Historical

Chapter 15

Further Reforms. ¹ The spirit of God came upon Azariah, son of Oded. ² He went forth to meet Asa and said to him: “Hear me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin! The Lord is with you when you are with him, and if you seek him he will be found; but if you abandon him, he will abandon you.^{(A) 3} For a long time Israel was without a true God, without a priest-teacher, without instruction, ⁴ but when in their distress they turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought him, he was found by them.^{(B) 5} At that time there was no peace for anyone to go or come; rather, there were many terrors upon the inhabitants of the lands. ⁶ Nation crushed nation and city crushed city,^(C) for God overwhelmed them with every kind of distress. ⁷ But as for you, be strong and do not slack off, for there shall be a reward for what you do.”^(D)

⁸ When Asa heard these words and the prophecy (Oded the prophet), he was encouraged to remove the detestable idols from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities he had taken in the highlands of Ephraim, and to restore the altar of the Lord which was before the vestibule of the Lord. ⁹ Then he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, together with those of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who were resident with them; for many had defected to him from Israel when they saw that the Lord, his God, was with him. ¹⁰ They gathered at Jerusalem in the third month^[a] of the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign, ¹¹ and sacrificed to the Lord on that day seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep from the spoils they had brought. ^12 (E)They entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their ancestors, with all their heart and soul; ¹³ and everyone who would not seek the Lord, the God of Israel, was to be put to death, from least to greatest, man or woman. ¹⁴ They swore an oath to the Lord with a loud voice, with shouting and with trumpets and horns. ¹⁵ All Judah rejoiced over the oath, for they had sworn it with their whole heart and sought him with complete desire. The Lord was found by them,^(F) and gave them rest on every side.

^16 (G)He also deposed Maacah, the mother^[b] of King Asa, from her position as queen mother because she had made an obscene object for Asherah; Asa cut down this object, smashed it, and burnt it in the Wadi Kidron. ¹⁷ The high places did not disappear from Israel, yet Asa’s heart was undivided as long as he lived. ¹⁸ He brought into the house of God his father’s and his own votive offerings: silver, gold, and vessels. ¹⁹ There was no war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign.

Chapter 16

Asa’s Infidelity. ^1 (H)In the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign, Baasha, king of Israel, attacked Judah and fortified Ramah to block all movement for Asa, king of Judah. ² Asa then brought out silver and gold from the treasuries of the house of the Lord and the house of the king and sent them to Ben-hadad, king of Aram, who ruled in Damascus. He said: ³ “There is a treaty between you and me, as there was between your father and my father. I am sending you silver and gold. Go, break your treaty with Baasha, king of Israel, that he may withdraw from me.” ⁴ Ben-hadad agreed with King Asa and sent the leaders of his troops against the cities of Israel. They attacked Ijon, Dan, Abel-maim, besides all the store cities of Naphtali. ⁵ When Baasha heard of it, he left off fortifying Ramah, putting an end to his work. ⁶ Then King Asa commandeered all Judah and they carried away the stones and beams with which Baasha was fortifying Ramah. With them he fortified Geba and Mizpah.

⁷ At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa, king of Judah, and said to him: “Because you relied on the king of Aram and did not rely on the Lord, your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped^[c] your power. ^8 (I)Were not the Ethiopians and Libyans a vast army, with great numbers of chariots and horses? And yet, because you relied on the Lord, he delivered them into your power. ⁹ The eyes of the Lord roam over the whole earth,^(J) to encourage those who are devoted to him wholeheartedly. You have acted foolishly in this matter, for from now on you will have wars.” ¹⁰ But Asa became angry with the seer and imprisoned him in the stocks, so greatly was he enraged at him over this. Asa also oppressed some of his people at this time.

^11 (K)Now the acts of Asa, first and last, are recorded in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. ¹² In the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa contracted disease in his feet; it became worse, but even with this disease he did not seek the Lord, only physicians. ¹³ Asa rested with his ancestors; he died in the forty-first year of his reign. ¹⁴ They buried him in the tomb he had hewn for himself in the City of David, after laying him on a couch that was filled with spices and various kinds of aromatics compounded into an ointment; and they kindled a huge fire for him.

Chapter 17

Jehoshaphat’s Zeal for the Law. ¹ His son Jehoshaphat succeeded him as king and strengthened his position against Israel.^{(L) 2} He placed armed forces in all the fortified cities of Judah, and set garrisons in the land of Judah and in the cities of Ephraim which Asa his father had taken. ³ The Lord was with Jehoshaphat,^[d] for he walked in the earlier ways of David his father, and did not seek the Baals. ⁴ Rather, he sought the God of his father and walked in his commands, and not the practices of Israel. ⁵ Through him, the Lord made the kingdom secure, and all Judah gave Jehoshaphat gifts, so that great wealth and glory was his. ⁶ Thus he was encouraged^[e] to follow the Lord’s ways, and once again he removed the high places and the asherahs from Judah.^(M)

⁷ In the third year of his reign he sent his officials, Ben-hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah, to teach in the cities of Judah. ⁸ With them he sent the Levites Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, and Tobijah, together with Elishama and Jehoram the priests.^{(N) 9} They taught in Judah, having with them the book of the law of the Lord; they traveled through all the cities of Judah and taught among the people.^(O)

His Power. ¹⁰ Now the fear of the Lord was upon all the kingdoms of the countries surrounding Judah, so that they did not war against Jehoshaphat. ¹¹ Some of the Philistines brought Jehoshaphat gifts and a tribute of silver; the Arabians also brought him a flock of seven thousand seven hundred rams and seven thousand seven hundred he-goats.

¹² Jehoshaphat grew ever greater. He built strongholds and store cities in Judah. ¹³ He carried out many works in the cities of Judah, and he had soldiers, valiant warriors, in Jerusalem. ¹⁴ This was their mustering according to their ancestral houses. From Judah, the commanders of thousands: Adnah the commander, and with him three hundred thousand valiant warriors. ¹⁵ Next to him, Jehohanan the commander, and with him two hundred eighty thousand. ¹⁶ Next to him, Amasiah, son of Zichri, who offered himself to the Lord, and with him two hundred thousand valiant warriors. ¹⁷ From Benjamin: Eliada, a valiant warrior, and with him two hundred thousand armed with bow and buckler. ¹⁸ Next to him, Jehozabad, and with him one hundred and eighty thousand equipped for war. ¹⁹ These attended the king; in addition to those whom the king had stationed in the fortified cities throughout all Judah.

Chapter 18

Alliance with Israel. ^1 (P)Jehoshaphat therefore had wealth and glory in abundance; but he became related to Ahab by marriage. ² After some years he went down to Ahab at Samaria; Ahab slaughtered numerous sheep and oxen for him and for the people with him, and incited him to go up against Ramoth-gilead. ³ Ahab, king of Israel, asked Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, “Will you come with me to Ramoth-gilead?” He answered, “You and I are as one, and your people and my people as well. We will be with you in the battle.” ⁴ Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, “Seek the word of the Lord at once.”

Prophets in Conflict. ⁵ The king of Israel assembled the prophets, four hundred of them, and asked, “Shall we go to fight against Ramoth-gilead, or shall I refrain?” They said, “Attack. God will give it into the power of the king.” ⁶ But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there no other prophet of the Lord here we might consult?” ⁷ The king of Israel answered, “There is one other man through whom we may consult the Lord; but I hate him, because he prophesies not good but always evil about me. He is Micaiah, son of Imlah.” Jeshoshaphat said, “Let not the king say that.” ⁸ So the king of Israel called an official, and said to him, “Get Micaiah, son of Imlah, at once.” ⁹ The king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, were seated, each on his throne, clothed in their robes of state in the square at the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying before them.

¹⁰ Zedekiah, son of Chenaanah, made himself two horns of iron and said: “The Lord says: With these you shall gore Aram until you have destroyed them.” ¹¹ The other prophets prophesied in the same vein, saying: “Attack Ramoth-gilead, and conquer! The Lord will give it into the power of the king.” ^12 [f]Meanwhile the messenger who had gone to call Micaiah said to him: “Look now, the words of the prophets are as one in speaking good for the king. Let your word be at one with theirs; speak a good word.” ¹³ Micaiah said, “As the Lord lives, I shall speak whatever my God says.”

¹⁴ When he came to the king, the king said to him, “Micah, shall we go to fight at Ramoth-gilead, or shall I refrain?” He said, “Attack and conquer! They will be delivered into your power.” ¹⁵ But the king answered him, “How many times must I adjure you to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?” ¹⁶ So Micaiah said:

¹⁷ The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you, he does not prophesy good about me, but only evil?” ¹⁸ Micaiah continued: “Therefore hear the word of the Lord. I saw the Lord seated on his throne, with the whole host of heaven standing to his right and to his left. ¹⁹ The Lord asked: Who will deceive Ahab, king of Israel, so that he will go up and fall on Ramoth-gilead? And one said this, another that, ²⁰ until this spirit came forth and stood before the Lord, saying, ‘I will deceive him.’ The Lord asked: How? ²¹ He answered, ‘I will go forth and become a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets.’ The Lord replied: You shall succeed in deceiving him. Go forth and do this. ²² So now the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouths of these prophets of yours; but the Lord himself has decreed evil against you.”

²³ Thereupon Zedekiah, son of Chenaanah, came up and struck Micaiah on the cheek, saying, “Has the spirit of the Lord, then, passed from me to speak with you?” ²⁴ Micaiah said, “You shall find out on the day you go into an innermost room to hide.” ²⁵ The king of Israel then said: “Seize Micaiah and take him back to Amon, prefect of the city, and to Joash the king’s son, ²⁶ and say, ‘This is the king’s order: Put this man in prison and feed him scanty rations of bread and water until I come back in safety!’” ²⁷ But Micaiah said, “If ever you return in safety, the Lord has not spoken through me.” (He also said, “Hear, O peoples, all of you!”)^[g]

Ahab’s Death. ²⁸ The king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, went up to Ramoth-gilead, ²⁹ and the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into battle. But you, put on your own robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and they entered the battle. ³⁰ In the meantime, the king of Aram had given his chariot commanders the order, “Fight with no one, great or small, except the king of Israel alone.” ³¹ When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they thought, “There is the king of Israel!” and wheeled to fight him. But Jehoshaphat cried out and the Lord helped him; God induced them to leave him alone. ³² The chariot commanders, seeing that he was not the king of Israel, turned away from him. ³³ But someone drew his bow at random and hit the king of Israel between the joints of his breastplate. He ordered his charioteer, “Rein about and take me out of the ranks, for I am wounded.”^{(Q) 34} The battle grew fierce during the day, and the king of Israel braced himself up in his chariot facing the Arameans until evening. He died as the sun was setting.