Historical
15 God’s Spirit came upon Azariah son of Oded. 2 He met[a] Asa and told him, “Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin! The Lord is with you when you are loyal to him.[b] If you seek him, he will respond to you,[c] but if you reject him, he will reject you. 3 For a long time[d] Israel had not sought the one true God, or a priest to instruct them, or the law. 4 Because of their distress, they turned back to the Lord God of Israel. They sought him and he responded to them.[e] 5 In those days[f] no one could travel safely,[g] for total chaos had overtaken all the people of the surrounding lands.[h] 6 One nation was crushed by another, and one city by another, for God caused them to be in great turmoil.[i] 7 But as for you, be strong and don’t get discouraged,[j] for your work will be rewarded.”[k]
8 When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he was encouraged.[l] He removed the detestable idols from the entire land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities he had seized in the Ephraimite hill country. He repaired the altar of the Lord in front of the porch of the Lord’s temple.[m]
9 He assembled all Judah and Benjamin, as well as the settlers[n] from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who had come to live with them. Many people from Israel had come there to live[o] when they saw that the Lord his God was with him. 10 They assembled in Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign. 11 At that time[p] they sacrificed to the Lord some of the plunder they had brought back, including 700 head of cattle and 7,000 sheep.[q] 12 They solemnly agreed[r] to seek the Lord God of their ancestors[s] with their whole heart and being. 13 Anyone who would not seek the Lord God of Israel would be executed, whether they were young or old,[t] male or female. 14 They swore their allegiance to the Lord, shouting their approval loudly and sounding trumpets and horns.[u] 15 All Judah was happy about the oath, because they made the vow with their whole heart. They willingly sought the Lord and he responded to them.[v] He made them secure on every side.[w]
16 King Asa also removed Maacah his grandmother[x] from her position as queen mother[y] because she had made a loathsome Asherah pole. Asa cut down her loathsome pole and crushed and burned it in the Kidron Valley. 17 The high places were not eliminated from Israel, yet Asa was wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord throughout his lifetime.[z] 18 He brought the holy items that his father and he had made into God’s temple, including the silver, gold, and other articles.[aa]
Asa’s Failures
19 There was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign. 16 1 In the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign, King Baasha of Israel attacked Judah, and he established Ramah as a military outpost to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the land of King Asa of Judah.[ab] 2 Asa took all the silver and gold that was left in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and of the royal palace and sent it to King Ben Hadad of Syria, ruler in Damascus, along with this message: 3 “I want to make a treaty with you, like the one our fathers made.[ac] See, I have sent you silver and gold. Break your treaty with King Baasha of Israel, so he will retreat from my land.”[ad] 4 Ben Hadad accepted King Asa’s offer and ordered his army commanders to attack the cities of Israel.[ae] They conquered[af] Ijon, Dan, Abel Maim,[ag] and all the storage cities of Naphtali. 5 When Baasha heard the news, he stopped fortifying[ah] Ramah and abandoned the project.[ai] 6 King Asa ordered all the men of Judah to carry away the stones and wood that Baasha had used to build Ramah.[aj] He used the materials to build up[ak] Geba and Mizpah.
7 At that time Hanani the prophet[al] visited King Asa of Judah and said to him: “Because you relied on the king of Syria and did not rely on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Syria has escaped from your hand. 8 Did not the Cushites and Libyans have a huge army with chariots and a very large number of horsemen? But when you relied on the Lord, he handed them over to you! 9 Certainly[am] the Lord watches the whole earth carefully[an] and is ready to strengthen those who are devoted to him.[ao] You have acted foolishly in this matter; from now on you will have war.” 10 Asa was so angry at the prophet, he put him in jail.[ap] Asa also oppressed some of the people at that time.
Asa’s Reign Ends
11 The events of Asa’s reign, from start to finish, are recorded in the Scroll of the Kings of Judah and Israel.[aq] 12 In the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa developed a foot disease and his disease became severe. Yet even in his disease, he did not seek the Lord, but only the doctors. 13 Asa passed away[ar] in the forty-first year of his reign. 14 He was buried in the tomb he had carved out in the City of David.[as] They laid him to rest on a platform[at] covered with spices and assorted mixtures of ointments. They made a huge bonfire to honor him.[au]
Jehoshaphat Becomes King
17 His son Jehoshaphat replaced him as king and solidified his rule over Israel.[av] 2 He placed troops in all Judah’s fortified cities and posted garrisons[aw] throughout the land of Judah and in the cities of Ephraim that his father Asa had seized.
3 The Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he followed in his ancestor[ax] David’s footsteps at the beginning of his reign.[ay] He did not seek the Baals, 4 but instead sought the God of his ancestors[az] and obeyed[ba] his commands, unlike the Israelites.[bb] 5 The Lord made his kingdom secure;[bc] all Judah brought tribute to Jehoshaphat, and he became very wealthy and greatly respected.[bd] 6 He was committed to following the Lord;[be] he even removed the high places and Asherah poles from Judah.
7 In the third year of his reign he sent his officials Ben Hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah to teach in the cities of Judah. 8 They were accompanied by the Levites Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tob-Adonijah, and by the priests Elishama and Jehoram. 9 They taught throughout Judah, taking with them the scroll of the law of the Lord. They traveled to all the cities of Judah and taught the people.
10 The Lord put fear into all the kingdoms surrounding Judah;[bf] they did not make war with Jehoshaphat. 11 Some of the Philistines brought Jehoshaphat tribute, including a load of silver. The Arabs brought him 7,700 rams and 7,700 goats from their flocks.
12 Jehoshaphat’s power kept increasing. He built fortresses and storage cities throughout Judah. 13 He had many supplies stored in the cities of Judah and an army of skilled warriors stationed in Jerusalem.[bg] 14 These were their divisions by families:
There were 1,000 officers from Judah.[bh] Adnah the commander led 300,000 skilled warriors, 15 Jehochanan the commander led 280,000, 16 and Amasiah son of Zikri, who volunteered to serve the Lord, led 200,000 skilled warriors.
17 From Benjamin, Eliada, a skilled warrior, led 200,000 men who were equipped with bows and shields, 18 and Jehozabad led 180,000 trained warriors.
19 These were the ones who served the king, besides those whom the king placed in the fortified cities throughout Judah.
Jehoshaphat Allies with Ahab
18 Jehoshaphat was very wealthy and greatly respected. He made an alliance by marriage with Ahab, 2 and after several years[bi] went down to visit[bj] Ahab in Samaria. Ahab slaughtered many sheep and cattle to honor Jehoshaphat and those who came with him.[bk] He persuaded him to join in an attack[bl] against Ramoth Gilead. 3 King Ahab of Israel said to King Jehoshaphat of Judah, “Will you go with me to attack Ramoth Gilead?” He replied, “I will support you; my army is at your disposal and will support you in battle.”[bm] 4 Then Jehoshaphat said further to the king of Israel,[bn] “First,[bo] please seek an oracle from the Lord.”[bp] 5 So the king of Israel assembled 400 prophets and asked them, “Should we attack Ramoth Gilead or not?”[bq] They said, “Attack! God[br] will hand it over to the king.” 6 But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there not a prophet of the Lord still here, that we may ask him?” 7 The king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man through whom we can seek the Lord’s will,[bs] but I despise[bt] him because he does not prophesy prosperity for me, but always[bu] disaster—Micaiah son of Imlah.” Jehoshaphat said, “The king should not say such things!” 8 The king of Israel summoned an officer and said, “Quickly bring Micaiah son of Imlah.”
9 Now the king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah were sitting on their respective thrones, dressed in their royal robes, at the threshing floor at[bv] the entrance of the gate of Samaria. All the prophets were prophesying before them. 10 Zedekiah son of Kenaanah made iron horns and said, “This is what the Lord says, ‘With these you will gore Syria until they are destroyed.’” 11 All the prophets were prophesying the same, saying, “Attack Ramoth Gilead! You will succeed; the Lord will hand it over to the king.” 12 Now the messenger who went to summon Micaiah said to him, “Look, the prophets are in complete agreement that the king will succeed.[bw] Your words must agree with theirs; you must predict success!”[bx] 13 But Micaiah said, “As certainly as the Lord lives, I will say what my God tells me to say!”
14 Micaiah[by] came before the king and the king asked him, “Micaiah, should we attack Ramoth Gilead or not?” He answered him, “Attack! You will succeed; they will be handed over to you.”[bz] 15 The king said to him, “How many times must I make you solemnly promise in[ca] the name of the Lord to tell me only the truth?” 16 Micaiah[cb] replied, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains like sheep that have no shepherd. Then the Lord said, ‘They have no master. They should go home in peace.’” 17 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Didn’t I tell you he does not prophesy prosperity for me, but disaster?” 18 Micaiah[cc] said, “That being the case, listen to the Lord’s message. I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, with all the heavenly assembly standing on his right and on his left. 19 The Lord said, ‘Who will deceive King Ahab of Israel, so he will attack Ramoth Gilead and die there?’ One said this and another that. 20 Then a spirit[cd] stepped forward and stood before the Lord. He said, ‘I will deceive him.’ The Lord asked him, ‘How?’ 21 He replied, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets.’ The Lord[ce] said, ‘Deceive and overpower him.[cf] Go out and do as you have proposed.’ 22 So now, look, the Lord has placed a lying spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours, but the Lord has decreed disaster for you.” 23 Zedekiah son of Kenaanah approached, hit Micaiah on the jaw, and said, “Which way did the Lord’s Spirit go when he went from me to speak to you?” 24 Micaiah replied, “Look, you will see in the day when you go into an inner room to hide.” 25 Then the king of Israel said, “Take Micaiah and return him to Amon the city official and Joash the king’s son. 26 Say, ‘This is what the king says: “Put this man in prison. Give him only a little bread and water[cg] until I return safely.”’” 27 Micaiah said, “If you really do return safely, then the Lord has not spoken through me!” Then he added, “Take note,[ch] all you people.”
28 The king of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah attacked Ramoth Gilead. 29 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself and then enter[ci] the battle, but you wear your royal attire.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and they entered the battle. 30 Now the king of Syria had ordered his chariot commanders, “Do not fight common soldiers or high ranking officers;[cj] fight only the king of Israel!” 31 When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they said, “He must be the king of Israel!” So they turned and attacked him, but Jehoshaphat cried out. The Lord helped him; God lured them away from him. 32 When the chariot commanders realized he was not the king of Israel, they turned away from him. 33 Now an archer shot an arrow at random,[ck] and it struck the king of Israel between the plates of his armor. The king[cl] ordered his charioteer, “Turn around and take me from the battle line,[cm] for I am wounded.” 34 While the battle raged throughout the day, the king of Israel stood propped up in his chariot opposite the Syrians. He died in the evening as the sun was setting.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 15:2 tn Heb “went out before.”
- 2 Chronicles 15:2 tn Heb “when you are with him.”
- 2 Chronicles 15:2 tn Heb “he will allow himself to be found by you.”
- 2 Chronicles 15:3 tn Heb “Many days.”
- 2 Chronicles 15:4 tn Heb “and he allowed himself to be found by them.”
- 2 Chronicles 15:5 tn Heb “times.”
- 2 Chronicles 15:5 tn Heb “there was no peace for the one going out or the one coming in.”
- 2 Chronicles 15:5 tn Heb “for great confusion was upon all the inhabitants of the lands.”
- 2 Chronicles 15:6 tn Heb “threw them into confusion with all distress.”
- 2 Chronicles 15:7 tn Heb “and let not your hands drop.”
- 2 Chronicles 15:7 tn Heb “for there is payment for your work.”
- 2 Chronicles 15:8 tn Heb “strengthened himself.”
- 2 Chronicles 15:8 tn Heb “the porch of the Lord.”
- 2 Chronicles 15:9 tn Or “foreign residents.”
- 2 Chronicles 15:9 tn Heb “had fallen upon him.”
- 2 Chronicles 15:11 tn Or “In that day.”
- 2 Chronicles 15:11 tn The Hebrew term צֹאן (tsoʾn) denotes smaller livestock in general; depending on context it can refer to sheep only or goats only, but their is nothing in the immediate context here to specify one or the other.
- 2 Chronicles 15:12 tn Heb “entered into a covenant.”
- 2 Chronicles 15:12 tn Heb “fathers.”
- 2 Chronicles 15:13 tn Heb “whether small or great.”
- 2 Chronicles 15:14 tn Heb “with a loud voice and with a shout of joy and with trumpets and with horns.”
- 2 Chronicles 15:15 tn Heb “and with all their desire they sought him and he allowed himself to be found by them.”
- 2 Chronicles 15:15 tn Heb “and the Lord gave them rest all around.”
- 2 Chronicles 15:16 tn Heb “mother,” but Hebrew often uses “father” and “mother” for grandparents and even more remote ancestors.
- 2 Chronicles 15:16 tn The Hebrew term גְּבִירָה (gevirah) can denote “queen” or “queen mother” depending on the context. Here the latter is indicated, since Maacah was the wife of Rehoboam and mother of Abijah.
- 2 Chronicles 15:17 tn Heb “yet the heart of Asa was complete all his days.”
- 2 Chronicles 15:18 tn Heb “and he brought the holy things of his father and his holy things [into] the house of God, silver, gold, and items.”
- 2 Chronicles 16:1 tn Heb “and he built up Ramah so as to not permit going out or coming in to Asa king of Judah.”
- 2 Chronicles 16:3 tn Heb “[May there be] a covenant between me and you [as there was] between my father and your father.”
- 2 Chronicles 16:3 tn Heb “so he will go up from upon me.”
- 2 Chronicles 16:4 tn Heb “and Ben Hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of the armies which belonged to him against the cities of Israel.”
- 2 Chronicles 16:4 tn Heb “They struck down.”
- 2 Chronicles 16:4 sn In the parallel passage in 1 Kgs 15:20, this city’s name appears as Abel Beth Maacah. These appear to be variant names for the same place.
- 2 Chronicles 16:5 tn Heb “building.”
- 2 Chronicles 16:5 tn Heb “and he caused his work to cease.”
- 2 Chronicles 16:6 tn Heb “and King Asa took all Judah and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its wood which Baasha had built.”
- 2 Chronicles 16:6 tn Heb “and he built with them.”
- 2 Chronicles 16:7 tn Heb “the seer.”
- 2 Chronicles 16:9 tn Or “for.”
- 2 Chronicles 16:9 tn Heb “the eyes of the Lord move quickly through all the earth.”
- 2 Chronicles 16:9 tn Heb “to strengthen himself with their heart, [the one] complete toward him.”
- 2 Chronicles 16:10 tn Heb “and Asa was angry at the seer, and he put him [in] the house of stocks, because of his rage with him over this.”
- 2 Chronicles 16:11 tn Heb “Look, the events of Asa, the former and the latter, look, they are written on the scroll of the kings of Judah and Israel.”
- 2 Chronicles 16:13 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers, and he died.”
- 2 Chronicles 16:14 sn The phrase the City of David refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7.
- 2 Chronicles 16:14 tn The Hebrew term מִשְׁכָּב (mishkav) most often refers to a bed. In this setting it was most likely a raised platform within the tomb where the body was laid to rest, technically similar to a bier.
- 2 Chronicles 16:14 tn Heb “and they burned for him a large fire, very great.”
- 2 Chronicles 17:1 tn Heb “and strengthened himself over Israel.”
- 2 Chronicles 17:2 tn Or perhaps, “governors.”
- 2 Chronicles 17:3 tn Heb “father.”
- 2 Chronicles 17:3 tn Heb “for he walked in the ways of David his father [in] the beginning [times].”
- 2 Chronicles 17:4 tn Heb “fathers.”
- 2 Chronicles 17:4 tn Heb “walked in.”
- 2 Chronicles 17:4 tn Heb “and not like the behavior of Israel.”
- 2 Chronicles 17:5 tn Heb “established the kingdom in his hand.”
- 2 Chronicles 17:5 tn Heb “and he had wealth and honor in abundance.”
- 2 Chronicles 17:6 tn Heb “and his heart was high in the ways of the Lord.” Perhaps גָּבַהּ (gavah, “be high”) here means “be cheerful” (HALOT 171 s.v.) or “be encouraged” (BDB 147 s.v. 3.a).
- 2 Chronicles 17:10 tn Heb “and the terror of the Lord was upon all the kingdoms of the lands which were surrounding Judah.”
- 2 Chronicles 17:13 tn Heb “and many supplies were his in the cities of Judah, and men of war, warriors of skill in Jerusalem.”
- 2 Chronicles 17:14 tn Or perhaps “from Judah, commanders of the thousands.”
- 2 Chronicles 18:2 tn Heb “at the end of years.”
- 2 Chronicles 18:2 tn The word “visit” is supplied in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
- 2 Chronicles 18:2 tn Heb “and Ahab slaughtered for him sheep and cattle in abundance, and for the people who were with him.”
- 2 Chronicles 18:2 tn Heb “to go up.”
- 2 Chronicles 18:3 tn Heb “Like me, like you; and like your people, my people; and with you in battle.”
- 2 Chronicles 18:4 tn The word “further” has been added on the basis that this is a second speech act. The narrator uses the title “king of Israel” to convey a sense of formality.
- 2 Chronicles 18:4 tn Or “even today,” “right away.”
- 2 Chronicles 18:4 tn Heb “inquire for the Lord’s message.” Jehoshaphat is requesting a prophetic oracle revealing the Lord’s will in the matter and their prospects for success. For examples of such oracles, see 2 Sam 5:19, 23-24.
- 2 Chronicles 18:5 tn Heb “Should we go against Ramoth Gilead for war or should I refrain?”
- 2 Chronicles 18:5 tn Though Jehoshaphat had requested an oracle from “the Lord” (יְהוָה, yehvah, “Yahweh”), the Israelite prophets stop short of actually using this name and substitute the title הָאֱלֹהִים (haʾelohim, “the God”). This ambiguity may explain in part Jehoshaphat’s hesitancy and caution (vv. 7-8). He seems to doubt that the 400 are genuine prophets of the Lord.
- 2 Chronicles 18:7 tn Heb “to seek the Lord from him.”
- 2 Chronicles 18:7 tn Or “hate.”
- 2 Chronicles 18:7 tn Heb “all his days.”
- 2 Chronicles 18:9 tn Heb “at,” which in this case probably means “near.”
- 2 Chronicles 18:12 tn Heb “the words of the prophets are [with] one mouth good for the king.”
- 2 Chronicles 18:12 tn Heb “let your words be like one of them and speak good.”
- 2 Chronicles 18:14 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Micaiah) has been specified in the translation both for clarity and for stylistic reasons.
- 2 Chronicles 18:14 sn One does not expect Micaiah, having just vowed to speak only what the Lord tells him, to agree with the other prophets and give the king an inaccurate prophecy. Micaiah’s actions became understandable later, when we discover that the Lord desires to deceive the king and lead him to his demise. The Lord even dispatches a lying spirit to deceive Ahab’s prophets. Micaiah can lie to the king because he realizes this lie is from the Lord. It is important to note that in v. 13 Micaiah only vows to speak the word of his God; he does not necessarily say he will tell the truth. In this case the Lord’s word is deliberately deceptive. Only when the king adjures him to tell the truth (v. 15), does Micaiah do so.
- 2 Chronicles 18:15 tn Or “swear an oath by.”
- 2 Chronicles 18:16 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Micaiah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- 2 Chronicles 18:18 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Micaiah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- 2 Chronicles 18:20 tn Heb “the spirit.” The significance of the article prefixed to רוּחַ (ruakh) is uncertain, but it could contain a clue as to this spirit’s identity, especially when interpreted in light of verse 23. It is certainly possible, and probably even likely, that the article is used in a generic or dramatic sense and should be translated, “a spirit.” In the latter case it would show that this spirit was vivid and definite in the mind of Micaiah the storyteller. However, if one insists that the article indicates a well-known or universally known spirit, the following context provides a likely referent. Verse 23 tells how Zedekiah slapped Micaiah in the face and then asked sarcastically, “Which way did the spirit from the Lord (רוּחַ־יְהוָה, ruakh yehvah) go when he went from me to speak to you?” When the phrase “the spirit of the Lord” refers to the divine spirit (rather than the divine breath or mind, as in Isa 40:7, 13) elsewhere, the spirit energizes an individual or group for special tasks or moves one to prophesy. This raises the possibility that the deceiving spirit of vv. 20-22 is the same as the divine spirit mentioned by Zedekiah in v. 23. This would explain why the article is used on רוּחַ (ruakh); he can be called “the spirit” because he is the well-known spirit who energizes the prophets.
- 2 Chronicles 18:21 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- 2 Chronicles 18:21 tn The Hebrew text has two imperfects connected by וְגַם (vegam). These verbs could be translated as specific futures, “you will deceive and also you will prevail,” in which case the Lord is assuring the spirit of success on his mission. However, in a commissioning context (note the following imperatives) such as this, it is more likely that the imperfects are injunctive, in which case one could translate, “Deceive, and also overpower.”
- 2 Chronicles 18:26 tn Heb “the bread of affliction and the water of affliction.”
- 2 Chronicles 18:27 tn Heb “Listen.”
- 2 Chronicles 18:29 tn The Hebrew verbal forms could be imperatives (“Disguise yourself and enter”), but this would make no sense in light of the immediately following context. The forms are better interpreted as infinitives absolute functioning as cohortatives (see IBHS 594 §35.5.2a). Some prefer to emend the forms to imperfects.
- 2 Chronicles 18:30 tn Heb “small or great.”
- 2 Chronicles 18:33 tn Heb “now a man drew a bow in his innocence” (i.e., with no specific target in mind, or at least without realizing his target was the king of Israel).
- 2 Chronicles 18:33 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- 2 Chronicles 18:33 tn Heb “camp.”
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