Historical

Chapter 19

Jehoshaphat Rebuked. ¹ Jehoshaphat king of Judah returned in safety to his house in Jerusalem. ² Jehu the seer, son of Hanani,^[a] went out to meet King Jehoshaphat and said to him: “Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord? For this reason, wrath is upon you from the Lord. ³ Yet some good has been found^[b] in you, since you have removed the asherahs from the land and have set your heart to seek God.”

Judges Appointed. ⁴ Jehoshaphat dwelt in Jerusalem; but he went out again among the people from Beer-sheba to the highlands of Ephraim and brought them back to the Lord, the God of their ancestors. ⁵ He appointed judges in the land, in all the fortified cities of Judah, city by city, ⁶ and he said to them: “Take care what you do, for the judgment you give is not human but divine; for when it comes to judgment God will be with you.^{(A) 7} And now, let the fear of the Lord be upon you. Act carefully, for with the Lord, our God, there is no injustice, no partiality, no bribe-taking.”^{(B) 8} In Jerusalem also, Jehoshaphat appointed some Levites and priests and some of the family heads of Israel for the Lord’s judgment and the disputes of those who dwell in Jerusalem.^{(C) 9} He gave them this command: “Thus you shall act: in the fear of the Lord, with fidelity and with an undivided heart. ¹⁰ And in every dispute that comes to you from your kin living in their cities, whether it concerns bloodguilt or questions of law, command, statutes, or ordinances, warn them lest they incur guilt before the Lord and his wrath come upon you and your kin. Do that and you shall not incur guilt.^{(D) 11} See now, Amariah is chief priest over you for everything that pertains to the Lord, and Zebadiah, son of Ishmael, is leader of the house of Judah in all that pertains to the king; and the Levites will be your officials. Take firm action, and the Lord will be with the good.”

Chapter 20

Invasion from Edom. ^1 [c]After this the Moabites, the Ammonites, and with them some Meunites came to fight against Jehoshaphat. ² Jehoshaphat was told: “A great multitude is coming against you from across the sea, from Edom; they are already in Hazazon-tamar” (which is En-gedi). ³ Frightened, Jehoshaphat resolved to consult the Lord. He proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. ⁴ Then Judah gathered to seek the Lord’s help; from every one of the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.^(E)

Jehoshaphat’s Prayer. ⁵ Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem in the house of the Lord before the new court, ⁶ and he said: “Lord, God of our ancestors, are you not God in heaven, and do you not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations? In your hand is power and might, and no one can withstand you.^{(F) 7} Was it not you, our God, who dispossessed the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and gave it forever to the descendants of Abraham, your friend? ⁸ They have dwelt in it and they built in it a sanctuary for your name. They have said: ⁹ ‘If evil comes upon us, the sword of judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before you, for your name is in this house, and we will cry out to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save!’^{(G) 10} And now, see the Ammonites, Moabites, and those of Mount Seir whom you did not allow Israel to invade when they came from the land of Egypt, but instead they passed them by and did not destroy them:^{(H) 11} See how they are now repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession you have given us. ¹² O our God, will you not bring judgment on them? We are powerless before this vast multitude that is coming against us. We ourselves do not know what to do, so our eyes are turned toward you.”

Victory Prophesied. ¹³ All Judah was standing before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. ¹⁴ And the spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel, son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the clan of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly, ¹⁵ and he said: “Pay attention, all of Judah, inhabitants of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat! The Lord says to you: Do not fear or be dismayed at the sight of this vast multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s. ¹⁶ Go down against them tomorrow. You will see them coming up by the ascent of Ziz, and you will come upon them at the end of the wadi which opens on the wilderness of Jeruel. ¹⁷ You will not have to fight in this encounter. Take your places, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord; he will be with you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not fear or be dismayed. Tomorrow go out to meet them, and the Lord will be with you.”^{(I) 18} Then Jehoshaphat knelt down with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord in worship. ¹⁹ Levites from among the Kohathites and Korahites stood up to sing the praises of the Lord, the God of Israel, their voices ever louder.

The Invaders Destroyed. ²⁰ Early in the morning they went out to the wilderness of Tekoa. As they were going out, Jehoshaphat halted and said: “Listen to me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Let your faith in the Lord, your God, be firm, and you will be firm.^(J) Have faith in his prophets and you will succeed.” ^21 [d]After taking counsel with the people, he appointed some to sing to the Lord and some to praise the holy Splendor as it went forth at the head of the army. They sang: “Give thanks to the Lord, whose love endures forever.”^{(K) 22} At the moment they began their jubilant praise, the Lord laid an ambush against the Ammonites, Moabites, and those of Mount Seir who were coming against Judah, so that they were defeated. ²³ For the Ammonites and Moabites set upon the inhabitants of Mount Seir and exterminated them according to the ban.^(L) And when they had finished with the inhabitants of Seir, each helped to destroy the other.

²⁴ When Judah came to the watchtower of the wilderness and looked toward the throng, there were only corpses fallen on the ground, with no survivors. ²⁵ Jehoshaphat and his people came to gather the spoils, and they found an abundance of cattle and personal property, garments and precious vessels. They took so much that they were unable to carry it all; it took them three days to gather the spoils, there was so much of it. ²⁶ On the fourth day they held an assembly in the Valley of Berakah^[e]—for there they blessed the Lord; that is why the place is called the Valley of Berakah to this day. ²⁷ Then all the men of Judah and Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat at their head, returned to Jerusalem with joy; for the Lord had given them joy over their enemies. ²⁸ They came to Jerusalem, with harps, lyres, and trumpets, to the house of the Lord. ²⁹ And the fear of God came upon all the kingdoms of the surrounding lands when they heard how the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. ³⁰ Thereafter Jehoshaphat’s kingdom had peace, for his God gave him rest on every side.

Jehoshaphat’s Other Deeds. ^31 (M)Thus Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Azubah, daughter of Shilhi. ³² He walked in the way of Asa his father unceasingly, doing what was right in the Lord’s sight. ³³ Nevertheless, the high places did not disappear and the people had not yet set their hearts on the God of their ancestors.

³⁴ The rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last, are recorded in the chronicle of Jehu, son of Hanani, which was incorporated into the book of the kings of Israel. ³⁵ After this, Jehoshaphat king of Judah joined with Ahaziah king of Israel—he acted wickedly. ^36 (N)He joined with him in building ships to go to Tarshish; the fleet was built at Ezion-geber. ³⁷ But Eliezer, son of Dodavahu from Mareshah, prophesied against Jehoshaphat. He said: “Because you have joined with Ahaziah, the Lord will shatter your work.” And the ships were wrecked and were unable to sail to Tarshish.

Chapter 21

¹ Jehoshaphat rested with his ancestors; he was buried with them in the City of David. Jehoram, his son, succeeded him as king.^{(O) 2} He had brothers, Jehoshaphat’s sons: Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariah, Michael, and Shephatiah; all these were sons of King Jehoshaphat of Judah. ³ Their father gave them many gifts of silver, gold, and precious objects, together with fortified cities in Judah, but the kingship he gave to Jehoram because he was the firstborn.

Jehoram’s Evil Deeds. ⁴ When Jehoram had acceded to his father’s kingdom and was firmly in power, he killed all his brothers with the sword, and also some of the princes of Israel. ^5 (P)Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. ⁶ He walked in the way of the kings of Israel as the house of Ahab had done, since the daughter of Ahab^[f] was his wife; and he did what was evil in the Lord’s sight. ⁷ Even so, the Lord was unwilling to destroy the house of David because of the covenant he had made with David and because of his promise to leave him and his sons a holding for all time.^(Q)

^8 (R)During his time Edom revolted against the rule of Judah and installed its own king. ⁹ Thereupon Jehoram with his officers and all his chariots crossed over. He arose by night and broke through the Edomites when they had surrounded him and the commanders of his chariots. ¹⁰ To this day Edom has been in revolt against the rule of Judah. Libnah also revolted at that time against his rule because he had abandoned the Lord, the God of his ancestors. ¹¹ He also set up high places in the mountains of Judah, prostituting the inhabitants of Jerusalem, leading Judah astray.

Jehoram Punished. ¹² A letter came to him from Elijah^[g] the prophet with this message: “Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: Because you have not walked in the way of your father Jehoshaphat, nor of Asa, king of Judah, ¹³ but instead have walked in the way of the kings of Israel, leading Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem into prostitution, like the harlotries of the house of Ahab, and because you have killed your brothers of your father’s house, who were better than you, ¹⁴ the Lord will strike your people, your children, your wives, and all that is yours with a great plague. ¹⁵ You shall have severe pains from a disease in your bowels, which will fall out because of the disease, day after day.”

¹⁶ Then the Lord stirred up against Jehoram the animosity of the Philistines and of the Arabians who were neighbors of the Ethiopians. ¹⁷ They came up against Judah, breached it, and carried away all the wealth found in the king’s house, along with his sons and his wives. He was left with only one son, Jehoahaz, his youngest. ¹⁸ After these events, the Lord afflicted him with a disease of the bowels for which there was no cure. ¹⁹ Some time later, after a period of two years had elapsed, his bowels fell out because of the disease and he died in great pain. His people did not make a fire for him as they had for his ancestors.^{(S) 20} He was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. He departed unloved; and they buried him in the City of David, though not in the tombs of the kings.^(T)