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Jehoshaphat’s Reforms
19 Then Jehoshaphat king of Judah returned to his house in peace to Jerusalem. 2 And Jehu son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him. And he said to King Jehoshaphat, “Should you be a help to the wicked and love those who hate Yahweh? On account of this, wrath has come against you from Yahweh. 3 Nevertheless some good things have been found in regard to you, for you burned the Asherahs out of the land and set your heart to seek God.”
4 And Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem and returned and went out among the people from Beersheba to the hill country of Ephraim and brought them back to Yahweh, the God of their ancestors.[a] 5 And he appointed judges in the land and in all the fortified cities of Judah, city by city. 6 And he said to the judges, “Consider what you are doing, for you are not judging for a man but for Yahweh. Now he is with you in speaking justice. 7 So now, let the fear of Yahweh be upon you all. Be careful what you do,[b] for there is neither wickedness nor showing partiality[c] and taking bribes with Yahweh our God.”
8 Moreover, Jehoshaphat appointed in Jerusalem some of the Levites and the priests and heads of the families[d] of Israel as judges and to decide legal disputes for Yahweh. And they sat[e] in Jerusalem. 9 And he commanded them, saying, “Thus you must do in the fear of Yahweh in faithfulness and with a whole heart. 10 Any legal dispute that comes before you from your brothers who live in their cities concerning bloodguilt, law, commandment, statutes, and justice, you must warn them, so that they do not incur guilt before Yahweh, and that wrath may not come upon you and your brothers. Thus you must do that you do not incur guilt. 11 And behold, Amariah the chief priest is over you in all matters of the word of Yahweh, and Zebadiah the son of Ishmael, the governor of the house of Judah, in all matters of the king, and the Levites shall be before you as officials. Be strong and do well! May Yahweh be with the upright.”
The Prayer of Jehoshaphat
20 And it happened that afterward, the Moabites,[f] the Ammonites,[g] and some of the Meunites[h] came against Jehoshaphat for war. 2 And they came and reported it to Jehoshaphat, saying, “A great multitude from beyond the sea, from Aram,[i] is coming against you. Now behold, they are in Hazazon Tamar” (that is, En Gedi). 3 Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek Yahweh. And he called for a fast through all Judah. 4 And Judah assembled to seek after Yahweh; even from all the cities of Judah they came to seek Yahweh.
5 Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem in the house of Yahweh before the new courtyard. 6 And he said, “O Yahweh, God of our ancestors,[j] are you not God in heaven? Now you rule in all the kingdoms of the nations, and in your hand are power and might, and there is none who can resist against you. 7 O, our God, did you yourself not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it to the descendants[k] of Abraham your friend forever? 8 And they lived in it and built for you a sanctuary for your name in it, saying, 9 ‘If disaster, a sword, punishment, disease, or famine come upon us, we shall stand before this house and before you—for your name is in this house—and cry out to you out of our trouble, then you will hear and save us.’ 10 And now, look, the people[l] of Moab and Ammon and Mount Seir whom you did not allow Israel to come against when they came from Egypt, from whom they turned aside and did not destroy, 11 now behold, they are rewarding us by coming to dispossess us from your possession which you gave us as an inheritance. 12 O our God, will you not judge them, for there is no power in us before this great multitude that is coming against us. Now we do not know what we shall do, for our eyes are upon you.”
13 And all Judah was standing before Yahweh, and also their little children, their wives, and their children. 14 Then the Spirit of Yahweh came upon Jahaziel, the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, the Levite from the descendants[m] of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly. 15 And he said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat, thus says Yahweh to you: ‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed before this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. 16 Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they are coming up the ascent of Ziz. And you will find them at the end of the valley facing the desert of Jeruel. 17 There will be no need for you to fight in this battle. Take your stand! Stand and see the deliverance of Yahweh among you, O Judah and Jerusalem! Do not fear and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out before them and Yahweh will be with you.’” 18 Then Jehoshaphat bowed his face[n] down to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before Yahweh to worship Yahweh. 19 Then the Levites, from the Kohathites[o] and from the Korahites[p] stood up to praise Yahweh the God of Israel with an exceedingly[q] loud voice.
God Delivers Judah and Jerusalem
20 And they rose up early in the morning and went out to the desert of Tekoa. And when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in Yahweh your God, and you shall be established! Believe in his prophets, and you shall succeed!” 21 And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed singers to Yahweh who were giving praise to the splendor of his holiness when they went out before the army. And they said, “Give thanks to Yahweh, for his loyal love is everlasting!”
22 And when[r] they began with singing and praise, Yahweh set ambushes against the people[s] of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir who were coming against Judah. And they were defeated 23 when the people[t] of Ammon and Moab rose up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to destroy and demolish them. And when the inhabitants of Seir had made an end of them, each helped to destroy his comrade.
24 And Judah came against the watchtower of the wilderness. And they looked at the crowd, and behold, corpses were lying on the ground. There was none who had escaped. 25 When Jehoshaphat came with his people to plunder their booty, they found among them in abundance possessions, corpses, and precious items. And they took plunder for themselves until they could carry no more.[u] And they were three days in plundering the booty, for it was abundant. 26 And on the fourth day, they assembled in the Valley of Berakah, for there they blessed Yahweh. Therefore the name of that place is called the Valley of Berakah up to this day. 27 And all the men of Judah and Jerusalem returned, and Jehoshaphat was at their head in returning to Jerusalem with joy, for Yahweh caused them to rejoice over their enemies. 28 And they came to Jerusalem with harps, stringed instruments, and trumpets to the house of Yahweh. 29 And the fear of God came upon all the kingdoms of the earth when they heard that Yahweh had fought against the enemies of Israel. 30 So the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at rest, since his God gave rest to him all around.
The End of Jehoshaphat’s Reign
31 So Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he began to reign. And he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. The name of his mother was Azubah, the daughter of Shilhi. 32 And he walked in the way of his father Asa and did not turn aside from it, to do what was right in the eyes of Yahweh. 33 Only the high places were not removed. The people still had not yet set their heart on the God of their ancestors.[v] 34 Now the rest of the words of Jehoshaphat, from the first to the last, behold, they are written in the chronicles[w] of Jehu the son of Hanani, which are recorded in the scroll of the kings of Israel.
35 And afterward Jehoshaphat the king of Judah joined with Ahaziah the king of Israel, who acted wickedly. 36 He joined with him to build ships to go to Tarshish. And they built the ships in Ezion Geber. 37 Then Eliezer the son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because of your joining with Ahaziah, Yahweh will break down your works.” And the ships were destroyed and were not able to go to Tarshish.
14 How then will they call upon him in whom they have not believed? And how will they believe in him about whom they have not heard? And how will they hear about him without one who preaches to them? 15 And how will they preach, unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “How timely are the feet of those who bring good news of good things.”[a] 16 But not all have obeyed the good news, for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?”[b] 17 Consequently, faith comes by hearing, and hearing through the word about Christ.
18 But I say, they have not heard, have they?[c] On the contrary,
“Their voice has gone out to all the earth,
and their words to the ends of the inhabited world.”[d]
19 But I say, Israel did not know, did they?[e] First, Moses says,
“I will provoke you to jealousy by those who are not a nation;
by a senseless nation I will provoke you to anger.”[f]
20 And Isaiah is very bold and says,
“I was found by those who did not seek me;
I became known to those who did not ask for me.”[g]
21 But about Israel he says,
“The whole day long I held out my hands
to a disobedient and resistant people.”[h]
A Remnant of Israel Remains
11 Therefore I say, God has not rejected his people, has he?[i] May it never be! For I also am an Israelite, from the descendants of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God has not rejected his people, whom he foreknew! Or do you not know, in the passage about[j] Elijah, what the scripture says—how he appeals to God against Israel? 3 “Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have torn down your altars, and I alone am left, and they are seeking my life!”[k] 4 But what does the divine response say to him? “I have left for myself seven thousand people[l] who have not bent the knee to Baal.”[m] 5 So in this way also at the present time, there is a remnant selected by grace[n]. 6 But if by grace, it is no longer by works, for otherwise grace would no longer be grace.
7 What then? What Israel was searching for, this it did not obtain. But the elect obtained it, and the rest were hardened, 8 just as it is written,
“God gave them a spirit of stupor,
eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear,
until this very day.”[o]
9 And David says,
“Let their table become a snare and a trap,
and a cause for stumbling and a retribution to them;
10 let their eyes be darkened so that they do not see,
and cause their backs to bend continually[p].”[q]
11 I say then, they did not stumble so that they fell, did they?[r] May it never be! But by their trespass, salvation has come to the Gentiles, in order to provoke them to jealousy.[s] 12 And if their trespass means riches for the world and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fullness mean?
Joy in the Salvation of Yahweh
For the music director. A psalm of David.[a]
21 O Yahweh, the king will rejoice in your strength,
and how greatly he will delight in your help.[b]
2 You have given him the desire of his heart,
and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah
3 For you meet him with blessings of good things.
You set on his head a crown of fine gold.
4 He asked life from you; you gave it to him—
length of days forever and ever.
5 His honor is great because of your help.[c]
Splendor and majesty you have bestowed upon him.
6 For you set on him blessings forever.
You make him glad with the joy of your presence.
7 Because the king trusts Yahweh,
and through the steadfast love[d] of the Most High
he shall not be moved.
8 Your hand will find all your enemies;
your right hand will find those who hate you.
9 You will make them like your fiery furnace
at the time of your appearance.
Yahweh will swallow them in his wrath
and fire will consume them.
10 You will destroy their offspring[e] from the earth,
and their descendants[f] from among the children of humankind.
11 Though they have plotted[g] evil against you,
though they have planned a scheme, they will not prevail.
12 For you will turn them to flight;[h]
you will aim arrows on your bowstrings at their faces.
13 Be exalted, O Yahweh, in your strength,
and we sing and praise your power.
4 The lazy person will not plow in season;
he will expect at the harvest, but there will be nothing.
5 Deep waters are like purpose in the heart[a] of a man,
and a man of understanding will draw it[b] out.
6 Many a person will proclaim his loyalty for himself,
but a man who is trustworthy, who can find?
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