Historical
Prophets Encourage Further Reforms
15 The Ruach Elohim came upon Azariah the son of Oded. 2 He went out to meet Asa, and said to him, “Listen to me Asa, all Judah and Benjamin. Adonai is with you as long as you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you. But if you forsake Him, He will spurn you. 3 For many days Israel was without the true God, without a teaching kohen and without Torah. 4 But in their distress they turned to Adonai, the God of Israel, and sought Him, and He was found by them. 5 In those times there was no shalom for anyone coming or going, for there were many conflicts among all the inhabitants of the lands. 6 Nation was crushed by nation and city by city, for God troubled them with every kind of distress. 7 But you, chazak! Do not let your hands be slack for there is reward for your labor.”
8 When Asa heard these words as well as the prophecy of the prophet Oded, he took courage and removed the abominations from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and from the towns that he had seized in the hill country of Ephraim. He also repaired Adonai’s altar that was in front of Adonai’s entryway. 9 He gathered all Judah and Benjamin, as well as those dwelling with them from Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon—for many had defected to him from Israel when they saw that Adonai his God was with him. 10 So they assembled at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa. 11 On that day they sacrificed to Adonai 700 bulls and 7,000 sheep from the spoil that they had brought. 12 They entered into a covenant to seek Adonai, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and soul. 13 Whoever would not seek Adonai, God of Israel, would be put to death, whether small or great, man or woman. 14 They also made an oath to Adonai with a loud voice, with shouting, with trumpets and with shofarot. 15 All Judah rejoiced over the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and sought Him with all their will and He was found by them. Then Adonai gave them rest all around. 16 He also deposed Maacah, the mother of King Asa, from being queen because she had made an abominable image for Asherah. Asa cut down her abominable image, crushed it and burned it in the Kidron Valley.
17 Though the high places were not removed from Israel, still Asa’s heart was completely committed to Adonai all his days. 18 He brought into the House of God his father’s consecrated articles, as well as his consecrated articles of silver and gold, and utensils. 19 So there was no war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign.
Asa Backslides
16 In the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign, King Baasa of Israel marched against Judah and fortified Ramah in order to prevent anyone from leaving or coming to King Asa of Judah.
2 In response, Asa brought out silver and gold from the treasuries of the House of Adonai and from the royal palace, and sent them to King Ben-hadad of Aram who lived in Damascus saying, 3 “Let there be a covenant between you and me, as there was between my father and your father. Look, I have sent you silver and gold. Go, break your covenant with King Baasha of Israel so that he may withdraw from me.”
4 So Ben-hadad consented to King Asa’s request and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel. They ravaged Ijon, Dan, Abelmaim and all the storage cities of Naphtali. 5 When Baasa heard, he stopped building Ramah and stopped his work. 6 Then King Asa took up all of Judah to carry away the stones of Ramah and the timber with which Baasa had been building—with them he fortified Geba and Mizpah.
7 At that time the seer Hanani came to King Asa of Judah and said to him: “Because you have depended on the king of Aram, and not depended on Adonai your God, therefore the army of the king of Aram has escaped out of your hand. 8 Were not the Cushites and the Libyans a mighty army with many chariots and horsemen? Yet because you relied on Adonai, He delivered them into your hand. 9 For the eyes of Adonai range throughtout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are wholly His. You have acted foolishly in this matter. Indeed, from now on you will have wars.”
10 Then Asa was angry with the seer and put him in the prison for he was enraged at him for this. Also Asa oppressed some of the people at the same time. 11 Behold, the acts of Asa, from beginning to end, are written in the book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.
12 Now in the thirty-nineth year of his reign, Asa became diseased in his feet. His illness was severe, yet even in his disease he did not seek Adonai but physicians.
13 Finally Asa slept with his fathers, dying in the forty-first year of his reign. 14 He was buried in his own tomb, which he had hewn out for himself in the city of David. They laid him in his resting place, which was filled with sweet spices and various blended perfumes and they made a very large fire for him.
Jehosaphat Restores Judah to Torah
17 Jehoshaphat his son became king in his place and took firm hold of his position against Israel. 2 He stationed troops in all the fortified cities of Judah and set garrisons throughout the land of Judah and in the cities of Ephraim that his father Asa had captured.
3 Adonai was with Jehoshaphat because he walked in the first ways of his father David. He did not seek the Baalim 4 but sought the God of his father, and walked in His mitzvot rather than the deeds of Israel. 5 So Adonai established the kingdom in his hand, and all Judah brought tribute to Jehoshaphat so that he had great riches and honor. 6 His heart was devoted to the ways of Adonai. Furthermore he removed the high places and the Asherah poles from Judah.
7 Then in the third year of his reign he sent his officials—Ben-hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel and Micaiah—to teach in the towns of Judah. 8 With them were the Levites Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah and Tob-adonijah and with them Elishama and Jehoram the kohanim. 9 They taught throughout Judah, having with them a Torah scroll of Adonai. They went throughout all the towns of Judah and taught the people.
10 Now the fear of Adonai fell on all the kingdoms of the lands around Judah, so that they did not make war with Jehoshaphat. 11 Some of the Philistines brought Jehoshaphat presents and silver for tribute. The Arabs also brought him flocks—7,700 rams and 7,700 he-goats.
12 So Jehoshaphat became more and more powerful. He built forts and storage cities in Judah 13 and carried out extensive work in the cities of Judah. He had men of war, valiant warriors, in Jerusalem.
14 These were their appointees according to their clans. From Judah, captains of thousands: Adnah the commander with 300,000 valiant warriors; 15 and next to him Jehohanan the commander with 280,000; 16 and next to him, Amasiah the son of Zichri, who willingly offered himself to Adonai with 200,000 valiant warriors.
17 From Benjamin: Eliada a valiant warrior with 200,000 men armed with bow and shield; 18 and next to him Jehozabad with 180,000 equipped for war.
19 These were the men who served the king besides those whom the king stationed in the fortified cities throughout all Judah.
Prophecy of the Deceiving Spirit
18 Now Jehoshaphat had wealth and honor in abundance but he allied himself with Ahab by marriage. 2 Some years later he went down to visit Ahab in Samaria. Ahab slaughtered many sheep and bulls for him and the people with him, and urged him to march with him against Ramoth-gilead.
3 King Ahab of Israel asked King Jehoshaphat of Judah, “Will you go with me against Ramoth-gilead?”
He replied, “I am as you are and my people as your people, and we will be with you in battle.”
4 Jehoshaphat then said to the king of Israel, “Please, let us seek, today, the word of Adonai.”
5 So the king of Israel assembled the prophets—400 men—and asked them, “Should we go to war against Ramoth-gilead, or should I hold off?”
They answered, “Go up, for God will give it into the king’s hand!”
6 But Jehoshaphat asked, “Isn’t there another prophet of Adonai here of whom we should inquire?”
7 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man through whom we can inquire of Adonai—but I hate him, because he has never prophesied anything good about me but always evil. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.”
But Jehoshaphat said, “May the king never say such a thing.”
8 So the king of Israel called an official and said, “Bring Micaiah son of Imlah quickly!”
9 Now the king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah, wearing their robes, were sitting on their thrones on the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria with all the prophets prophesying before them. 10 Zedekiah son of Henaanah made for himself iron horns and declared, “Thus says Adonai, ‘With these you will gore the Arameans until they are exterminated!’”
11 All the other prophets were prophesying similarly, saying “March against Ramoth-gilead and succeed, for Adonai will give it into the hand of the king.”
12 Now the messenger who had gone to summon Micaiah spoke to him saying, “Look, the words of the prophets are unanimously favorable to the king. So please let your word be like one of them and speak favorably.”
13 But Micaiah replied, “As Adonai lives, what my God says that is what I will say.”
14 When he came to the king, the king asked him, “Micaiah, should we go to war against Ramoth-gilead, or should I hold off?”
He replied, “March and be victorious! They will be given into your hand!”
15 But the king said to him, “How many times must I make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the Name of Adonai?”
16 So he said, “I saw all Israel scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd,[a] and Adonai said, ‘These have no master—let each man return home in shalom.”
17 So the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Didn’t I tell you that he never prophesies good about me, only evil?”
18 Micaiah continued, “Therefore hear the word of Adonai. I saw Adonai sitting on His throne with the whole host of heaven standing on His right and on His left. 19 And Adonai said: ‘Who will entice Ahab king of Israel to go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’
Then one said this and another said that, 20 until a spirit came forward and stood before Adonai and said, ‘I will entice him.’
So Adonai said to him, ‘How?’
21 He answered, ‘I will go and be a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’
Then He said, ‘You will entice him and you will also succeed. Go and do so.’
22 So now, behold, Adonai has put a lying spirit in the mouth of these prophets of yours and Adonai has decreed disaster against you.”
23 Then Zedekiah son of Chenaanah approached Micaiah, slapped him on the cheek and said, “How did the spirit of Adonai pass over me to speak to you?”
24 Micaiah replied, “Behold, you will see on the day that you go to hide in an inner room.”
25 Then the king of Israel said, “Take Micaiah and turn him over to Amon, governor of the city, and to Joash the king’s son, 26 and say, ‘Thus says the king, “Put this fellow in prison and make him eat the bread and water of affliction—until I return in shalom.”’”
27 Then Micaiah said, “If you ever return in shalom, Adonai has not spoken through me.” He added: “Listen, all you people!”
Ahab Dies in Battle
28 So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah marched against Ramoth-gilead. 29 Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into the battle, but you put on your robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and they went into the battle.
30 Now the king of Aram had already ordered his chariot commanders saying: “Don’t attack anyone, small or great, except the king of Israel alone.”
31 So when the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat they thought, “This is the king of Israel.” So they turned to attack him but Jehoshaphat cried out. Adonai helped him and God diverted them from him. 32 When the chariot commanders realized that he was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him.
33 But a man drew his bow aimlessly and struck the king of Israel between the lower armor and the breastplate. The king said to the charioteer, “Turn around and take me out of the battle, for I am wounded.”
34 The battle raged that day and the king of Israel remained propped up in his chariot facing the Arameans until dusk. Then at sunset he died.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.