Chronological
19 ¶ And Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, returned to his house in peace to Jerusalem.
2 And Jehu, the son of Hanani, the seer, went out to meet him and said to king Jehoshaphat, Should thou help the ungodly and love those that hate the LORD? Therefore, the wrath of the presence of the LORD shall be upon thee.
3 Nevertheless, good things have been found in thee, in that thou hast burned down the groves of the land and hast prepared thy heart to seek God.
4 And Jehoshaphat dwelt at Jerusalem, and he went out again through the people from Beersheba to Mount Ephraim and brought them back unto the LORD God of their fathers.
5 ¶ And he set judges in the land throughout all the fenced cities of Judah, city by city,
6 and said to the judges, Take heed what ye do, for ye do not judge for man, but for the LORD, who is with you in the word of judgment.
7 Therefore, now let the fear of the LORD be upon you; take heed and do it, for there is no iniquity with the LORD our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of bribes.
8 Moreover, in Jerusalem Jehoshaphat placed some of the Levites and of the priests and of the heads of the fathers of Israel for the judgment of the LORD and for controversies. And they returned to Jerusalem.
9 And he charged them, saying, Ye shall proceed thus in the fear of the LORD, in truth and with a perfect heart.
10 In whatever case that shall come to you of your brethren that dwell in their cities, between blood and blood, between law and commandment, statutes or rights, ye shall warn them lest they become guilty against the LORD so that wrath will not come upon you and upon your brethren. Doing thus, ye shall not be guilty.
11 Behold, Amariah, the high priest, who shall be over you in all matters of the LORD; and Zebadiah, the son of Ishmael, prince of the house of Judah, for all the king’s matters; and the Levites who shall be teachers before you. Take courage and do, for the LORD shall be with the good.
20 ¶ It came to pass after this also that the sons of Moab and the sons of Ammon and with them others besides the Ammonites came against Jehoshaphat to battle.
2 Then some came and told Jehoshaphat, saying, There comes a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea, and from Syria; and, behold, they are in Hazazontamar, which is Engedi.
3 Then Jehoshaphat feared and set himself to seek the LORD and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
4 And Judah gathered themselves together, to consult the LORD; and out of all the cities of Judah they came to consult the LORD.
5 And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court,
6 and said, O LORD God of our fathers, art not thou God in the heavens and dost thou not rule in all the kingdoms of the Gentiles? Is there not power and might in thy hand so that no one is able to withstand thee?
7 Art not thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel and didst give it to the seed of Abraham, thy friend, for ever?
8 And they have dwelt in it and have built thee a sanctuary in it for thy name, saying,
9 If evil comes upon us or the sword of judgment or pestilence or famine, we shall stand before this house and in thy presence (for thy name is in this house) and cry unto thee out of our tribulations, and thou wilt hear us and save us.
10 And now, behold, the sons of Ammon and of Moab and those of Mount Seir, whose land thou would not let Israel enter when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them and did not destroy them;
11 behold they reward us by coming to cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit.
12 O our God, wilt thou not judge them? For we have no might against this great company that comes against us; we do not know what to do; but our eyes are fixed upon thee.
13 And all Judah stood before the LORD, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.
14 ¶ Then upon Jahaziel, the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of the LORD in the midst of the congregation;
15 and he said, Hearken, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou King Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD unto you, Do not be afraid nor dismayed before this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.
16 Tomorrow ye shall go down against them; behold, they shall come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them next to the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel.
17 Ye shall not need to fight in this battle; set yourselves, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you. O Judah and Jerusalem; fear not, neither be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the LORD shall be with you.
18 Then Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and likewise all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the LORD, worshipping the LORD.
19 And the Levites, of the sons of the Kohath and of the sons of the Korah, stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with a loud voice on high.
20 ¶ And when they arose early in the morning and while they were going forth into the wilderness of Tekoa, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe the LORD your God, and ye shall be secure; believe his prophets, and ye shall be prospered.
21 And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed some to sing unto the LORD and to praise in the beauty of holiness, while the army went out and to say, Praise the LORD, for his mercy endures for ever.
22 And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set the sons of Moab and those of Mount Seir to ambush the sons of Ammon, who were coming against Judah; and they smote one another.
23 And the sons of Ammon and Moab rose up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them; and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, each one helped his companion to kill himself.
24 And when Judah came to the watch tower of the wilderness, they looked for the multitude, and, behold, they were fallen to the earth dead, for none had escaped.
25 And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to spoil them, they found among them an abundance of riches and of dead bodies and clothing and precious vessels which they took for themselves, more than they could carry away; and they were three days gathering in the spoil, it was so much.
26 And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Berachah; {Heb. of Blessing} for there they blessed the LORD; therefore, they called the name of that place, The valley of Berachah, unto this day.
27 Then they returned, those of Judah and those of Jerusalem with Jehoshaphat at their head, to go again to Jerusalem with joy, for the LORD had made them to rejoice over their enemies.
28 And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries and harps and trumpets unto the house of the LORD.
29 And the fear of God came upon all the kingdoms of the land when they heard how the LORD had fought against the enemies of Israel.
30 So the kingdom of Jehoshaphat had rest, for his God gave him rest round about.
31 ¶ Thus Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah; he was thirty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Azubah, the daughter of Shilhi.
32 And he walked in the way of Asa, his father, and did not depart from it, doing that which was right in the sight of the LORD.
33 With all this the high places were not taken away, for as yet the people had not prepared their hearts unto the God of their fathers.
34 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Jehu, the son of Hanani, who is mentioned in the book of the kings of Israel.
35 After these things, Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, joined himself with Ahaziah, king of Israel, who was given over to wickedness;
36 he joined himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish, and they made the ships in Eziongeber.
37 Then Eliezer, the son of Dodavah of Mareshah, prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, Because thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah, the LORD shall destroy thy works. And the ships were broken, and they were not able to go to Tarshish.
21 ¶ Now Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. And Jehoram, his son, reigned in his stead.
2 And he had brethren, sons of Jehoshaphat, Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariah, Michael, and Shephatiah; all these were the sons of Jehoshaphat, king of Israel.
3 And their father had given them great gifts of silver and of gold and of precious things, with fenced cities in Judah, but he gave the kingdom to Jehoram because he was the firstborn.
4 Now Jehoram rose up against the kingdom of his father, and he strengthened himself and slew all his brethren with the sword and likewise some of the princes of Israel.
5 Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem.
6 And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, like as did the house of Ahab, for he had the daughter of Ahab to wife; and he wrought that which was evil in the eyes of the LORD.
7 However, the LORD would not destroy the house of David because of the covenant that he had made with David and as he promised to give a light to him and to his sons for ever.
8 In his days Edom rebelled from under the dominion of Judah and made themselves a king.
9 Then Jehoram went forth with his princes and all his chariots with him, and he rose up by night and smote Edom who had compassed him in and all the captains of the chariots.
10 With all this Edom remained in rebellion, out from under the hand of Judah unto this day. Libnah also rebelled at the same time to not be under his hand because he had forsaken the LORD God of his fathers.
11 Moreover he made high places in the mountains of Judah and caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to commit fornication and compelled Judah unto this.
12 ¶ And a writing came to him from Elijah, the prophet, that said this: Thus hath the LORD, the God of David, thy father, said, Because thou hast not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat thy father nor in the ways of Asa, king of Judah,
13 but hast walked in the way of the kings of Israel and hast made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fornicate, like unto the fornication of the house of Ahab, and also hast slain thy brethren of thy father’s house, who were better than thyself,
14 behold, the LORD shall smite thy people with a great plague, and thy sons and thy wives and all thy goods;
15 and thou shalt have great sickness, with disease of thy bowels, until thy bowels fall out by reason of the sickness day by day.
16 Then the LORD stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines and of the Arabians, that were near the Ethiopians;
17 and they came up against Judah and invaded the land and carried away all the substance that was found in the king’s house, and his sons also and his wives so that none of his sons remained except Jehoahaz, the youngest of his sons.
18 And after all this the LORD smote him in his bowels with an incurable disease.
19 And it came to pass, that in process of time, after the end of two years, his bowels fell out by reason of his sickness; so he died of sore diseases. And his people made no burning for him, like they had done for his fathers.
20 He was thirty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years and departed without being desired. And they buried him in the city of David, but not in the sepulchres of the kings.
22 ¶ And the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah, his youngest son, king in his stead; for the band of men that came with the Arabians to the camp had slain all the elder sons. So Ahaziah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah reigned.
2 Ahaziah was forty-two years old {another text: twenty-two} when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Athaliah, the daughter of Omri.
3 He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother was his counsellor to do wickedly.
4 Therefore, he did evil in the sight of the LORD like the house of Ahab, for they were his counsellors, after the death of his father, to his destruction.
5 And He walked after their counsel and went with Jehoram, the son of Ahab, king of Israel, to war against Hazael, king of Syria at Ramothgilead, where the Syrians smote Joram.
6 And he returned to be healed in Jezreel because of the wounds which were given him at Ramah, when he fought with Hazael king of Syria. And Azariah, the son of Jehoram, king of Judah went down to see Jehoram, the son of Ahab, at Jezreel, because he was there sick.
7 But this was of God so that Ahaziah would be tread under foot by coming to Joram; for when he was come, he went out with Jehoram to encounter Jehu, the son of Nimshi, whom the LORD had anointed to cut off the house of Ahab.
8 And it came to pass that when Jehu was executing judgment upon the house of Ahab and found the princes of Judah and the sons of the brethren of Ahaziah, that ministered to Ahaziah, he slew them.
9 And he sought Ahaziah, and they caught him (for he had hid himself in Samaria) and brought him to Jehu; and when they had slain him, they buried him, Because, they said, He is the son of Jehoshaphat, who sought the LORD with all his heart. So the house of Ahaziah had no strength to be able to retain the kingdom.
10 ¶ So when Athaliah, the mother of Ahaziah, saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal seed of the house of Judah.
11 But Jehoshabeath, the daughter of the king, took Joash, the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king’s sons that were being slain, and kept him and his nurse in the bedchamber. So Jehoshabeath, the daughter of king Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada, the priest (for she was the sister of Ahaziah) hid him from Athaliah, so that she slew him not.
12 And he was with them hid in the house of God six years; and Athaliah reigned over the land.
23 ¶ And in the seventh year Jehoiada strengthened himself and took the captains of hundreds, Azariah, the son of Jeroham, and Ishmael, the son of Jehohanan, and Azariah, the son of Obed, and Maaseiah, the son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat, the son of Zichri, into covenant with him.
2 And they went about in Judah and gathered the Levites out of all the cities of Judah and the heads of the fathers of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem.
3 And all the congregation made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And he said unto them, Behold, the king’s son who shall reign, as the LORD has said of the sons of David.
4 This is the thing that ye must do: A third part of you, those who enter on the sabbath, shall be porters at the doors with the priests and the Levites;
5 and a third part shall be at the king’s house; and a third part at the gate of the foundation; and all the people shall be in the courts of the house of the LORD.
6 But let no one come into the house of the LORD, except the priests and the Levites that minister; they shall go in, for they are holy; but all the people shall keep the watch of the LORD.
7 And the Levites shall compass the king round about, each one shall have his weapons in his hand; and whoever else comes into the house shall be put to death; and ye shall be with the king when he comes in and when he goes out.
8 So the Levites and all Judah did according to all the things that Jehoiada, the priest, had commanded, and each one took his men, those that were to come in on the sabbath with those that were to go out on the sabbath, for Jehoiada the priest did not dismiss the courses.
9 Moreover, Jehoiada, the priest, delivered to the captains of hundreds spears and bucklers and shields, that had been king David’s, which were in the house of God.
10 And he set all the people in order, each one having his weapon in his hand, from the right side of the house to the left side of the house, along by the altar and the house, by the king round about.
11 Then they brought out the king’s son and put the crown upon him and gave him the testimony and made him king. And Jehoiada and his sons anointed him and said, Long live the king.
12 ¶ Now when Athaliah heard the noise of the people running of those that were praising the king, she came to the people into the house of the LORD:
13 And she looked and, behold, the king stood at his pillar at the entrance and the princes and the trumpets by the king; and all the people of the land rejoiced and sounded with trumpets, and those that knew how to praise sang with instruments of music. Then Athaliah rent her clothes and said, Treason, Treason.
14 Then Jehoiada, the priest, brought out the captains of hundreds that were set over the host and said unto them, Remove her from the order of the house, and whoever follows her, let them be slain with the sword. For the priest had commanded, Slay her not in the house of the LORD.
15 So they laid hands on her, and she entered into the entrance of the horse gate of the king’s house, and they slew her there.
16 And Jehoiada made a covenant between him and between all the people and between the king that they should be the LORD’s people.
17 Then all the people went to the house of Baal and broke it down and broke in pieces his altars and his images and slew Mattan, the priest of Baal, before the altars.
18 Also Jehoiada ordered the offices of the house of the LORD under the hand of the priests, the Levites, whom David had distributed in the house of the LORD to offer the burnt offerings of the LORD, as it is written in the law of Moses, with rejoicing and with singing, as it was ordained by David.
19 He also set the porters at the gates of the house of the LORD so that there should be no way for anyone who was unclean to enter in.
20 Then he took the captains of hundreds and the nobles and those that governed the people and all the people of the land and brought down the king from the house of the LORD; and they came through the high gate into the king’s house and set the king upon the throne of the kingdom.
21 And all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was at rest after they had slain Athaliah with the sword.
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