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19 King Jehoshaphat of Judah returned in peace to his house in Jerusalem. 2 Jehu son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him and said to King Jehoshaphat, “Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord? Because of this, wrath has gone out against you from the Lord.(A) 3 Nevertheless, some good is found in you, for you destroyed the sacred poles[a] out of the land and have set your heart to seek God.”(B)
The Reforms of Jehoshaphat
4 Jehoshaphat resided at Jerusalem; then he went out again among the people, from Beer-sheba to the hill country of Ephraim, and brought them back to the Lord, the God of their ancestors.(C) 5 He appointed judges in the land in all the fortified cities of Judah, city by city, 6 and said to the judges, “Consider what you are doing, for you judge not on behalf of humans but on the Lord’s behalf; he is with you in giving judgment.(D) 7 Now, let the fear of the Lord be upon you; take care what you do, for there is no perversion of justice with the Lord our God or partiality or taking of bribes.”(E)
8 Moreover, in Jerusalem Jehoshaphat appointed certain Levites and priests and heads of families of Israel to give judgment for the Lord and to decide disputed cases. They had their seat at Jerusalem.(F) 9 He charged them, “This is how you shall act: in the fear of the Lord, in faithfulness, and with your whole heart;(G) 10 whenever a case comes to you from your kindred who live in their cities concerning bloodshed, law or commandment, statutes or ordinances, then you shall instruct them, so that they may not incur guilt before the Lord and wrath may not come on you and your kindred. Do so, and you will not incur guilt.(H) 11 See, Amariah the chief priest is over you in all matters of the Lord; and Zebadiah son of Ishmael, the governor of the house of Judah, in all the king’s matters; and the Levites will serve you as officers. Deal courageously, and may the Lord be with the good!”(I)
Invasion from the East
20 After this the Moabites and Ammonites, and with them some of the Meunites,[b] came against Jehoshaphat for battle. 2 Messengers[c] came and told Jehoshaphat, “A great multitude is coming against you from Edom,[d] from beyond the sea; already they are at Hazazon-tamar” (that is, En-gedi).(J) 3 Jehoshaphat was afraid; he set himself to seek the Lord and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.(K) 4 Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord; from all the towns of Judah they came to seek the Lord.
Jehoshaphat’s Prayer and Victory
5 Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court, 6 and said, “O Lord, God of our ancestors, are you not God in heaven? Do you not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations? In your hand are power and might, so that no one is able to withstand you.(L) 7 Did you not, O our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of your friend Abraham?(M) 8 They have lived in it and in it have built you a sanctuary for your name, saying, 9 ‘If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment,[e] or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before you, for your name is in this house, and cry to you in our distress, and you will hear and save.’(N) 10 See now, the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, whom you would not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt and whom they avoided and did not destroy,(O) 11 they reward us by coming to drive us out of your possession that you have given us to inherit.(P) 12 O our God, will you not execute judgment upon them? For we are powerless against this great multitude that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”(Q)
13 Meanwhile, all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. 14 Then the spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the middle of the assembly.(R) 15 He said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you: Do not fear or be dismayed at this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s.(S) 16 Tomorrow go down against them; they will come up by the ascent of Ziz; you will find them at the end of the valley, before the wilderness of Jeruel. 17 This battle is not for you to fight; take your position, stand still, and see the victory of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you.”(T)
18 Then Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord.(U) 19 And the Levites of the Kohathites and the Korahites stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.
20 They rose early in the morning and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa, and as they went out Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God and you will be established; believe his prophets and you will succeed.”(V) 21 When he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the Lord and praise him in holy splendor, as they went before the army, saying,
“Give thanks to the Lord,
for his steadfast love endures forever.”(W)
22 As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set an ambush against the Ammonites, Moab, and Mount Seir who had come against Judah, so that they were routed.(X) 23 For the Ammonites and Moab attacked the inhabitants of Mount Seir, destroying them utterly, and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they all helped to destroy one another.(Y)
24 When Judah came to the watchtower of the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude; they were corpses lying on the ground; no one had escaped. 25 When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take the spoil from them, they found livestock[f] in great numbers, goods, clothing, and precious things, which they took for themselves until they could carry no more. They spent three days taking the spoil because of its abundance. 26 On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Beracah, for there they blessed the Lord; therefore that place has been called the Valley of Beracah[g] to this day. 27 Then all the people of Judah and Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat at their head, returned to Jerusalem with joy, for the Lord had enabled them to rejoice over their enemies.(Z) 28 They came to Jerusalem with harps and lyres and trumpets to the house of the Lord. 29 The fear of God came on all the kingdoms of the countries when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel.(AA) 30 And the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his God gave him rest all around.(AB)
The End of Jehoshaphat’s Reign
31 So Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he began to reign; he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Azubah daughter of Shilhi.(AC) 32 He walked in the way of his father Asa and did not turn aside from it, doing what was right in the sight of the Lord. 33 Yet the high places were not removed; the people had not yet set their hearts upon the God of their ancestors.(AD)
34 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, from first to last, are written in the Annals of Jehu son of Hanani, which are recorded in the Book of the Kings of Israel.(AE)
35 After this King Jehoshaphat of Judah joined with King Ahaziah of Israel, who did wickedly.(AF) 36 He joined him in building ships to go to Tarshish; they built the ships in Ezion-geber. 37 Then Eliezer son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you have joined with Ahaziah, the Lord will destroy what you have made.” And the ships were wrecked and were not able to go to Tarshish.(AG)
14 But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed?[a] And how are they to believe[b] in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him? 15 And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”(A) 16 But not all have obeyed the good news,[c] for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed[d] our message?”(B) 17 So faith[e] comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ.[f]
18 But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have:
“Their voice has gone out to all the earth
and their words to the ends of the world.”(C)
19 Again I ask, did Israel not understand? First Moses says,
“I will use those who are not a nation to make you jealous;
with a foolish nation I will provoke you.”(D)
20 Then Isaiah is so bold as to say,
“I have been found by those who did not seek me;
I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me.”(E)
21 But of Israel he says, “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.”(F)
Israel’s Rejection Is Not Final
11 I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin.(G) 2 God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel?(H) 3 “Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars; I alone am left, and they are seeking my life.” 4 But what is the divine reply to him? “I have kept for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”(I) 5 So, too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. 6 But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace would no longer be grace.[g](J)
7 What then? Israel has not achieved what it was pursuing. The elect have achieved it, but the rest were hardened,(K) 8 as it is written,
“God gave them a sluggish spirit,
eyes that would not see
and ears that would not hear,
down to this very day.”(L)
9 And David says,
“Let their table become a snare and a trap,
a stumbling block and a retribution for them;(M)
10 let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see,
and keep their backs forever bent.”
The Salvation of the Gentiles
11 So I ask, have they stumbled so as to fall? By no means! But through their stumbling[h] salvation has come to the gentiles, so as to make Israel[i] jealous.(N) 12 Now if their stumbling[j] means riches for the world and if their loss means riches for gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean!
Psalm 21
Thanksgiving for Victory
To the leader. A Psalm of David.
1 In your strength the king rejoices, O Lord,
and in your help how greatly he exults!(A)
2 You have given him his heart’s desire
and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah(B)
3 For you meet him with rich blessings;
you set a crown of fine gold on his head.(C)
4 He asked you for life; you gave it to him—
length of days forever and ever.(D)
5 His glory is great through your help;
splendor and majesty you bestow on him.(E)
6 You bestow on him blessings forever;
you make him glad with the joy of your presence.
7 For the king trusts in the Lord,
and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved.(F)
8 Your hand will find out all your enemies;
your right hand will find out those who hate you.(G)
9 You will make them like a fiery furnace
when you appear.
The Lord will swallow them up in his wrath,
and fire will consume them.(H)
10 You will destroy their offspring from the earth
and their children from among humankind.(I)
11 If they plan evil against you,
if they devise mischief, they will not succeed.(J)
12 For you will put them to flight;
you will aim at their faces with your bows.(K)
13 Be exalted, O Lord, in your strength!
We will sing and praise your power.(L)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.