191 Then Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned in safety to his house in Jerusalem . 2 Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him and said to King Jehoshaphat , " Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord and so bring wrath on yourself from the Lord ? 3 "But there is some good in you, for you have removed the Asheroth from the land and you have set your heart to seek God ."
4 So Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem and went out again among the people from Beersheba to the hill country of Ephraim and brought them back to the Lord , the God of their fathers .
5 He appointed judges in the land in all the fortified cities of Judah , city by city . 6 He said to the judges , "Consider what you are doing , for you do not judge for man but for the Lord who is with you when you render judgment . 7 "Now then let the fear of the Lord be upon you; be very careful what you do , for the Lord our God will have no part in unrighteousness or partiality e or the taking of a bribe ." 8 In Jerusalem also Jehoshaphat appointed some of the Levites and priests , and some of the heads of the fathers' households of Israel , for the judgment of the Lord and to judge disputes among the inhabitants of Jerusalem . 9 Then he charged them saying , "Thus you shall do in the fear of the Lord , faithfully and wholeheartedly e . 10 " Whenever 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 wrath 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 all 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. Act resolutely , and the Lord be with the upright ."
201 Now it came about after this that the sons of Moab and the sons of Ammon , together with some of the Meunites , came to make war against Jehoshaphat . 2 Then some came and reported to Jehoshaphat , saying , "A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea , out of Aram and behold , they are in Hazazon-tamar (that is Engedi )." 3 Jehoshaphat was afraid and turned his attention to seek the Lord , and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah . 4 So Judah gathered together to seek help from the Lord ; they even came from all the cities of Judah to seek the Lord . 5 Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem , in the house of the Lord before the new court , 6 and he said , "O Lord , the God of our fathers , are You not God in the heavens ? And are 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 e Your people Israel and give it to the descendants of Abraham Your friend forever ? 8 "They have lived in it, and have built You a sanctuary there for Your name , saying , 9 ' Should evil come upon us, the sword , or judgment , or pestilence , or famine , we will stand before this house and before You (for Your name is in this house ) and cry to You in our distress , and You will hear and deliver us.' 10 "Now behold , the sons of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir , whom 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), 11 see how they are rewarding us by coming to drive us out from Your possession which You have given us as an inheritance . 12 "O our God , will 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 our eyes are on You." 13 All Judah was standing before the Lord , with their infants , their wives and their children .
14 Then in the midst of the assembly the 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 ; 15 and he said , "Listen , all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat : thus says the Lord to you, ' Do not fear or be dismayed because e of this great multitude , for the 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, stand 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, for the Lord is with you." 18 Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground , and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord , worshiping the Lord . 19 The 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 .
20 They 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 , put your trust in the Lord your God and you will be established . Put your trust in His prophets and succeed ." 21 When he had consulted with the people , he appointed those who sang to the Lord and those who praised Him in holy attire , as they went out before the army and said , " Give thanks to the Lord , for His lovingkindness is everlasting ." 22 When they began singing and praising , the Lord set ambushes against the sons of Ammon , Moab and Mount Seir , who had come against Judah ; so they were routed . 23 For 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 , they helped to destroy one another . 24 When 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 . 25 When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take their spoil , they found much among them, including goods , garments 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 . 26 Then on the fourth day they assembled in the valley of Beracah , for there they blessed the Lord . Therefore e they have named e that place "The Valley of Beracah " until today . 27 Every man of Judah and Jerusalem returned with Jehoshaphat at their head , returning to Jerusalem with joy , for the Lord had made them to rejoice over their enemies . 28 They came to Jerusalem with harps , lyres and trumpets to the house of the Lord . 29 And the dread of God was on all the kingdoms of the lands when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel . 30 So the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace , for his God gave him rest on all sides .
31 Now Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah . He was thirty-five e years old when he became king , and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-five e years . And his mother's name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi . 32 He walked in the way of his father Asa and did not depart from it, doing right in the sight of the Lord . 33 The high places , however , were not removed ; the people had not yet directed their hearts to the God of their fathers . 34 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat , first to last , behold , they are written in the annals of Jehu the son of Hanani , which is recorded in the Book of the Kings of Israel . 35 After this Jehoshaphat king of Judah allied himself with Ahaziah king of Israel . He acted wickedly in so doing . 36 So he allied himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish , and they made the ships in Ezion-geber . 37 Then 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 .
211 Then Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David , and Jehoram his son became king in his place . 2 He had brothers , the sons of Jehoshaphat : Azariah , Jehiel , Zechariah , Azaryahu , Michael and Shephatiah . All these were the sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel . 3 Their father gave them many gifts of silver , gold and precious things , with fortified cities in Judah , but he gave the kingdom to Jehoram because he was the firstborn . 4 Now when Jehoram had taken over the kingdom of his father and made himself secure , he killed all his brothers with the sword , and some of the rulers of Israel also . 5 Jehoram was thirty-two e years old when he became king , and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem . 6 He walked in the way of the kings of Israel , just as the house of Ahab did ( for Ahab's daughter was his wife ), and he did evil in the sight of the Lord . 7 Yet the Lord was not willing to destroy the house of David because of the covenant which He had made with David , and since He had promised to give a lamp to him and his sons forever e . 8 In his days Edom revolted against e e the rule of Judah and set up a king over themselves. 9 Then Jehoram crossed over with his commanders and all his chariots with him. And he arose by night and struck down the Edomites who were surrounding him and the commanders of the chariots . 10 So Edom revolted against e e Judah to this day . Then Libnah revolted at the same time against e his rule , because he had forsaken the Lord God of his fathers . 11 Moreover , he made high places in the mountains of Judah , and caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to play the harlot and led Judah astray .
12 Then a letter came to him from Elijah the prophet saying , "Thus says the Lord God of your father David , 'Because e you have not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat your father and the ways of Asa king of Judah , 13 but have walked in the way of the kings of Israel , and have caused Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to play the harlot as the house of Ahab played the harlot , and you have also killed your brothers , your own family e , who were better than you, 14 behold , the Lord is going to strike your people , your sons , your wives and all your possessions with a great calamity ; 15 and you will suffer severe sickness , a disease of your bowels , until your bowels come out because of the sickness , day by day .' " 16 Then the Lord stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines and the Arabs who bordered e the Ethiopians ; 17 and they came against Judah and invaded it, and carried away all the possessions found in the king's house together with his sons and his wives , so that no son was left to him except e Jehoahaz , the youngest of his sons . 18 So after all this the Lord smote him in his bowels with an incurable e sickness . 19 Now it came about in the course e of time , at the end of two years , that his bowels came out because of his sickness and he died in great pain . And his people made no fire for him like the fire for his fathers . 20 He was thirty-two e years old when he became king , and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years ; and he departed with no one's regret , and they buried him in the city of David , but not in the tombs of the kings .
221 Then the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah , his youngest son , king in his place , for the band of men who came with the Arabs to the camp had slain all the older sons. So Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah began to reign . 2 Ahaziah was twenty-two e years old when he became king , and he reigned one year in Jerusalem . And his mother's name was Athaliah , the granddaughter of Omri . 3 He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab , for his mother was his counselor to do wickedly . 4 He did evil in the sight of the Lord like the house of Ahab , for they were his counselors after the death of his father , to his destruction . 5 He also walked according to their counsel , and went with Jehoram the son of Ahab king of Israel to wage war against Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth-gilead . But the Arameans wounded Joram . 6 So he returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which they had inflicted on him at Ramah , when he fought against Hazael king of Aram . And Ahaziah , the son of Jehoram king of Judah , went down to see Jehoram the son of Ahab in Jezreel , because he was sick .
7 Now the destruction of Ahaziah was from God , in that he went to Joram . For when he came , he went out with Jehoram against Jehu the son of Nimshi , whom the Lord had anointed to cut off the house of Ahab . 8 It came about when Jehu was executing judgment on the house of Ahab , he found the princes of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah's brothers ministering to Ahaziah , and slew them. 9 He also sought Ahaziah , and they caught him while he was hiding in Samaria ; they brought him to Jehu , put him to death and buried him. For they said , "He is the son of Jehoshaphat , who sought the Lord with all his heart ." So there was no one of the house of Ahaziah to retain the power of the kingdom .
10 Now when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead , she rose and destroyed all the royal offspring of the house of Judah . 11 But Jehoshabeath the king's daughter took Joash the son of Ahaziah , and stole him from among the king's sons who were being put to death , and placed him and his nurse in the bedroom e . So Jehoshabeath , the daughter of King Jehoram , the wife of Jehoiada the priest (for she was the sister of Ahaziah ), hid him from Athaliah so that she would not put him to death . 12 He was hidden with them in the house of God six years while Athaliah reigned over the land .
231 Now in the seventh year Jehoiada strengthened himself, and took captains of hundreds : Azariah the son of Jeroham , Ishmael the son of Johanan , Azariah the son of Obed , Maaseiah the son of Adaiah , and Elishaphat the son of Zichri , and they entered into a covenant with him. 2 They went throughout Judah and gathered the Levites from all the cities of Judah , and the heads of the fathers' households of Israel , and they came to Jerusalem . 3 Then all the assembly made a covenant with the king in the house of God . And Jehoiada said to them, "Behold , the king's son shall reign , as the Lord has spoken concerning the sons of David . 4 "This is the thing which you shall do : one third of you, of the priests and Levites who come in on the sabbath , shall be gatekeepers 5 and one third shall be at the king's house , and a third at the Gate of the Foundation ; and all the people shall be in the courts of the house of the Lord . 6 "But let no one enter the house of the Lord except e the priests and the ministering Levites ; they may enter , for they are holy . And let all the people keep the charge of the Lord . 7 "The Levites will surround e the king , each man with his weapons in his hand ; and whoever enters the house , let him be killed . Thus be with the king when he comes in and when he goes out." 8 So the Levites and all Judah did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded . And each one of them took his men who were to come in on the sabbath , with those who were to go out on the sabbath , for Jehoiada the priest did not dismiss any of the divisions . 9 Then Jehoiada the priest gave to the captains of hundreds the spears and the large and small shields which had been King David's , which were in the house of God . 10 He stationed all the people , each man with his weapon in his hand , from the right side of the house to the left side of the house , by the altar and by the house , around the king . 11 Then they brought out the king's son and put the crown on him, and gave him the testimony and made him king . And Jehoiada and his sons anointed him and said , " Long live the king !"
12 When Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and praising the king , she came into the house of the Lord to the people . 13 She looked , and behold , the king was standing by his pillar at the entrance , and the captains and the trumpeters were beside the king . And all the people of the land rejoiced and blew trumpets , the singers with their musical instruments leading the praise . Then Athaliah tore her clothes and said , "Treason ! Treason !" 14 Jehoiada the priest brought out the captains of hundreds who were appointed over the army and said to them, "Bring her out between e e the ranks ; and whoever follows e her, put to death with the sword ." For the priest said , "Let her not be put to death in the house of the Lord . 15 So they seized e her, and when she arrived at the entrance of the Horse Gate of the king's house , they put her to death there . 16 Then Jehoiada made a covenant between himself and all the people and the king , that they would be the Lord'S people . 17 And all the people went to the house of Baal and tore it down , and they broke in pieces his altars and his images , and killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars . 18 Moreover, Jehoiada placed the offices of the house of the Lord under the authority of the Levitical priests , whom David had assigned over the house of the Lord , to offer the burnt offerings of the Lord , as it is written in the law of Moses - with rejoicing and singing according to the order of David . 19 He stationed the gatekeepers of the house of the Lord , so that no one would enter who was in any way unclean 20 He took the captains of hundreds , the nobles , the rulers of the people and all the people of the land , and brought the king down from the house of the Lord , and came through the upper gate to the king's house . And they placed the king upon the royal throne . 21 So all of the people of the land rejoiced and the city was quiet . For they had put Athaliah to death with the sword
