Apr 12 - 2 Chronicles 18-20
2 Chronicles
1Therefore, Jehoshaphat was wealthy and very famous, and he was joined by affinity to Ahab2And after some years, he descended to him in Samaria. And upon his arrival, Ahab slaughtered very many sheep and oxen, for him and for the people who had arrived with him. And he persuaded him that he should ascend against Ramoth Gilead3And Ahab, the king of Israel, said to Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, "Come with me to Ramoth Gilead." And he answered him: "As I am, so also are you. As your people are, so also are my people. And we will be with you in war.4And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, "Consult, I beg you, the word of the Lord for the present circumstances.5And so the king of Israel gathered together four hundred men of the prophets, and he said to them: "Should we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or should we be quieted?" But they said, "Ascend, and God will deliver into the hand of the king.6And Jehoshaphat said, "Is there not a prophet of the Lord here, so that we may inquire of him as well?7And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat: "There is one man, from whom we would be able to ask the will of the Lord. But I hate him, for he never prophesies good to me, but at all times evil. And it is Micaiah, the son of Imlah." And Jehoshaphat said, "You should not speak in this manner, O king.8Therefore, the king of Israel called one of the eunuchs, and said to him: "Quickly, summon Micaiah, the son of Imlah.9Now the king of Israel, and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, were both sitting upon their thrones, clothed in royal vestments. And they were sitting in an open area, beside the gate of Samaria. And all the prophets were prophesying before them10Truly, Zedekiah, the son of Chenaanah, made for himself horns of iron, and he said: "Thus says the Lord: With these, you shall threaten Syria, until you crush it.11And all the prophets prophesied similarly, and they said: "Ascend against Ramoth Gilead, and you shall prosper, and the Lord will deliver them into the hand of the king.12Then the messenger who had gone to summon Micaiah said to him: "Lo, the words of all the prophets, with one mouth, announce good to the king. Therefore, I ask you that you not dissent from them in your word, and that you speak prosperity.13And Micaiah responded to him, "As the Lord lives, whatever my God will say to me, the same shall I speak.14Therefore, he went to the king. And the king said to him, "Micaiah, should we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or should we be quieted?" And he responded to him: "Ascend. For everything will come to prosperity, and the enemies will be delivered into your hands.15And the king said, "Again and again, I bind you by an oath, so that you will not speak to me except what is true in the name of the Lord!16Then he said: "I saw all of Israel scattered amid the mountains, like sheep without a shepherd. And the Lord said: ‘These have no masters. Let each one return in peace to his own house.’ 17And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat: "Did I not tell you that this one would not prophesy to me anything good, but only what is evil?18Then he said: "Therefore, listen to the word of the Lord. I saw the Lord sitting upon his throne, and the entire army of heaven was standing beside him, on the right and on the left19And the Lord said: ‘Who will deceive Ahab, the king of Israel, so that he may ascend and fall at Ramoth Gilead?’ And when one spoke in one way, and another in another way20there came forward a spirit, and he stood before the Lord and said, ‘I will deceive him.’ And the Lord said to him, ‘In what way will you deceive him?21And he responded, ‘I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And the Lord said: ‘You will deceive and prevail. Go forth and do so.22Therefore now, behold: the Lord gave a lying spirit to the mouth of all your prophets, and the Lord has spoken evil about you.23Then Zedekiah, the son of Chenaanah, approached, and he struck Micaiah on the jaw, and he said: "In what way did the Spirit of the Lord depart from me, so that he would speak to you?24And Micaiah said: "You yourself shall see it, in that day, when you will enter a room within a room, so that you may be hidden.25Then the king of Israel instructed, saying: "Take Micaiah, and lead him to Amon, the leader of the city, and to Joash, the son of Amalech26And you shall say: ‘Thus says the king: Send this man to prison, and give to him a little bread and a little water, until I return in peace.’ 27And Micaiah said, "If you will have returned in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me." And he said, "May all the people listen.28And so, the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, ascended against Ramoth Gilead29And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat: "I will change my clothing, and in this way I will go into battle. But you should be clothed in your own garments." And the king of Israel, having changed his clothing, went to war30Now the king of Syria had instructed the commanders of his horsemen, saying, "You shall not fight against the least or the greatest, but only against the king of Israel.31And so, when the leaders of the horsemen had seen Jehoshaphat, they said, "This one is the king of Israel." And while fighting, they surrounded him. But he cried out to the Lord, and he assisted him, and he turned them away from him32For when the commanders of the horsemen had seen that he was not the king of Israel, they left him33Then it happened that one of the people shot an arrow indiscriminately, and it struck the king of Israel between the neck and the shoulder. And so he said to his chariot driver: "Turn your hand, and lead me away from the battle line. For I have been wounded.34And the fight ended on that day. But the king of Israel was standing in his chariot facing the Syrians, even until evening. And he died when the sun set
1Then Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, returned in peace to his house in Jerusalem2And the seer Jehu, the son of Hanani, met him, and said to him: "You offer assistance to the impious, and you are joined in friendship with those who hate the Lord. And for this reason, you certainly deserve the wrath of the Lord3But good works have been found in you. For you have taken away the sacred groves from the land of Judah. And you have prepared your heart, so as to seek the Lord, the God of your fathers.4Then Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem. And again he went out to the people, from Beersheba as far as mount Ephraim. And he called them back to the Lord, the God of their fathers5And he appointed judges of the land, in all the fortified cities of Judah, in each place6And instructing the judges, he said: "Pay attention to what you are doing. For you exercise judgment, not of man, but of the Lord. And whatever you will have judged, it will come back to you7Let 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 for gifts.8Jehoshaphat also appointed Levites and priests and leaders of families, out of Israel, in Jerusalem, so that they might judge the judgment and purpose of the Lord for its inhabitants9And he instructed them, saying, "So shall you act: faithfully, in the fear of the Lord, and with a perfect heart10Every case that will come to you from your brothers, who live in their cities, between kindred and kindred, wherever there is a question concerning law, commandment, ceremonies, or justifications, reveal it to them, so that they may not sin against the Lord, and so that wrath may not overwhelm you and your brothers. Then, by acting in this way, you will not sin11But Amariah, a priest and your high priest, shall preside over those things which pertain to God. Then Zebadiah, the son of Ishmael, who is a ruler in the house of Judah, shall be over those works that pertain to the office of the king. And you have before you the Levites as teachers. Be strengthened and act diligently, and the Lord will be with you for what is good.
1After these things, the sons of Moab, and the sons of Ammon, and with them some from the Ammonites, gathered together so that they might fight against him2And messengers arrived and reported to Jehoshaphat, saying: "A great multitude has arrived against you, from those places that are across the sea, and from Syria. And behold, they are standing together at Hazazon-tamar, which is Engedi.3Then Jehoshaphat, being terrified with fear, gave himself entirely to petitioning the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all of Judah4And Judah gathered together to pray to the Lord. Moreover, everyone from their cities came to beseech him5And when Jehoshaphat had stood up in the midst of the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new atrium6he said: "O Lord, God of our fathers, you are God in heaven, and you rule over all the kingdoms of the Gentiles. In your hand is strength and power, and no one is able to withstand you7Did not you, our God, put to death all the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel? And you gave it to the offspring of your friend Abraham, for all time8And they lived in it. And they built a Sanctuary to your name in it, saying9‘If evils will have fallen upon us, the sword of judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand in your sight before this house, in which your name is invoked, and we will cry out to you in our tribulations. And you will heed us and accomplish our salvation.10Now therefore, behold the sons of Ammon, and of Moab, and mount Seir, through whose lands you did not permit Israel to cross when they were departing from Egypt. Instead, they turned aside from them, and they did not put them to death11They are doing the contrary, and they are striving to cast us from the possession which you delivered to us12Therefore, will you, our God, not judge them? Certainly, in us there is not enough strength so that we would be able to withstand this multitude, which rushes against us. But although we do not know what we ought to do, we have this alone remaining, that we direct our eyes to you.13Truly, all of Judah was standing before the Lord with their little ones and wives and children14But there was Jahaziel, the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite from the sons of Asaph, upon whom the Spirit of the Lord went, in the midst of the crowd15And he said: "Pay attention, all of Judah, and you who live in Jerusalem, and you, king Jehoshaphat. Thus says the Lord to you: Do not be afraid. Neither should you be dismayed by this multitude. For the fight is not yours, but God’s16Tomorrow, you shall descend against them. For they will ascend along the incline named Ziz, and will find them at the summit of the torrent, which is opposite the wilderness of Jeruel17It will not be you who will fight. Instead, only stand with confidence, and you will see the help of the Lord over you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid. Neither should you be dismayed. Tomorrow you shall go forth against them, and the Lord will be with you.18Then Jehoshaphat, and Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell prone on the ground before the Lord, and they adored him19And the Levites from the sons of Kohath, and from the sons of Korah, were praising the Lord, the God of Israel, with a great voice, on high20And when they had risen up in the morning, they went out through the desert of Tekoa. And as they were setting out, Jehoshaphat, standing in their midst, said: "Listen to me, men of Judah and all inhabitants of Jerusalem. Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be secure. Believe in his prophets, and everything will come to prosperity.21And he gave counsel to the people. And he appointed the singing men of the Lord, so that they would praise him by their companies, and so that they would go before the army, and with one voice say: "Confess to the Lord. For his mercy is eternal.22And when they had begun to sing praises, the Lord turned their ambushes upon themselves, that is, those of the sons of Ammon, and of Moab, and of mount Seir, who had gone forth so that they might fight against Judah. And they were struck down23For the sons of Ammon and of Moab rose up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, so that they might slay and destroy them. And when they had perpetrated this work, now also turning upon themselves, they cut one another with wounds24Then, when Judah had gone to the high point that looks out toward the desert, they saw, from far away, the entire wide region filled with dead bodies. Neither was there anyone who was left alive and had been able to escape death25Therefore, Jehoshaphat went, and all the people with him, in order to take away the spoils of the dead. And they found, among the dead bodies, diverse equipment, and also garments, and very precious vessels. And they despoiled these, to such an extent that they were unable to carry everything. Neither could they, over three days, take away the spoils because of the magnitude of the plunder26Then, on the fourth day, they were gathered together in the Valley of Blessing. For they had blessed the Lord there, and therefore they called that place the Valley of Blessing, even to the present day27And every man of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, returned, with Jehoshaphat before them, to Jerusalem, with great rejoicing. For the Lord had granted to them gladness concerning their enemies28And they entered into Jerusalem with psalteries, and harps, and trumpets, into the house of the Lord29Then the fear of the Lord fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands, when they had heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel30And the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was quiet. And God granted to him peace on all sides31And so Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. And he was thirty-five years old when he had begun to reign. Then he reigned for twenty-five years in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother was Azubah, the daughter of Shilhi32And he walked in the way of his father, Asa, and he did not decline from it, doing the things that were pleasing before the Lord33Yet truly, he did not take away the high places, and the people still had not directed their heart to the Lord, the God of their fathers34But the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, the first and the last, have been written in the words of Jehu, the son of Hanani, which he digested into the books of the kings of Israel35After these things, Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, formed a friendship with Ahaziah, the king of Israel, whose works were very impious36And he was a partner in the making of ships, which would go to Tarshish. And they made the fleet at Eziongeber37Then Eliezer, the son of Dodavahu, from Mareshah, prophesied to Jehoshaphat, saying: "Because you have made a pact with Ahaziah, the Lord has struck your works, and the ships have been broken, and they have not been able to go to Tarshish.