Study Desk

Then the Spirit^(t) of the Lord came on Jahaziel son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah,^(u) a Levite and descendant of Asaph, as he stood in the assembly.

He said: "Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged^(v) because of this vast army. For the battle^(w) is not yours, but God's.

Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel.

You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see^(x) the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.'"

Jehoshaphat bowed down^(y) with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the Lord .

Then some Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites stood up and praised the Lord , the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.

Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith^(z) in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.^(aa)"

After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his^[c] holiness^(ab) as they went out at the head of the army, saying: "Give thanks to the Lord , for his love endures forever."^(ac)

As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes^(ad) against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.

The Ammonites^(ae) and Moabites rose up against the men from Mount Seir^(af) to destroy and annihilate them. After they finished slaughtering the men from Seir, they helped to destroy one another.^(ag)

When the men of Judah came to the place that overlooks the desert and looked toward the vast army, they saw only dead bodies lying on the ground; no one had escaped.

So Jehoshaphat and his men went to carry off their plunder, and they found among them a great amount of equipment and clothing^[d] and also articles of value—more than they could take away. There was so much plunder that it took three days to collect it.

On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Berakah, where they praised the Lord . This is why it is called the Valley of Berakah^[e] to this day.

Then, led by Jehoshaphat, all the men of Judah and Jerusalem returned joyfully to Jerusalem, for the Lord had given them cause to rejoice over their enemies.

They entered Jerusalem and went to the temple of the Lord with harps and lyres and trumpets.

The fear^(ah) of God came on all the surrounding kingdoms when they heard how the Lord had fought^(ai) against the enemies of Israel.

And the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, for his God had given him rest^(aj) on every side.

So Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he became king of Judah, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-five years. His mother's name was Azubah daughter of Shilhi.

He followed the ways of his father Asa and did not stray from them; he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord .

The high places,^(al) however, were not removed, and the people still had not set their hearts on the God of their ancestors.

The other events of Jehoshaphat's reign, from beginning to end, are written in the annals of Jehu^(am) son of Hanani, which are recorded in the book of the kings of Israel.

Later, Jehoshaphat king of Judah made an alliance^(an) with Ahaziah king of Israel, whose ways were wicked.^(ao)

He agreed with him to construct a fleet of trading ships.^[f] After these were built at Ezion Geber,

Eliezer son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, "Because you have made an alliance with Ahaziah, the Lord will destroy what you have made." The ships^(ap) were wrecked and were not able to set sail to trade.^[g]

Then Jehoshaphat rested with his ancestors and was buried with them in the City of David. And Jehoram^(a) his son succeeded him as king.

Jehoram's brothers, the sons of Jehoshaphat, were Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariahu, Michael and Shephatiah. All these were sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel.^[a]

Their father had given them many gifts^(b) of silver and gold and articles of value, as well as fortified cities^(c) in Judah, but he had given the kingdom to Jehoram because he was his firstborn son.

Jehoram King of Judah^(d)

When Jehoram established^(e) himself firmly over his father's kingdom, he put all his brothers^(f) to the sword along with some of the officials of Israel.

Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years.

He followed the ways of the kings of Israel,^(g) as the house of Ahab had done, for he married a daughter of Ahab.^(h) He did evil in the eyes of the Lord .

Nevertheless, because of the covenant the Lord had made with David,⁽ⁱ⁾ the Lord was not willing to destroy the house of David.^(j) He had promised to maintain a lamp^(k) for him and his descendants forever.

In the time of Jehoram, Edom^(l) rebelled against Judah and set up its own king.

So Jehoram went there with his officers and all his chariots. The Edomites surrounded him and his chariot commanders, but he rose up and broke through by night.

To this day Edom has been in rebellion against Judah. Libnah^(m) revolted at the same time, because Jehoram had forsaken the Lord , the God of his ancestors.

He had also built high places on the hills of Judah and had caused the people of Jerusalem to prostitute themselves and had led Judah astray.

Jehoram received a letter from Elijah⁽ⁿ⁾ the prophet, which said: "This is what the Lord , the God of your father^(o) David, says: ‘You have not followed the ways of your father Jehoshaphat or of Asa^(p) king of Judah.

But you have followed the ways of the kings of Israel, and you have led Judah and the people of Jerusalem to prostitute themselves, just as the house of Ahab did.^(q) You have also murdered your own brothers, members of your own family, men who were better^(r) than you.

So now the Lord is about to strike your people, your sons, your wives and everything that is yours, with a heavy blow.

You yourself will be very ill with a lingering disease^(s) of the bowels, until the disease causes your bowels to come out.'"

The Lord aroused against Jehoram the hostility of the Philistines and of the Arabs^(t) who lived near the Cushites.

They attacked Judah, invaded it and carried off all the goods found in the king's palace, together with his sons and wives. Not a son was left to him except Ahaziah,^[b] the youngest.^(u)

After all this, the Lord afflicted Jehoram with an incurable disease of the bowels.

In the course of time, at the end of the second year, his bowels came out because of the disease, and he died in great pain. His people made no funeral fire in his honor,^(v) as they had for his predecessors.

Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years. He passed away, to no one's regret, and was buried^(w) in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.

Ahaziah King of Judah^(a)(b)

The people^(c) of Jerusalem^(d) made Ahaziah, Jehoram's youngest son, king in his place, since the raiders,^(e) who came with the Arabs into the camp, had killed all the older sons. So Ahaziah son of Jehoram king of Judah began to reign.

Ahaziah was twenty-two^[a] years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem one year. His mother's name was Athaliah, a granddaughter of Omri.

He too followed^(f) the ways of the house of Ahab,^(g) for his mother encouraged him to act wickedly.

He did evil in the eyes of the Lord , as the house of Ahab had done, for after his father's death they became his advisers, to his undoing.

He also followed their counsel when he went with Joram^[b] son of Ahab king of Israel to wage war against Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth Gilead.^(h) The Arameans wounded Joram;

so he returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds they had inflicted on him at Ramoth^[c] in his battle with Hazael⁽ⁱ⁾ king of Aram. Then Ahaziah^[d] son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to Jezreel to see Joram son of Ahab because he had been wounded.

Through Ahaziah's^(j) visit to Joram, God brought about Ahaziah's downfall. When Ahaziah arrived, he went out with Joram to meet Jehu son of Nimshi, whom the Lord had anointed to destroy the house of Ahab.

While Jehu was executing judgment on the house of Ahab,^(k) he found the officials of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah's relatives, who had been attending Ahaziah, and he killed them.

He then went in search of Ahaziah, and his men captured him while he was hiding^(l) in Samaria. He was brought to Jehu and put to death. They buried him, for they said, "He was a son of Jehoshaphat, who sought^(m) the Lord with all his heart." So there was no one in the house of Ahaziah powerful enough to retain the kingdom.

When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to destroy the whole royal family of the house of Judah.

But Jehosheba,^[e] the daughter of King Jehoram, took Joash son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the royal princes who were about to be murdered and put him and his nurse in a bedroom. Because Jehosheba,^[f] the daughter of King Jehoram and wife of the priest Jehoiada, was Ahaziah's sister, she hid the child from Athaliah so she could not kill him.

He remained hidden with them at the temple of God for six years while Athaliah ruled the land.

In the seventh year Jehoiada showed his strength. He made a covenant with the commanders of units of a hundred: Azariah son of Jeroham, Ishmael son of Jehohanan, Azariah son of Obed, Maaseiah son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat son of Zikri.

They went throughout Judah and gathered the Levites^(a) and the heads of Israelite families from all the towns. When they came to Jerusalem,

the whole assembly made a covenant^(b) with the king at the temple of God. Jehoiada said to them, "The king's son shall reign, as the Lord promised concerning the descendants of David.^(c)

Now this is what you are to do: A third of you priests and Levites who are going on duty on the Sabbath are to keep watch at the doors,

a third of you at the royal palace and a third at the Foundation Gate, and all the others are to be in the courtyards of the temple of the Lord .

No one is to enter the temple of the Lord except the priests and Levites on duty; they may enter because they are consecrated, but all the others are to observe^(d) the Lord 's command not to enter.^[a]

The Levites are to station themselves around the king, each with weapon in hand. Anyone who enters the temple is to be put to death. Stay close to the king wherever he goes."

The Levites and all the men of Judah did just as Jehoiada the priest ordered.^(e) Each one took his men—those who were going on duty on the Sabbath and those who were going off duty—for Jehoiada the priest had not released any of the divisions.^(f)

Then he gave the commanders of units of a hundred the spears and the large and small shields that had belonged to King David and that were in the temple of God.

He stationed all the men, each with his weapon in his hand, around the king—near the altar and the temple, from the south side to the north side of the temple.

Jehoiada and his sons brought out the king's son and put the crown on him; they presented him with a copy^(g) of the covenant and proclaimed him king. They anointed him and shouted, "Long live the king!"

When Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and cheering the king, she went to them at the temple of the Lord .

She looked, and there was the king,^(h) standing by his pillar⁽ⁱ⁾ at the entrance. The officers and the trumpeters were beside the king, and all the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets, and musicians with their instruments were leading the praises. Then Athaliah tore her robes and shouted, "Treason! Treason!"

Jehoiada the priest sent out the commanders of units of a hundred, who were in charge of the troops, and said to them: "Bring her out between the ranks^[b] and put to the sword anyone who follows her." For the priest had said, "Do not put her to death at the temple of the Lord ."

So they seized her as she reached the entrance of the Horse Gate^(j) on the palace grounds, and there they put her to death.

Jehoiada then made a covenant^(k) that he, the people and the king^[c] would be the Lord 's people.

All the people went to the temple of Baal and tore it down. They smashed the altars and idols and killed^(l) Mattan the priest of Baal in front of the altars.

Then Jehoiada placed the oversight of the temple of the Lord in the hands of the Levitical priests,^(m) to whom David had made assignments in the temple,⁽ⁿ⁾ to present the burnt offerings of the Lord as written in the Law of Moses, with rejoicing and singing, as David had ordered.

He also stationed gatekeepers^(o) at the gates of the Lord 's temple so that no one who was in any way unclean might enter.

He took with him the commanders of hundreds, the nobles, the rulers of the people and all the people of the land and brought the king down from the temple of the Lord . They went into the palace through the Upper Gate^(p) and seated the king on the royal throne.

All the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was calm, because Athaliah had been slain with the sword.^(q)

Joash Repairs the Temple^(a)(b)

Joash was seven years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem forty years. His mother's name was Zibiah; she was from Beersheba.

Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord ^(c) all the years of Jehoiada the priest.

Jehoiada chose two wives for him, and he had sons and daughters.

Some time later Joash decided to restore the temple of the Lord .

He called together the priests and Levites and said to them, "Go to the towns of Judah and collect the money^(d) due annually from all Israel,^(e) to repair the temple of your God. Do it now." But the Levites^(f) did not act at once.

Therefore the king summoned Jehoiada the chief priest and said to him, "Why haven't you required the Levites to bring in from Judah and Jerusalem the tax imposed by Moses the servant of the Lord and by the assembly of Israel for the tent of the covenant law?"^(g)

Now the sons of that wicked woman Athaliah had broken into the temple of God and had used even its sacred objects for the Baals.

At the king's command, a chest was made and placed outside, at the gate of the temple of the Lord .

A proclamation was then issued in Judah and Jerusalem that they should bring to the Lord the tax that Moses the servant of God had required of Israel in the wilderness.

All the officials and all the people brought their contributions gladly,^(h) dropping them into the chest until it was full.

Whenever the chest was brought in by the Levites to the king's officials and they saw that there was a large amount of money, the royal secretary and the officer of the chief priest would come and empty the chest and carry it back to its place. They did this regularly and collected a great amount of money.

The king and Jehoiada gave it to those who carried out the work required for the temple of the Lord . They hired⁽ⁱ⁾ masons and carpenters to restore the Lord 's temple, and also workers in iron and bronze to repair the temple.

The men in charge of the work were diligent, and the repairs progressed under them. They rebuilt the temple of God according to its original design and reinforced it.

When they had finished, they brought the rest of the money to the king and Jehoiada, and with it were made articles for the Lord 's temple: articles for the service and for the burnt offerings, and also dishes and other objects of gold and silver. As long as Jehoiada lived, burnt offerings were presented continually in the temple of the Lord .