2 Chronicles 19-23

II Chronicles 19

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

²And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to king Jehoshaphat, Shouldest thou help the wicked, and love them that hate the LORD? for this thing wrath is upon thee from before the LORD.

³Nevertheless there are good things found in thee, in that thou hast put away the Asheroth out of the land, and hast set thine heart to seek God.

⁴And Jehoshaphat dwelt at Jerusalem: and he went out again among the people from Beer-sheba to the hill country of Ephraim, and brought them back unto the LORD, the God of their fathers.

⁵And he set judges in the land throughout all the fenced cities of Judah, city by city,

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

⁷Now therefore let the fear of the LORD be upon you; take heed and do it: for there is no iniquity with the LORD our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts.

⁸Moreover in Jerusalem did Jehoshaphat set of the Levites and the priests, and of the heads of the fathers’ houses of Israel, for the judgment of the LORD, and for controversies. And they returned to Jerusalem.

⁹And he charged them, saying, Thus shall ye do in the fear of the LORD, faithfully, and with a perfect heart.

¹⁰And whensoever any controversy shall come to you from your brethren that dwell in their cities, between blood and blood, between law and commandment, statutes and judgments, ye shall warn them, that they be not guilty towards the LORD, and so wrath come upon you and upon your brethren: this do, and ye shall not be guilty.

¹¹And, behold, 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 the LORD be with the good.

II Chronicles 20

¹And it came to pass 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 there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea from Syria; and, behold, they be in Hazazon-tamar (the same is En-gedi).

³And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek unto the LORD; and he proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.

⁴And Judah gathered themselves together, to seek help of the LORD: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD.

⁵And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court;

⁶and he said, O LORD, the God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and art not thou ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? and in thine hand is power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee.

⁷Didst not thou, O our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever?

⁸And they dwelt therein, and have built thee a sanctuary therein for thy name, saying,

⁹If evil come upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house, and before thee, (for thy name is in this house,) and cry unto thee in our affliction, and thou wilt hear and save.

¹⁰And now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and mount Seir, whom thou wouldest not let Israel invade, when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned aside from them, and destroyed them not;

¹¹behold, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit.

¹²O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee.

¹³And all Judah stood before the LORD, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.

¹⁴Then 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, came the spirit of the LORD in the midst of the congregation;

¹⁵and he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat: thus saith the LORD unto you, Fear not ye, neither be dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.

¹⁶Tomorrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the ascent of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the valley, before the wilderness of Jeruel.

¹⁷Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed: tomorrow go out against them; for the LORD is with you.

¹⁸And Jehoshaphat 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.

¹⁹And the 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.

²⁰And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.

²¹And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed them that should sing unto the LORD, and praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and say, Give thanks unto the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever.

²²And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set liers in wait against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten.

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

²⁴And when Judah came to the watch-tower of the wilderness, they looked upon the multitude; and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and there were none that escaped.

²⁵And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take the spoil of them, 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 of the spoil, it was so much.

²⁶And on 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, unto this day.

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

²⁸And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries and harps and trumpets unto the house of the LORD.

²⁹And the 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 round about.

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

³²And he walked in the way of Asa his father, and turned not aside from it, doing that which was right in the eyes of the LORD.

³³Howbeit the high places were not taken away; neither as yet had the people set their hearts unto 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.

³⁵And after this did Jehoshaphat king of Judah join 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 thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah, the LORD hath destroyed thy works. And the ships were broken, that they were not able to go to Tarshish.

II Chronicles 21

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

²And he had brethren 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.

³And their father gave them great gifts, of silver, and of gold, and of precious things, with fenced 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 slew all his brethren with the sword, and divers also of the princes of Israel.

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

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

⁷Howbeit 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 alway.

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 smote the Edomites which compassed him about, and the captains of the chariots.

¹⁰So Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah, unto this day: then did Libnah revolt 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 go a whoring, and led Judah astray.

¹²And there came a writing to him from Elijah the prophet, saying, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, Because thou hast not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat thy father, nor in the ways of Asa king of Judah;

¹³but hast walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and hast made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to go a whoring, like as the house of Ahab did; and also hast slain thy brethren of thy father’s house, which were better than thyself:

¹⁴behold, the LORD will smite with a great plague thy people, and thy children, and thy wives, and all thy substance:

¹⁵and thou shalt have great sickness by disease of thy bowels, until thy bowels fall out by reason of the sickness, day by day.

¹⁶And the LORD stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines, and of the Arabians which are beside the Ethiopians:

¹⁷and they came up against Judah, and brake 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, save Jehoahaz, the youngest of his sons.

¹⁸And after all this the LORD smote him in his bowels with an incurable disease.

¹⁹And it came to pass, in process of time, at the end of two years, that his bowels fell out by reason of his sickness, and he died of sore diseases. And his people made no burning for him, like the burning of his fathers.

²⁰Thirty and 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 sepulchres of the kings.

II Chronicles 22

¹And the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah his youngest son king in his stead: for the band of men that came with the Arabians to the camp had slain all the eldest. So Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah reigned.

²Forty and 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 counsellor to do wickedly.

⁴And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, as did the house of Ahab: for they were his counsellors: 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.

⁶And he returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which they had given him at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. And 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 unto Joram: for when he was come, he went out with Jehoram against Jehu the son of Nimshi, whom the LORD had anointed to cut off the house of Ahab.

⁸And it came to pass, when Jehu was executing judgment upon the house of Ahab, that he found the princes of Judah, and the sons of the brethren of Ahaziah, ministering to Ahaziah, and slew them.

⁹And he sought Ahaziah, and they caught him, (now he was hiding in Samaria,) and they brought him to Jehu, and slew him; and they buried him, for they said; He is the son of Jehoshaphat, who sought the LORD with all his heart. And 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 seed royal 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 that were slain, and put him and his nurse in the bedchamber. 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 slew him not.

¹²And he was with them hid in the house of God six years: and Athaliah reigned over the land.

II Chronicles 23

¹And in 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.

²And they went about in Judah, and gathered the Levites out of all the cities of Judah, and the heads of fathers’ houses of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem.

³And all the congregation made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And he said unto them, Behold, the king’s son shall reign, as the LORD hath spoken concerning the sons of David.

⁴This is the thing that ye shall do: a third part of you, that come in on the sabbath, of the priests and of the Levites, shall be porters of the doors;

⁵and a third part shall be at the king’s house; and a third part at the gate of the foundation: and all the people shall be in the courts of the house of the LORD.

⁶But let none come into the house of the LORD, save the priests, and they that minister of the Levites; they shall come in, for they are holy: but all the people shall keep the watch of the LORD.

⁷And the Levites shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whosoever cometh into the house, let him be slain: and be ye with the king when he cometh in, and when he goeth out.

⁸So the Levites and all Judah did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded: and they took every man his men, those that were to come in on the sabbath, with those that were to go out on the sabbath; for Jehoiada the priest dismissed not the courses.

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

¹⁰And he 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, by the king round about.

¹¹Then they brought out the king’s son, and put the crown upon him, and gave him the testimony, and made him king: and Jehoiada and his sons anointed him; and they said, God save the king.

¹²And when 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 with trumpets; the singers also played on instruments of music, and led the singing of praise. Then Athaliah rent her clothes, and said, Treason, treason.

¹⁴And Jehoiada the priest brought out the captains of hundreds that were set over the host, and said unto them, Have her forth between the ranks; and whoso followeth her, let him be slain with the sword: for the priest said, Slay her not in the house of the LORD.

¹⁵So they made way for her; and she went to the entry of the horse gate to the king’s house: and they slew her there.

¹⁶And Jehoiada made a covenant between himself, and all the people, and the king, that they should be the LORD’S people.

¹⁷And all the people went to the house of Baal, and brake it down, and brake his altars and his images in pieces, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars.

¹⁸And Jehoiada appointed the offices 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.

¹⁹And he set the porters at the gates of the house of the LORD, that none which was unclean in any thing should enter in.

²⁰And he 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 unto the king’s house, and set the king upon the throne of the kingdom.

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