Historical
Azariah the Prophet Warns Asa
15 Now (A)the Spirit of God came on Azariah the son of Oded, 2 and he went out [a]to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: (B)the Lord is with you when you are with Him. And (C)if you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you abandon Him, He will abandon you. 3 (D)For many days Israel was without the true God and without (E)a teaching priest and without the Law. 4 But (F)in their distress they turned to the Lord God of Israel, and they sought Him, and He let them find Him. 5 (G)In those times there was no peace for him who went out or him who came in, because many disturbances [b]afflicted all the inhabitants of the lands. 6 (H)Nation was crushed by nation, and city by city, for God troubled them with every kind of distress. 7 But you, (I)be strong and do not [c]lose courage, for there is a (J)reward for your work.”
Asa’s Reforms
8 Now when Asa heard these words and the [d]prophecy which Azariah the son of Oded the prophet spoke, he took courage and removed the abominable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and from (K)the cities which he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. (L)He then restored the altar of the Lord which was in front of the porch of the Lord. 9 And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and those from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon (M)who resided with them, for many defected to him from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him. 10 So they assembled at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign. 11 (N)They sacrificed to the Lord on that day seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep from the spoils they had brought. 12 (O)They entered into the covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and soul; 13 and whoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel (P)was to be put to death, whether small or great, man or woman. 14 Moreover, they made an oath to the Lord with a loud voice, with shouting, trumpets, and with horns. 15 All Judah rejoiced concerning the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and had sought Him [e]earnestly, and He let them find Him. So (Q)the Lord gave them rest on every side.
16 (R)He also removed Maacah, the mother of King Asa, from the position of queen mother, because she had made an abominable image [f]as (S)an Asherah, and (T)Asa cut down her abominable image, crushed it, and burned it at the brook Kidron. 17 But the high places were not removed from Israel; nevertheless Asa’s heart was blameless all his days. 18 He brought into the house of God the dedicated things of his father and his own dedicated things: silver, gold, and utensils. 19 And there was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign.
Asa Wars against Baasha
16 In the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign, (U)Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah and [g]fortified Ramah in order to prevent anyone from going out or coming in to Asa king of Judah. 2 Then Asa brought out silver and gold from the treasuries of the house of the Lord and the king’s house, and sent it to Ben-hadad king of Aram, who lived in Damascus, saying, 3 “A treaty must be made between [h]you and me, as there was between my father and your father. Behold, I have sent you silver and gold; go, break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel so that he will withdraw from me.” 4 And Ben-hadad listened to King Asa, and he sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, and they [i]conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel-maim, and all (V)the [j]storage cities of Naphtali. 5 When Baasha heard about it, he stopped [k]fortifying Ramah and put an end to his work. 6 Then King Asa brought all Judah, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its timber with which Baasha had been building, and with it he [l]fortified Geba and Mizpah.
Asa Imprisons the Prophet
7 At that time (W)Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him, “(X)Because you have relied on the king of Aram and have not relied on the Lord your God, for that reason the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand. 8 Were not (Y)the Ethiopians and the Lubim (Z)an immense army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet (AA)because you relied on the Lord, He handed them over to you. 9 For (AB)the eyes of the Lord roam throughout the earth, so that He may strongly support those (AC)whose heart is completely His. You have acted foolishly in this. Indeed, from now on you will have wars.” 10 Then Asa was angry with the seer and put him in [m]prison, for he was enraged at him for this. And Asa mistreated some of the people at the same time.
11 (AD)Now, the acts of Asa from the first to the last, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 12 In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa became diseased in his feet. His disease was severe, yet even in his disease he (AE)did not seek the Lord, but the physicians. 13 So Asa [n]lay down with his fathers, and died in the forty-first year of his reign. 14 They buried him in his own tomb which he had cut out for himself in the city of David, and they laid him in the resting place which he had filled (AF)with spices of various kinds blended by the perfumers’ art; and (AG)they made a very great fire for him.
Jehoshaphat Succeeds Asa
17 His son (AH)Jehoshaphat then became king in his place, and he proved himself strong over Israel. 2 He placed troops in all (AI)the fortified cities of Judah, and placed garrisons in the land of Judah and in the cities of Ephraim (AJ)which his father Asa had captured.
His Good Reign
3 And the Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he [o]followed the example of his father David’s earlier days and did not seek the Baals, 4 but sought the God of his father, [p]followed His commandments, (AK)and did not act as Israel did. 5 So the Lord established the kingdom in his [q]control, and all Judah gave tribute to Jehoshaphat, and (AL)he had great riches and honor. 6 [r]He took great pride in the ways of the Lord, and again (AM)removed the high places and the [s]Asherim from Judah.
7 Then in the third year of his reign he sent his officials, Ben-hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah, (AN)to teach in the cities of Judah; 8 and with them (AO)the Levites, Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tobadonijah, the Levites; and with them the priests Elishama and Jehoram. 9 They taught in Judah, having (AP)the Book of the Law of the Lord with them; and they went throughout the cities of Judah and taught among the people.
10 Now (AQ)the dread of the Lord was on all the kingdoms of the lands which were around Judah, so that they did not make war against Jehoshaphat. 11 Some of the Philistines (AR)brought gifts and silver as tribute to Jehoshaphat; the Arabians also brought him flocks, 7,700 rams and 7,700 male goats. 12 So Jehoshaphat grew greater and greater, and he built fortresses and storage cities in Judah. 13 He had large supplies in the cities of Judah, and warriors, valiant mighty men, in Jerusalem. 14 This was their muster according to their fathers’ households: of Judah, commanders of thousands, Adnah was the commander, and with him three hundred thousand valiant warriors; 15 and next to him was Johanan the commander, and with him 280,000; 16 and next to him Amasiah the son of Zichri, (AS)who volunteered for the Lord, and with him two hundred thousand valiant warriors; 17 and of Benjamin, Eliada, a valiant warrior, and with him two hundred thousand armed with bow and shield; 18 and next to him Jehozabad, and with him 180,000 equipped for war. 19 These are the ones who served the king, apart from (AT)those whom the king put in the fortified cities throughout Judah.
Jehoshaphat Allies with Ahab
18 Now (AU)Jehoshaphat had great riches and honor; and he allied himself by marriage to Ahab. 2 (AV)Some years later he went down to visit Ahab at Samaria, and Ahab slaughtered many sheep and oxen for him and the people who were with him. And he incited him to go up against Ramoth-gilead. 3 Ahab king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, “Will you go with me against Ramoth-gilead?” And he said to him, “I am as you are, and my people as your people, and we will be with you in the battle.”
4 However, Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Please request the word of the Lord [t]first.” 5 So the king of Israel assembled the [u]prophets, four hundred men, and said to them, “Should we go to battle against Ramoth-gilead, or should I refrain?” And they said, “Go up, for God will hand it over to the king.” 6 But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there no longer a prophet of the Lord here, that we may inquire of him?” 7 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord, but I hate him, for he never prophesies anything good regarding me, but always bad. He is Micaiah the son of Imlah.” But Jehoshaphat said, “May the king not say so.”
Ahab’s False Prophets Assure Victory
8 Then the king of Israel summoned an officer and said, “Bring Micaiah son of Imlah quickly.” 9 Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah were sitting, each on his throne, dressed in their robes, and they were sitting (AW)at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets were prophesying before them. 10 Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made horns of iron for himself and said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘With these you will gore the Arameans until they are destroyed!’” 11 All the prophets were prophesying this as well, saying, “Go up to Ramoth-gilead and be successful, for the Lord will hand it over to the king.”
Micaiah Brings Word from God
12 Then the messenger who went to summon Micaiah spoke to him saying, “Behold, the words of the prophets are [v]unanimously favorable to the king. So please let your word be like one of them, and speak favorably.” 13 But Micaiah said, “As the Lord lives, (AX)whatever my God says, I will speak it.”
14 When he came to the king, the king said to him, “Micaiah, should we go to battle against Ramoth-gilead, or should I refrain?” He said, “Go up and succeed, for they will be handed over to you!” 15 Then the king said to him, “How many times must I make you swear that you will tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?” 16 So he said,
“I saw all Israel
Scattered on the mountains,
(AY)Like sheep that have no shepherd.
And the Lord said,
‘These people have no master.
Each of them is to return to his house in peace.’”
17 Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy anything good regarding me, but only bad?”
18 And Micaiah said, “Therefore, hear the word of the Lord. (AZ)I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and all the [w]angels of heaven standing on His right and on His left. 19 And the Lord said, ‘Who will [x]entice Ahab king of Israel to go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one spirit said this, while another said that. 20 Then a (BA)spirit came forward and stood before the Lord and said, ‘I will [y]entice him.’ And the Lord said to him, ‘How?’ 21 He said, ‘I will go out and be (BB)a deceiving spirit in the mouths of all his prophets.’ Then He said, ‘You shall [z]entice him, and you will also prevail. Go out and do so.’ 22 Now therefore, behold, (BC)the Lord has put a deceiving spirit in the mouths of these prophets of yours, for the Lord has declared disaster against you.”
23 Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah approached and (BD)struck Micaiah on the cheek; and he said, “[aa]How did the Spirit of the Lord pass from me to speak to you?” 24 And Micaiah said, “Behold, you are going to see how on that day when you go from one inner room to [ab]another trying to hide yourself.” 25 Then the king of Israel said, “(BE)Take Micaiah and return him to Amon (BF)the governor of the city, and to Joash the king’s son; 26 and say, ‘This is what the king says: “(BG)Put this man in prison, and feed him enough bread and water to survive until I [ac]return safely.”’” 27 But Micaiah said, “If you actually return [ad]safely, the Lord has not spoken by me.” And he said, “[ae](BH)Listen, all you people!”
Ahab’s Defeat and Death
28 So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up against Ramoth-gilead. 29 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you put on your robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself, and they went into battle. 30 Now the king of Aram had commanded the commanders of his chariots, saying, “Do not fight with the small or great, but only with the king of Israel.” 31 So when the commanders of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, “He is the king of Israel!” And they turned aside to fight against him. But Jehoshaphat (BI)cried out, and the Lord helped him, and God diverted them from him. 32 When the commanders of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him. 33 Now one man drew his bow at random and struck the king of Israel [af]in a joint of the armor. So he said to the driver of his chariot, “Turn [ag]around and take me out of the battle, for I am severely wounded.” 34 The battle raged on that day, and the king of Israel propped himself up in his chariot in front of the Arameans until the evening; and at sunset he died.
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