁹ And it happened after many days, at the end of two years, his entrails came out due to his disease, so he died by a despicable disease. And his people did not make for him a memorial fire like the fire for his fathers.

²⁰ He was thirty-two when he began to reign, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. And he departed with no one’s regret. They buried him in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.

Ahaziah, King of Judah^(P)

22 Then those in Jerusalem made Ahaziah, the youngest son of Jehoram, king in his place because the raiding party, those coming with the Arabians to the camp, killed all the older sons. So Ahaziah the son of Jehoram reigned in Jerusalem.

² Now Ahaziah was forty-two years^[j] old when he began to reign, but he only reigned one year in Jerusalem. The name of his mother was Athaliah, a granddaughter of Omri.

³ And he also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab because his mother was the one counseling him to do evil. ⁴ And he also did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord, like the house of Ahab, for they served as his counselors after his father Jehoram died, which led to his destruction. ⁵ Even Ahaziah walked in their counsel and went with Jehoram the son of Ahab king of Israel to war against Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth Gilead. And the Arameans wounded Joram, ⁶ and the king returned to Jezreel to heal from the wounds that he sustained in Ramah where he fought against Hazael king of Aram.

Then Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel because he was wounded.

⁷ And it was from God that a downfall would happen to Ahaziah in regard to his visit with Joram. And when he arrived he went out with Joram to see Jehu the son of Nimshi, whom the Lord anointed to cut off the house of Ahab. ⁸ And it happened that when Jehu was acting in judgment with the house of Ahab that he found the rulers of Judah and the sons of the brothers of Ahaziah, who were serving Ahaziah, and Jehu killed them. ⁹ He sought out Ahaziah, and they captured him while he hid in Samaria, and they brought him to Jehu, and they put him to death. And they buried him because they said, “He is the grandson of Jehoshaphat who sought the Lord with all his heart.” And there was no one from the house of Ahaziah strong enough to retain the kingdom.

Athaliah Seizes the Throne^(Q)

¹⁰ So when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she rose up and mounted a campaign to destroy all the royal offspring of the house of Judah. ¹¹ But Jehoshabeath,^[k] the daughter of the king, took Joash the son of Ahaziah and stole him away from the king’s sons who were going to be put to death, and she placed him and his nurse in a bed chamber. So Jehoshabeath, the daughter of King Jehoram and wife of Jehoiada the priest (since she was a sister of Ahaziah), hid Joash from Athaliah. And she did not put the royal child to death. ¹² And he was hidden away with them in the house of God for six years. And Athaliah ruled over the land.

Joash, King of Judah

23 Then in the seventh year Jehoiada strengthened himself and made a covenant with the commanders over hundreds: Azariah the son of Jeroham, Ishmael the son of Jehohanan, Azariah the son of Obed, Maaseiah the son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat the son of Zikri. ² And they went throughout Judah and gathered the Levites from all the cities of Judah and even the heads of the fathers’ houses in Israel. Then they all came to Jerusalem.

³ So the whole assembly made a covenant with the king in the house of God, and Jehoiada said to them, “The king’s son will reign, as the Lord has said of the sons of David. ⁴ And this is the thing that you all will do: A third of you all from the priests and Levites who come on the Sabbath will be gatekeepers, ⁵ one-third will be at the palace of the king and another third at the Foundation Gate. And all the people will be in the courts of the house of the Lord. ⁶ And may no one enter the house of the Lord except the priests and those Levites who are serving. Those can enter because they are holy, but all the people will keep their assigned duty of the Lord. ⁷ Then the Levites will surround the king, each man with his weapon in his hand, and whoever enters the house will be put to death. They will be with the king when he enters and leaves.”

⁸ The Levites and all Judah did everything that Jehoiada the priest commanded. Each brought his men, who were to come on duty on the Sabbath, with those who were to go off duty on the Sabbath, because Jehoiada the priest did not dismiss the divisions. ⁹ Then Jehoiada the priest gave to the commanders of hundreds the spears and the large and small shields which had been King David’s, which were in the house of God. ¹⁰ Then he set all the people around the king, each man with his weapon in hand, from the south side to the north side of the temple, from the altar to the temple.

¹¹ Then they brought out the son of the king and set on him the crown and the testimony and they proclaimed him as king. So Jehoiada and his sons anointed him and said, “Long live the king!”

The Death of Athaliah

¹² And when Athaliah heard the sound of the people running and praising the king, she went toward the people in the temple of the Lord. ¹³ And she saw the king standing by the pillar at the entrance with the officials and trumpeters next to the king, and all of the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets, and singers with their instruments with songs were offering up praise. Then Athaliah tore her garments and yelled, “Treachery! Treachery!”

¹⁴ Then Jehoiada the priest brought out the commanders over hundreds, those entrusted over the army, and said to them, “Bring her out between the ranks, and let whoever follows her be killed with the sword.” For the priest said, “Do not put her to death in the house of the Lord.” ¹⁵ So they seized her, and she went to the entrance of the Horse Gate of the king’s palace, and they put her to death there.