Bible in 90 Days

The Lord Appears to Solomon

¹¹ Solomon finished the Temple of the Lord and his royal palace. He had success in doing everything he planned in the Temple of the Lord and his own palace. ¹² Then the Lord appeared to Solomon at night and said to him, “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself to be a Temple for sacrifices.

¹³ “I may stop the sky from sending rain. I may command the locusts to destroy the land. I may send sicknesses to my people. ¹⁴ Then if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves, if they will pray and seek me and stop their evil ways, I will hear them from heaven. I will forgive their sin, and I will heal their land. ¹⁵ Now I will see them, and I will listen to the prayers prayed in this place. ¹⁶ I have chosen this Temple and made it holy. So I will be worshiped there forever. Yes, I will always watch over it and love it.

¹⁷ “But you must serve me as your father David did. You must obey all I have commanded and keep my laws and rules. ¹⁸ If you do, I will make your kingdom strong. This is the agreement I made with your father David, saying, ‘Someone from your family will always rule in Israel.’

¹⁹ “But you must follow me and obey the laws and commands I have given you. You must not serve or worship other gods. ²⁰ If you do, I will take the Israelites out of my land, the land I have given them, and I will leave this Temple that I have made holy. All the nations will make fun of it and speak evil about it. ²¹ This Temple is honored now, but then, everyone who passes by will be shocked. They will ask, ‘Why did the Lord do this terrible thing to this land and this Temple?’ ²² People will answer, ‘This happened because they left the Lord, the God of their ancestors, the God who brought them out of Egypt. They decided to follow other gods and worshiped and served them, so he brought all this disaster on them.’”

Solomon’s Other Achievements

8 By the end of twenty years, Solomon had built the Temple of the Lord and the royal palace. ² Solomon rebuilt the towns that Hiram had given him, and Solomon sent Israelites to live in them. ³ Then he went to Hamath Zobah and captured it. ⁴ Solomon also built the town of Tadmor in the desert, and he built all the towns in Hamath as towns for storing grain and supplies. ⁵ He rebuilt the towns of Upper Beth Horon and Lower Beth Horon, protecting them with strong walls, gates, and bars in the gates. ⁶ He also rebuilt the town of Baalath. And he built all the other towns for storage and all the cities for his chariots and horses. He built all he wanted in Jerusalem, Lebanon, and everywhere he ruled.

⁷ There were other people in the land who were not Israelites—the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. ⁸ They were descendants of the people that the Israelites had not destroyed. Solomon forced them to be slave workers, as is still true today. ⁹ But Solomon did not make slaves of the Israelites. They were his soldiers, chief captains, commanders of his chariots, and his chariot drivers. ¹⁰ These were his most important officers. There were two hundred fifty of them to direct the people.

¹¹ Solomon brought the daughter of the king of Egypt from the older part of Jerusalem to the palace he had built for her. Solomon said, “My wife must not live in King David’s palace, because the places where the Ark of the Agreement has been are holy.”

¹² Then Solomon offered burnt offerings to the Lord on the altar he had built for the Lord in front of the Temple porch. ¹³ He offered sacrifices every day as Moses had commanded. They were offered on the Sabbath days, New Moons, and the three yearly feasts—the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Shelters. ¹⁴ Solomon followed his father David’s instructions and chose the groups of priests for their service and the Levites to lead the praise and to help the priests do their daily work. And he chose the gatekeepers by their groups to serve at each gate, as David, the man of God, had commanded. ¹⁵ They obeyed all of Solomon’s commands to the priests and Levites, as well as his commands about the treasuries.

¹⁶ All Solomon’s work was done as he had said from the day the foundation of the Temple of the Lord was begun, until it was finished. So the Temple was finished.

¹⁷ Then Solomon went to the towns of Ezion Geber and Elath near the Red Sea in the land of Edom. ¹⁸ Hiram sent ships to Solomon that were commanded by his own men, who were skilled sailors. Hiram’s men went with Solomon’s men to Ophir and brought back about thirty-four thousand pounds of gold to King Solomon.

The Queen of Sheba Visits

9 When the queen of Sheba heard about Solomon’s fame, she came to Jerusalem to test him with hard questions. She had a large group of servants with her and camels carrying spices, jewels, and much gold. When she came to Solomon, she talked with him about all she had in mind, ² and Solomon answered all her questions. Nothing was too hard for him to explain to her. ³ The queen of Sheba saw that Solomon was very wise. She saw the palace he had built, ⁴ the food on his table, his many officers, the palace servants and their good clothes, the servants who served Solomon his wine and their good clothes. She saw the whole burnt offerings he made in the Temple of the Lord. All these things amazed her.

⁵ So she said to King Solomon, “What I heard in my own country about your achievements and wisdom is true. ⁶ I did not believe it then, but now I have come and seen it with my own eyes. I was not told even half of your great wisdom! You are much greater than I had heard. ⁷ Your people and officials are very lucky, because in always serving you, they are able to hear your wisdom. ⁸ Praise the Lord your God who was pleased to make you king. He has put you on his throne to rule for the Lord your God, because your God loves the people of Israel and supports them forever. He has made you king over them to keep justice and to rule fairly.”

⁹ Then she gave the king about nine thousand pounds of gold and many spices and jewels. No one had ever given such spices as the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

¹⁰ Hiram’s men and Solomon’s men brought gold from Ophir, juniper wood, and jewels. ¹¹ King Solomon used the juniper wood to build steps for the Temple of the Lord and the palace and to make lyres and harps for the musicians. No one in Judah had ever seen such beautiful things as these.

¹² King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she wanted and asked for, even more than she had brought to him. Then she and her servants returned to her own country.

Solomon’s Wealth

¹³ Every year King Solomon received about fifty thousand pounds of gold. ¹⁴ Besides that, he also received gold from traders and merchants. All the kings of Arabia and the governors of the land also brought gold and silver.

¹⁵ King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold, each of which contained about seven and one-half pounds of hammered gold. ¹⁶ He also made three hundred smaller shields of hammered gold, each of which contained about four pounds of gold. The king put them in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon.

¹⁷ The king built a large throne of ivory and covered it with pure gold. ¹⁸ The throne had six steps on it and a gold footstool. There were armrests on both sides of the chair, and each armrest had a lion beside it. ¹⁹ Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one lion at each end of each step. Nothing like this had ever been made for any other kingdom. ²⁰ All of Solomon’s drinking cups, as well as the dishes in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon, were made of pure gold. In Solomon’s time people did not think silver was valuable.

²¹ King Solomon had many ships that he sent out to trade, with Hiram’s men as the crews. Every three years the ships returned, bringing back gold, silver, ivory, apes, and baboons.

²² King Solomon had more riches and wisdom than all the other kings on earth. ²³ All the kings of the earth wanted to see Solomon and listen to the wisdom God had given him. ²⁴ Year after year everyone who came brought gifts of silver and gold, clothes, weapons, spices, horses, and mules.

²⁵ Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and he had twelve thousand horses. He kept some in special cities for the chariots, and others he kept with him in Jerusalem. ²⁶ Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. ²⁷ In Jerusalem the king made silver as common as stones and cedar trees as plentiful as the fig trees on the western hills. ²⁸ Solomon imported horses from Egypt and all other countries.

Solomon’s Death

²⁹ Everything else Solomon did, from the beginning to the end, is written in the records of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer, who wrote about Jeroboam, Nebat’s son. ³⁰ Solomon ruled in Jerusalem over all Israel for forty years. ³¹ Then Solomon died and was buried in Jerusalem, the city of David, his father. And Solomon’s son Rehoboam became king in his place.

Israel Turns Against Rehoboam

10 Rehoboam went to Shechem, where all the Israelites had gone to make him king. ² Jeroboam son of Nebat was in Egypt, where he had gone to escape from King Solomon. When Jeroboam heard about Rehoboam being made king, he returned from Egypt. ³ After the people sent for him, he and the people went to Rehoboam and said to him, ⁴ “Your father forced us to work very hard. Now, make it easier for us, and don’t make us work as he did. Then we will serve you.”

⁵ Rehoboam answered, “Come back to me in three days.” So the people left.

⁶ King Rehoboam asked the elders who had advised Solomon during his lifetime, “How do you think I should answer these people?”

⁷ They answered, “Be kind to these people. If you please them and give them a kind answer, they will serve you always.”

⁸ But Rehoboam rejected this advice. Instead, he asked the young men who had grown up with him and who served as his advisers. ⁹ Rehoboam asked them, “What is your advice? How should we answer these people who said, ‘Don’t make us work as hard as your father did’?”

¹⁰ The young men who had grown up with him answered, “The people said to you, ‘Your father forced us to work very hard. Now make our work easier.’ You should tell them, ‘My little finger is bigger than my father’s legs. ¹¹ He forced you to work hard, but I will make you work even harder. My father beat you with whips, but I will beat you with whips that have sharp points.’”

¹² Rehoboam had told the people, “Come back to me in three days.” So after three days Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam. ¹³ King Rehoboam spoke cruel words to them, because he had rejected the advice of the elders. ¹⁴ He followed the advice of the young men and said, “My father forced you to work hard, but I will make you work even harder. My father beat you with whips, but I will beat you with whips that have sharp points.” ¹⁵ So the king did not listen to the people. God caused this to happen so that the Lord could keep the promise he had made to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah, a prophet from Shiloh.

¹⁶ When all the Israelites saw that the king refused to listen to them, they said to the king,

So all the Israelites went home. ¹⁷ But Rehoboam still ruled over the Israelites who lived in the towns of Judah.

¹⁸ Adoniram was in charge of the forced labor. When Rehoboam sent him to the people, they threw stones at him until he died. But King Rehoboam ran to his chariot and escaped to Jerusalem. ¹⁹ Since then, Israel has been against the family of David.

11 When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he gathered one hundred eighty thousand of the best soldiers from Judah and Benjamin. He wanted to fight Israel to take back his kingdom. ² But the Lord spoke his word to Shemaiah, a man of God, saying, ³ “Speak to Solomon’s son Rehoboam, the king of Judah, and to all the Israelites living in Judah and Benjamin. Say to them, ⁴ ‘The Lord says you must not go to war against your brothers. Every one of you should go home, because I made all these things happen.’” So they obeyed the Lord’s command and turned back and did not attack Jeroboam.

Rehoboam Makes Judah Strong

⁵ Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem and built strong cities in Judah to defend it. ⁶ He built up the cities of Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, ⁷ Beth Zur, Soco, Adullam, ⁸ Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, ⁹ Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, ¹⁰ Zorah, Aijalon, and Hebron. These were strong, walled cities in Judah and Benjamin. ¹¹ When Rehoboam made those cities strong, he put commanders and supplies of food, oil, and wine in them. ¹² Also, Rehoboam put shields and spears in all the cities and made them very strong. Rehoboam kept the people of Judah and Benjamin under his control.

¹³ The priests and the Levites from all over Israel joined Rehoboam. ¹⁴ The Levites even left their pasturelands and property and came to Judah and Jerusalem, because Jeroboam and his sons refused to let them serve as priests to the Lord. ¹⁵ Jeroboam chose his own priests for the places of worship and for the goat and calf idols he had made. ¹⁶ There were people from all the tribes of Israel who wanted to obey the Lord, the God of Israel. So they went to Jerusalem with the Levites to sacrifice to the Lord, the God of their ancestors. ¹⁷ These people made the kingdom of Judah strong, and they supported Solomon’s son Rehoboam for three years. During this time they lived the way David and Solomon had lived.

Rehoboam’s Family

¹⁸ Rehoboam married Mahalath, the daughter of Jerimoth and Abihail. Jerimoth was David’s son, and Abihail was the daughter of Eliab, Jesse’s son. ¹⁹ Mahalath gave Rehoboam these sons: Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham. ²⁰ Then Rehoboam married Absalom’s daughter Maacah, and she gave Rehoboam these children: Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith. ²¹ Rehoboam loved Maacah more than his other wives and slave women. Rehoboam had eighteen wives and sixty slave women and was the father of twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters.

²² Rehoboam chose Abijah son of Maacah to be the leader of his own brothers, because he planned to make Abijah king. ²³ Rehoboam acted wisely. He spread his sons through all the areas of Judah and Benjamin, sending them to every strong, walled city. He gave plenty of supplies to his sons, and he also found wives for them.

Shishak Attacks Jerusalem

12 After Rehoboam’s kingdom was set up and he became strong, he and the people of Judah stopped obeying the teachings of the Lord. ² During the fifth year Rehoboam was king, Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem, because Rehoboam and the people were unfaithful to the Lord. ³ Shishak had twelve hundred chariots and sixty thousand horsemen. He brought troops of Libyans, Sukkites, and Cushites from Egypt with him, so many they couldn’t be counted. ⁴ Shishak captured the strong, walled cities of Judah and came as far as Jerusalem.

⁵ Then Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah who had gathered in Jerusalem because they were afraid of Shishak. Shemaiah said to them, “This is what the Lord says: ‘You have left me, so now I will leave you to face Shishak alone.’”

⁶ Then the leaders of Judah and King Rehoboam were sorry for what they had done. They said, “The Lord does what is right.”

⁷ When the Lord saw they were sorry for what they had done, the Lord spoke his word to Shemaiah, saying, “The king and the leaders are sorry. So I will not destroy them but will save them soon. I will not use Shishak to punish Jerusalem in my anger. ⁸ But the people of Jerusalem will become Shishak’s servants so they may learn that serving me is different than serving the kings of other nations.”

⁹ Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem and took the treasures from the Temple of the Lord and the king’s palace. He took everything, even the gold shields Solomon had made. ¹⁰ So King Rehoboam made bronze shields to take their place and gave them to the commanders of the guards for the palace gates. ¹¹ Whenever the king went to the Temple of the Lord, the guards went with him, carrying the shields. Later, they would put them back in the guardroom.

¹² When Rehoboam was sorry for what he had done, the Lord held his anger back and did not fully destroy Rehoboam. There was some good in Judah.

¹³ King Rehoboam made himself a strong king in Jerusalem. He was forty-one years old when he became king, and he was king in Jerusalem for seventeen years. Jerusalem is the city that the Lord chose from all the tribes of Israel in which he was to be worshiped. Rehoboam’s mother was Naamah from the country of Ammon. ¹⁴ Rehoboam did evil because he did not want to obey the Lord.

¹⁵ The things Rehoboam did as king, from the beginning to the end, are written in the records of Shemaiah the prophet and Iddo the seer, in the family histories. There were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the time they ruled. ¹⁶ Rehoboam died and was buried in Jerusalem, and his son Abijah became king in his place.

Abijah King of Judah

13 Abijah became the king of Judah during the eighteenth year Jeroboam was king of Israel. ² Abijah ruled in Jerusalem for three years. His mother was Maacah daughter of Uriel from the town of Gibeah.

And there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. ³ Abijah led an army of four hundred thousand capable soldiers into battle, and Jeroboam prepared to fight him with eight hundred thousand capable soldiers.

⁴ Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim in the mountains of Ephraim and said, “Jeroboam and all Israel, listen to me! ⁵ You should know that the Lord, the God of Israel, gave David and his sons the right to rule Israel forever by an agreement of salt. ⁶ But Jeroboam son of Nebat, one of the officers of Solomon, David’s son, turned against his master. ⁷ Then worthless, evil men joined Jeroboam against Rehoboam, Solomon’s son. He was young and didn’t know what to do, so he could not stop them.

⁸ “Now you people are making plans against the Lord’s kingdom, which belongs to David’s sons. There are many of you, and you have the gold calves Jeroboam made for you as gods. ⁹ You have thrown out the Levites and the Lord’s priests, Aaron’s sons. You have chosen your own priests as people in other countries do. Anyone who comes with a young bull and seven male sheep can become a priest of idols that are not gods.

¹⁰ “But as for us, the Lord is our God; we have not left him. The priests who serve the Lord are Aaron’s sons, and the Levites help them. ¹¹ They offer burnt offerings and sweet-smelling incense to the Lord every morning and evening. They put the bread on the special table in the Temple. And they light the lamps on the gold lampstand every evening. We obey the command of the Lord our God, but you have left him. ¹² God himself is with us as our ruler. His priests blow the trumpet to call us to war against you. Men of Israel, don’t fight against the Lord, the God of your ancestors, because you won’t succeed.”

¹³ But Jeroboam had sent some troops to sneak behind Judah’s army. So while Jeroboam was in front of Judah’s army, Jeroboam’s soldiers were behind them. ¹⁴ When the soldiers of Judah turned around, they saw Jeroboam’s army attacking both in front and back. So they cried out to the Lord, and the priests blew the trumpets. ¹⁵ Then the men of Judah gave a battle cry. When they shouted, God caused Jeroboam and the army of Israel to run away from Abijah and the army of Judah. ¹⁶ When the army of Israel ran away from the men of Judah, God handed them over to Judah. ¹⁷ Abijah’s army struck Israel so that five hundred thousand of Israel’s best men were killed. ¹⁸ So at that time the people of Israel were defeated. And the people of Judah won, because they depended on the Lord, the God of their ancestors.

¹⁹ Abijah’s army chased Jeroboam’s army and captured from him the towns of Bethel, Jeshanah, and Ephron, and the small villages near them. ²⁰ Jeroboam never became strong again while Abijah was alive. The Lord struck Jeroboam, and he died.

²¹ But Abijah became strong. He married fourteen women and was the father of twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters. ²² Everything else Abijah did—what he said and what he did—is recorded in the writings of the prophet Iddo.

14 Abijah died and was buried in Jerusalem. His son Asa became king in his place, and there was peace in the country for ten years during Asa’s time.

Asa King of Judah

² Asa did what the Lord his God said was good and right. ³ He removed the foreign altars and the places where gods were worshiped. He smashed the stone pillars that honored other gods, and he tore down the Asherah idols. ⁴ Asa commanded the people of Judah to follow the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and to obey his teachings and commandments. ⁵ He also removed the places where gods were worshiped and the incense altars from every town in Judah. So the kingdom had peace while Asa was king. ⁶ Asa built strong, walled cities in Judah during the time of peace. He had no war in these years, because the Lord gave him peace.

⁷ Asa said to the people of Judah, “Let’s build up these towns and put walls around them. Let’s make towers, gates, and bars in the gates. This country is ours, because we have obeyed the Lord our God. We have followed him, and he has given us peace all around.” So they built and had success.

⁸ Asa had an army of three hundred thousand men from Judah and two hundred eighty thousand men from Benjamin. The men from Judah carried large shields and spears. The men from Benjamin carried small shields and bows and arrows. All of them were brave fighting men.

⁹ Then Zerah from Cush came out to fight them with an enormous army and three hundred chariots. They came as far as the town of Mareshah. ¹⁰ So Asa went out to fight Zerah and prepared for battle in the Valley of Zephathah at Mareshah.

¹¹ Asa called out to the Lord his God, saying, “Lord, only you can help weak people against the strong. Help us, Lord our God, because we depend on you. We fight against this enormous army in your name. Lord, you are our God. Don’t let anyone win against you.”

¹² So the Lord defeated the Cushites when Asa’s army from Judah attacked them, and the Cushites ran away. ¹³ Asa’s army chased them as far as the town of Gerar. So many Cushites were killed that the army could not fight again; they were crushed by the Lord and his army. Asa and his army carried many valuable things away from the enemy. ¹⁴ They destroyed all the towns near Gerar, because the people living in these towns were afraid of the Lord. Since these towns had many valuable things, Asa’s army took them away. ¹⁵ Asa’s army also attacked the camps where the shepherds lived and took many sheep and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.

Asa’s Changes

15 The Spirit of God entered Azariah son of Oded. ² Azariah went to meet Asa and said, “Listen to me, Asa and all you people of Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you when you are with him. If you obey him, you will find him, but if you leave him, he will leave you. ³ For a long time Israel was without the true God and without a priest to teach them and without the teachings. ⁴ But when they were in trouble, they turned to the Lord, the God of Israel. They looked for him and found him. ⁵ In those days no one could travel safely. There was much trouble in all the nations. ⁶ One nation would destroy another nation, and one city would destroy another city, because God troubled them with all kinds of distress. ⁷ But you should be strong. Don’t give up, because you will get a reward for your good work.”

⁸ Asa felt brave when he heard these words and the message from Azariah son of Oded the prophet. So he removed the hateful idols from all of Judah and Benjamin and from the towns he had captured in the hills of Ephraim. He repaired the Lord’s altar that was in front of the porch of the Temple of the Lord.

⁹ Then Asa gathered all the people from Judah and Benjamin and from the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who were living in Judah. Many people came to Asa even from Israel, because they saw that the Lord, Asa’s God, was with him.

¹⁰ Asa and these people gathered in Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa’s rule. ¹¹ At that time they sacrificed to the Lord seven hundred bulls and seven thousand sheep and goats from the valuable things Asa’s army had taken from their enemies. ¹² Then they made an agreement to obey the Lord, the God of their ancestors, with their whole being. ¹³ Anyone who refused to obey the Lord, the God of Israel, was to be killed. It did not matter if that person was important or unimportant, a man or woman. ¹⁴ Then Asa and the people made a promise before the Lord, shouting with a loud voice and blowing trumpets and sheep’s horns. ¹⁵ All the people of Judah were happy about the promise, because they had promised with all their heart. They looked for God and found him. So the Lord gave them peace in all the country.

¹⁶ King Asa also removed Maacah, his grandmother, from being queen mother, because she had made a terrible Asherah idol. Asa cut down that idol, smashed it into pieces, and burned it in the Kidron Valley. ¹⁷ But the places of worship to gods were not removed from Judah. Even so, Asa was faithful all his life.

¹⁸ Asa brought into the Temple of God the gifts he and his father had given: silver, gold, and utensils.

¹⁹ There was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s rule.

Asa’s Last Years

16 In the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s rule, Baasha king of Israel attacked Judah. He made the town of Ramah strong so he could keep people from leaving or entering Judah, Asa’s country.

² Asa took silver and gold from the treasuries of the Temple of the Lord and out of his own palace. Then he sent it with messengers to Ben-Hadad king of Aram, who lived in Damascus. Asa said, ³ “Let there be a treaty between you and me as there was between my father and your father. I am sending you silver and gold. Break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel so he will leave my land.”

⁴ Ben-Hadad agreed with King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies to attack the towns of Israel. They defeated the towns of Ijon, Dan, and Abel Beth Maacah, and all the towns in Naphtali where treasures were stored. ⁵ When Baasha heard about this, he stopped building up Ramah and left his work. ⁶ Then King Asa brought all the people of Judah to Ramah, and they carried away the rocks and wood that Baasha had used. And they used them to build up Geba and Mizpah.

⁷ At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him, “You depended on the king of Aram to help you and not on the Lord your God. So the king of Aram’s army escaped from you. ⁸ The Cushites and Libyans had a large and powerful army and many chariots and horsemen. But you depended on the Lord to help you, so he handed them over to you. ⁹ The Lord searches all the earth for people who have given themselves completely to him. He wants to make them strong. Asa, you did a foolish thing, so from now on you will have wars.”

¹⁰ Asa was angry with Hanani the seer because of what he had said; he was so angry that he put Hanani in prison. And Asa was cruel to some of the people at the same time.

¹¹ Everything Asa did as king, from the beginning to the end, is written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. ¹² In the thirty-ninth year of his rule, Asa got a disease in his feet. Though his disease was very bad, he did not ask for help from the Lord, but only from the doctors. ¹³ Then Asa died in the forty-first year of his rule. ¹⁴ The people buried Asa in the tomb he had made for himself in Jerusalem. They laid him on a bed filled with spices and different kinds of mixed perfumes, and they made a large fire to honor him.

Jehoshaphat King of Judah

17 Jehoshaphat, Asa’s son, became king of Judah in his place. Jehoshaphat made Judah strong so they could fight against Israel. ² He put troops in all the strong, walled cities of Judah, in the land of Judah, and in the towns of Ephraim that his father Asa had captured.

³ The Lord was with Jehoshaphat, because he lived as his ancestor David had lived when he first became king. Jehoshaphat did not ask for help from the Baal idols, ⁴ but from the God of his father. He obeyed God’s commands and did not live as the people of Israel lived. ⁵ The Lord made Jehoshaphat a strong king over Judah. All the people of Judah brought gifts to Jehoshaphat, so he had much wealth and honor. ⁶ He wanted very much to obey the Lord. He also removed the places for worshiping gods and the Asherah idols from Judah.

⁷ During the third year of his rule, Jehoshaphat sent his officers to teach in the towns of Judah. These officers were Ben-Hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah. ⁸ Jehoshaphat sent with them these Levites: Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tob-Adonijah. He also sent the priests Elishama and Jehoram. ⁹ These leaders, Levites, and priests taught the people in Judah. They took the Book of the Teachings of the Lord and went through all the towns of Judah and taught the people.

¹⁰ The nations near Judah were afraid of the Lord, so they did not start a war against Jehoshaphat. ¹¹ Some of the Philistines brought gifts and silver to Jehoshaphat as he demanded. Some Arabs brought him flocks: seventy-seven hundred sheep and seventy-seven hundred goats.

¹² Jehoshaphat grew more and more powerful. He built strong, walled cities and towns for storing supplies in Judah. ¹³ He kept many supplies in the towns of Judah, and he kept trained soldiers in Jerusalem. ¹⁴ These soldiers were listed by families. From the families of Judah, these were the commanders of groups of a thousand men: Adnah was the commander of three hundred thousand soldiers; ¹⁵ Jehohanan was the commander of two hundred eighty thousand soldiers; ¹⁶ Amasiah was the commander of two hundred thousand soldiers. Amasiah son of Zicri had volunteered to serve the Lord.

¹⁷ These were the commanders from the families of Benjamin: Eliada, a brave soldier, had two hundred thousand soldiers who used bows and shields. ¹⁸ And Jehozabad had one hundred eighty thousand men armed for war.

¹⁹ All these soldiers served King Jehoshaphat. The king also put other men in the strong, walled cities through all of Judah.

Micaiah Warns King Ahab

18 Jehoshaphat had much wealth and honor, and he made an agreement with King Ahab through marriage.^{[a] 2} A few years later Jehoshaphat went to visit Ahab in Samaria. Ahab sacrificed many sheep and cattle as a great feast to honor Jehoshaphat and the people with him. He encouraged Jehoshaphat to attack Ramoth in Gilead. ³ Ahab king of Israel asked Jehoshaphat king of Judah, “Will you go with me to attack Ramoth in Gilead?”

Jehoshaphat answered, “I will go with you, and my soldiers are yours. We will join you in the battle.” ⁴ Jehoshaphat also said to Ahab, “But first we should ask if this is the Lord’s will.”

⁵ So King Ahab called four hundred prophets together and asked them, “Should we go to war against Ramoth in Gilead or not?”

They answered, “Go, because God will hand them over to you.”

⁶ But Jehoshaphat asked, “Isn’t there a prophet of the Lord here? Let’s ask him what we should do.”

⁷ Then King Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “There is one other prophet. We could ask the Lord through him, but I hate him. He never prophesies anything good about me, but always something bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.”

Jehoshaphat said, “King Ahab, you shouldn’t say that!”

⁸ So Ahab king of Israel told one of his officers to bring Micaiah to him at once.

⁹ Ahab king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah had on their royal robes and were sitting on their thrones at the threshing floor, near the entrance to the gate of Samaria. All the prophets were standing before them speaking their messages. ¹⁰ Zedekiah son of Kenaanah had made some iron horns. He said to Ahab, “This is what the Lord says: ‘You will use these horns to fight the Arameans until they are destroyed.’”

¹¹ All the other prophets said the same thing, “Attack Ramoth in Gilead and win, because the Lord will hand the Arameans over to you.”

¹² The messenger who had gone to get Micaiah said to him, “All the other prophets are saying King Ahab will win. You should agree with them and give the king a good answer.”

¹³ But Micaiah answered, “As surely as the Lord lives, I can tell him only what my God says.”

¹⁴ When Micaiah came to Ahab, the king asked him, “Micaiah, should we attack Ramoth in Gilead or not?”

Micaiah answered, “Attack and win! They will be handed over to you.”

¹⁵ But Ahab said to Micaiah, “How many times do I have to tell you to speak only the truth to me in the name of the Lord?”

¹⁶ So Micaiah answered, “I saw the army of Israel scattered over the hills like sheep without a shepherd. The Lord said, ‘They have no leaders. They should go home and not fight.’”

¹⁷ Then Ahab king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I told you! He never prophesies anything good about me, but only bad.”

¹⁸ But Micaiah said, “Hear the message from the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne with his heavenly army standing on his right and on his left. ¹⁹ The Lord said, ‘Who will trick King Ahab of Israel into attacking Ramoth in Gilead where he will be killed?’

“Some said one thing; some said another. ²⁰ Then one spirit came and stood before the Lord and said, ‘I will trick him.’

“The Lord asked, ‘How will you do it?’

²¹ “The spirit answered, ‘I will go to Ahab’s prophets and make them tell lies.’

“So the Lord said, ‘You will succeed in tricking him. Go and do it.’”

²² Micaiah said, “Ahab, the Lord has made your prophets lie to you, and the Lord has decided that disaster should come to you.”

²³ Then Zedekiah son of Kenaanah went up to Micaiah and slapped him in the face. Zedekiah said, “Has the Lord’s Spirit left me to speak through you?”

²⁴ Micaiah answered, “You will find out on the day you go to hide in an inside room.”

²⁵ Then Ahab king of Israel ordered, “Take Micaiah and send him to Amon, the governor of the city, and to Joash, the king’s son. ²⁶ Tell them I said to put this man in prison and give him only bread and water until I return safely from the battle.”

²⁷ Micaiah said, “Ahab, if you come back safely from the battle, the Lord has not spoken through me. Remember my words, all you people!”

Ahab Is Killed

²⁸ So Ahab king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went to Ramoth in Gilead. ²⁹ King Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “I will go into battle, but I will wear other clothes so no one will recognize me. But you wear your royal clothes.” So Ahab wore other clothes, and they went into battle.

³⁰ The king of Aram ordered his chariot commanders, “Don’t fight with anyone—important or unimportant—except the king of Israel.” ³¹ When these commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they thought he was the king of Israel, so they turned to attack him. But Jehoshaphat began shouting, and the Lord helped him. God made the chariot commanders turn away from Jehoshaphat. ³² When they saw he was not King Ahab, they stopped chasing him.

³³ By chance, a soldier shot an arrow which hit Ahab king of Israel between the pieces of his armor. King Ahab said to his chariot driver, “Turn around and get me out of the battle, because I am hurt!” ³⁴ The battle continued all day. King Ahab held himself up in his chariot and faced the Arameans until evening. Then he died at sunset.

19 Jehoshaphat king of Judah came back safely to his palace in Jerusalem. ² Jehu son of Hanani, a seer, went out to meet him and said to the king, “Why did you help evil people? Why do you love those who hate the Lord? That is the reason the Lord is angry with you. ³ But there is some good in you. You took the Asherah idols out of this country, and you have tried to obey God.”

Jehoshaphat Chooses Judges

⁴ Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem. He went out again to be with the people, from Beersheba to the mountains of Ephraim, and he turned them back to the Lord, the God of their ancestors. ⁵ Jehoshaphat appointed judges in all the land, in each of the strong, walled cities of Judah. ⁶ Jehoshaphat said to them, “Watch what you do, because you are not judging for people but for the Lord. He will be with you when you make a decision. ⁷ Now let each of you fear the Lord. Watch what you do, because the Lord our God wants people to be fair. He wants all people to be treated the same, and he doesn’t want decisions influenced by money.”

⁸ And in Jerusalem Jehoshaphat appointed some of the Levites, priests, and leaders of Israelite families to be judges. They were to decide cases about the law of the Lord and settle problems between the people who lived in Jerusalem. ⁹ Jehoshaphat commanded them, “You must always serve the Lord completely, and you must fear him. ¹⁰ Your people living in the cities will bring you cases about killing, about the teachings, commands, rules, or some other law. In all these cases you must warn the people not to sin against the Lord. If you don’t, he will be angry with you and your people. But if you warn them, you won’t be guilty.

¹¹ “Amariah, the leading priest, will be over you in all cases about the Lord. Zebadiah son of Ishmael, a leader in the tribe of Judah, will be over you in all cases about the king. Also, the Levites will serve as officers for you. Have courage. May the Lord be with those who do what is right.”

Jehoshaphat Faces War

20 Later the Moabites, Ammonites, and some Meunites came to start a war with Jehoshaphat. ² Messengers came and told Jehoshaphat, “A large army is coming against you from Edom, from the other side of the Dead Sea. They are already in Hazazon Tamar!” (Hazazon Tamar is also called En Gedi.) ³ Jehoshaphat was afraid, so he decided to ask the Lord what to do. He announced that everyone in Judah should fast during this special time of prayer to God. ⁴ The people of Judah came together to ask the Lord for help; they came from every town in Judah.

⁵ The people of Judah and Jerusalem met in front of the new courtyard in the Temple of the Lord. Then Jehoshaphat stood up, ⁶ and he said, “Lord, God of our ancestors, you are the God in heaven. You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. You have power and strength, so no one can stand against you. ⁷ Our God, you forced out the people who lived in this land as your people Israel moved in. And you gave this land forever to the descendants of your friend Abraham. ⁸ They lived in this land and built a Temple for you. They said, ⁹ ‘If trouble comes upon us, or war, punishment, sickness, or hunger, we will stand before you and before this Temple where you have chosen to be worshiped. We will cry out to you when we are in trouble. Then you will hear and save us.’

¹⁰ “But now here are men from Ammon, Moab, and Edom. You wouldn’t let the Israelites enter their lands when the Israelites came from Egypt. So the Israelites turned away and did not destroy them. ¹¹ But see how they repay us for not destroying them! They have come to force us out of your land, which you gave us as our own. ¹² Our God, punish those people. We have no power against this large army that is attacking us. We don’t know what to do, so we look to you for help.”

¹³ All the men of Judah stood before the Lord with their babies, wives, and children. ¹⁴ Then the Spirit of the Lord entered Jahaziel. (Jahaziel was Zechariah’s son. Zechariah was Benaiah’s son. Benaiah was Jeiel’s son, and Jeiel was Mattaniah’s son.) Jahaziel, a Levite and a descendant of Asaph, stood up in the meeting. ¹⁵ He said, “Listen to me, King Jehoshaphat and all you people living in Judah and Jerusalem. The Lord says this to you: ‘Don’t be afraid or discouraged because of this large army. The battle is not your battle, it is God’s. ¹⁶ Tomorrow go down there and fight those people. They will come up through the Pass of Ziz. You will find them at the end of the ravine that leads to the Desert of Jeruel. ¹⁷ You won’t need to fight in this battle. Just stand strong in your places, and you will see the Lord save you. Judah and Jerusalem, don’t be afraid or discouraged, because the Lord is with you. So go out against those people tomorrow.’”

¹⁸ Jehoshaphat bowed facedown on the ground. All the people of Judah and Jerusalem bowed down before the Lord and worshiped him. ¹⁹ Then some Levites from the Kohathite and Korahite people stood up and praised the Lord, the God of Israel, with very loud voices.

²⁰ Jehoshaphat’s army went out into the Desert of Tekoa early in the morning. As they were starting out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, people of Judah and Jerusalem. Have faith in the Lord your God, and you will stand strong. Have faith in his prophets, and you will succeed.” ²¹ Jehoshaphat listened to the people’s advice. Then he chose men to be singers to the Lord, to praise him because he is holy and wonderful. As they marched in front of the army, they said,

²² As they began to sing and praise God, the Lord set ambushes for the people of Ammon, Moab, and Edom who had come to attack Judah. And they were defeated. ²³ The Ammonites and Moabites attacked the Edomites, destroying them completely. After they had killed the Edomites, they killed each other.

²⁴ When the men from Judah came to a place where they could see the desert, they looked at the enemy’s large army. But they only saw dead bodies lying on the ground; no one had escaped. ²⁵ When Jehoshaphat and his army came to take their valuables, they found many supplies, much clothing, and other valuable things. There was more than they could carry away; there was so much it took three days to gather it all. ²⁶ On the fourth day Jehoshaphat and his army met in the Valley of Beracah and praised the Lord. That is why that place has been called the Valley of Beracah^[b] to this day.

²⁷ Then Jehoshaphat led all the men from Judah and Jerusalem back to Jerusalem. The Lord had made them happy because their enemies were defeated. ²⁸ They entered Jerusalem with harps, lyres, and trumpets and went to the Temple of the Lord.

²⁹ When all the kingdoms of the lands around them heard how the Lord had fought Israel’s enemies, they feared God. ³⁰ So Jehoshaphat’s kingdom was not at war. His God gave him peace from all the countries around him.

Jehoshaphat’s Rule Ends

³¹ Jehoshaphat ruled over the country of Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he ruled in Jerusalem for twenty-five years. His mother’s name was Azubah daughter of Shilhi. ³² Jehoshaphat was good like his father Asa, and he did what the Lord said was right. ³³ But the places where gods were worshiped were not removed, and the people did not really want to follow the God of their ancestors.

³⁴ The other things Jehoshaphat did as king, from the beginning to the end, are written in the records of Jehu son of Hanani, which are in the book of the kings of Israel.

³⁵ Later, Jehoshaphat king of Judah made a treaty with Ahaziah king of Israel, which was a wrong thing to do. ³⁶ Jehoshaphat agreed with Ahaziah to build trading ships, which they built in the town of Ezion Geber. ³⁷ Then Eliezer son of Dodavahu from the town of Mareshah spoke against Jehoshaphat. He said, “Jehoshaphat, because you joined with Ahaziah, the Lord will destroy what you have made.” The ships were wrecked so they could not sail out to trade.

21 Jehoshaphat died and was buried with his ancestors in Jerusalem, the city of David. Then his son Jehoram became king in his place. ² Jehoram’s brothers were Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariahu, Michael, and Shephatiah. They were the sons of Jehoshaphat king of Judah. ³ Jehoshaphat gave his sons many gifts of silver, gold, and valuable things, and he gave them strong, walled cities in Judah. But Jehoshaphat gave the kingdom to Jehoram, because he was the first son.

Jehoram King of Judah

⁴ When Jehoram took control of his father’s kingdom, he killed all his brothers with a sword and also killed some of the leaders of Judah. ⁵ He was thirty-two years old when he began to rule, and he ruled eight years in Jerusalem. ⁶ He followed in the ways of the kings of Israel, just as the family of Ahab had done, because he married Ahab’s daughter. Jehoram did what the Lord said was wrong. ⁷ But the Lord would not destroy David’s family because of the agreement he had made with David. He had promised that one of David’s descendants would always rule.

⁸ In Jehoram’s time, Edom broke away from Judah’s rule and chose their own king. ⁹ So Jehoram went to Edom with all his commanders and chariots. The Edomites surrounded him and his chariot commanders, but Jehoram got up and attacked the Edomites at night. ¹⁰ From then until now the country of Edom has fought against the rule of Judah. At the same time the people of Libnah also broke away from Jehoram because Jehoram left the Lord, the God of his ancestors.

¹¹ Jehoram also built places to worship gods on the hills in Judah. He led the people of Jerusalem to sin, and he led the people of Judah away from the Lord. ¹² Then Jehoram received this letter from Elijah the prophet:

¹⁶ The Lord caused the Philistines and the Arabs who lived near the Cushites to be angry with Jehoram. ¹⁷ So the Philistines and Arabs attacked Judah and carried away all the wealth of Jehoram’s palace, as well as his sons and wives. Only Jehoram’s youngest son, Ahaziah, was left.

¹⁸ After these things happened, the Lord gave Jehoram a disease in his intestines that could not be cured. ¹⁹ After he was sick for two years, Jehoram’s intestines came out because of the disease, and he died in terrible pain. The people did not make a fire to honor Jehoram as they had done for his ancestors.

²⁰ Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he ruled eight years in Jerusalem. No one was sad when he died. He was buried in Jerusalem, but not in the graves for the kings.

Ahaziah King of Judah

22 The people of Jerusalem chose Ahaziah, Jehoram’s youngest son, to be king in his place. The robbers who had come with the Arabs to attack Jehoram’s camp had killed all of Jehoram’s older sons. So Ahaziah began to rule Judah. ² Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he ruled one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Athaliah, a granddaughter of Omri. ³ Ahaziah followed the ways of Ahab’s family, because his mother encouraged him to do wrong. ⁴ Ahaziah did what the Lord said was wrong, as Ahab’s family had done. They gave advice to Ahaziah after his father died, and their bad advice led to his death. ⁵ Following their advice, Ahaziah went with Joram son of Ahab to Ramoth in Gilead, where they fought against Hazael king of Aram. The Arameans wounded Joram. ⁶ So Joram returned to Jezreel to heal from the wounds he received at Ramoth when he fought Hazael king of Aram.

Ahaziah son of Jehoram and king of Judah went down to visit Joram son of Ahab at Jezreel because he had been wounded.

⁷ God caused Ahaziah’s death when he went to visit Joram. Ahaziah arrived and went out with Joram to meet Jehu son of Nimshi, whom the Lord had appointed to destroy Ahab’s family. ⁸ While Jehu was punishing Ahab’s family, he found the leaders of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah’s relatives who served Ahaziah, and Jehu killed them all. ⁹ Then Jehu looked for Ahaziah. Jehu’s men caught him hiding in Samaria, so they brought him to Jehu. Then they killed and buried him. They said, “Ahaziah is a descendant of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat obeyed the Lord with all his heart.” No one in Ahaziah’s family had the power to take control of the kingdom of Judah.

Athaliah and Joash

¹⁰ When Ahaziah’s mother, Athaliah, saw that her son was dead, she killed all the royal family in Judah. ¹¹ But Jehosheba, King Jehoram’s daughter, took Joash, Ahaziah’s son. She stole him from among the other sons of the king who were going to be murdered and put him and his nurse in a bedroom. So Jehosheba, who was King Jehoram’s daughter and Ahaziah’s sister and the wife of Jehoiada the priest, hid Joash so Athaliah could not kill him. ¹² He hid with them in the Temple of God for six years. During that time Athaliah ruled the land.

23 In the seventh year Jehoiada decided to do something. He made an agreement with the commanders of the groups of a hundred men: Azariah son of Jeroham, Ishmael son of Jehohanan, Azariah son of Obed, Maaseiah son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat son of Zicri. ² They went around in Judah and gathered the Levites from all the towns, and they gathered the leaders of the families of Judah. Then they went to Jerusalem. ³ All the people together made an agreement with the king in the Temple of God.

Jehoiada said to them, “The king’s son will rule, as the Lord promised about David’s descendants. ⁴ Now this is what you must do: You priests and Levites go on duty on the Sabbath. A third of you will guard the doors. ⁵ A third of you will be at the king’s palace, and a third of you will be at the Foundation Gate. All the other people will stay in the courtyards of the Temple of the Lord. ⁶ Don’t let anyone come into the Temple of the Lord except the priests and Levites who serve. They may come because they have been made ready to serve the Lord, but all the others must do the job the Lord has given them. ⁷ The Levites must stay near the king, each man with his weapon in his hand. If anyone tries to enter the Temple, kill him. Stay close to the king when he goes in and when he goes out.”

Joash Becomes King

⁸ The Levites and all the people of Judah obeyed everything Jehoiada the priest had commanded. He did not excuse anyone from the groups of the priests. So each commander took his men who came on duty on the Sabbath with those who went off duty on the Sabbath. ⁹ Jehoiada gave the commanders of a hundred men the spears and the large and small shields that had belonged to King David and that were kept in the Temple of God. ¹⁰ Then Jehoiada told the soldiers where to stand with weapon in hand. There were guards from the south side of the Temple to the north side. They stood by the altar and the Temple and around the king.

¹¹ Jehoiada and his sons brought out the king’s son and put the crown on him and gave him a copy of the agreement. Then they appointed him king and poured olive oil on him and shouted, “Long live the king!”

¹² When Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and praising the king, she went to them at the Temple of the Lord. ¹³ She looked, and there was the king standing by his pillar at the entrance. The officers and the trumpeters were standing beside him, and all the people of the land were happy and blowing trumpets. The singers were playing musical instruments and leading praises. Then Athaliah tore her clothes and screamed, “Traitors! Traitors!”

¹⁴ Jehoiada the priest sent out the commanders of a hundred men, who led the army. He said, “Surround her with soldiers and take her out of the Temple area. Kill with a sword anyone who follows her.” He had said, “Don’t put Athaliah to death in the Temple of the Lord.” ¹⁵ So they caught her when she came to the entrance of the Horse Gate near the palace. There they put her to death.