Jehoshaphat Wins the Battle Over Moab and Ammon

20 After that, the Moabites, Ammonites and some Meunites went to war against Jehoshaphat.

² Some people came and told him, “A huge army is coming from Edom to fight against you. They have come across the Dead Sea. They are already in Hazezon Tamar.” Hazezon Tamar is also called En Gedi. ³ Jehoshaphat was alarmed. So he decided to ask the Lord for advice. He told all the people of Judah to go without eating. ⁴ The people came together to ask the Lord for help. In fact, they came from every town in Judah to pray to him.

⁵ Then Jehoshaphat stood up among the people of Judah and Jerusalem. He was in front of the new courtyard at the Lord’s temple. ⁶ He said,

“Lord, you are the God of our people who lived long ago. You are the God who is in heaven. You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. You are strong and powerful. No one can fight against you and win. ⁷ Our God, you drove out the people who lived in this land. You drove them out to make room for your people Israel. You gave this land forever to those who belong to the family line of your friend Abraham. ⁸ They have lived in this land. They’ve built a temple here for your Name. They have said, ⁹ ‘Suppose trouble comes on us. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a punishing sword, or plague or hunger. We’ll serve you. We’ll stand in front of this temple where your Name is. We’ll cry out to you when we’re in trouble. Then you will hear us. You will save us.’

¹⁰ “But here are men from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir. You wouldn’t allow Israel to march in and attack their territory when the Israelites came from Egypt. So Israel turned away from them. They didn’t destroy them. ¹¹ See how they are paying us back. They are coming to drive us out. They want to take over the land you gave us as our share. ¹² Our God, won’t you please judge them? We don’t have the power to face this huge army that’s attacking us. We don’t know what to do. But we’re looking to you to help us.”

¹³ All the men of Judah stood there in front of the Lord. Their wives, children and little ones were with them.

¹⁴ Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Jahaziel. He was standing among the people of Israel. He was the son of Zechariah. Zechariah was the son of Benaiah. Benaiah was the son of Jeiel. Jeiel was the son of Mattaniah. Jahaziel was a Levite. He was from the family line of Asaph.

¹⁵ Jahaziel said, “King Jehoshaphat, listen! All you who live in Judah and Jerusalem, listen! The Lord says to you, ‘Do not be afraid. Do not lose hope because of this huge army. The battle is not yours. It is God’s. ¹⁶ Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz. You will find them at the end of the valley in the Desert of Jeruel. ¹⁷ You will not have to fight this battle. Take your positions. Stand firm. You will see how the Lord will save you. Judah and Jerusalem, do not be afraid. Do not lose hope. Go out and face them tomorrow. The Lord will be with you.’ ”

¹⁸ Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face toward the ground. All the people of Judah and Jerusalem also bowed down. They worshiped the Lord. ¹⁹ Then some Levites from the families of Kohath and Korah stood up. They praised the Lord, the God of Israel. They praised him with very loud voices.

²⁰ Early in the morning all the people left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they started out, Jehoshaphat stood up. He said, “Judah, listen to me! People of Jerusalem, listen to me! Have faith in the Lord your God. He’ll take good care of you. Have faith in his prophets. Then you will have success.” ²¹ Jehoshaphat asked the people for advice. Then he appointed men to sing to the Lord. He wanted them to praise the Lord because of his glory and holiness. They marched out in front of the army. They said,

²² They began to sing and praise him. Then the Lord hid some men and told them to wait. He wanted them to attack the people of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir. They had gone into Judah and attacked it. But they lost the battle. ²³ The Ammonites and Moabites rose up against the men from Mount Seir. They destroyed them. They put an end to them. When they finished killing the men from Seir, they destroyed one another.

²⁴ The men of Judah came to the place that looks out over the desert. They turned to look down at the huge army. But all they saw was dead bodies lying there on the ground. No one had escaped. ²⁵ So Jehoshaphat and his men went down there to carry off anything of value. Among the dead bodies they found a large amount of supplies, clothes and other things of value. There was more than they could take away. There was so much it took three days to collect all of it. ²⁶ On the fourth day they gathered together in the Valley of Berakah. There they praised the Lord. That’s why it’s called the Valley of Berakah to this day.

²⁷ Then all the men of Judah and Jerusalem returned to Jerusalem. They were filled with joy. Jehoshaphat led them. The Lord had made them happy because all their enemies were dead. ²⁸ They entered Jerusalem and went to the Lord’s temple. They were playing harps, lyres and trumpets.

²⁹ All the surrounding kingdoms began to have respect for God. They had heard how the Lord had fought against Israel’s enemies. ³⁰ The kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace. His God had given him peace and rest on every side.

Jehoshaphat’s Rule Comes to an End

³¹ So Jehoshaphat ruled over Judah. He was 35 years old when he became Judah’s king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 25 years. His mother’s name was Azubah. She was the daughter of Shilhi. ³² Jehoshaphat followed the ways of his father Asa. He didn’t wander away from them. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. ³³ But the high places weren’t removed. The people still hadn’t worshiped the God of Israel with all their hearts.

³⁴ The other events of Jehoshaphat’s rule from beginning to end are written down. They are written in the official records of Jehu, the son of Hanani. They are written in the records of the kings of Israel.

³⁵ Jehoshaphat king of Judah and Ahaziah king of Israel agreed to be friends. Ahaziah did what was evil. ³⁶ Jehoshaphat agreed with him to build a lot of ships. They were built at Ezion Geber. They carried goods that were traded for other goods. ³⁷ Eliezer was the son of Dodavahu from Mareshah. Eliezer prophesied against Jehoshaphat. He said, “You have joined forces with Ahaziah. So the Lord will destroy what you have made.” The ships were wrecked. They were never able to sail or trade goods.

21 Jehoshaphat joined the members of his family who had already died. He was buried in the family tomb in the City of David. Jehoshaphat’s son Jehoram became the next king after him. ² Jehoram’s brothers, the sons of Jehoshaphat, were Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariahu, Michael and Shephatiah. All of them were sons of Jehoshaphat, the king of Israel. ³ Their father had given them many gifts. He had given them silver, gold and other things of value. He had also given them cities in Judah that had high walls around them. But he had made Jehoram king. That’s because Jehoram was his oldest son.

Jehoram King of Judah

⁴ Jehoram made his position secure over his father’s kingdom. Then he killed all his brothers with his sword. He also killed some of the officials of Israel. ⁵ Jehoram was 32 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for eight years. ⁶ He followed the ways of the kings of Israel, just as the royal family of Ahab had done. In fact, he married a daughter of Ahab. Jehoram did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord. ⁷ But the Lord didn’t want to destroy the royal family of David. That’s because the Lord had made a covenant with him. The Lord had promised to keep the lamp of David’s kingdom burning brightly. The Lord had promised that for David and his children after him forever.

⁸ When Jehoram was king over Judah, Edom refused to remain under Judah’s control. They set up their own king. ⁹ So Jehoram went to Edom. He took his officers and all his chariots with him. The men of Edom surrounded him and his chariot commanders. But he got up at night and fought his way out. ¹⁰ To this day Edom has refused to remain under Judah’s control.

At that same time, Libnah also refused to remain under the control of Judah. That’s because Jehoram had deserted the Lord, the God of his people. ¹¹ Jehoram had also built high places on the hills of Judah. He had caused the people of Jerusalem to worship other gods. They weren’t faithful to the Lord. Jehoram had led Judah down the wrong path.

¹² Jehoram received a letter from Elijah the prophet. In it, Elijah said,

“The Lord is the God of your father David. The Lord says, ‘You have not followed the ways of your own father Jehoshaphat or of Asa, the king of Judah. ¹³ Instead, you have followed the ways of the kings of Israel. You have led Judah and the people of Jerusalem to worship other gods, just as the royal family of Ahab did. Also, you have murdered your own brothers. They were members of your own family. They were better men than you are. ¹⁴ So now the Lord is about to strike down your people with a heavy blow. He will strike down your sons, your wives and everything that belongs to you. ¹⁵ And you yourself will be very sick for a long time. The sickness will finally cause your insides to come out.’ ”

¹⁶ The Lord stirred up the anger of the Philistines against Jehoram. He also stirred up the anger of the Arabs. They lived near the people of Cush. ¹⁷ The Philistines and Arabs attacked Judah. They went in and carried off all the goods they found in the king’s palace. They also took his sons and wives. The only son he had left was Ahaziah. He was the youngest son.

¹⁸ After all of that, the Lord made Jehoram very sick. He couldn’t be healed. ¹⁹ After he had been sick for two years, the sickness caused his insides to come out. He died in great pain. His people didn’t make a funeral fire to honor him. They had made funeral fires to honor the kings who ruled before him.

²⁰ Jehoram was 32 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for eight years. No one was sorry when he passed away. He was buried in the City of David. But he wasn’t placed in the tombs of the kings.

Ahaziah King of Judah

22 The people of Jerusalem made Ahaziah king in place of Jehoram. Ahaziah was Jehoram’s youngest son. Robbers had come with the Arabs into Jehoram’s camp. The robbers had killed all his older sons. So Ahaziah, the king of Judah, began to rule. He was the son of Jehoram.

² Ahaziah was 22 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for one year. His mother’s name was Athaliah. She was a granddaughter of Omri.

³ Ahaziah also followed the ways of the royal family of Ahab. That’s because Ahaziah’s mother gave him bad advice. She told him to do what was wrong. ⁴ So he did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord. He did what the family of Ahab had done. After Ahaziah’s father died, the members of Ahab’s family became his advisers. That’s what destroyed him. ⁵ He also followed their advice when he joined forces with Joram, the king of Israel. They went to war against Hazael at Ramoth Gilead. Joram was the son of Ahab. Hazael was king of Aram. The soldiers of Aram wounded Joram. ⁶ So he returned to Jezreel to give his wounds time to heal. His enemies had wounded him at Ramoth in his battle against Hazael, the king of Aram.

Ahaziah, the son of Jehoram, went down to Jezreel. He went there to see Joram. That’s because Joram had been wounded. Ahaziah was king of Judah. Joram was the son of Ahab.

⁷ Through Ahaziah’s visit to Joram, God caused Ahaziah to fall from power. When Ahaziah arrived, he rode out with Joram to meet Jehu, the son of Nimshi. The Lord had anointed Jehu to destroy the royal family of Ahab. ⁸ So Jehu punished Ahab’s family, just as the Lord had told him to. While he was doing it, he found the officials of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah’s relatives. They had been serving Ahaziah. So Jehu killed them. ⁹ Then he went to look for Ahaziah. Jehu’s men captured him while he was hiding in Samaria. Ahaziah was brought to Jehu and put to death. People buried him, because they said, “He was a grandson of Jehoshaphat, who followed the Lord with all his heart.” So no one in the royal family of Ahaziah was powerful enough to keep the kingdom.

Athaliah and Joash

¹⁰ Athaliah was Ahaziah’s mother. She saw that her son was dead. So she began to wipe out the whole royal family of Judah. ¹¹ But Jehosheba went and got Joash, the son of Ahaziah. Jehosheba was the daughter of King Jehoram. She stole Joash away from among the royal princes. All of them were about to be murdered. She put Joash and his nurse in a bedroom. Jehosheba, the daughter of King Jehoram, was the wife of Jehoiada the priest. She was also Ahaziah’s sister. So Jehosheba hid the child from Athaliah. That’s why Athaliah couldn’t kill him. ¹² The child remained hidden with the priest and his wife at God’s temple for six years. Athaliah ruled over the land during that time.