Bible Reading Plan

Chapter 20

War against Eastern Enemies

¹ After this, the Moabites and Ammonites, together with some of the Meunites,^[a](a) came to fight against Jehoshaphat. ² People came and told Jehoshaphat, "A vast number from beyond the Dead Sea and from Edom^[b] has come to fight against you; they are already in Hazazon-tamar"^(b) (that is, En-gedi). ³ Jehoshaphat was afraid, and he resolved^(c) to seek the Lord . Then he proclaimed a fast^(d) for all Judah, ⁴ who gathered to seek the Lord . They even came from all the cities of Judah to seek Him.

Jehoshaphat's Prayer

⁵ Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem in the Lord 's temple before the new courtyard. ⁶ He said:

God's Answer

¹³ All Judah was standing before the Lord with their infants, their wives, and their children. ¹⁴ In the middle of the congregation, the Spirit of the Lord came on^(o) Jahaziel (son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite from Asaph's descendants), ¹⁵ and he said, "Listen carefully, all Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat. This is what the Lord says: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast number,^(p) for the battle is not yours, but God's.^{(q) 16} Tomorrow, go down against them. You will see them coming up the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the valley facing the Wilderness of Jeruel. ¹⁷ You do not have to fight this battle. Position yourselves, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord .^(r) He is with you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid or discouraged.^(s) Tomorrow, go out to face them, for Yahweh is with you.'"^(t)

¹⁸ Then Jehoshaphat bowed with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord to worship Him.^{(u) 19} Then the Levites from the sons of the Kohathites and the Korahites^(v) stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel shouting with a loud voice.

Victory and Plunder

²⁰ In the morning they got up early and went out to the wilderness of Tekoa. As they were about to go out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Hear me, Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem. Believe in Yahweh your God, and you will be established;^(w) believe in His prophets, and you will succeed." ²¹ Then he consulted with the people and appointed some to sing for the Lord and some to praise the splendor of His holiness.^(x) When they went out in front of the armed forces, they kept singing:^[d]

²² The moment they began their shouts and praises, the Lord set an ambush^(z) against the Ammonites, Moabites, and the inhabitants of Mount Seir who came to fight against Judah, and they were defeated. ²³ The Ammonites and Moabites turned against the inhabitants of Mount Seir and completely annihilated them.^(aa) When they had finished with the inhabitants of Seir, they helped destroy each other.^(ab)

²⁴ When Judah came to a place overlooking the wilderness, they looked for the large army, but there were only corpses lying on the ground; nobody had escaped. ²⁵ Then Jehoshaphat and his people went to gather the plunder. They found among them^[e] an abundance of goods on the bodies^[f] and valuable items. So they stripped them until nobody could carry any more. They were gathering the plunder for three days because there was so much. ²⁶ They assembled in the Valley of Beracah^[g] on the fourth day, for there they praised the Lord . Therefore, that place is still called the Valley of Beracah today.

²⁷ Then all the men of Judah and Jerusalem turned back with Jehoshaphat their leader, returning joyfully to Jerusalem, for the Lord enabled them to rejoice over their enemies. ²⁸ So they came into Jerusalem to the Lord 's temple with harps, lyres, and trumpets.

²⁹ The terror of God^(ac) was on all the kingdoms of the lands when they heard that Yahweh had fought against the enemies of Israel. ³⁰ Then Jehoshaphat's kingdom was quiet, for his God gave him rest on every side.^(ad)

Summary of Jehoshaphat's Reign

³¹ Jehoshaphat became king over Judah.^(ae) He was 35 years old when he became king and reigned 25 years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Azubah daughter of Shilhi. ³² He walked in the way of Asa his father; he did not turn away from it but did what was right in the Lord 's sight. ³³ However, the high places were not taken away;^(af) the people had not yet set their hearts on the God of their ancestors.^(ag)

³⁴ The rest of the events of Jehoshaphat's reign from beginning to end are written in the Events of Jehu^(ah) son of Hanani, which is recorded in the Book of Israel's Kings.^(ai)

Jehoshaphat's Fleet of Ships

³⁵ After this,^(aj) Judah's King Jehoshaphat made an alliance with Israel's King Ahaziah, who was guilty of wrongdoing. ³⁶ Jehoshaphat formed an alliance with him to make ships to go to Tarshish,^(ak) and they made the ships in Ezion-geber. ³⁷ Then Eliezer son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, "Because you formed an alliance with Ahaziah, the Lord has broken up what you have made." So the ships were wrecked and were not able to go to Tarshish.

Chapter 21

Jehoram Becomes King Over Judah

¹ Jehoshaphat rested with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. His son Jehoram^[a] became king in his place.^{(a) 2} He had brothers, sons of Jehoshaphat: Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariah, Michael, and Shephatiah; all these were the sons of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah.^{[b] 3} Their father had given them many gifts of silver, gold, and valuable things, along with fortified cities^(b) in Judah, but he gave the kingdom to Jehoram because he was the firstborn. ⁴ When Jehoram had established himself over his father's kingdom, he strengthened his position by killing with the sword all his brothers as well as some of the princes of Israel.

Judah's King Jehoram

⁵ Jehoram^(c) was 32 years old when he became king and reigned eight years in Jerusalem. ⁶ He walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done,^(d) for Ahab's daughter was his wife.^(e) He did what was evil in the Lord 's sight, ⁷ but because of the covenant the Lord had made with David, He was unwilling to destroy the house of David since the Lord had promised^(f) to give a lamp^(g) to David and to his sons forever.

⁸ During Jehoram's reign, Edom rebelled against Judah's domination and appointed their own king. ⁹ So Jehoram crossed into Edom with his commanders and all his chariots. Then at night he set out to attack the Edomites who had surrounded him and the chariot commanders. ¹⁰ And now Edom is still in rebellion against Judah's domination today. Libnah also rebelled at that time against his domination because he had abandoned Yahweh, the God of his ancestors. ¹¹ Jehoram also built high places^(h) in the hills^[c] of Judah, and he caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to prostitute themselves,⁽ⁱ⁾ and he led Judah astray.

Elijah's Letter to Jehoram

¹² Then a letter came to Jehoram from Elijah the prophet, saying:

Jehoram's Last Days

¹⁶ The Lord put it into the mind of the Philistines and the Arabs^(p) who live near the Cushites to attack Jehoram.^{(q) 17} So they went to war against Judah and invaded it. They carried off all the possessions found in the king's palace and also his sons and wives; not a son was left to him except Jehoahaz,^[d](r) his youngest son.

¹⁸ After all these things, the Lord afflicted him in his intestines with an incurable disease. ¹⁹ This continued day after day until two full years passed. Then his intestines came out because of his disease, and he died from severe^[e] illnesses. But his people did not hold a fire in his honor like the fire in honor of his fathers.^(s)

²⁰ Jehoram^(t) was 32 years old when he became king; he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. He died to no one's regret^[f](u) and was buried in the city of David but not in the tombs of the kings.^(v)

Chapter 22

Judah's King Ahaziah

¹ Then the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah, his youngest son, king in his place, because the troops that had come with the Arabs^(a) to the camp had killed all the older sons.^[a] So Ahaziah son of Jehoram became king of Judah. ² Ahaziah^(b) was 22^[b] years old when he became king and reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Athaliah, granddaughter^[c] of Omri.

³ He walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother gave him evil advice. ⁴ So he did what was evil in the Lord 's sight like the house of Ahab, for they were his advisers after the death of his father, to his destruction. ⁵ He also followed their advice and went with Joram^[d] son of Israel's King Ahab to fight against Hazael, king of Aram, in Ramoth-gilead. The Arameans^[e] wounded Joram, ⁶ so he returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds they inflicted on him in Ramoth-gilead^[f] when he fought against Aram's King Hazael. Then Judah's King Ahaziah^[g] son of Jehoram went down to Jezreel to visit Joram son of Ahab since Joram was ill.

⁷ Ahaziah's downfall came from God when he went to Joram.^(c) When Ahaziah arrived, he went out with Joram to meet Jehu son of Nimshi,^(d) whom the Lord had anointed to destroy the house of Ahab.^{(e) 8} So when Jehu executed judgment on the house of Ahab,^(f) he found the rulers of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah's brothers who were serving Ahaziah, and he killed them. ⁹ Then Jehu looked for Ahaziah,^(g) and Jehu's soldiers captured him (he was hiding in Samaria). So they brought Ahaziah to Jehu, and they killed him. The soldiers buried him, for they said, "He is the grandson of Jehoshaphat who sought the Lord with all his heart."^(h) So no one from the house of Ahaziah had the strength to rule the kingdom.

Athaliah Usurps the Throne

¹⁰ When⁽ⁱ⁾ Athaliah, Ahaziah's mother, saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to annihilate all the royal heirs^[h] of the house of Judah. ¹¹ Jehoshabeath,^[i] the king's daughter, rescued Joash son of Ahaziah from the king's sons who were being killed and put him and the one who nursed him in a bedroom. Now Jehoshabeath was the daughter of King Jehoram and the wife of Jehoiada the priest. Since she was Ahaziah's sister, she hid Joash from Athaliah so that she did not kill him. ¹² While Athaliah ruled over the land, he was hiding with them in God's temple six years.

Chapter 23

Athaliah Overthrown

¹ Then, in the seventh year,^(a) Jehoiada summoned his courage and took the commanders of hundreds into a covenant with him: Azariah son of Jeroham, Ishmael son of Jehohanan, Azariah son of Obed, Maaseiah son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat son of Zichri. ² They made a circuit throughout Judah. They gathered the Levites from all the cities of Judah and the heads of the families of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem.

³ Then the whole assembly made a covenant with the king in God's temple. Jehoiada said to them, "Here is the king's son! He must reign, just as the Lord promised^(b) concerning David's sons. ⁴ This is what you are to do: a third of you, priests and Levites who are coming on duty on the Sabbath,^(c) are to be gatekeepers. ⁵ A third are to be at the king's palace, and a third are to be at the Foundation Gate, and all the troops will be in the courtyards of the Lord 's temple. ⁶ No one is to enter the Lord 's temple but the priests and those Levites who serve;^(d) they may enter because they are holy, but all the people are to obey the requirement of the Lord . ⁷ You must completely surround the king with weapons in hand. Anyone who enters the temple is to be put to death. You must be with the king in all his daily tasks."^[a]

⁸ So the commanders of hundreds did everything Jehoiada the priest commanded. They each brought their men—those coming on duty on the Sabbath and those going off duty on the Sabbath—for Jehoiada the priest did not release the divisions.^{(e) 9} Jehoiada the priest gave to the commanders of hundreds King David's spears, shields, and quivers^[b] that were in God's temple. ¹⁰ Then he stationed all the troops with their weapons in hand surrounding the king—from the right side of the temple to the left side, by the altar and by the temple.

¹¹ They brought out the king's son, put the crown on him, gave him the testimony,^(f) and made him king. Jehoiada and his sons anointed him and cried, "Long live the king!"^(g)

¹² When Athaliah heard the noise from the troops, the guards, and those praising the king, she went to the troops in the Lord 's temple. ¹³ As she looked, there was the king standing by his pillar^[c] at the entrance. The commanders and the trumpeters were by the king, and all the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets^(h) while the singers with musical instruments were leading the praise. Athaliah tore her clothes and screamed, "Treason, treason!"

¹⁴ Then Jehoiada the priest sent out the commanders of hundreds, those in charge of the army, saying, "Take her out between the ranks, and put anyone who follows her to death by the sword," for the priest had said, "Don't put her to death in the Lord 's temple." ¹⁵ So they arrested her, and she went by the entrance of the Horses' Gate⁽ⁱ⁾ to the king's palace, where they put her to death.

Jehoiada's Reforms

¹⁶ Then Jehoiada made a covenant between himself, the king, and the people that they would be the Lord 's people. ¹⁷ So all the people went to the temple of Baal and tore it down. They broke its altars and images into pieces and killed Mattan, the priest of Baal, at the altars.^(j)

¹⁸ Then Jehoiada put the oversight of the Lord 's temple into the hands of the Levitical priests,^(k) whom David had appointed^(l) over the Lord 's temple, to offer burnt offerings to the Lord as it is written in the law of Moses,^(m) with rejoicing and song ordained by^[d] David. ¹⁹ He stationed gatekeepers⁽ⁿ⁾ at the gates of the Lord 's temple so that nothing unclean could enter for any reason. ²⁰ Then he took with him the commanders of hundreds, the nobles, the governors of the people, and all the people of the land and brought the king down from the Lord 's temple. They entered the king's palace through the Upper Gate and seated the king on the throne of the kingdom. ²¹ All the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was quiet, for they had put Athaliah to death by the sword.