16‘Tomorrow go down against them. They will surely come up by the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the 4brook before the Wilderness of Jeruel.
17y‘You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the LORD, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, zfor the LORD is with you.”
18And Jehoshaphat abowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem bowed before the LORD, worshiping the LORD.
19Then the Levites of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with voices loud and high.
20So they rose early in the morning and went out into the Wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: bBelieve in the LORD your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.”
21And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the LORD, cand who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying:
d“Praise the LORD,
e For His mercy endures forever.”
22Now when they began to sing and to praise, fthe LORD set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated.
23For the people of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to utterly kill and destroy them. And when they 5had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, gthey helped to destroy one another.
24So when Judah came to a place overlooking the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude; and there were their dead bodies, fallen on the earth. No one had escaped.
25When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away their spoil, they found among them an abundance of valuables on the 6dead bodies, and precious jewelry, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away; and they were three days gathering the spoil because there was so much.
26And on the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of 7Berachah, for there they blessed the LORD; therefore the name of that place was called The Valley of Berachah until this day.
27Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat in front of them, to go back to Jerusalem with joy, for the LORD had hmade them rejoice over their enemies.
28So they came to Jerusalem, with stringed instruments and harps and trumpets, to the house of the LORD.
29And ithe fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries when they heard that the LORD had fought against the enemies of Israel.
30Then the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his jGod gave him rest all around.
The End of Jehoshaphat’s Reign
(1 Kin. 22:41–50)
31kSo Jehoshaphat was king over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi.
32And he walked in the way of his father lAsa, and did not turn aside from it, doing what was right in the sight of the LORD.
33Nevertheless mthe 8high places were not taken away, for as yet the people had not ndirected their hearts to the God of their fathers.
34Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last, indeed they are written in the book of Jehu the son of Hanani, owhich is mentioned in the book of the kings of Israel.
35After this pJehoshaphat king of Judah allied himself with Ahaziah king of Israel, qwho acted very rwickedly.
36And he allied himself with him sto make ships to go to Tarshish, and they made the ships in Ezion Geber.
37But Eliezer the son of Dodavah of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you have allied yourself with Ahaziah, the LORD has destroyed your works.” tThen the ships were wrecked, so that they were not able to go uto Tarshish.
2 Chronicles 21
Jehoram Reigns in Judah
(1 Kin. 22:50; 2 Kin. 8:16–24)
1And aJehoshaphat 1rested with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David. Then Jehoram his son reigned in his place.
2He had brothers, the sons of Jehoshaphat: Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azaryahu, Michael, and Shephatiah; all these were the sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel.
3Their father gave them great gifts of silver and gold and precious things, with fortified cities in Judah; but he gave the kingdom to Jehoram, because he was the firstborn.
4Now when Jehoram 2was established over the kingdom of his father, he strengthened himself and killed all his brothers with the sword, and also others of the princes of Israel.
5bJehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem.
6And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab had done, for he had the daughter of cAhab as a wife; and he did evil in the sight of the LORD.
7Yet the LORD would not destroy the house of David, because of the dcovenant that He had made with David, and since He had promised to give a lamp to him and to his esons forever.
8fIn his days Edom revolted against Judah’s authority, and made a king over themselves.
9So Jehoram went out with his officers, and all his chariots with him. And he rose by night and attacked the Edomites who had surrounded him and the captains of the chariots.
10Thus Edom has been in revolt against Judah’s authority to this day. At that time Libnah revolted against his rule, because he had forsaken the LORD God of his fathers.
11Moreover he made 3high places in the mountains of Judah, and caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to gcommit harlotry, and led Judah astray.
12And a letter came to him from Elijah the prophet, saying,
Thus says the LORD God of your father David:
Because you have not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat your father, or in the ways of Asa king of Judah,
13but have walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and have hmade Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to iplay the harlot like the jharlotry of the house of Ahab, and also have kkilled your brothers, those of your father’s household, who were better than yourself,
14behold, the LORD will strike your people with a serious affliction—your children, your wives, and all your possessions;
15and you will become very sick with a ldisease of your intestines, until your intestines come out by reason of the sickness, day by day.
16Moreover the mLORD nstirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines and the oArabians who were near the Ethiopians.
17And they came up into Judah and invaded it, and carried away all the possessions that were found in the king’s house, and also phis sons and his wives, so that there was not a son left to him except 4Jehoahaz, the youngest of his sons.
18After all this the LORD struck him qin his intestines with an incurable disease.
19Then it happened in the course of time, after the end of two years, that his intestines came out because of his sickness; so he died in severe pain. And his people made no 5burning for him, like rthe burning for his fathers.
20He was thirty-two years old when he became king. He reigned in Jerusalem eight years and, to no one’s sorrow, departed. However they buried him in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.
2 Chronicles 22
Ahaziah Reigns in Judah
(2 Kin. 8:25–29; 9:14–16, 27–29)
1Then the inhabitants of Jerusalem made aAhaziah his youngest son king in his place, for the raiders who came with the bArabians into the camp had killed all the colder sons. So Ahaziah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, reigned.
2Ahaziah was 1forty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was dAthaliah the 2granddaughter of Omri.
3He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother advised him to do wickedly.
4T
herefore he did evil in the sight of the LORD, like the house of Ahab; for they were his counselors after the death of his father, to his destruction.
5He also followed their advice, and went with 3Jehoram the son of Ahab king of Israel to war against Hazael king of Syria at Ramoth Gilead; and the Syrians wounded Joram.
6eThen he returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds which he had received at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. And 4Azariah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, went down to see Jehoram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.
7His going to Joram fwas God’s occasion for Ahaziah’s 5downfall; for when he arrived, ghe went out with 6Jehoram against Jehu the son of Nimshi, hwhom the LORD had anointed to 7cut off the house of Ahab.
8And it happened, when Jehu was iexecuting judgment on the house of Ahab, and jfound the princes of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah’s brothers who served Ahaziah, that he killed them.
9kThen he searched for Ahaziah; and they caught him (he was hiding in Samaria), and brought him to Jehu. When they had killed him, they buried him, “because,” they said, “he is the son of lJehoshaphat, who msought the LORD with all his heart.” So the house of Ahaziah had no one to assume power over the kingdom.
Athaliah Reigns in Judah
(2 Kin. 11:1–3)
10nNow when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal heirs of the house of Judah.
11But 8Jehoshabeath, the daughter of the king, took oJoash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him away from among the king’s sons who were being murdered, and put him and his nurse in a 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.
12And he was hidden with them in the house of God for six years, while Athaliah reigned over the land.
2 Chronicles 23
Joash Crowned King of Judah
(2 Kin. 11:4–12)
1In athe seventh year bJehoiada strengthened himself, and made a covenant with the captains of hundreds: Azariah the son of Jeroham, Ishmael the son of Jehohanan, Azariah the son of cObed, Maaseiah the son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat the son of Zichri.
2And they went throughout Judah and gathered the Levites from all the cities of Judah, and the dchief fathers of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem.
3Then all the assembly made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And he said to them, “Behold, the king’s son shall reign, as the LORD has esaid of the sons of David.
4“This is what you shall do: One-third of you fentering on the Sabbath, of the priests and the Levites, shall be keeping watch over the doors;
5“one-third shall be at the king’s house; and one-third at the Gate of the Foundation. All the people shall be in the courts of the house of the LORD.
6“But let no one come into the house of the LORD except the priests and gthose of the Levites who serve. They may go in, for they are holy; but all the people shall keep the watch of the LORD.
7“And the Levites shall surround the king on all sides, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whoever comes into the house, let him be put to death. You are to 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 each man took his men who were to be on duty on the Sabbath, with those who were going off duty on the Sabbath; for Jehoiada the priest had not dismissed hthe divisions.
9And Jehoiada the priest gave to the captains of hundreds the spears and the large and small ishields which had belonged to King David, that were in the temple of God.
10Then he set all the people, every man with his weapon in his hand, from the right side of the temple to the left side of the temple, along by the altar and by the temple, all around the king.
11And they brought out the king’s son, put the crown on him, jgave him the 1Testimony, and made him king. Then Jehoiada and his sons anointed him, and said, “Long live the king!”
Death of Athaliah
(2 Kin. 11:13–20)
12Now when kAthaliah heard the noise of the people running and praising the king, she came to the people in the temple of the LORD.
13When she looked, there was the king standing by his pillar at the entrance; and the leaders and the trumpeters were by the king. All the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets, also the singers with musical instruments, and lthose who led in praise. So Athaliah tore her clothes and said, m“Treason! Treason!”
14And Jehoiada the priest brought out the captains of hundreds who were set over the army, and said to them, “Take her outside under guard, and slay with the sword whoever follows her.” For the priest had said, “Do not kill her in the house of the LORD.”
15So they seized her; and she went by way of the entrance nof the Horse Gate into the king’s house, and they killed her there.
16Then Jehoiada made a ocovenant between himself, the people, and the king, that they should be the LORD’s people.
17And all the people went to the 2temple of Baal, and tore it down. They broke in pieces its altars and images, and pkilled Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars.
18Also Jehoiada appointed the oversight of the house of the LORD to the hand of the priests, the Levites, whom David had qassigned in the house of the LORD, to offer the burnt offerings of the LORD, as it is written in the rLaw of Moses, with rejoicing and with singing, as it was established by David.
19And he set the sgatekeepers at the gates of the house of the LORD, so that no one who was in any way unclean should enter.
20tThen he took the captains of hundreds, the nobles, the governors of the people, and all the people of the land, and brought the king down from the house of the LORD; and they went 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, for they had slain Athaliah with the sword.
2 Chronicles 24
Joash Repairs the Temple
(2 Kin. 11:21—12:16)
1Joash awas seven years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah of Beersheba.
2Joash bdid what was right in the sight of the LORD all the days of Jehoiada the priest.
3And Jehoiada took two wives for him, and he had sons and daughters.
4Now it happened after this that Joash set his heart on repairing the house of the LORD.
5Then he gathered the priests and the Levites, and said to them, “Go out to the cities of Judah, and cgather from all Israel money to repair the house of your God from year to year, and see that you do it quickly.” However the Levites did not do it quickly.
6dSo the king called Jehoiada the chief priest, and said to him, “Why have you not required the Levites to bring in from Judah and from Jerusalem the collection, according to the commandment of eMoses the servant of the LORD and of the assembly of Israel, for the ftabernacle of witness?”
7For gthe sons of Athaliah, that wicked woman, had broken into the house of God, and had also presented all the hdedicated things of the house of the LORD to the Baals.
8Then at the king’s command ithey made a chest, and set it outside at the gate of the house of the LORD.
9And they made a proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem to bring to the LORD jthe collection that Moses the servant of God had imposed on Israel in the wilderness.
10Then all the leaders and all the people rejoiced, brought their contributions, and put them into the chest until all had given.
11So it was, at that time, when the chest was brought to the king’s official by the hand of the Levites, and kwhen they saw that there was much money, that the king’s scribe and the high priest’s officer came and emptied the chest, and took it and returned it to its place. Thus they did day by day, and gathered money in abundance.
12The king and
Jehoiada gave it to those who did the work of the service of the house of the LORD; and they hired masons and carpenters to lrepair the house of the LORD, and also those who worked in iron and bronze to restore the house of the LORD.
13So the workmen labored, and the work was completed by them; they restored the house of God to its original condition and reinforced it.
14When they had finished, they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada; mthey made from it articles for the house of the LORD, articles for serving and offering, spoons and vessels of gold and silver. And they offered burnt offerings in the house of the LORD continually all the days of Jehoiada.
Apostasy of Joash
15But Jehoiada grew old and was full of days, and he died; he was one hundred and thirty years old when he died.
16And they buried him in the City of David among the kings, because he had done good in Israel, both toward God and His house.
17Now after the death of Jehoiada the leaders of Judah came and bowed down to the king. And the king listened to them.
18Therefore they left the house of the LORD God of their fathers, and served nwooden images and idols; and owrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem because of their trespass.
19Yet He psent prophets to them, to bring them back to the LORD; and they testified against them, but they would not listen.
20Then the Spirit of God 1came upon qZechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, who stood above the people, and said to them, “Thus says God: r‘Why do you transgress the commandments of the LORD, so that you cannot prosper? sBecause you have forsaken the LORD, He also has forsaken you.’ ”
21So they conspired against him, and at the command of the king they tstoned him with stones in the court of the house of the LORD.
22Thus Joash the king did not remember the kindness which Jehoiada his 2father had done to him, but killed his son; and as he died, he said, “The LORD look on it, and urepay!”
Death of Joash
The MacArthur Study Bible, NKJV Page 213