Historical

19 And Yehoshaphat Melech Yehudah returned to his Bais (Palace) in shalom in Yerushalayim.

² And Yehu ben Chanani HaChozer (the Seer) went out to meet him, and said to HaMelech Yehoshaphat, Shouldest thou help the rasha, and love them that hate Hashem? Therefore ketzef (wrath) is upon thee from before Hashem.

³ Nevertheless there are devarim tovim (good things) found in thee, in that thou hast removed HaAsherot from HaAretz, and hast prepared thine lev to seek HaElohim.

⁴ And Yehoshaphat dwelt in Yerushalayim; and he went out again among HaAm from Beer Sheva to Mt Ephrayim, and he turned them back unto Hashem Elohei Avoteihem.

⁵ And he appointed Shofetim in HaAretz throughout all the fortified cities of Yehudah, city by city,

⁶ And said to the Shofetim, Take heed what ye do, for ye judge not for adam, but for Hashem, Who is with you in the devar mishpat (verdict).

⁷ Wherefore now let the Pachad Hashem be upon you; be shomer and do it, for there is no avlah (injustice) with Hashem Eloheinu, nor massa panim (respect of persons), nor mikkach shochad (taking of bribes).

⁸ Moreover in Yerushalayim did Yehoshaphat station Levi’im, and Kohanim, and Rashei HaAvot Yisroel, for the Mishpat Hashem, and for riv (disputes), and they returned to Yerushalayim.

⁹ And he charged them, saying, Thus shall ye do in the yirat Hashem, be’emunah and with a levav shalem.

¹⁰ And what riv soever shall come before you of your achim that dwell in your cities, between dahm and dahm, between torah and mitzvah, chukkot and mishpatim, ye shall even warn them that they trespass not against Hashem, and so ketzef (wrath) come upon you, and upon your achim; this do, and ye shall not trespass.

¹¹ And, hinei, Amaryahu Kohen HaRosh is over you in all matters of Hashem; and Zevadyahu ben Yishmael, the Nagid of the Bais Yehudah, for all the matters of HaMelech; also the Levi’im shall be shoterim (officers) before you. Deal courageously, and Hashem be with hatov.

20 It came to pass after this also, that the Bnei Moav, and the Bnei Ammon, and with them some Ammonim, came against Yehoshaphat to make milchamah.

² Then there came some that told Yehoshaphat, saying, There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the Yam (Dead Sea), from Aram; and, hinei, they are in Chatzatzon-Tamar, which is Ein-Gedi.

³ And Yehoshaphat feared, and set his face to inquire of Hashem, and proclaimed a tzom throughout all Yehudah.

⁴ And Yehudah gathered themselves together, to ask help of Hashem, even from all the towns of Yehudah they came to seek help of Hashem.

⁵ And Yehoshaphat stood in the Kehal Yehudah and Yerushalayim, in the Beis Hashem, before the khatzer hachadashah,

⁶ And he said, Hashem Elohei Avoteinu, art not Thou Elohim in Shomayim? And moshel (rulest) not Thou over kol mamlechot haGoyim? And in Thine yad is there not ko’ach and gevurah, so that none is able to withstand thee?

⁷ Art not Thou Eloheinu, Who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before Thy people Yisroel, and gavest it to the Zera Avraham ohav’cha l’olam (Thy friend forever)?

⁸ And they dwelt therein, and have built Thee a Mikdash therein for Thy Shem, saying,

⁹ If, when ra’ah cometh upon us, as the cherev, shefot, or dever, or ra’av (famine), we stand before HaBeis HaZeh, and in Thy presence, (for Thy Shem is in HaBeis HaZeh,) and cry unto Thee in tzarateinu (our affliction), then Thou wilt hear and save.

¹⁰ And now, hinei, the Bnei Ammon and Moav and Mt Seir, whom Thou wouldest not let Yisroel invade, when they came out of Eretz Mitzrayim, but they turned from them, and destroyed them not,

¹¹ Hinei, what gomelim (ones repaying) they are to us, to come to drive us out of Thy yerushah (inheritance), which Thou hast given us.

¹² O Eloheinu, wilt Thou not judge them? For we have no ko’ach against this great multitude that cometh against us; neither know we what to do, but our eyes are upon Thee.

¹³ And all Yehudah stood before Hashem, with their little ones, their nashim, and their banim.

¹⁴ Then upon Yachziel ben Zecharyahu ben Benayah ben Ye’i’el ben Matanyah, a Levi of the Bnei Asaph, came the Ruach Hashem in the midst of the Kahal,

¹⁵ And he said, Pay heed ye, all Yehudah, and ye inhabitants of Yerushalayim, and thou Melech Yehoshaphat. Thus saith Hashem unto you: Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the milchamah is not yours, but that of Elohim.

¹⁶ Makhar (tomorrow) go ye down against them; hinei, they come up by the Ascent of Tzitz; and ye shall find them at the end of the wadi, before the midbar of Yeruel.

¹⁷ Ye shall not need to fight in this; take up your battle positions, stand ye firm, and see the Yeshuat Hashem with you, O Yehudah and Yerushalayim. Fear not, nor be dismayed; makhar (tomorrow) go out against them, for Hashem will be with you.

¹⁸ And Yehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground; and all Yehudah and the inhabitants of Yerushalayim fell down before Hashem, worshiping Hashem.

¹⁹ And the Levi’im, of the Bnei HaKehatim, and of the Bnei HaKorchim, stood up to praise Hashem Elohei Yisroel with an exceeding kol gadol.

²⁰ And they rose early in the boker, and went forth into the Midbar Tekoa; and as they went forth, Yehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Yehudah, and ye inhabitants of Yerushalayim. Ha’aminu BaHashem Eloheichem (Believe in Hashem Eloheichem), so shall ye be established; have faith in His Nevi’im, so shall ye be victorious.

²¹ And when he had consulted with HaAm, he appointed meshorarim (singers) unto Hashem, and that should praise the hadrat kodesh, as they went out before the army, and to say, Hodu L’Adonoi ki l’olam chasdo (Give thanks to Hashem, for His mercy endureth forever).

²² And when they began with rinnah and tehillah, Hashem set me’arevim (ambushers) against the Bnei Ammon, Moav, and Mt Seir, which were come against Yehudah, and they were struck down.

²³ For the Bnei Ammon and Moav stood up against the inhabitants of Mt Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them. And when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another.

²⁴ And when Yehudah came toward the mitzpeh (guard tower) in the midbar, they looked toward the multitude, and, hinei, they were pegarim (corpses) fallen on the ground, and there was no escapee.

²⁵ And when Yehoshaphat and his people came to carry off the plunder of them, they found among them in abundance both property with the pegarim, and articles of value, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away, and they were yamim shelosha in gathering of the plunder, it was so much.

²⁶ And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the Berachah Valley, for there they blessed Hashem; therefore the shem of that place was called, The Berachah Valley unto this day.

²⁷ Then they returned, kol ish Yehudah and Yerushalayim, and Yehoshaphat in the forefront of them, to go again to Yerushalayim with simcha; for Hashem had made them to rejoice over their enemies.

²⁸ And they came to Yerushalayim with nevalim and kinnorot and chatzotzerot unto the Beis Hashem.

²⁹ And the Pachad Elohim was on all the kingdoms of those lands, when they had heard that Hashem fought against the oyevei Yisroel.

³⁰ So the Malchut Yehoshaphat was at peace, for Elohav gave him rest on every side.

³¹ And Yehoshaphat reigned over Yehudah. He was thirty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty and five years in Yerushalayim. And shem immo was Azuvah bat Shilchi.

³² And he walked in the derech Aviv Asa, and departed not from it, doing that which was yashar in the sight of Hashem.

³³ Howbeit the high places were not removed; for HaAm as yet had not set their hearts unto Elohei Avoteihem.

³⁴ Now the rest of the acts of Yehoshaphat, harishonim and ha’acharonim, hinei, they are written in the Annals of Yehu ben Chanani, who is recorded in the Sefer of the Melachim of Yisroel.

³⁵ And after this did Yehoshaphat Melech Yehudah join himself in alliance with Achazyah Melech Yisroel, who did very wickedly;

³⁶ And he joined himself with him to make oniyot (ships) to go to Tarshish, and they made the oniyot in Etzyon-Gever.

³⁷ Then Eliezer ben Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Yehoshaphat, saying, Because thou hast joined thyself in alliance with Achazyahu, Hashem hath wrecked thy ma’asim. And the oniyot were wrecked, that they were not able to sail to Tarshish. [T.N. Yehoshaphat had a weakness for entangling himself with non-believers and suffering the consequences.]

21 Now Yehoshaphat slept with his avot, and was buried with his avot in Ir Dovid. And Yehoram bno reigned in his place.

² And he had achim, the Bnei Yehoshaphat, Azaryah, and Yechiel, and Zecharyahu, and Azaryahu, and Michael, and Shephatyahu. All these were the Bnei Yehoshaphat Melech Yisroel.

³ And their av have given them mattanot rabbot of kesef, and of zahav, and of precious things, with fortified cities in Yehudah, but the Mamlachah (Kingdom) he gave to Yehoram; because he was the bechor.

⁴ Now when Yehoram was risen up to the Mamlachah of his av, he strengthened himself, and slaughtered all his achim with the cherev, and also a number of the sarim (leading political figures) of Yisroel.

⁵ Yehoram was thirty and two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned shemoneh shanim in Yerushalayim.

⁶ And he walked in the derech of the melachim of Yisroel, as did the Bais Ach’av, for he had the Bat Ach’av to wife, and he wrought that which was rah in the eyes of Hashem.

⁷ However, Hashem was not willing to destroy the Bais Dovid, for the sake of HaBrit that He had cut with Dovid, and since He promised to give a ner (lamp) to him and to his banim kol hayamim.

⁸ In the days of Yehoram, Edom rebelled from under the yad Yehudah, and made themselves a melech.

⁹ Then Yehoram went forth with his sarim (princes), and all his chariots with him, and he rose up by lailah, and struck down Edom which had surrounded him, and the commanders of the chariots.

¹⁰ So the Edomites rebelled from under the yad Yehudah unto this day. At the same time also did Livnah rebel from under his yad, because he had forsaken Hashem Elohei Avotav.

¹¹ Moreover he built high places [unlawful altars] in the mountains of Yehudah and caused the inhabitants of Yerushalayim to commit fornication, and led Yehudah astray.

¹² And there came a miktav (letter) to him from Eliyahu HaNavi, saying, Thus saith Hashem Elohei Dovid Avicha, Because thou hast not walked in the darkhei Yehoshaphat Avicha, nor in the darkhei Asa Melech Yehudah,

¹³ But hast walked in the derech of the melachim of Yisroel, and hast made Yehudah and the inhabitants of Yerushalayim to go awhoring, like the whoredoms of the Bais Ach’av, and also hast murdered thy achim of Bais Avicha, which were better than thee;

¹⁴ Hinei, with a maggefah gedolah (great plague) will Hashem strike thy people, and thy banim, and thy nashim, and all thy possessions;

¹⁵ And thou shalt have cholayim rabbim with machla (disease) of thy bowels, until thy bowels come out by reason of the choli yamim al yamim.

¹⁶ Moreover Hashem stirred up against Yehoram the ruach HaPelishtim, and of the Arabs, who lived near the Kushim;

¹⁷ And they came up against Yehudah, and invaded, and carried away all the possessions that were found in the Bais HaMelech, and also his banim, and his nashim; so that there was left him not a ben except Yehoachaz (Achazyahu, Ahaziah), the youngest of his banim.

¹⁸ And after all this Hashem struck him in his bowels with a choli for which there was no marpeh.

¹⁹ And it came to pass that in process of time, after the end of two years, his bowels protruded out by reason of his choli; so he died in great pain. And his people kindled no pyre in his honor, as they had done for his avot.

²⁰ Thirty and two years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned in Yerushalayim shemoneh shanim, and departed without chemdah (desire [for him]). Howbeit they buried him in the Ir Dovid, but not in the kevarot hamelachim.