2 Chronicles 16–18

Asa’s Treaty with Syria

16In the thirty-sixth year of the reign of Asa, ^aBaasha king of Israel came up against Judah and built Ramah, ^bthat he might let none go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. ²Then Asa brought silver and gold from the treasuries of the house of the Lord and of the king’s house, and sent to Ben-Hadad king of Syria, who dwelt in Damascus, saying, ³“Let there be a treaty between you and me, as there was between my father and your father. See, I have sent you silver and gold; come, break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me.”

⁴So Ben-Hadad heeded King Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel. They attacked Ijon, Dan, Abel Maim, and all the storage cities of Naphtali. ⁵Now it happened, when Baasha heard it, that he stopped building Ramah and ceased his work. ⁶Then King Asa took all Judah, and they carried away the stones and timber of Ramah, which Baasha had used for building; and with them he built Geba and Mizpah.

Hanani’s Message to Asa

⁷And at that time ^cHanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said to him: ^d“Because you have relied on the king of Syria, and have not relied on the Lord your God, therefore the army of the king of Syria has escaped from your hand. ⁸Were ^ethe Ethiopians and ^fthe Lubim not a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet, because you relied on the Lord, He delivered them into your ^ghand. ^9hFor the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. In this ⁱyou have done foolishly; therefore from now on ^jyou shall have wars.” ¹⁰Then Asa was angry with the seer, and ^kput him in prison, for he was enraged at him because of this. And Asa oppressed some of the people at that time.

Illness and Death of Asa

^11lNote that the acts of Asa, first and last, are indeed written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. ¹²And in the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa became diseased in his feet, and his malady was severe; yet in his disease he ^mdid not seek the Lord, but the physicians.

¹³ⁿSo Asa ¹rested with his fathers; he died in the forty-first year of his reign. ¹⁴They buried him in his own tomb, which he had ²made for himself in the City of David; and they laid him in the bed which was filled ^owith spices and various ingredients prepared in a mixture of ointments. They made ^pa very great burning for him.

Jehoshaphat Reigns in Judah

17Then ^aJehoshaphat his son reigned in his place, and strengthened himself against Israel. ²And he placed troops in all the fortified cities of Judah, and set garrisons in the land of ^bJudah and in the cities of Ephraim ^cwhich Asa his father had taken. ³Now the Lord was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the former ways of his father David; he did not seek the Baals, ⁴but sought ¹the God of his father, and walked in His commandments and not according to ^dthe acts of Israel. ⁵Therefore the Lord established the kingdom in his hand; and all Judah ^egave presents to Jehoshaphat, ^fand he had riches and honor in abundance. ⁶And his heart took delight in the ways of the Lord; moreover ^ghe removed the ²high places and wooden images from Judah.

⁷Also in the third year of his reign he sent his leaders, Ben-Hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Michaiah, ^hto teach in the cities of Judah. ⁸And with them he sent Levites: Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tobadonijah—the Levites; and with them Elishama and Jehoram, the priests. ⁹ⁱSo they taught in Judah, and had the Book of the Law of the Lord with them; they went throughout all the cities of Judah and taught the people.

¹⁰And ^jthe fear of the Lord fell on all the kingdoms of the lands that were around Judah, so that they did not make war against Jehoshaphat. ¹¹Also some of the Philistines ^kbrought Jehoshaphat presents and silver as tribute; and the Arabians brought him flocks, seven thousand seven hundred rams and seven thousand seven hundred male goats.

¹²So Jehoshaphat became increasingly powerful, and he built fortresses and storage cities in Judah. ¹³He had much property in the cities of Judah; and the men of war, mighty men of valor, were in Jerusalem.

¹⁴These are their numbers, according to their fathers’ houses. Of Judah, the captains of thousands: Adnah the captain, and with him three hundred thousand mighty men of valor; ¹⁵and next to him was Jehohanan the captain, and with him two hundred and eighty thousand; ¹⁶and next to him was Amasiah the son of Zichri, ^lwho willingly offered himself to the Lord, and with him two hundred thousand mighty men of valor. ¹⁷Of Benjamin: Eliada a mighty man of valor, and with him two hundred thousand men armed with bow and shield; ¹⁸and next to him was Jehozabad, and with him one hundred and eighty thousand prepared for war. ¹⁹These served the king, besides ^mthose the king put in the fortified cities throughout all Judah.

Micaiah Warns Ahab

18Jehoshaphat ^ahad riches and honor in abundance; and by marriage he ^ballied himself with ^cAhab. ^2dAfter some years he went down to visit Ahab in Samaria; and Ahab killed sheep and oxen in abundance for him and the people who were with him, and persuaded him to go up with him to Ramoth Gilead. ³So Ahab king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, “Will you go with me against Ramoth Gilead?”

And he answered him, “I am as you are, and my people as your people; we will be with you in the war.”

⁴Also Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, ^e“Please inquire for the word of the Lord today.”

⁵Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain?”

So they said, “Go up, for God will deliver it into the king’s hand.”

⁶But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not still a prophet of the Lord here, that we may inquire of ^fHim?” ¹

⁷So the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord; but I hate him, because he never prophesies good concerning me, but always evil. He is Micaiah the son of Imla.”

And Jehoshaphat said, “Let not the king say such things!”

⁸Then the king of Israel called one of his officers and said, “Bring Micaiah the son of Imla quickly!”

⁹The king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah, clothed in their robes, sat each on his throne; and they sat at a threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them. ¹⁰Now Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah had made ^ghorns of iron for himself; and he said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘With these you shall gore the Syrians until they are destroyed.’ ”

¹¹And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, “Go up to Ramoth Gilead and prosper, for the Lord will deliver it into the king’s hand.”

¹²Then the messenger who had gone to call Micaiah spoke to him, saying, “Now listen, the words of the prophets with one accord encourage the king. Therefore please let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak encouragement.”

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

¹⁴Then he came to the king; and the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain?”

And he said, “Go and prosper, and they shall be delivered into your hand!”

¹⁵So the king said to him, “How many times shall I make you swear that you tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?”

¹⁶Then he said, “I saw all Israel ⁱscattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no ^jshepherd. And the Lord said, ‘These have no master. Let each return to his house in peace.’ ”

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

¹⁸Then Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on His ^kthrone, and all the host of heaven standing on His right hand and His left. ¹⁹And the Lord said, ‘Who will persuade Ahab king of Israel to go up, that he may fall at Ramoth Gilead?’ So one spoke in this manner, and another spoke in that manner. ²⁰Then a ^lspirit came forward and stood before the Lord, and said, ‘I will persuade him.’ The Lord said to him, ‘In what way?’ ²¹So he said, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And the Lord said, ‘You shall persuade him and also prevail; go out and do so.’ ²²Therefore look! ^mThe Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of these prophets of yours, and the Lord has declared disaster against you.”

²³Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near and ⁿstruck Micaiah on the cheek, and said, “Which way did the spirit from the Lord go from me to speak to you?”

²⁴And Micaiah said, “Indeed you shall see on that day when you go into an inner chamber to hide!”

²⁵Then the king of Israel said, “Take Micaiah, and return him to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king’s son; ²⁶and say, ‘Thus says the king: ^o“Put this fellow in prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and water of affliction, until I return in peace.” ’ ”

²⁷But Micaiah said, “If you ever return in peace, the Lord has not spoken by ^pme.” And he said, “Take heed, all you people!”

Ahab Dies in Battle

²⁸So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth Gilead. ²⁹And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will ^qdisguise 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 Syria had commanded the captains of the chariots who were with him, saying, “Fight with no one small or great, but only with the king of Israel.”

³¹So it was, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, “It is the king of Israel!” Therefore they surrounded him to attack; but Jehoshaphat ^rcried out, and the Lord helped him, and God diverted them from him. ³²For so it was, when the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the…