2 Chronicles 18–36

Chapter 18

Now Josaphat was rich and very glorious, and was joined by affinity to Achab.

²And he went down to him after some years to Samaria: and Achab at his coming killed sheep and oxen in abundance for him and the people that came with him: and he persuaded him to go up to Ramoth Galaad.

³And Achab king of Israel said to Josaphat king of Juda: Come with me to Ramoth Galaad. And he answered him: Thou art as I am, and my people as thy people, and we will be with thee in the war.

⁴And Josaphat said to the king of Israel: Inquire, I beseech thee, at present the word of the Lord.

⁵So the king of Israel gathered together of the prophets four hundred men, and he said to them: Shall we go to Ramoth Galaad to fight, or shall we forbear? But they said: Go up, and God will deliver into the king’s hand.

⁶And Josaphat said: Is there not here a prophet of the Lord, that we may inquire also of him?

⁷And the king of Israel said to Josaphat: There is one man, of whom we may ask the will of the Lord: but I hate him, for he never prophesieth good to me, but always evil: and it is Micheas the son of Jemla. And Josaphat said: Speak not thus, O king.

⁸And the king of Israel called one of the eunuchs, and said to him: Call quickly Micheas the son of Jemla.

⁹Now the king of Israel, and Josaphat king of Juda, both sat on their thrones, clothed in royal robes, and they sat in the open court by the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets prophesied before them.

¹⁰And Sedecias the son of Chanaana made him horns of iron, and said: Thus saith the Lord: With these shalt thou push Syria, till thou destroy it.

¹¹And all the prophets prophesied in like manner, and said: Go up to Ramoth Galaad, and thou shalt prosper, and the Lord will deliver them into the king’s hand.

¹²And the messenger that went to call Micheas, said to him: Behold the words of all the prophets with one mouth declare good to the king: I beseech thee therefore let not thy word disagree with them, and speak thou also good success.

¹³And Micheas answered him: As the Lord liveth, whatsoever my God shall say to me, that will I speak.

¹⁴So he came to the king: and the king said to him: Micheas, shall we go to Ramoth Galaad to fight, or forbear? And he answered him: Go up, for all shall succeed prosperously, and the enemies shall be delivered into your hands.

¹⁵And the king said: I adjure thee again and again to say nothing but the truth to me, in the name of the Lord.

¹⁶Then he said: I saw all Israel scattered in the mountains, like sheep without a shepherd: and the Lord said: These have no masters: let every man return to his own house in peace.

¹⁷And the king of Israel said to Josaphat: Did I not tell thee that this man would not prophesy me any good, but evil?

¹⁸Then he said: Hear ye therefore the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the army of heaven standing by him on the right hand and on the left,

¹⁹And the Lord said: Who shall deceive Achab king of Israel, that he may go up and fall in Ramoth Galaad? And when one spoke in this manner, and another otherwise:

²⁰There came forth a spirit, and stood before the Lord, and said: I will deceive him. And the Lord said to him: By what means wilt thou deceive him?

²¹And he answered: I will go out, and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And the Lord said: Thou shalt deceive, and shalt prevail: go out, and do so.

²²Now therefore behold the Lord hath put a spirit of lying in the mouth of all thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil against thee.

²³And Sedecias the son of Chanaana came, and struck Micheas on the cheek and said: Which way went the spirit of the Lord from me, to speak to thee?

²⁴And Micheas said: Thou thyself shalt see in that day, when thou shalt go in from chamber to chamber, to hide thyself.

²⁵And the king of Israel commanded, saying: Take Micheas, and carry him to Amon the governor of the city, and to Joas the son of Amelech,

²⁶And say: Thus saith the king: Put this fellow in prison, and give him bread and water in a small quantity till I return in peace.

²⁷And Micheas said: If thou return in peace, the Lord hath not spoken by me. And he said: Hear, all ye people.

²⁸So the king of Israel and Josaphat king of Juda went up to Ramoth Galaad.

²⁹And the king of Israel said to Josaphat: I will change my dress, and so I will go to the battle, but put thou on thy own garments. And the king of Israel having changed his dress, went to the battle.

³⁰Now the king of Syria had commanded the captains of his cavalry, saying: Fight ye not with small, or great, but with the king of Israel only.

³¹So when the captains of the cavalry saw Josaphat, they said: This is the king of Israel. And they surrounded him to attack him: but he cried to the Lord, and he helped him, and turned them away from him.

³²For when the captains of the cavalry saw, that he was not the king of Israel, they left him.

³³And it happened that one of the people shot an arrow at a venture, and struck the king of Israel between the neck and the shoulders, and he said to his chariot man: Turn thy hand, and carry me out of the battle, for I am wounded.

³⁴And the fight was ended that day: but the king of Israel stood in his chariot against the Syrians until the evening, and died at the sunset.

Chapter 19

And Josaphat king of Juda returned to his house in peace to Jerusalem.

²And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer met him, and said to him: Thou helpest the ungodly, and thou art joined in friendship with them that hate the Lord, and therefore thou didst deserve indeed the wrath of the Lord:

³But good works are found in thee, because thou hast taken away the groves out of the land of Juda, and hast prepared thy heart to seek the Lord the God of thy fathers.

⁴And Josaphat dwelt at Jerusalem: and he went out again to the people from Bersabee to mount Ephraim, and brought them back to the Lord the God of their fathers.

⁵And he set judges of the land in all the fenced cities of Juda, in every place.

⁶And charging the judges, he said: Take heed what you do: for you exercise not the judgment of man, but of the Lord: and whatsoever you judge, it shall redound to you.

⁷Let the fear of the Lord be with you, and do all things with diligence: for there is no iniquity with the Lord our God, nor respect of persons, nor desire of gifts.

⁸In Jerusalem also Josaphat appointed Levites, and priests and chiefs of the families of Israel, to judge the judgment and the cause of the Lord for the inhabitants thereof.

⁹And he charged them, saying, Thus shall you do in the fear of the Lord faithfully, and with a perfect heart.

¹⁰Every cause that shall come to you of your brethren, that dwell in their cities, between kindred and kindred, wheresoever there is question concerning the law, the commandment, the ceremonies, the justifications: shew it them, that they may not sin against the Lord, and that wrath may not come upon you and your brethren: and so doing you shall not sin.

¹¹And Amarias the priest your high priest shall be chief in the things which regard God: and Zabadias the son of Ismahel, who is ruler in the house of Juda, shall be over those matters which belong to the king’s office: and you have before you the Levites for masters, take courage and do diligently, and the Lord will be with you in good things.

Chapter 20

After this the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them of the Ammonites, were gathered together to fight against Josaphat.

²And there came messengers, and told Josaphat, saying: There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea, and out of Syria, and behold they are in Asasonthamar, which is Engaddi.

³And Josaphat being seized with fear betook himself wholly to pray to the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Juda.

⁴And Juda gathered themselves together to pray to the Lord: and all came out of their cities to make supplication to him.

⁵And Josaphat stood in the midst of the assembly of Juda, and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord before the new court,

⁶And said: O Lord God of our fathers, thou art God in heaven, and rulest over all the kingdoms and nations, in thy hand is strength and power, and no one can resist thee.

⁷Didst not thou our God kill all the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever?

⁸And they dwelt in it, and built in it a sanctuary to thy name, saying:

⁹If evils fall upon us, the sword of judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand in thy presence before this house, in which thy name is called upon: and we will cry to thee in our afflictions, and thou wilt hear, and save us.

¹⁰Now therefore behold the children of Ammon, and of Moab, and mount Seir, through whose lands thou didst not allow Israel to pass, when they came out of Egypt, but they turned aside from them, and slew them not,

¹¹Do the contrary, and endeavour to cast us out of the possession which thou hast delivered to us.

¹²O our God, wilt thou not then judge them? as for us we have not strength enough, to be able to resist this multitude, which cometh violently upon us. But as we know not what to do, we can only turn our eyes to thee.

¹³And all Juda stood before the Lord with their little ones, and their wives, and their children.

¹⁴And Jahaziel the son of Zacharias, the son of Banaias, the son of Jehiel, the son of Mathanias, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, was there, upon whom the spirit of the Lord came in the midst of the multitude,

¹⁵And he said: Attend ye, all Juda, and you that dwell in Jerusalem, and thou king Josaphat: Thus saith the Lord to you: Fear ye not, and be not dismayed at this multitude: for the battle is not yours, but God’s.

¹⁶To morrow you shall go down against them: for they will come up by the ascent named Sis, and you shall find them at the head of the torrent, which is over against the wilderness of Jeruel.

¹⁷It shall not be you that shall fight, but only stand with…