2 Chronicles 17–21

Chapter 17

Jehoshaphat Succeeds Asa

^1aJehoshaphat his son then became king in his place, and made his position over Israel firm.

²He placed troops in all ^athe fortified cities of Judah, and set garrisons in the land of Judah and in the cities of Ephraim ^bwhich Asa his father had captured.

His Good Reign

³The Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he ¹followed the example of his father David’s earlier days and did not seek the Baals,

⁴but sought the God of his father, ¹followed His commandments, ^aand did not act as Israel did.

⁵So the Lord established the kingdom in his ¹control, and all Judah brought tribute to Jehoshaphat, and ^ahe had great riches and honor.

⁶¹He took great pride in the ways of the Lord and again ^aremoved the high places and the Asherim from Judah.

⁷Then in the third year of his reign he sent his officials, Ben-hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel and Micaiah, ^ato teach in the cities of Judah;

⁸and with them ^athe Levites, Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah and Tobadonijah, the Levites; and with them Elishama and Jehoram, the priests.

⁹They taught in Judah, having ^athe book of the law of the Lord with them; and they went throughout all the cities of Judah and taught among the people.

¹⁰Now ^athe dread of the Lord was on all the kingdoms of the lands which were around Judah, so that they did not make war against Jehoshaphat.

¹¹Some of the Philistines ^abrought gifts and silver as tribute to Jehoshaphat; the Arabians also brought him flocks, 7,700 rams and 7,700 male goats.

¹²So Jehoshaphat grew greater and greater, and he built fortresses and store cities in Judah.

¹³He had large supplies in the cities of Judah, and warriors, valiant men, in Jerusalem.

¹⁴This was their muster according to their fathers’ households: of Judah, commanders of thousands, Adnah was the commander, and with him 300,000 valiant warriors;

¹⁵and next to him was Johanan the commander, and with him 280,000;

¹⁶and next to him Amasiah the son of Zichri, ^awho volunteered for the Lord, and with him 200,000 valiant warriors;

¹⁷and of Benjamin, Eliada a valiant warrior, and with him 200,000 armed with bow and shield;

¹⁸and next to him Jehozabad, and with him 180,000 equipped for war.

¹⁹These are they who served the king, apart from ^athose whom the king put in the fortified cities through all Judah.

Chapter 18

Jehoshaphat Allies with Ahab

¹Now ^aJehoshaphat had great riches and honor; and he allied himself by marriage with Ahab.

^2aSome years later he went down to visit Ahab at Samaria. And Ahab slaughtered many sheep and oxen for him and the people who were with him, and induced him to go up against Ramoth-gilead.

³Ahab king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, “Will you go with me against Ramoth-gilead?” And he said to him, “I am as you are, and my people as your people, and we will be with you in the battle.”

⁴Moreover, Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Please inquire ¹first for the word of the Lord.”

⁵Then the king of Israel assembled the prophets, four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall we go against Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I refrain?” And they said, “Go up, for God will give it into the hand of the king.”

⁶But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not yet a prophet of the Lord here that we may inquire of him?”

⁷The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord, but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me but always evil. He is Micaiah, son of Imla.” But Jehoshaphat said, “Let not the king say so.”

Ahab’s False Prophets Assure Victory

⁸Then the king of Israel called an officer and said, “¹Bring quickly Micaiah, Imla’s son.”

⁹Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah were sitting each on his throne, arrayed in their robes, and they were sitting ^aat the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets were prophesying before them.

¹⁰Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made horns of iron for himself and said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘With these you shall gore the Arameans until they are consumed.’ ”

¹¹All the prophets were prophesying thus, saying, “Go up to Ramoth-gilead and succeed, for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.”

Micaiah Brings Word from God

¹²Then the messenger who went to summon Micaiah spoke to him saying, “Behold, the words of the prophets are uniformly favorable to the king. So please let your word be like one of them and speak favorably.”

¹³But Micaiah said, “As the Lord lives, ^awhat my God says, that I will speak.”

¹⁴When he came to the king, the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I refrain?” He said, “Go up and succeed, for they will be given into your hand.”

¹⁵Then the king said to him, “How many times must I adjure you to speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?”

¹⁶So he said,

“I saw all Israel

Scattered on the mountains,

^aLike sheep which have no shepherd;

And the Lord said,

‘These have no master.

Let each of them return to his house in peace.’ ”

¹⁷Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?”

¹⁸Micaiah said, “Therefore, hear the word of the Lord. ^aI saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing on His right and on His left.

¹⁹“The Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab king of Israel to go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one said this while another said that.

²⁰“Then a ^aspirit came forward and stood before the Lord and said, ‘I will entice him.’ And the Lord said to him, ‘How?’

²¹“He said, ‘I will go and be ^aa deceiving spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ Then He said, ‘You are to entice him and prevail also. Go and do so.’

²²“Now therefore, behold, ^athe Lord has put a deceiving spirit in the mouth of these your prophets, for the Lord has proclaimed disaster against you.”

²³Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near and ^astruck Micaiah on the cheek and said, “¹How did the Spirit of the Lord pass from me to speak to you?”

²⁴Micaiah said, “Behold, you will see on that day when you enter an inner room to hide yourself.”

²⁵Then the king of Israel said, “^aTake Micaiah and return him to Amon ^bthe governor of the city and to Joash the king’s son;

²⁶and say, ‘Thus says the king, “^aPut this man in prison and feed him ¹sparingly with bread and water until I return safely.” ’ ”

²⁷Micaiah said, “If you indeed return safely, the Lord has not spoken by me.” And he said, “^aListen, all you people.”

Ahab’s Defeat and Death

²⁸So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up against Ramoth-gilead.

²⁹The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you put on your robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself, and they went into battle.

³⁰Now the king of Aram had commanded the captains of his chariots, saying, “Do not fight with small or great, but with the king of Israel alone.”

³¹So when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, “It is the king of Israel,” and they turned aside to fight against him. But Jehoshaphat ^acried out, and the Lord helped him, and God diverted them from him.

³²When the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him.

³³A certain man drew his bow at random and struck the king of Israel ¹in a joint of the armor. So he said to the driver of the chariot, “Turn ²around and take me out of the ³fight, for I am severely wounded.”

³⁴The battle raged that day, and the king of Israel propped himself up in his chariot in front of the Arameans until the evening; and at sunset he died.

Chapter 19

Jehu Rebukes Jehoshaphat

¹Then Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned in safety to his house in Jerusalem.

^2aJehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him and said to King Jehoshaphat, “^bShould you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord and ^1cso bring wrath on yourself from the Lord?

³“But ^1athere is some good in you, for ^byou have removed the ²Asheroth from the land and you ^chave set your heart to seek God.”

⁴So Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem and went out again among the people from Beersheba to the hill country of Ephraim and ^abrought them back to the Lord, the God of their fathers.

Reforms Instituted

⁵He appointed ^ajudges in the land in all the fortified cities of Judah, city by city.

⁶He said to the judges, “Consider what you are doing, for ^ayou do not judge for man but for the Lord who is with you ¹when you render judgment.

⁷“Now then let the fear of the Lord be upon you; ¹be very careful what you do, for ²the Lord our God will ^ahave no part in unrighteousness ^bor partiality or the taking of a bribe.”

⁸In Jerusalem also Jehoshaphat appointed some ^aof the Levites and priests, and some of the heads of the fathers’ households of Israel, for the judgment of the Lord and to judge ¹disputes among the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

⁹Then he charged them saying, “Thus you shall do in the fear of the Lord, faithfully and wholeheartedly.

¹⁰“^aWhenever any dispute comes to you from your brethren who live in their cities, between blood and blood, between law and commandment, statutes and ordinances, you shall warn them so that they may not be guilty before the Lord, and ^bwrath may not come on you and your brethren. Thus you shall do and you will not be guilty.

¹¹“Behold, Amariah the chief priest will be over you in ^1aall that pertains to the Lord, and Zebadiah the son of Ishmael, the ruler of the house of Judah, in all that pertains to the king. Also the Levites shall be officers before you. ^2bAct resolutely, and the Lord be with the upright.”

Chapter 20

Judah Invaded

¹Now it came about after this that the sons of Moab and the sons of Ammon, together with some of the ^1aMeunites, came to make war against Jehoshaphat.

²Then some came and reported to Jehoshaphat, saying, “A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, out of ¹Aram and behold, they are in ^aHazazon-tamar (that…