The Daily Audio Bible
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Jehoshaphat Reigns over Judah
17 (A)Jehoshaphat his son then became king in his place, and strengthened himself over Israel. 2 And he put military forces in all (B)the fortified cities of Judah, and put garrisons in the land of Judah and in the cities of Ephraim (C)which Asa his father had captured.
Jehoshaphat’s Kingdom Established
3 And Yahweh was with Jehoshaphat because he walked in the ways of his father David’s earlier days and did not seek the Baals, 4 but sought the God of his father, walked in His commandments, (D)and did not act as Israel did. 5 So Yahweh established the kingdom in his hand, and all Judah brought presents to Jehoshaphat, and (E)he had great riches and honor. 6 And [a]his heart took great pride in the ways of Yahweh, and again he (F)took away the high places and the [b]Asherim from Judah.
7 Then in the third year of his reign he sent his officials, Ben-hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel and Micaiah, (G)to teach in the cities of Judah; 8 and with them (H)the Levites, Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tobadonijah, the Levites; and with them Elishama and Jehoram, the priests. 9 And they taught in Judah, having (I)the book of the law of Yahweh with them; and they went throughout all the cities of Judah and taught among the people.
10 Now (J)the dread of Yahweh was on all the kingdoms of the lands which were around Judah, so that they did not make war against Jehoshaphat. 11 Indeed, some of the Philistines (K)brought presents and silver as their tax burden to Jehoshaphat; the Arabians also brought him flocks, 7,700 rams and 7,700 male goats. 12 So Jehoshaphat grew greater and greater, and he built fortresses and store cities in Judah. 13 And he had large supplies in the cities of Judah, and men of war, mighty men of valor, in Jerusalem. 14 This was their muster according to their fathers’ households:
of Judah, commanders of thousands, Adnah was the commander, and with him 300,000 mighty men of valor;
15 and next to him was Johanan the commander, and with him 280,000;
16 and next to him Amasiah the son of Zichri, (L)who volunteered for Yahweh, and with him 200,000 mighty men of valor;
17 and of Benjamin, Eliada a mighty man of valor, and with him 200,000 equipped with bow and shield;
18 and next to him Jehozabad, and with him 180,000 armed for military duty.
19 These are they who attended on the king, apart from (M)those whom the king put in the fortified cities through all Judah.
Jehoshaphat Allies with Ahab
18 Now (N)Jehoshaphat had riches and honor in abundance; and he allied himself by marriage with Ahab. 2 (O)And some years later he went down to Ahab at Samaria. And Ahab sacrificed sheep and oxen in abundance for him and the people who were with him, and incited him to go up against Ramoth-gilead. 3 And Ahab king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, “Will you go with me against Ramoth-gilead?” And he said to him, “I am as you are, and my people as your people, and we will be with you in the battle.”
4 Moreover, Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Please inquire [c]first for the word of Yahweh.” 5 Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets, four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall we go against Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I refrain?” And they said, “Go up, for God will give it into the hand of the king.” 6 But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not yet a prophet of Yahweh here that we may inquire of him?” 7 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of Yahweh, but I hate him, because he never prophesies good concerning me but always evil. He is Micaiah, son of Imla.” But Jehoshaphat said, “Let not the king say so.”
Micaiah Prophesies Against Ahab
8 Then the king of Israel called an officer and said, “Hasten to bring Micaiah son of Imla.” 9 Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah were sitting each on his throne, clothed in their royal garments, and they were sitting (P)at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets were prophesying before them. 10 And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made horns of iron for himself and said, “Thus says Yahweh, ‘With these you shall gore the Arameans until they are consumed.’” 11 All the prophets were also prophesying thus, saying, “Go up to Ramoth-gilead and succeed, and Yahweh will give it into the hand of the king.”
12 Now the messenger who went to summon Micaiah spoke to him saying, “Behold, the words of the prophets, as if from one mouth, are good to the king. So please let your word be like one of them and speak that which is good.” 13 But Micaiah said, “As Yahweh lives, (Q)what my God says, that I shall speak.”
14 Then he came to the king, and the king said to him, “Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I refrain?” And he said, “Go up and succeed, and they will be given into your hand.” 15 Then the king said to him, “How many times must I make you swear to speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of Yahweh?” 16 So he said,
“I saw all Israel
Scattered on the mountains,
(R)Like sheep which have no shepherd;
And Yahweh said,
‘These have no master.
Let each of them return to his house in peace.’”
17 So the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not say to you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?”
18 Then Micaiah said, “Therefore, hear the word of Yahweh. (S)I saw Yahweh sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing on His right and on His left. 19 And Yahweh said, ‘Who will entice Ahab king of Israel so that he will go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one said this while another said that. 20 Then a (T)spirit came forward and stood before Yahweh and said, ‘I will entice him.’ And Yahweh said to him, ‘How?’ 21 And he said, ‘I will go out and be (U)a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ Then He said, ‘You shall entice him and also prevail. Go out and do so.’ 22 So now, behold, (V)Yahweh has put a lying spirit in the mouth of these your prophets, but Yahweh has spoken calamity against you.”
23 Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah approached and (W)struck Micaiah on the cheek and said, “[d]How did the Spirit of Yahweh pass from me to speak to you?” 24 And Micaiah said, “Behold, you will see on that day when you enter an inner room to hide.” 25 Then the king of Israel said, “(X)Take Micaiah and return him to Amon (Y)the ruler of the city and to Joash the king’s son; 26 and say, ‘Thus says the king, “(Z)Put this man in prison and feed him [e]sparingly with bread and water until I return safely.”’” 27 And Micaiah said, “If you indeed return safely, Yahweh has not spoken by me.” And he said, “(AA)Listen, all you people.”
The Death of Ahab
28 So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up against Ramoth-gilead. 29 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you put on your garments.” So the king of Israel disguised himself, and they went into battle. 30 Now the king of Aram had commanded the commanders of his chariots, saying, “Do not fight with small or great, but with the king of Israel alone.” 31 Now it happened that when the commanders of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, “It is the king of Israel,” and they turned to fight against him. But Jehoshaphat (AB)cried out, and Yahweh helped him, and God incited them away from him. 32 So it happened that when the commanders of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him. 33 Now a certain man drew his bow at random and struck the king of Israel [f]in a joint of the armor. So he said to the driver of the chariot, “Turn [g]around and take me out of the [h]fight, for I am severely wounded.” 34 Now the battle raged that day, and the king of Israel propped himself up in his chariot in front of the Arameans until the evening; and at sunset he died.
25 As He says also in Hosea,
“(A)I will call those who were not My people, ‘My people,’
And her who was not beloved, ‘beloved.’”
26 “(B)And it shall be that in the place where it was said to them, ‘you are not My people,’
There they shall be called sons of (C)the living God.”
27 And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, “(D)Though the number of the sons of Israel be (E)like the sand of the sea, it is (F)the remnant that will be saved; 28 (G)for the Lord will execute His word on the land, [a]thoroughly and [b]quickly.” 29 And just as Isaiah foretold,
“(H)Unless (I)the Lord of [c]Sabaoth had left to us a seed,
(J)We would have become like Sodom, and would have [d]resembled Gomorrah.”
30 (K)What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, laid hold of righteousness, even (L)the righteousness which is [e]by faith; 31 but Israel, (M)pursuing a law of righteousness, did not (N)attain that law. 32 Why? Because they did not pursue it [f]by faith, but as though it were [g]by works. They stumbled over (O)the stumbling stone, 33 just as it is written,
“(P)Behold, I am laying in Zion (Q)a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense,
(R)And the one who believes upon Him (S)will not be put to shame.”
10 Brothers, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation. 2 For I testify about them that they have (T)a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For not knowing about the (U)righteousness of God and (V)seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. 4 For (W)Christ is the [h]end of the law for righteousness to (X)everyone who believes.
Faith Comes by Hearing
5 For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of law: “(Y)The man who does these things shall live by them.” 6 But (Z)the righteousness of faith speaks in this way: “(AA)Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will go up into heaven?’ (that is, to bring Christ down), 7 or ‘Who will go down into the (AB)abyss?’ (that is, to (AC)bring Christ up from the dead).” 8 But what does it say? “(AD)The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, 9 [i]that (AE)if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and (AF)believe in your heart that (AG)God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, [j]leading to righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, [k]leading to salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “(AH)Whoever believes upon Him will not be put to shame.” 12 For (AI)there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord is (AJ)Lord of (AK)all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him, 13 for “(AL)Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
We Will Boast in the Name of Yahweh
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
20 May Yahweh answer you (A)in the day of distress!
May the (B)name of the (C)God of Jacob set you securely on high!
2 May He send you help (D)from the sanctuary
And (E)uphold you from Zion!
3 May He (F)remember all your meal offerings
And (G)find your burnt offering [a]acceptable! [b]Selah.
4 May He grant you your (H)heart’s desire
And (I)fulfill all your [c]counsel!
5 [d]We will (J)sing for joy over your salvation,
And in the name of our God we will (K)set up our banners.
May Yahweh (L)fulfill all your petitions.
6 Now (M)I know that Yahweh saves His anointed;
He will (N)answer him from His holy heaven
With the [e](O)saving might of His right hand.
7 Some boast in chariots and some in (P)horses,
But (Q)we will [f]boast in the name of Yahweh, our God.
8 They have (R)bowed down and fallen,
But we have (S)risen and stood upright.
9 [g](T)Save, O Yahweh;
May the (U)King answer us in the day we call.
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