War against Jehoshaphat

¹After this, the Moabites and Ammonites, together with some of the Meunites,came to make war against Jehoshaphat.

²Then some men came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast army is coming against you from Edom,from beyond the Sea;they are already in Hazazon-tamar” (that is, En-gedi).

³Jehoshaphat was alarmed and set his face to seek the LORD. And he proclaimed a fast throughout Judah.

⁴So the people of Judah gathered to seek the LORD, and indeed, they came from all the cities of Judah to seek Him.

Jehoshaphat’s Prayer

⁵Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem in the house of the LORD in front of the new courtyard

⁶and said, “O LORD, God of our fathers, are You not the God who is in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in Your hand, and no one can stand against You.

⁷Our God, did You not drive out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham Your friend?

⁸They have lived in the land and have built in it a sanctuary for Your Name, saying,

⁹‘If disaster comes upon us—whether sword or judgment,plague or famine—we will stand before this temple and before You, for Your Name is in this temple. We will cry out to You in our distress, and You will hear us and save us.’

¹⁰And now, here are the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, whom You did not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt. So Israel turned away from them and did not destroy them.

¹¹See how they are repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession that You gave us as an inheritance.

¹²Our God, will You not judge them? For we are powerless before this vast army that comes against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.”

¹³Meanwhile all the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, were standing before the LORD.

The Prophecy of Jahaziel

¹⁴Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite from Asaph’s descendants, as he stood in the midst of the assembly.

¹⁵And he said, “Listen, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Listen, King Jehoshaphat! This is what the LORD says: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army, for the battle does not belong to you, but to God.

¹⁶Tomorrow you are to march 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.

¹⁷You need not fight this battle. Take up your positions, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid or discouraged. Go out and face them tomorrow, for the LORD is with you.’”

¹⁸Then Jehoshaphat bowed facedown, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down before the LORD to worship Him.

¹⁹And the Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites stood up to praise the LORD, the God of Israel, shouting in a very loud voice.

The Enemies Destroy Themselves

²⁰Early in the morning they got up and left for the Wilderness of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood up and said, “Hear me, O people of Judah and Jerusalem. Believe in the LORD your God, and you will be upheld; believe in His prophets, and you will succeed.”

²¹Then Jehoshaphat consulted with the people and appointed those who would sing to the LORD and praise the splendor of His holiness. As they went out before the army, they were singing:“Give thanks to the LORD,for His loving devotion endures forever.”

²²The moment they began their shouts and praises, the LORD set ambushes against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir who had come against Judah, and they were defeated.

²³The Ammonites and Moabites rose up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, devoting them to destruction.And when they had finished off the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another.

²⁴When the men of Judah came to a place overlooking the wilderness, they looked for the vast army, but there were only corpses lying on the ground; no one had escaped.

²⁵Then Jehoshaphat and his people went to carry off the plunder, and they found on the bodies an abundance of goods and valuables—more than they could carry away. They were gathering the plunder for three days because there was so much.

The Joyful Return

²⁶On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Beracah,where they blessed the LORD. Therefore that place is called the Valley of Beracah to this day.

²⁷Then all the men of Judah and Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat at their head, returned joyfully to Jerusalem, for the LORD had made them rejoice over their enemies.

²⁸So they entered Jerusalem and went into the house of the LORD with harps, lyres, and trumpets.

²⁹And the fear of God came upon all the kingdoms of the lands when they heard that the LORD had fought against the enemies of Israel.

³⁰Then Jehoshaphat’s kingdom was at peace, for his God had given him rest on every side.

Summary of Jehoshaphat’s Reign

³¹So Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-five years. His mother’s name was Azubah daughter of Shilhi.

³²And Jehoshaphat walked in the way of his father Asa and did not turn away from it; he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD.

³³The high places, however, were not removed; the people had not yet set their hearts on the God of their fathers.

³⁴As for the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, from beginning to end, they are indeed written in the Chronicles of Jehu son of Hanani, which are recorded in the Book of the Kings of Israel.

Jehoshaphat’s Fleet Is Wrecked

³⁵Later, Jehoshaphat king of Judah made an alliance with Ahaziah king of Israel, who acted wickedly.

³⁶They agreed to make ships to go to Tarshish,and these were built in Ezion-geber.

³⁷Then Eliezer son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you have allied yourself with Ahaziah, the LORD has destroyed your works.”So the ships were wrecked and were unable to sail to Tarshish.

Ahijah’s Prophecy against Jeroboam

¹At that time Abijah son of Jeroboam became ill,

²and Jeroboam said to his wife, “Now get up, disguise yourself so they will not recognize you as my wife, and go to Shiloh. For Ahijah the prophet is there; it was he who spoke about my kingship over this people.

³Take with you ten loaves of bread, some cakes, and a jar of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what will become of the boy.”

⁴Jeroboam’s wife did as instructed; she arose and went to Shiloh and arrived at Ahijah’s house. Now Ahijah could not see, for his eyes were dim because of his age.

⁵But the LORD had said to Ahijah, “Behold, the wife of Jeroboam is coming to ask you about her son, for he is ill. You are to say such and such to her, because when she arrives, she will be disguised.”

⁶So when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet entering the door, he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam! Why are you disguised? For I have been sent to you with bad news.

⁷Go, tell Jeroboam that this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I raised you up from among the people and appointed you ruler over My people Israel.

⁸I tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you. But you have not been like My servant David, who kept My commandments and followed Me with all his heart, doing only what was right in My eyes.

⁹You have done more evil than all who came before you. You have proceeded to make for yourself other gods and molten images to provoke Me, and you have flung Me behind your back.

¹⁰Because of all this, behold, I am bringing disaster on the house of Jeroboam:I will cut off from Jeroboam every male,both slave and free,in Israel;I will burn up the house of Jeroboamas one burns up dung until it is gone!

¹¹Anyone belonging to Jeroboam who dies in the citywill be eaten by dogs,and anyone who dies in the fieldwill be eaten by the birds of the air.’For the LORD has spoken.

¹²As for you, get up and go home. When your feet enter the city, the child will die.

¹³All Israel will mourn for him and bury him. For this is the only one belonging to Jeroboam who will receive a proper burial,because only in him has the LORD, the God of Israel, found any good in the house of Jeroboam.

¹⁴Moreover, the LORD will raise up for Himself a king over Israel who will cut off the house of Jeroboam. This is the day—yes, even today!

¹⁵For the LORD will strike Israel as a reed is shaken in the water. He will uproot Israel from this good land that He gave their fathers, and He will scatter them beyond the Euphrates,because they have made their Asherah poles, provoking the LORD to anger.

¹⁶So He will give Israel over on account of the sins Jeroboam has committed and has caused Israel to commit.”

¹⁷Then Jeroboam’s wife got up and departed for Tirzah, and as soon as she stepped over the threshold of the house, the boy died.

¹⁸And they buried him, and all Israel mourned for him, according to the word that the LORD had spoken through His servant Ahijah the prophet.

Nadab Succeeds Jeroboam

¹⁹As for the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he waged war and how he reigned, they are indeed written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.

²⁰And the length of Jeroboam’s reign was twenty-two years, and he rested with his fathers, and his son Nadab reigned in his place.

Rehoboam Reigns in Judah

²¹Meanwhile, Rehoboam son of Solomon reigned in Judah. He was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the LORD had chosen from all the tribes of Israel in which to put His Name. His mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonite.

²²And Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and by the sins they committed they provoked Him to jealous anger more than all their fathers had done.

²³They also built for themselves high places, sacred pillars, and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree.

²⁴There were even male shrine prostitutes in the land. They imitated all the abominations of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.

Shishak Raids Jerusalem

²⁵In the fifth year of Rehoboam’s reign, Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem.

²⁶He seized the treasures of the house of the LORD and of the royal palace. He took everything, including all the gold shields that Solomon had made.

²⁷Then King Rehoboam made bronze shields in their place and committed them to the care of the captains of the guard on duty at the entrance to the royal palace.

²⁸And whenever the king entered the house of the LORD, the guards would bear the shields, and later they would return them to the guardroom.

²⁹As for the rest of the acts of Rehoboam, along with all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?

³⁰There was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam throughout their days.

³¹And Rehoboam rested with his fathers and was buried with them in the City of David; his mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonite. And his son Abijamreigned in his place.

Shishak Raids Jerusalem

¹After Rehoboam had established his sovereignty and royal power, he and all Israelwith him forsook the Law of the LORD.

²In the fifth year of Rehoboam’s reign, because they had been unfaithful to the LORD, Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem

³with 1,200 chariots, 60,000 horsemen,and countless troops who came with him out of Egypt—Libyans, Sukkites, and Cushites.

⁴He captured the fortified cities of Judah and came as far as Jerusalem.

⁵Then Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah who had gathered at Jerusalem because of Shishak, and he said to them, “This is what the LORD says: ‘You have forsaken Me; therefore, I have forsaken you into the hand of Shishak.’”

⁶So the leaders of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, “The LORD is righteous.”

⁷When the LORD saw that they had humbled themselves, the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah, saying, “They have humbled themselves; I will not destroy them, but will soon grant them deliverance. My wrath will not be poured out on Jerusalem through Shishak.

⁸Nevertheless, they will become his servants, so that they may learn the difference between serving Me and serving the kings of other lands.”

⁹So King Shishak of Egypt attacked Jerusalem and seized the treasures of the house of the LORD and of the royal palace. He took everything, including the gold shields that Solomon had made.

¹⁰Then King Rehoboam made bronze shields in their place and committed them to the care of the captains of the guard on duty at the entrance to the royal palace.

¹¹And whenever the king entered the house of the LORD, the guards would go with him, bearing the shields, and later they would return them to the guardroom.

¹²Because Rehoboam humbled himself, the anger of the LORD turned away from him, and He did not destroy him completely. Indeed, conditions were good in Judah.

Rehoboam’s Reign and Death

¹³Thus King Rehoboam established himself in Jerusalem and reigned. He was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the LORD had chosen from all the tribes of Israel in which to put His Name. His mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonite.

¹⁴And Rehoboam did evil because he did not set his heart to seek the LORD.

¹⁵Now the acts of Rehoboam, from first to last, are they not written in the records of Shemaiah the Prophet and of Iddo the Seer concerning the genealogies? There was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam throughout their days.

¹⁶And Rehoboam rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David. And his son Abijahreigned in his place.

Sing for Joy to God Our Strength

¹Sing for joy to God our strength;make a joyful noise to the God of Jacob.

²Lift up a song, strike the tambourine,play the sweet-sounding harp and lyre.

³Sound the ram’s horn at the New Moon,and at the full moon on the day of our Feast.

⁴For this is a statute for Israel,an ordinance of the God of Jacob.

⁵He ordained it as a testimony for Josephwhen he went out over the land of Egypt,where I heard an unfamiliar language:

⁶“I relieved his shoulder of the burden;his hands were freed from the basket.

⁷You called out in distress, and I rescued you;I answered you from the cloud of thunder;I tested you at the waters of Meribah.Selah

⁸Hear, O My people, and I will warn you:O Israel, if only you would listen to Me!

⁹There must be no strange god among you,nor shall you bow to a foreign god.

¹⁰I am the LORD your God,who brought you up out of Egypt.Open wide your mouth,and I will fill it.

¹¹But My people would not listen to Me,and Israel would not obey Me.

¹²So I gave them up to their stubborn heartsto follow their own devices.

¹³If only My people would listen to Me,if Israel would follow My ways,

¹⁴how soon I would subdue their enemiesand turn My hand against their foes!

¹⁵Those who hate the LORD would feign obedience,and their doom would last forever.

¹⁶But I would feed you the finest wheat;with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”