Day 28 of 90

¹It happened, when the kingdom of Rehoboam was established, and he was strong, that he forsook the law of the Lord, and all Israel with him.

²It happened in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, because they had trespassed against the Lord,

³with twelve hundred chariots, and sixty thousand horsemen. The people were without number who came with him out of Egypt: the Lubim, the Sukkiim, and the Ethiopians.

⁴He took the fortified cities which pertained to Judah, and came to Jerusalem.

⁵Now Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam, and to the princes of Judah, who were gathered together to Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said to them, "Thus says the Lord, 'You have forsaken me, therefore have I also left you in the hand of Shishak.'"

⁶Then the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they said, "The Lord is righteous."

⁷When the Lord saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah, saying, "They have humbled themselves. I will not destroy them; but I will grant them some deliverance, and my wrath shall not be poured out on Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak.

⁸Nevertheless they shall be his servants, that they may know my service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries."

⁹So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, and took away the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king's house. He took it all away. He also took away the shields of gold which Solomon had made.

¹⁰King Rehoboam made in their place shields of brass, and committed them to the hands of the captains of the guard, who kept the door of the king's house.

¹¹It was so, that as often as the king entered into the house of the Lord, the guard came and bore them, and brought them back into the guard room.

¹²When he humbled himself, the wrath of the Lord turned from him, so as not to destroy him altogether: and moreover in Judah there were good things found.

¹³So king Rehoboam strengthened himself in Jerusalem, and reigned: for Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there: and his mother's name was Naamah the Ammonitess.

¹⁴He did that which was evil, because he did not set his heart to seek the Lord.

¹⁵Now the acts of Rehoboam, first and last, aren't they written in the histories of Shemaiah the prophet and of Iddo the seer, after the way of genealogies? There were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually.

¹⁶Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David: and Abijah his son reigned in his place.

¹In the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam began Abijah to reign over Judah.

²He reigned three years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Micaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. There was war between Abijah and Jeroboam.

³Abijah joined battle with an army of valiant men of war, even four hundred thousand chosen men: and Jeroboam set the battle in array against him with eight hundred thousand chosen men, who were mighty men of valor.

⁴Abijah stood up on Mount Zemaraim, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, and said, "Hear me, Jeroboam and all Israel:

⁵Ought you not to know that the Lord, the God of Israel, gave the kingdom over Israel to David forever, even to him and to his sons by a covenant of salt?

⁶Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon the son of David, rose up, and rebelled against his lord.

⁷There were gathered to him worthless men, base fellows, who strengthened themselves against Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and tenderhearted, and could not withstand them.

⁸"Now you think to withstand the kingdom of the Lord in the hand of the sons of David; and you are a great multitude, and there are with you the golden calves which Jeroboam made you for gods.

⁹Haven't you driven out the priests of the Lord, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and made priests for yourselves after the ways of the peoples of other lands? so that whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams, the same may be a priest of those who are no gods.

¹⁰"But as for us, the Lord is our God, and we have not forsaken him; and we have priests ministering to the Lord, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites in their work:

¹¹and they burn to the Lord every morning and every evening burnt offerings and sweet incense. They also set the show bread in order on the pure table; and the lampstand of gold with its lamps, to burn every evening: for we keep the instruction of the Lord our God; but you have forsaken him.

¹²Behold, God is with us at our head, and his priests with the trumpets of alarm to sound an alarm against you. Children of Israel, do not fight against the Lord, the God of your fathers; for you shall not prosper."

¹³But Jeroboam caused an ambush to come about behind them: so they were before Judah, and the ambush was behind them.

¹⁴When Judah looked back, behold, the battle was before and behind them; and they cried to the Lord, and the priests sounded with the trumpets.

¹⁵Then the men of Judah gave a shout: and as the men of Judah shouted, it happened, that God struck Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.

¹⁶The children of Israel fled before Judah; and God delivered them into their hand.

¹⁷Abijah and his people killed them with a great slaughter: so there fell down slain of Israel five hundred thousand chosen men.

¹⁸Thus the children of Israel were brought under at that time, and the children of Judah prevailed, because they relied on the Lord, the God of their fathers.

¹⁹Abijah pursued after Jeroboam, and took cities from him, Bethel with its towns, and Jeshanah with its towns, and Ephron with its towns.

²⁰Jeroboam did not recover strength again in the days of Abijah. The Lord struck him, and he died.

²¹But Abijah grew mighty, and took to himself fourteen wives, and became the father of twenty-two sons, and sixteen daughters.

²²The rest of the acts of Abijah, and his ways, and his sayings, are written in the commentary of the prophet Iddo.

¹So Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David; and Asa his son reigned in his place. In his days the land was quiet ten years.

²Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God:

³for he took away the foreign altars, and the high places, and broke down the pillars, and cut down the Asherim,

⁴and commanded Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment.

⁵Also he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the sun images: and the kingdom was quiet before him.

⁶He built fortified cities in Judah; for the land was quiet, and he had no war in those years, because the Lord had given him rest.

⁷For he said to Judah, "Let us build these cities, and make walls around them, with towers, gates, and bars. The land is yet before us, because we have sought the Lord our God; we have sought him, and he has given us rest on every side." So they built and prospered.

⁸Asa had an army that bore bucklers and spears, out of Judah three hundred thousand; and out of Benjamin, that bore shields and drew bows, two hundred eighty thousand: all these were mighty men of valor.

⁹There came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian with an army of a million troops, and three hundred chariots; and he came to Mareshah.

¹⁰Then Asa went out to meet him, and they set the battle in array in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah.

¹¹Asa cried to the Lord his God, and said, "Lord, there is none besides you to help, between the mighty and him who has no strength. Help us, Lord our God; for we rely on you, and in your name are we come against this multitude. Lord, you are our God. Do not let man prevail against you."

¹²So the Lord struck the Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah; and the Ethiopians fled.

¹³Asa and the people who were with him pursued them to Gerar: and there fell of the Ethiopians so many that they could not recover themselves; for they were destroyed before the Lord, and before his army; and they carried away very much booty.

¹⁴They struck all the cities around Gerar; for the fear of the Lord came on them: and they despoiled all the cities; for there was much spoil in them.

¹⁵They struck also the tents of livestock, and carried away sheep in abundance, and camels, and returned to Jerusalem.

¹The Spirit of God came on Azariah the son of Oded:

²and he went out to meet Asa, and said to him, "Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin! The Lord is with you, while you are with him; and if you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.

³Now for a long time Israel was without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law.

⁴But when in their distress they turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought him, he was found by them.

⁵In those times there was no peace to him who went out, nor to him who came in; but great troubles were on all the inhabitants of the lands.

⁶They were broken in pieces, nation against nation, and city against city; for God troubled them with all adversity.

⁷But you be strong, and do not let your hands be slack; for your work shall be rewarded."

⁸When Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the abominations out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken from the hill country of Ephraim; and he renewed the altar of the Lord, that was before the porch of the Lord.

⁹He gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and those who lived with them out of Ephraim and Manasseh, and out of Simeon: for they fell to him out of Israel in abundance, when they saw that the Lord his God was with him.

¹⁰So they gathered themselves together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa.

¹¹They sacrificed to the Lord in that day, of the spoil which they had brought, seven hundred head of cattle and seven thousand sheep.

¹²They entered into the covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and with all their soul;

¹³and that whoever would not seek the Lord, the God of Israel, should be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman.

¹⁴They swore to the Lord with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets.

¹⁵All Judah rejoiced at the oath; for they had sworn with all their heart, and sought him with their whole desire; and he was found of them: and the Lord gave them rest all around.

¹⁶Also Maacah, the mother of Asa the king, he removed from being queen, because she had made an abominable image for an Asherah; and Asa cut down her image, and made dust of it, and burnt it at the brook Kidron.

¹⁷But the high places were not taken away out of Israel: nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days.

¹⁸He brought into God's house the things that his father had dedicated, and that he himself had dedicated, silver, and gold, and vessels.

¹⁹There was no more war to the five and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa.

¹In the six and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa, Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah, and built Ramah, that he might not allow anyone to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah.

²Then Asa brought out silver and gold out of the treasures of the house of the Lord and of the king's house, and sent to Ben Hadad king of Syria, who lived at Damascus, saying,

³"Let there be a treaty between me and you, as there was between my father and your father. Behold, I have sent you silver and gold. Go, break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me."

⁴Ben Hadad listened to king Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel; and they struck Ijon, and Dan, and Abel Maim, and all the storage cities of Naphtali.

⁵It happened, when Baasha heard of it, that he left off building Ramah, and let his work cease.

⁶Then Asa the king took all Judah; and they carried away the stones of Ramah, and its timber, with which Baasha had built; and he built therewith Geba and Mizpah.

⁷At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said to him, "Because you have relied on the king of Syria, and have not relied on the Lord your God, therefore is the army of the king of Syria escaped out of your hand.

⁸Weren't the Ethiopians and the Lubim a huge army, with chariots and horsemen exceeding many? Yet, because you relied on the Lord, he delivered them into your hand.

⁹For the eyes of the Lord run back and forth throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein you have done foolishly; for from henceforth you shall have wars."

¹⁰Then Asa was angry with the seer, and put him in the prison; for he was in a rage with him because of this thing. Asa oppressed some of the people at the same time.

¹¹Behold, the acts of Asa, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.

¹²In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was diseased in his feet; his disease was exceeding great: yet in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but to the physicians.

¹³Asa slept with his fathers, and died in the one and fortieth year of his reign.

¹⁴They buried him in his own tombs, which he had dug out for himself in the city of David, and laid him in the bed which was filled with sweet odors and various kinds of spices prepared by the perfumers' art: and they made a very great burning for him.

¹Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his place, and strengthened himself against Israel.

²He placed forces in all the fortified cities of Judah, and set garrisons in the land of Judah, and in the cities of Ephraim, which Asa his father had taken.

³The Lord was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the first ways of his father David, and did not seek the Baals,

⁴but sought to the God of his father, and walked in his commandments, and not after the doings of Israel.

⁵Therefore the Lord established the kingdom in his hand; and all Judah brought to Jehoshaphat tribute; and he had riches and honor in abundance.

⁶His heart was lifted up in the ways of the Lord: and furthermore he took away the high places and the Asherim out of Judah.

⁷Also in the third year of his reign he sent his princes, even Ben Hail, and Obadiah, and Zechariah, and Nethanel, and Micaiah, to teach in the cities of Judah;

⁸and with them the Levites, even Shemaiah, and Nethaniah, and Zebadiah, and Asahel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehonathan, and Adonijah, and Tobijah, and Tobadonijah, the Levites; and with them Elishama and Jehoram, the priests.

⁹They taught in Judah, having the book of the law of the Lord with them; and they went about throughout all the cities of Judah, and taught among the people.

¹⁰The fear of the Lord fell on all the kingdoms of the lands that were around Judah, so that they made no war against Jehoshaphat.

¹¹Some of the Philistines brought Jehoshaphat presents, and silver for tribute; the Arabians also brought him flocks, seven thousand and seven hundred rams, and seven thousand and seven hundred male goats.

¹²Jehoshaphat grew great exceedingly; and he built in Judah castles and cities of store.

¹³He had many works in the cities of Judah; and men of war, mighty men of valor, in Jerusalem.

¹⁴This was the numbering of them according to their fathers' houses: Of Judah, the captains of thousands: Adnah the captain, and with him mighty men of valor three hundred thousand;

¹⁵and next to him Jehohanan the captain, and with him two hundred eighty thousand;

¹⁶and next to him Amasiah the son of Zichri, who 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 armed with bow and shield;

¹⁸and next to him Jehozabad and with him one hundred eighty thousand ready prepared for war.

¹⁹These were those who waited on the king, besides those whom the king put in the fortified cities throughout all Judah.

¹Now Jehoshaphat had riches and honor in abundance; and he joined affinity with Ahab.

²After certain years he went down to Ahab to Samaria. Ahab killed sheep and cattle for him in abundance, and for the people who were with him, and moved him to go up with him to Ramoth Gilead.

³Ahab king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, "Will you go with me to Ramoth Gilead?" He answered him, "I am as you are, and my people as your people. We will be with you in the war."

⁴Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, "Please inquire first for the word of the Lord."

⁵Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, four hundred men, and said to them, "Shall we go to Ramoth Gilead to battle, or shall I forbear?" They said, "Go up; for God will deliver it into the hand of the king."

⁶But Jehoshaphat said, "Isn't there here a prophet of the Lord besides, that we may inquire of him?"

⁷The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord; but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me, but always evil. He is Micaiah the son of Imla." Jehoshaphat said, "Do not let the king say so."

⁸Then the king of Israel called an officer, and said, "Get Micaiah the son of Imla quickly."

⁹Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah sat each on his throne, arrayed in their robes, and they were sitting in an open place at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets were prophesying before them.

¹⁰Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made him horns of iron, and said, "Thus says the Lord, 'With these you shall push the Syrians, until they are consumed.'"

¹¹All the prophets prophesied so, saying, "Go up to Ramoth Gilead, and prosper; for the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king."

¹²The messenger who went to call Micaiah spoke to him, saying, "Behold, the words of the prophets declare good to the king with one mouth. Let your word therefore, please be like one of theirs, and speak good."

¹³Micaiah said, "As the Lord lives, what my God says, that will I speak."

¹⁴When he had come to the king, the king said to him, "Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth Gilead to battle, or shall I forbear?" He said, "Go up, and prosper. They shall be delivered into your hand."

¹⁵The king said to him, "How many times shall I adjure you that you speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?"

¹⁶He said, "I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd. The Lord said, 'These have no master. Let them return every man to his house in peace.'"

¹⁷The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?"

¹⁸Micaiah said, "Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the army of heaven standing on his right hand and on his left.

¹⁹The Lord said, 'Who shall entice Ahab king of Israel, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth Gilead?' One spoke saying in this way, and another saying in that way.

²⁰A spirit came out, stood before the Lord, and said, 'I will entice him.' "The Lord said to him, 'How?'

²¹"He said, 'I will go forth, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.' "He said, 'You will entice him, and will prevail also. Go forth, and do so.'

²²"Now therefore, behold, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of these your prophets; and the Lord has pronounced disaster concerning you."

²³Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near, and struck Micaiah on the cheek, and said, "Which way did the Spirit of the Lord go from me to speak to you?"

²⁴Micaiah said, "Behold, you shall see on that day, when you shall go into an inner room to hide yourself."

²⁵The king of Israel said, "Take Micaiah, and carry him back to Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king's son;

²⁶and say, 'Thus says the king, "Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I return in peace."'"

²⁷Micaiah said, "If you return at all in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me." He said, "Listen, you peoples, all of you!"

²⁸So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth Gilead.

²⁹The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "I will disguise myself, and go into the battle; but you put on your robes." So the king of Israel disguised himself; and they went into the battle.

³⁰Now the king of Syria had commanded the captains of his chariots, saying, "Fight neither with small nor great, except only with the king of Israel."

³¹It happened, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, "It is the king of Israel!" Therefore they turned around to fight against him. But Jehoshaphat cried out, and the Lord helped him; and God moved them to depart from him.

³²It happened, when the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, that they turned back from pursuing him.

³³A certain man drew his bow at random, and struck the king of Israel between the joints of the armor. Therefore he said to the driver of the chariot, "Turn your hand, and carry me out of the army; for I am severely wounded."

³⁴The battle increased that day. However the king of Israel propped himself up in his chariot against the Syrians until the evening; and about the time of the going down of the sun, he died.

¹Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned to his house in peace to Jerusalem.

²Jehu 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? Because of this, wrath is on you from before the Lord.

³Nevertheless there are good things found in you, in that you have put away the Asheroth out of the land, and have set your heart to seek God."

⁴Jehoshaphat lived at Jerusalem: and he 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.

⁵He set judges in the land throughout all the fortified cities of Judah, city by city,

⁶and said to the judges, "Consider what you do: for you do not judge for man, but for the Lord; and he is with you in the judgment.

⁷Now therefore let the fear of the Lord be on you. Take heed and do it: for there is no iniquity with the Lord our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of bribes."

⁸Moreover in Jerusalem Jehoshaphat appointed Levites and priests, and of the heads of the fathers' households of Israel, for the judgment of the Lord, and for controversies. They returned to Jerusalem.

⁹He commanded them, saying, "Thus you shall do in the fear of the Lord, faithfully, and with a perfect heart.

¹⁰Whenever any controversy shall come to you from your brothers who dwell in their cities, between blood and blood, between law and commandment, statutes and ordinances, you shall warn them, that they not be guilty towards the Lord, and so wrath come on you and on your brothers. Do this, and you shall not be guilty.

¹¹Behold, Amariah the chief priest is over you in all matters of the Lord; and Zebadiah the son of Ishmael, the ruler of the house of Judah, in all the king's matters: also the Levites shall be officers before you. Deal courageously, and may the Lord be with the good."

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.

¹The inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah his youngest son king in his place; for the band of men who came with the Arabians to the camp had slain all the eldest. So Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah reigned.

²Forty-two years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign; and he reigned one year in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Athaliah the daughter of Omri.

³He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab; for his mother was his counselor to do wickedly.

⁴He did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, as did the house of Ahab; for they were his counselors after the death of his father, to his destruction.

⁵He walked also after their counsel, and went with Jehoram the son of Ahab king of Israel to war against Hazael king of Syria at Ramoth Gilead: and the Syrians wounded Joram.

⁶He returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which they had given him at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. Azariah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Jehoram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.

⁷Now the destruction of Ahaziah was of God, in that he went to Joram: for when he had come, he went out with Jehoram against Jehu the son of Nimshi, whom the Lord had anointed to cut off the house of Ahab.

⁸It happened, when Jehu was executing judgment on the house of Ahab, that he found the princes of Judah, and the sons of the brothers of Ahaziah, ministering to Ahaziah, and killed them.

⁹He sought Ahaziah, and they caught him (now he was hiding in Samaria), and they brought him to Jehu, and killed him; and they buried him, for they said, "He is the son of Jehoshaphat, who sought the Lord with all his heart." The house of Ahaziah had no power to hold the kingdom.

¹⁰Now when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal family of the house of Judah.

¹¹But Jehoshabeath, the daughter of the king, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him away from among the king's sons who were slain, and put him and his nurse in the bedroom. 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 did not kill him.

¹²He was with them hidden in God's house six years: and Athaliah reigned over the land.

¹In the seventh year Jehoiada strengthened himself, and took the captains of hundreds, Azariah the son of Jeroham, and Ishmael the son of Jehohanan, and Azariah the son of Obed, and Maaseiah the son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat the son of Zichri, into covenant with him.

²They went about in Judah, and gathered the Levites out of all the cities of Judah, and the heads of fathers' households of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem.

³All the assembly made a covenant with the king in God's house. He said to them, "Behold, the king's son shall reign, as the Lord has spoken concerning the sons of David.

⁴This is the thing that you shall do. A third part of you, who come in on the Sabbath, of the priests and of the Levites, shall be porters of the thresholds.

⁵A third part shall be at the king's house; and a third part at the gate of the foundation. All the people shall be in the courts of the Lord's house.

⁶But let no one come into the house of the Lord, except the priests, and those who minister of the Levites. They shall come in, for they are holy, but all the people shall follow the Lord's instructions.

⁷The Levites shall surround the king, every man with his weapons in his hand. Whoever comes into the house, let him be slain. Be with the king when he comes in, and when he goes out."

⁸So the Levites and all Judah did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded: and they took every man his men, those 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 the shift.

⁹Jehoiada the priest delivered to the captains of hundreds the spears, and bucklers, and shields, that had been king David's, which were in God's house.

¹⁰He set all the people, every man with his weapon in his hand, from the right side of the house to the left side of the house, along by the altar and the house, around the king.

¹¹Then 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 they said, "Long live the king!"

¹²When Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and praising the king, she came to the people into the house of the Lord:

¹³and she looked, and, behold, the king stood by his pillar at the entrance, and the captains and the trumpets by the king; and all the people of the land rejoiced, and blew trumpets; the singers also played musical instruments, and led the singing of praise. Then Athaliah tore her clothes, and said, "Treason! Treason!"

¹⁴Jehoiada the priest brought out the captains of hundreds who were set over the army, and said to them, "Bring her out between the ranks; and whoever follows her, let him be slain with the sword." For the priest said, "Do not kill her in the Lord's house."

¹⁵So they made way for her. She went to the entrance of the horse gate to the king's house; and they killed her there.

¹⁶Jehoiada made a covenant between himself, and all the people, and the king, that they should be the Lord's people.

¹⁷All the people went to the house of Baal, and broke it down, and broke his altars and his images in pieces, and killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars.

¹⁸Jehoiada appointed the officers of the house of the Lord under the hand of the priests the Levites, whom David had distributed in 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 with singing, according to the order of David.

¹⁹He set the porters at the gates of the house of the Lord, that no one who was unclean in anything should enter in.

²⁰He took the captains of hundreds, and the nobles, and the governors of the people, and all the people of the land, and brought down the king from the house of the Lord: and they came through the upper gate to the king's house, and set the king on the throne of the kingdom.

²¹So all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet. Athaliah they had slain with the sword.

¹Joash was seven years old when he began to reign; and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Zibiah, of Beersheba.

²Joash did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the priest.

³Jehoiada took for him two wives; and he became the father of sons and daughters.

⁴It happened after this, that Joash intended to restore the house of the Lord.

⁵He gathered together the priests and the Levites, and said to them, "Go out to the cities of Judah, and gather money to repair the house of your God from all Israel from year to year. See that you expedite this matter." However the Levites did not do it right away.

⁶The king called for Jehoiada the chief, and said to him, "Why haven't you required of the Levites to bring in the tax of Moses the servant of the Lord, and of the assembly of Israel, out of Judah and out of Jerusalem, for the tent of the testimony?"

⁷For the sons of Athaliah, that wicked woman, had broken up God's house; and they also gave all the dedicated things of the house of the Lord to the Baals.

⁸So the king commanded, and they made a chest, and set it outside at the gate of the house of the Lord.

⁹They made a proclamation through Judah and Jerusalem, to bring in for the Lord the tax that Moses the servant of God laid on Israel in the wilderness.

¹⁰All the princes and all the people rejoiced, and brought in, and cast into the chest, until they had made an end.

¹¹It was so, that whenever the chest was brought to the king's officers by the hand of the Levites, and when they saw that there was much money, the king's scribe and the chief priest's officer came and emptied the chest, and took it, and carried it to its place again. Thus they did day by day, and gathered money in abundance.

¹²The king and Jehoiada gave it to such as did the work of the service of the house of the Lord; and they hired masons and carpenters to restore the house of the Lord, and also such as worked iron and brass to repair the house of the Lord.

¹³So the workmen worked, and the work of repairing went forward in their hands, and they set up God's house in its state, and strengthened it.

¹⁴When they had made an end, they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada, of which were made vessels for the house of the Lord, even vessels with which to minister and to offer, and spoons, and vessels of gold and silver. They offered burnt offerings in the house of the Lord continually all the days of Jehoiada.

¹⁵But Jehoiada grew old and was full of days, and he died; one hundred thirty years old was he when he died.

¹⁶They buried him in the city of David among the kings, because he had done good in Israel, and toward God and his house.

¹⁷Now after the death of Jehoiada came the princes of Judah, and made obeisance to the king. Then the king listened to them.

¹⁸They forsook the house of the Lord, the God of their fathers, and served the Asherim and the idols: and wrath came on Judah and Jerusalem for this their guiltiness.

¹⁹Yet he sent prophets to them, to bring them again to the Lord; and they testified against them: but they would not give ear.

²⁰The Spirit of God came on Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest; and he stood above the people, and said to them, "Thus says God, 'Why do you disobey the commandments of the Lord, so that you can't prosper? Because you have forsaken the Lord, he has also forsaken you.'"

²¹They conspired against him, and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of the house of the Lord.

²²Thus Joash the king did not remember the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done to him, but killed his son. When he died, he said, "May the Lord look at it, and repay it."

²³It happened at the end of the year, that the army of the Syrians came up against him: and they came to Judah and Jerusalem, and destroyed all the princes of the people from among the people, and sent all their spoil to the king of Damascus.

²⁴For the army of the Syrians came with a small company of men; and the Lord delivered a very great army into their hand, because they had forsaken the Lord, the God of their fathers. So they executed judgment on Joash.

²⁵When they were departed for him (for they left him very sick), his own servants conspired against him for the blood of the sons of Jehoiada the priest, and killed him on his bed, and he died; and they buried him in the city of David, but they did not bury him in the tombs of the kings.

²⁶These are those who conspired against him: Zabad the son of Shimeath the Ammonitess, and Jehozabad the son of Shimrith the Moabitess.

²⁷Now concerning his sons, and the greatness of the burdens laid on him, and the rebuilding of God's house, behold, they are written in the commentary of the book of the kings. Amaziah his son reigned in his place.

¹Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Jehoaddan, of Jerusalem.

²He did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not with a perfect heart.

³Now it happened, when the kingdom was established to him, that he killed his servants who had killed the king his father.

⁴But he did not put their children to death, but did according to that which is written in the law in the book of Moses, as the Lord commanded, saying, "The fathers shall not die for the children, neither shall the children die for the fathers; but every man shall die for his own sin."

⁵Moreover Amaziah gathered Judah together, and ordered them according to their fathers' houses, under captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, even all Judah and Benjamin: and he numbered them from twenty years old and upward, and found them three hundred thousand chosen men, able to go forth to war, who could handle spear and shield.

⁶He hired also one hundred thousand mighty men of valor out of Israel for one hundred talents of silver.

⁷A man of God came to him, saying, "O king, do not let the army of Israel go with you; for the Lord is not with Israel, with all the children of Ephraim.

⁸But if you will go, take action, be strong for the battle. God will overthrow you before the enemy; for God has power to help, and to overthrow."

⁹Amaziah said to the man of God, "But what shall we do for the hundred talents which I have given to the army of Israel?" The man of God answered, "The Lord is able to give you much more than this."

¹⁰Then Amaziah separated them, the army that had come to him out of Ephraim, to go home again: therefore their anger was greatly kindled against Judah, and they returned home in fierce anger.

¹¹Amaziah took courage, and led forth his people, and went to the Valley of Salt, and struck ten thousand of the children of Seir.

¹²The children of Judah carry away ten thousand alive, and brought them to the top of the rock, and threw them down from the top of the rock, so that they all were broken in pieces.

¹³But the men of the army whom Amaziah sent back, that they should not go with him to battle, fell on the cities of Judah, from Samaria even to Beth Horon, and struck of them three thousand, and took much spoil.

¹⁴Now it happened, after that Amaziah had come from the slaughter of the Edomites, that he brought the gods of the children of Seir, and set them up to be his gods, and bowed down himself before them, and burned incense to them.

¹⁵Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against Amaziah, and he sent to him a prophet, who said to him, "Why have you sought after the gods of the people, which have not delivered their own people out of your hand?"

¹⁶It happened, as he talked with him, that the king said to him, "Have we made you one of the king's counselors? Stop! Why should you be struck down?" Then the prophet stopped, and said, "I know that God has determined to destroy you, because you have done this, and have not listened to my counsel."

¹⁷Then Amaziah king of Judah consulted his advisers, and sent to Joash, the son of Jehoahaz the son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, "Come, let us look one another in the face."

¹⁸Joash king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, "The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, 'Give your daughter to my son as his wife; then a wild animal that was in Lebanon passed by, and trampled down the thistle.

¹⁹You say to yourself that you have struck Edom; and your heart lifts you up to boast. Now stay at home. Why should you meddle with trouble, that you should fall, even you, and Judah with you?'"

²⁰But Amaziah would not listen; for it was of God, that he might deliver them into the hand of their enemies, because they had sought after the gods of Edom.

²¹So Joash king of Israel went up; and he and Amaziah king of Judah looked one another in the face at Beth Shemesh, which belongs to Judah.

²²Judah was defeated by Israel; and they fled every man to his tent.

²³Joash king of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash the son of Jehoahaz, at Beth Shemesh, and brought him to Jerusalem, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim to the corner gate, four hundred cubits.

²⁴He took all the gold and silver, and all the vessels that were found in God's house with Obed-Edom, and the treasures of the king's house, the hostages also, and returned to Samaria.

²⁵Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah lived after the death of Joash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel fifteen years.

²⁶Now the rest of the acts of Amaziah, first and last, behold, aren't they written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel?

²⁷Now from the time that Amaziah turned away from following the Lord, they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem. He fled to Lachish; but they sent after him to Lachish, and killed him there.

²⁸They brought him on horses, and buried him with his fathers in the city of Judah.