Day 194 of 730

¹It happened after this, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them some of the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle.

²Then some came who told Jehoshaphat, saying, "A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea from Syria. Behold, they are in Hazazon Tamar" (that is, En Gedi).

³Jehoshaphat was alarmed, and set himself to seek to the Lord. He proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.

⁴Judah gathered themselves together, to seek help from the Lord. They came out of all the cities of Judah to seek the Lord.

⁵Jehoshaphat 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, aren't you God in heaven? Aren't you ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in your hand, so that no one is able to withstand you.

⁷Did you not, our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it to the seed of Abraham your friend forever?

⁸They lived in it, and have built you a sanctuary in it for your name, saying,

⁹'If evil comes on us-the sword, judgment, 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 affliction, and you will hear and save.'

¹⁰Now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom you would not let Israel invade, when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned aside from them, and did not destroy them;

¹¹behold, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of your possession, which you have given us to inherit.

¹²Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no might against this great company that comes against us; neither know we what to do, but our eyes are on you."

¹³All Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.

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

¹⁵and he said, "Listen, all Judah, and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you king Jehoshaphat. Thus says the Lord to you, 'Do not be afraid, neither be dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's.

¹⁶Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they are coming up by the ascent of Ziz. You shall find them at the end of the valley, before the wilderness of Jeruel.

¹⁷You will not need to fight this battle. Set yourselves, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed. Go out against them tomorrow, for the Lord is with you.'"

¹⁸Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground; and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshipping the Lord.

¹⁹The Levites, of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites, stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with an exceeding loud voice.

²⁰They rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Listen to me, Judah, and you inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God, so you shall be established! Believe his prophets, so you shall prosper."

²¹When he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the Lord, and give praise in holy array, as they went out before the army, and say, Give thanks to the Lord; for his loving kindness endures forever.

²²When they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushers against the children of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were struck.

²³For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, utterly to kill and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, everyone helped to destroy another.

²⁴When Judah came to the place overlooking the wilderness, they looked at the multitude; and behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and there were none who escaped.

²⁵When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take their spoil, they found among them in abundance both riches and dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away: and they were three days in taking the spoil, it was so much.

²⁶On the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Beracah; for there they blessed the Lord: therefore the name of that place was called The valley of Beracah to this day.

²⁷Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat in their forefront, to go again to Jerusalem with joy; for the Lord had made them to rejoice over their enemies.

²⁸They came to Jerusalem with stringed instruments and harps and trumpets to the house of the Lord.

²⁹The fear of God was on all the kingdoms of the countries, when they heard that the Lord fought against the enemies of Israel.

³⁰So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet; for his God gave him rest all around.

³¹Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah: he was thirty-five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi.

³²He walked in the way of Asa his father, and did not turn aside from it, doing that which was right in the eyes of the Lord.

³³However the high places were not taken away; neither as yet had the people set their hearts to the God of their fathers.

³⁴Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last, behold, they are written in the history of Jehu the son of Hanani, which is inserted in the book of the kings of Israel.

³⁵After this Jehoshaphat king of Judah joined himself with Ahaziah king of Israel. The same did very wickedly:

³⁶and he joined himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish; and they made the ships in Ezion Geber.

³⁷Then Eliezer the son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, "Because you have joined yourself with Ahaziah, the Lord has destroyed your works." The ships were broken, so that they were not able to go to Tarshish.

¹Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David: and Jehoram his son reigned in his place.

²He had brothers, the sons of Jehoshaphat: Azariah, and Jehiel, and Zechariah, and Azariah, and Michael, and Shephatiah; all these were the sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel.

³Their father gave them great gifts, of silver, and of gold, and of precious things, with fortified cities in Judah: but the kingdom gave he to Jehoram, because he was the firstborn.

⁴Now when Jehoram was risen up over the kingdom of his father, and had strengthened himself, he killed all his brothers with the sword, and various also of the princes of Israel.

⁵Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he began to reign; and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem.

⁶He walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as did the house of Ahab; for he had the daughter of Ahab as wife: and he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord.

⁷However the Lord would not destroy the house of David, because of the covenant that he had made with David, and as he promised to give a lamp to him and to his children always.

⁸In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah, and made a king over themselves.

⁹Then Jehoram passed over with his captains, and all his chariots with him: and he rose up by night, and struck the Edomites who surrounded him, along with the captains of the chariots.

¹⁰So Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah to this day: then Libnah revolted at the same time from under his hand, because he had forsaken the Lord, the God of his fathers.

¹¹Moreover he made high places in the mountains of Judah, and made the inhabitants of Jerusalem to play the prostitute, and led Judah astray.

¹²A letter came to him from Elijah the prophet, saying, "Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father, 'Because you have not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat your father, nor in the ways of Asa king of Judah,

¹³but have walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and have made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to play the prostitute, like the house of Ahab did, and also have slain your brothers of your father's house, who were better than yourself:

¹⁴behold, the Lord will strike with a great plague your people, and your children, and your wives, and all your substance;

¹⁵and you shall have great sickness by disease of your bowels, until your bowels fall out by reason of the sickness, day by day.'"

¹⁶The Lord stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines, and of the Arabians who are beside the Ethiopians:

¹⁷and they came up against Judah, and broke into it, and carried away all the substance that was found in the king's house, and his sons also, and his wives; so that there was never a son left him, except Jehoahaz, the youngest of his sons.

¹⁸After all this the Lord struck him in his bowels with an incurable disease.

¹⁹It happened, in process of time, at the end of two years, that his bowels fell out by reason of his sickness, and he died of severe diseases. His people made no burning for him, like the burning of his fathers.

²⁰Thirty-two years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years: and he departed without being desired; and they buried him in the city of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.

¹We have heard with our ears, God; our fathers have told us, what work you did in their days, in the days of old.

²You drove out the nations with your hand, but you planted them. You afflicted the peoples, but you spread them abroad.

³For they did not get the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them; but your right hand, and your arm, and the light of your face, because you were favorable to them.

⁴You are my King, God. Command victories for Jacob!

⁵Through you, will we push down our adversaries. Through your name, will we tread them under who rise up against us.

⁶For I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my sword save me.

⁷But you have saved us from our adversaries, and have shamed those who hate us.

⁸In God we have made our boast all day long, we will give thanks to your name forever. Selah.

⁹But now you rejected us, and brought us to dishonor, and do not go out with our armies.

¹⁰You make us turn back from the adversary. Those who hate us take spoil for themselves.

¹¹You have made us like sheep for food, and have scattered us among the nations.

¹²You sell your people for nothing, and have gained nothing from their sale.

¹³You make us a reproach to our neighbors, a scoffing and a derision to those who are around us.

¹⁴You make us a byword among the nations, a shaking of the head among the peoples.

¹⁵All day long my dishonor is before me, and shame covers my face,

¹⁶At the taunt of one who reproaches and verbally abuses, because of the enemy and the avenger.

¹⁷All this has come on us, yet have we not forgotten you, Neither have we been false to your covenant.

¹⁸Our heart has not turned back, neither have our steps strayed from your path,

¹⁹Though you have crushed us in the haunt of jackals, and covered us with the shadow of death.

²⁰If we have forgotten the name of our God, or spread forth our hands to a strange god;

²¹won't God search this out? For he knows the secrets of the heart.

²²Yes, for your sake we are killed all day long. We are regarded as sheep for the slaughter.

²³Wake up! Why do you sleep, Lord? Arise! Do not reject us forever.

²⁴Why do you hide your face, and forget our affliction and our oppression?

²⁵For our soul is bowed down to the dust. Our body cleaves to the earth.

²⁶Rise up to help us. Redeem us for your loving kindness' sake.

¹Doesn't wisdom cry out? Doesn't understanding raise her voice?

²On the top of high places by the way, where the paths meet, she stands.

³Beside the gates, at the entry of the city, at the entry doors, she cries aloud:

⁴"To you men, I call! I send my voice to the sons of mankind.

⁵You simple, understand prudence. You fools, be of an understanding heart.

⁶Hear, for I will speak excellent things. The opening of my lips is for right things.

⁷For my mouth speaks truth. Wickedness is an abomination to my lips.

⁸All the words of my mouth are in righteousness. There is nothing crooked or perverse in them.

⁹They are all plain to him who understands, right to those who find knowledge.

¹⁰Receive my instruction rather than silver; knowledge rather than choice gold.

¹¹For wisdom is better than rubies. All the things that may be desired can't be compared to it.

¹²"I, wisdom, have made prudence my dwelling. Find out knowledge and discretion.

¹³The fear of the Lord is to hate evil. I hate pride, arrogance, the evil way, and the perverse mouth.

¹⁴Counsel and sound knowledge are mine. I have understanding and power.

¹⁵By me kings reign, and princes decree justice.

¹⁶By me princes rule; nobles, and all the righteous rulers of the earth.

¹⁷I love those who love me. Those who seek me diligently will find me.

¹⁸With me are riches, honor, enduring wealth, and prosperity.

¹⁹My fruit is better than gold, yes, than fine gold; my yield than choice silver.

²⁰I walk in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of justice;

²¹That I may give wealth to those who love me. I fill their treasuries.

²²"The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his work, before his deeds of old.

²³I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, before the earth existed.

²⁴When there were no depths, I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water.

²⁵Before the mountains were settled in place, before the hills, I was brought forth;

²⁶while as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the beginning of the dust of the world.

²⁷When he established the heavens, I was there; when he set a circle on the surface of the deep,

²⁸when he established the clouds above, when the springs of the deep became strong,

²⁹when he gave to the sea its boundary, that the waters should not violate his commandment, when he marked out the foundations of the earth;

³⁰then I was the craftsman by his side. I was a delight day by day, always rejoicing before him,

³¹Rejoicing in his whole world. My delight was with the sons of men.

³²"Now therefore, my sons, listen to me, for blessed are those who keep my ways.

³³Hear instruction, and be wise. Do not refuse it.

³⁴Blessed is the man who hears me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at my door posts.

³⁵For whoever finds me, finds life, and will obtain favor from the Lord.

³⁶But he who sins against me wrongs his own soul. All those who hate me love death."