2 Chronicles 19–20

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 is Engedi).”

³Jehoshaphat was afraid and ^1aturned his attention to seek the Lord, and ^bproclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.

⁴So Judah gathered together to ^aseek help from the Lord; they even came from all the cities of Judah to seek the Lord.

Jehoshaphat’s Prayer

⁵Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord before the new court,

⁶and he said, “O Lord, the God of our fathers, ^aare You not God in the heavens? And ^bare You not ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in Your hand so that no one can stand against You.

⁷“Did You not, O our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel and ^agive it to the descendants of ^bAbraham Your friend forever?

⁸“They have lived in it, and have built You a sanctuary there for Your name, saying,

⁹‘^aShould evil come upon us, the sword, or judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before You (for ^bYour name is in this house) and cry to You in our distress, and You will hear and deliver us.’

¹⁰“Now behold, ^athe sons of Ammon and Moab and ¹Mount Seir, ^bwhom You did not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt (they turned aside from them and did not destroy them),

¹¹see how they are rewarding us by ^acoming to drive us out from Your possession which You have given us as an inheritance.

¹²“O our God, ^awill You not judge them? For we are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but ^bour eyes are on You.”

¹³All Judah was standing before the Lord, with their infants, their wives and their children.

Jahaziel Answers the Prayer

¹⁴Then in the midst of the assembly ^athe Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, the Levite of the sons of Asaph;

¹⁵and he said, “Listen, all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: thus says the Lord to you, ‘^aDo not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for ^bthe battle is not yours but God’s.

¹⁶‘Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the valley in front of the wilderness of Jeruel.

¹⁷‘You need not fight in this battle; station yourselves, ^astand and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out to face them, ^bfor the Lord is with you.”

¹⁸Jehoshaphat ^abowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord.

¹⁹The Levites, from the sons of the Kohathites and of the sons of the Korahites, stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel, with a very loud voice.

Enemies Destroy Themselves

²⁰They rose early in the morning and went out to the wilderness of Tekoa; and when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, ^aput your trust in the Lord your God and you will be established. Put your trust in His prophets and succeed.”

²¹When he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who sang to the Lord and those who ^apraised Him in holy attire, as they went out before the army and said, “^bGive thanks to the Lord, for His lovingkindness is everlasting.”

²²When they began singing and praising, the Lord ^aset ambushes against the sons of ^bAmmon, Moab and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; so they were ¹routed.

²³For the sons of Ammon and Moab rose up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir destroying them completely; and when they had finished with the inhabitants of Seir, ^athey helped to destroy one another.

²⁴When Judah came to the lookout of the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude, and behold, they were corpses lying on the ground, and no one had escaped.

²⁵When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take their spoil, they found much among them, including goods, ¹garments and valuable things which they took for themselves, more than they could carry. And they were three days taking the spoil because there was so much.

Triumphant Return to Jerusalem

²⁶Then on the fourth day they assembled in the valley of Beracah, for there they blessed the Lord. Therefore they have named that place “The Valley of ¹Beracah” until today.

²⁷Every man of Judah and Jerusalem returned with Jehoshaphat at their head, returning to Jerusalem with joy, ^afor the Lord had made them to rejoice over their enemies.

²⁸They came to Jerusalem with harps, lyres and trumpets to the house of the Lord.

²⁹And ^athe dread of God was on all the kingdoms of the lands when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel.

³⁰So the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, ^afor his God gave him rest on all sides.

^31aNow Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-five years. And his mother’s name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi.

³²He walked in the way of his father Asa and did not depart from it, doing right in the sight of the Lord.

^33aThe high places, however, were not removed; ^bthe people had not yet directed their hearts to the God of their fathers.

³⁴Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first ¹to last, behold, they are written in the annals of ^aJehu the son of Hanani, which is ²recorded in the Book of the Kings of Israel.

Alliance Displeases God

^35aAfter this Jehoshaphat king of Judah allied himself with Ahaziah king of Israel. He acted wickedly ¹in so doing.

³⁶So he allied himself with him to make ships to go ^ato Tarshish, and they made the ships in Ezion-geber.

³⁷Then Eliezer the son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat saying, “Because you have allied yourself with Ahaziah, the Lord has destroyed your works.” So the ships were broken and could not go to Tarshish.