2 Chronicles 19:1 King Jehoshaphat of Judah returned to his house in Jerusalem in peace.
2 Chronicles 19:2 Then Jehu son of the seer Hanani went out to confront him and said to King Jehoshaphat, “Do you help the wicked and care for those who hate Yahveh? Because of this, Yahveh’s wrath is on you.
2 Chronicles 19:3 However, some good is found in you, for you have burnt up the Asherah poles from the land and have decided to seek God.”
2 Chronicles 19:4 Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem, and once again he went out among the people from Beer-sheba to the hill country of Ephraim and brought them back to Yahveh, the God of their ancestors.
2 Chronicles 19:5 He appointed judges in all the fortified cities of the land of Judah, city by city.
2 Chronicles 19:6 Then he said to the judges, “Consider what you are doing, for you do not judge for a mere mortal, but for Yahveh, who is with you in the matter of judgment.
2 Chronicles 19:7 And now, may the terror of Yahveh be on you. Guard what you do, for there is no injustice or partiality or taking gifts[1] with Yahveh our God.”
2 Chronicles 19:8 Jehoshaphat also appointed some of the Levites and priests and some of the Israelite family heads in Jerusalem to decide Yahveh’s judgment and settle the disputes of the residents of Jerusalem.
2 Chronicles 19:9 He commanded them, saying, “In the fear of Yahveh, with integrity, and wholeheartedly, you are to do the following:
2 Chronicles 19:10 For every dispute that comes to you from your brothers who dwell in their cities — whether it regards differences of bloodguilt, instruction, commandment, prescribed tasks, or judgments — you are to warn them, so they will not incur guilt before Yahveh and wrath will not come on you and your brothers. Do this, and you will not incur guilt.
2 Chronicles 19:11 “Notice that Amariah, the chief priest, is over you in all matters related to Yahveh, and Zebadiah son of Ishmael, the ruler of the house of Judah, in all matters related to the king, and the Levites are officers[2] in your presence. Be strong; may Yahveh be with those who do what is good.”
2 Chronicles 18:1 Jehoshaphat had riches and reward in abundance, and he allied with Ahab through marriage.
2 Chronicles 18:2 Then, after some years, he went down to visit Ahab in Samaria. Ahab sacrificed many sheep, goats, and cattle for himself and for the people who were with him. Then he persuaded him to attack Ramoth-gilead,
2 Chronicles 18:3 for Israel’s King Ahab asked Judah’s King Jehoshaphat, “Will you go with me to Ramoth-gilead?” He replied to him, “I am as you are, my people as your people; we will be with you in the battle.”
2 Chronicles 18:4 But Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “First, please ask what Yahveh’s will is.”
2 Chronicles 18:5 So the king of Israel gathered the prophets, four hundred men, and asked them, “Should we go to Ramoth-gilead for war or should I refrain?” They replied, “March up, and God will hand it over to the king.”
2 Chronicles 18:6 But Jehoshaphat asked, “Isn’t there a prophet of Yahveh here anymore? Let’s ask him.”
2 Chronicles 18:7 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man who can inquire of Yahveh, but I hate him because he never prophesies good about me, but only disaster. He is Micaiah, son of Imlah.” “The king shouldn’t say that,” Jehoshaphat replied.
2 Chronicles 18:8 So the king of Israel invited an officer and said, “Hurry and get Micaiah son of Imlah!”
2 Chronicles 18:9 Now the king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah, clothed in royal attire, were each sitting on his throne. They were sitting on the threshing floor at the entrance to Samaria’s gate, and all the prophets were prophesying in front of them.
2 Chronicles 18:10 Then Zedekiah son of Chenaanah made iron horns and said, “This is what Yahveh says: ‘You will gore the Arameans with these until they are finished off.'”
2 Chronicles 18:11 And all the prophets were prophesying the same, saying, “March up to Ramoth-gilead and succeed, for Yahveh will hand it over to the king.”
2 Chronicles 18:12 The agent[1] who went to invite Micaiah instructed him, “Notice, the words of the prophets are unanimously favorable for the king. So let your words be like theirs and speak favorably.”
2 Chronicles 18:13 But Micaiah said, “As Yahveh is living, I will say whatever my God says.”
2 Chronicles 18:14 So he went to the king, and the king asked him, “Micaiah, should we go to Ramoth-gilead for war, or should I refrain?” Micaiah said, “March up and succeed, for they will be handed over to you.”
2 Chronicles 18:15 But the king said to him, “How many times must I make you swear not to tell me anything but the reliable in the name of Yahveh?”
2 Chronicles 18:16 So Micaiah said: I saw all Israel scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd. And Yahveh said, “They have no lord; let each return to his house in peace.”
2 Chronicles 18:17 So the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Didn’t I tell you he never prophesies good about me, but only disaster?”
2 Chronicles 18:18 Then Micaiah said, “Therefore, hear the word of Yahveh. I saw Yahveh sitting on his throne, and the whole sky army was standing at his right hand and his left hand.
2 Chronicles 18:19 And Yahveh said, ‘Who will entice King Ahab of Israel to march up and fall at Ramoth-gilead? ‘ So one was saying this and another was saying that.
2 Chronicles 18:20 “Then a breath came forward, stood before Yahveh, and said, ‘I will entice him.’ “Yahveh asked him, ‘How?’
2 Chronicles 18:21 “So he said, ‘I will go and become a lying breath in the mouth of all his prophets.’ “Then he said, ‘You will entice him and prevail. Go and do that.’
2 Chronicles 18:22 “Now, notice, Yahveh has put a lying breath into the mouth of these prophets of yours, and Yahveh has pronounced disaster against you.”
2 Chronicles 18:23 Then Zedekiah son of Chenaanah came up, struck Micaiah on the cheek, and demanded, “Which way did the breath from Yahveh leave me to speak to you?”
2 Chronicles 18:24 Micaiah replied, “Notice, you will soon see when you go to hide in an inner chamber on that day.”
2 Chronicles 18:25 Then the king of Israel ordered, “Take Micaiah and return him to Amon, the captain of the city, and Joash, the king’s son,
2 Chronicles 18:26 and say, ‘This is what the king says: Place this guy in the house of confinement and let him consume him only a little bread and water until I come back safely.'”
2 Chronicles 18:27 But Micaiah said, “If you ever return safely, Yahveh has not spoken through me.” Then he said, “Listen, all you people!”
2 Chronicles 18:28 Then the king of Israel and Judah’s King Jehoshaphat went up to Ramoth-gilead.
2 Chronicles 18:29 But the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you wear your royal attire.” So, the king of Israel disguised himself, and they went into battle.
2 Chronicles 18:30 Now the king of Aram had ordered his chariot captains, “Do not fight with anyone at all except the king of Israel.”
2 Chronicles 18:31 When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they shouted, “He must be the king of Israel!” So, they turned to attack him, but Jehoshaphat cried out, and Yahveh helped him. God drew them away from him.
2 Chronicles 18:32 When the chariot commanders saw that he was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him.
2 Chronicles 18:33 But a man drew his bow without taking special aim and struck the king of Israel through the joints of his armor. So, he said to the charioteer, “Turn around and take me out of the battle, for I am badly wounded!”
2 Chronicles 18:34 The battle raged throughout that day, and the king of Israel propped himself up in his chariot facing the Arameans until evening. Then he died at sunset.
2 Chronicles 16:1 In the thirty-sixth year of Asa, Israel’s King Baasha went to war against Judah. He built Ramah to keep anyone from leaving or coming to King Asa of Judah.
2 Chronicles 16:2 So Asa brought out the silver and gold from the treasuries of Yahveh’s house and the royal house and sent it to Aram’s King Ben-hadad, who lived in Damascus, saying,
2 Chronicles 16:3 “There’s a treaty between me and you, between my father and your father. Notice, I have sent you silver and gold. Go break your treaty with Israel’s King Baasha so that he will withdraw from me.”
2 Chronicles 16:4 Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the captains of his powerful ones to the cities of Israel. They struck down Ijon, Dan, Abel-maim, and all the storage cities of Naphtali.
2 Chronicles 16:5 When Baasha heard about it, he quit building Ramah and stopped[1] his work.
2 Chronicles 16:6 Then King Asa brought all Judah, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and the timbers Baasha had built it with. Then he built Geba and Mizpah with them.
2 Chronicles 16:7 At that time, the seer Hanani came to King Asa of Judah and said to him, “Because you depended on the king of Aram and have not depended on Yahveh your God, the powerful ones of the king of Aram have escaped from you.
2 Chronicles 16:8 Were not the Cushites and Libyans a vast, powerful army with many chariots and horsemen? When you depended on Yahveh, he handed them over to you.
2 Chronicles 16:9 For the eyes of Yahveh roam throughout the land to show himself strong for those who are wholeheartedly devoted to him. You have been foolish in this matter. Therefore, you will have wars from now on.”
2 Chronicles 16:10 Asa was enraged with the seer and put him in the confinement house because of his anger over this. Asa mistreated some of the people at that time.
2 Chronicles 16:11 Notice that the events of Asa’s reign, from beginning to end, are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.
2 Chronicles 16:12 In the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa developed a disease in his feet, and his disease became increasingly severe. Yet even in his disease, he didn’t seek Yahveh but only the physicians.
2 Chronicles 16:13 Asa lied down with his fathers; he died in the forty-first year of his reign.
2 Chronicles 16:14 He was buried in his own tomb, which he had made for himself in the city of David. They laid him down in a coffin that was full of spices and various mixtures of prepared ointments, and then they made a great fire in his honor.
2 Chronicles 15:1 The Breath of God came on Azariah, son of Oded.
2 Chronicles 15:2 So he went to meet Asa and said, “Asa and all Judah and Benjamin, hear me. Yahveh is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, you will find him, but if you abandon him, he will abandon you.
2 Chronicles 15:3 For many years, Israel has been without a reliable God, without a teaching priest, and instruction,
2 Chronicles 15:4 But when they turned to Yahveh, God of Israel, in their distress and sought him, he was found by them.
2 Chronicles 15:5 In those times, there was no peace for those who went about their daily activities because the residents of the lands had many conflicts.
2 Chronicles 15:6 Nation was crushed[1] by nation and city by city, for God troubled them with every possible distress.
2 Chronicles 15:7 But as for you, be strong; don’t give up, because your work has a reward.”
2 Chronicles 15:8 When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Azariah son of Oded the prophet, he became stronger. He removed the abhorrent idols from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. He renovated the altar of Yahveh that was in the face of the portico of Yahveh’s temple.
2 Chronicles 15:9 Then he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, as well as those from the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who were residing[2] among them, because they had defected to him from Israel in great numbers when they saw that Yahveh his God was with him.
2 Chronicles 15:10 They were gathered in Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign.
2 Chronicles 15:11 At that time, they sacrificed to Yahveh seven hundred cattle and seven thousand sheep and goats from all the plunder they had brought.
2 Chronicles 15:12 Then they entered into a covenant to seek Yahveh, the God of their ancestors, with all their heart and all their throat.
2 Chronicles 15:13 Whoever would not seek Yahveh, God of Israel, would be put to death, young or old, man or woman.
2 Chronicles 15:14 They took an oath to Yahveh in a loud voice, with shouting, with trumpets, and with rams’ horns.
2 Chronicles 15:15 All Judah enjoyed the oath, for they had sworn it with all their mind. They had sought him with all their heart, and they found him. So, Yahveh allowed them rest on every side.
2 Chronicles 15:16 King Asa also removed Maacah, his grandmother, from being queen mother because she had made an obscene image of Asherah. Asa cut down her obscene image, then crushed it and burned it in the Kidron Valley.
2 Chronicles 15:17 The high places were not taken away from Israel; nevertheless, Asa was wholeheartedly devoted for his entire life.
2 Chronicles 15:18 He brought his father’s and his own consecrated gifts, silver, gold, and utensils, into God’s house.
2 Chronicles 15:19 There was no war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign.
2 Chronicles 14:1 Abijah lied down with his fathers and was buried in the city of David. His son Asa became king in his place. During his reign, the land experienced peace for ten years.
2 Chronicles 14:2 Asa did what was good and right in the sight of Yahveh his God.
2 Chronicles 14:3 He removed the pagan altars and high places, shattered their sacred pillars, and chopped down their Asherah poles.
2 Chronicles 14:4 He told the people of Judah to seek Yahveh, the God of their ancestors, and to carry out the instructions and the commands.
2 Chronicles 14:5 He also removed the high places and the shrines from all the cities of Judah, and the kingdom experienced peace under him.
2 Chronicles 14:6 Because the land experienced peace, Asa built fortified cities in Judah. No one made war with him in those days because Yahveh allowed him rest.
2 Chronicles 14:7 So he said to the people of Judah, “Let’s build these cities and surround them with walls and towers, with doors and bars. The land is still ours because we sought Yahveh, our God. We sought him, and he gave us rest on every side.” So, they built and succeeded.
2 Chronicles 14:8 Asa had an army of three hundred thousand from Judah bearing large shields and spears, and two hundred eighty thousand from Benjamin bearing regular shields and drawing the bow. All these were powerful warriors.
2 Chronicles 14:9 Then Zerah the Cushite came against them with one million efficient men and three hundred chariots. They came as far as Mareshah.
2 Chronicles 14:10 So Asa marched out against him and lined up in battle formation in Zephathah Valley at Mareshah.
2 Chronicles 14:11 Then Asa cried out to Yahveh his God: “Lord, there is no one besides you to help the mighty and those without strength. Help us, Lord our God, for we depend on you, and in your name, we have come against this large army. Lord, you are our God. Do not let a mere mortal hinder you.”
2 Chronicles 14:12 So Yahveh routed the Cushites before Asa and before Judah, and the Cushites fled.
2 Chronicles 14:13 Then Asa and the people who were with him chased them as far as Gerar. The Cushites fell until they had no survivors, for they were crushed before Yahveh and his army. So, the people of Judah carried off a plentiful supply of plunder.[1]
2 Chronicles 14:14 Then they struck down all the cities around Gerar because Yahveh’s terror was on them. They also plundered[2] all the cities, as there was a great deal of plunder[3] in them.
2 Chronicles 14:15 They also struck down the tents of the herdsmen and captured many sheep and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.
jeffersonvann 