Then Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, "Seek {first of all} the word of Yahweh."

But Jehoshaphat asked, “Isn’t there a prophet of Yahweh here anymore? Let’s ask him.”

Then the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "[There is] yet one man by whom to seek Yahweh, but I hate him, because he never prophesies good concerning me, but {always} disaster. He [is] Micaiah the son of Imlah." Then Jehoshaphat said, "Let not the king say thus."

And Zedekiah the son of Kenaanah made for himself horns of iron, and he said, "Thus says Yahweh: 'With these you will gore Aram to their destruction.'"

And all the prophets prophesied thus, saying, "Go up to Ramoth-Gilead and triumph! Yahweh will give it into the hand of the king."

But Micaiah said, "As Yahweh lives, only what my God has said, that will I speak."

But the king said to him, "How many times shall I make you swear that you speak nothing except the truth in the name of Yahweh?"

Then he said, "I saw all Israel scattered upon the mountains like sheep that had no shepherd. And Yahweh said, 'These have no masters; let them return to his own house in peace.'"

Then Micaiah said, "Therefore hear the word of Yahweh: I saw Yahweh sitting upon his throne with all the host of heaven standing on his right and on his left.

And Yahweh said, 'Who will entice Ahab the king of Israel that he would go up and fall at Ramoth-Gilead?' And one said this, and another said that.

Then a spirit came forth and stood before Yahweh and said, 'I will entice him.' Then Yahweh said to him, 'By what means?'

So now, behold, Yahweh has put a spirit of deception into the mouths of these your prophets. Yahweh has spoken disaster against you."

Then Zedekiah the son of Kenaanah came near and struck Micaiah on the cheek and said, "{Which way} did the Spirit of Yahweh come from me to speak to you?"

And Micaiah said, "If you surely return in peace Yahweh has not spoken with me." Then he said, "Hear, peoples, all of them!"

And it happened [that] when the commanders of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, then they said, "It [is] the king of Israel!" And they turned against him to fight. Then Jehoshaphat cried out and Yahweh helped him. God drove them away from him.

And Jehu son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him. And he said to King Jehoshaphat, "Should you [be] a help to the wicked and love those who hate Yahweh? On account of this, wrath [has come] against you from Yahweh.

And Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem and returned and went out among the people from Beersheba to the hill country of Ephraim and brought them back to Yahweh, the God of their ancestors.

And he said to the judges, "Consider what you are doing, for you are not judging for a man but for Yahweh. Now [he is] with you in speaking justice.

So now, let the fear of Yahweh be upon you all. {Be careful what you do}, for there is neither wickedness nor {showing partiality} and taking bribes with Yahweh our God."

Moreover, Jehoshaphat appointed in Jerusalem some of the Levites and the priests and heads of the {families} of Israel as judges and to decide legal disputes for Yahweh. And they sat [in] Jerusalem.

And he commanded them, saying, "Thus you must do in the fear of Yahweh in faithfulness and with a whole heart.

Any legal dispute that comes before you from your brothers who live in their cities concerning bloodguilt, law, commandment, statutes, and justice, you must warn them, so that they do not incur guilt before Yahweh, and that wrath may not come upon you and your brothers. Thus you must do that you do not incur guilt.

And behold, Amariah the chief priest [is] over you in all matters of the word of Yahweh, and Zebadiah the son of Ishmael, the governor of the house of Judah, in all matters of the king, and the Levites [shall be] before you [as] officials. Be strong and do [well]! May Yahweh be with the upright."

Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek Yahweh. And he called for a fast through all Judah.

And Judah assembled to seek after Yahweh; even from all the cities of Judah they came to seek Yahweh.

Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem in the house of Yahweh before the new courtyard.

And he said, "O Yahweh, God of our ancestors, are you not God in heaven? Now you rule in all the kingdoms of the nations, and in your hand [are] power and might, and there is none [who can] resist against you.

And all Judah was standing before Yahweh, [and] also their little children, their wives, and their children.

Then the Spirit of Yahweh came upon Jahaziel, the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, the Levite from the descendants of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly.

And he said, "Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat, thus says Yahweh to you: 'Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed before this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God's.

[There will be] no [need] for you to fight in this [battle]. Take your stand! Stand and see the deliverance of Yahweh among you, O Judah and Jerusalem! Do not fear and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out before them and Yahweh [will be] with you.'"

Then Jehoshaphat bowed his face down to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before Yahweh to worship Yahweh.

Then the Levites, from the {Kohathites} and from the {Korahites} stood up to praise Yahweh the God of Israel with an exceedingly loud voice.

And they rose up early in the morning and went out to the desert of Tekoa. And when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Hear me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in Yahweh your God, and you shall be established! Believe in his prophets, and you shall succeed!"

And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed singers to Yahweh [who were] giving praise to the splendor of [his] holiness when they went out before the army. And they said, "Give thanks to Yahweh, for his loyal love [is] everlasting!"

And {when} they began with singing and praise, Yahweh set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir who were coming against Judah. And they were defeated

And on the fourth day, they assembled in the Valley of Berakah, for there they blessed Yahweh. Therefore the name of that place is called the Valley of Berakah up to this day.

And all the men of Judah and Jerusalem returned, and Jehoshaphat [was] at their head in returning to Jerusalem with joy, for Yahweh caused them to rejoice over their enemies.

And they came to Jerusalem with harps, stringed instruments, and trumpets to the house of Yahweh.

And the fear of God came upon all the kingdoms of the earth when they heard that Yahweh had fought against the enemies of Israel.

And he walked in the way of his father Asa and did not turn aside from it, to do what was right in the eyes of Yahweh.

Then Eliezer the son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, "Because of your joining with Ahaziah, Yahweh will break down your works." And the ships were destroyed and were not able to go to Tarshish.

And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel as the house of Ahab had done, for the daughter of Ahab was his wife. And he did evil in the sight of Yahweh.

But Yahweh was not willing to destroy the house of David on account of the covenant that he had {made} with David and since he had promised to give a lamp to him and to his descendants {forever}.

So Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah until this day. Then Libnah [also] revolted at that time from under his hand, because he had forsaken Yahweh, the God of his ancestors.

And a letter from Elijah the prophet came to him, saying, "Thus says Yahweh, the God of David your father: 'Because you have not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat your father or in the ways of Asa, the king of Judah,

behold, Yahweh is inflicting a great plague on your people, your children, your wives, and all your possessions,

And Yahweh stirred up the spirit of the Philistines and the Arabs who [were] {near} the Cushites against Jehoram.

And after all this Yahweh afflicted him in his bowels with an illness for [which there was] no cure.

And he did evil in the eyes of Yahweh as the house of Ahab [had done], for they were his counselors to his destruction after the death of his father.

But the downfall of Ahaziah was from God, [and intended] to come to Joram. And when he came, he went out with Jehoram to Jehu the son of Nimshi, whom Yahweh had anointed to destroy the house of Ahab.

And he searched for Ahaziah and captured him. And he was hiding in Samaria. And they brought him to Jehu and put him to death. And they buried him, for they said, "He [is] the descendant of Jehoshaphat, who sought Yahweh with his whole heart." And the house of Ahab had no one to exercise power over the kingdom.

And all the assembly {made} a covenant with the king in the house of God. And he said to them, "Behold, the son of the king shall reign as Yahweh has spoken concerning the sons of David.

and one third at the house of the king, and one third at the Gate of the Foundation. And all the people [shall be] in the courtyards of the house of Yahweh.

Let no one enter into the house of Yahweh except the priests and the ministering Levites. They themselves may enter, for they [are] holy, but all the people shall keep the requirements of Yahweh.

When Athaliah heard the sound of the people running and praising the king, she came to the people [at] the house of Yahweh.

Then Jehoiada the priest brought out the commanders of the hundreds appointed over the troops, and he said to them, "Bring her out between the ranks, and whoever goes after her shall be put to death with the sword." For the priest had said, "You must not kill her in the house of Yahweh.

And Jehoiada {made} a covenant between himself and all the people and the king, that they should be Yahweh's people.

And Jehoiada placed appointees [at] the house of Yahweh under the hand of the Levitical priests whom David had allotted to the house of Yahweh to offer burnt offerings to Yahweh as was written in the law of Moses, with joy and with song, according to the {order of David}.

And he set the gatekeepers at the gates of the house of Yahweh so that no person unclean with respect to any matter could enter

And he took the commanders of hundreds, the noblemen, the governors over the people, and all the people of the land, and they brought the king down from the house of Yahweh. And they came through the upper gate [to] the house of the king, and they set the king upon the throne of the kingdom.

And Joash did what was right in the eyes of Yahweh all the days of Jehoiada the priest.

And afterward it was in the heart of Joash to repair the house of Yahweh.

So the king called Jehoiada the chief, and he said to him, "Why have you not required the Levites to bring from Judah and Jerusalem the tax of Moses, the servant of Yahweh, and [of] the assembly of Israel for the tent of the testimony?"

For the sons of the wicked Athaliah had broken into the house of God and had used all the holy vessels of the house of Yahweh for the Baals.

Then the king commanded, and they made a chest and put it at the gate outside the house of Yahweh.

And {they issued a proclamation} in Judah and in Jerusalem to bring to Yahweh the tax [that] Moses the servant of God [had levied] upon Israel in the wilderness.

And the king and Jehoiada gave it to those who did the work of the service of the house of Yahweh. And they hired stonemasons and skilled craftsmen to restore the house of Yahweh, and also workers in iron and bronze to repair the house of Yahweh.

And when they had finished, they brought the remainder of the money before the king and Jehoiada, and they used it [for] objects for the house of Yahweh, objects for the service and the burnt offerings, dishes, and objects of gold and silver. And they were offering burnt offerings in the house of Yahweh regularly, all the days of Jehoiada.

And they forsook the house of Yahweh, the God of their ancestors and served the Asherahs and the idols. And wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem on account of this guilt.

But he sent prophets among them, to bring them back to Yahweh. And they testified against them, and they did not obey.

Then the Spirit of God clothed Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, and he stood above the people and said to them, "Thus says God: 'Why are you transgressing the commandments of Yahweh so that you will not succeed? For you have forsaken Yahweh, so he will forsake you.'"

Then they conspired against him and stoned him [with] stones at the command of the king in the courtyard of the house of Yahweh.

So King Joash did not remember the loyal love that Jehoiada had shown to him, and he killed his son. And as he was dying he said, "May Yahweh see and avenge!"

Though the army of Aram came with few men, Yahweh gave a very large army into their hand, for they had forsaken Yahweh, the God of their ancestors. And they inflicted punishment on Joash.

And he did what was right in the eyes of Yahweh, only not with a fully-devoted heart.

But he did not put their children to death, according to [what] is written in the law, in the scroll of Moses, where Yahweh commanded, saying, "Fathers shall not be put to death on account of the sons, and the sons shall not be put to death on account of the fathers, but each shall be put to death for his own sin."

But a man of God came to him, saying, "O king, do not let the army of Israel go with you, for Yahweh is not with Israel, all the Ephraimites.

And Amaziah said to the man of God, "Now what [should I] do with the one hundred talents that I have given to the troops of Israel?" And the man of God said, "{Yahweh is able to give} to you more than this."

So {Yahweh became very angry} with Amaziah and sent a prophet to him, and he said to him, "Why have you sought the gods of the people who could not deliver their own people from your hand?"

And from the time that Amaziah turned away from Yahweh, they had plotted a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem. And he fled to Lachish, but they sent after him to Lachish and killed him there.

And he did what [was] right in the eyes of Yahweh, according to all that Amaziah his father had done.

And he began to seek God in the days of Zechariah who was teaching in visions of God. And {whenever} he sought Yahweh God made him have success.

But on account of his strength his heart grew proud unto destruction. And he acted unfaithfully against Yahweh his God and went into the temple of Yahweh to offer an incense offering on the altar.

Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him eighty priests of Yahweh, who were valiant men:

And they stood against King Uzziah and said to him, "It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to Yahweh, but [it is] for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Go out of the sanctuary, for you have acted unfaithfully. There will be no honor for you from Yahweh God."

Then Uzziah, his censer in hand to burn incense, became angry. And when he became angry with the priests, then leprosy appeared on his forehead in front of the priests in the house of Yahweh at the altar of incense.

When Azariah the chief priest and all the priests turned to him, behold, he [was] leprous in the forehead. So they rushed him away from there, and he also hastened to go out, for Yahweh had smitten him.

So King Uzziah was leprous until the day of his death, and he lived in a separate house as a leper, for he was cut off from the house of Yahweh. And Jotham his son [was] over the house of the king, judging the people of the land.

And he did what was right in the eyes of Yahweh, according to all that his father Uzziah had done--only he did not go into the temple of Yahweh. But the people still acted corruptly.

He built the upper gate of the house of Yahweh, and {he did much restoration} on the wall of Ophel.

And Jotham strengthened himself, for he established his ways before Yahweh his God.

Ahaz [was] twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And he did not do what is right in the eyes of Yahweh like David his ancestor.

And he himself burned incense in the valley of Ben-Hinnom and burned his sons in the fire, according to the detestable [practices] of the nations whom Yahweh drove out before the Israelites.

Then Yahweh his God gave him into the hand of the king of Aram who defeated him and captured many captives from him and brought [them to] Damascus. Moreover, he was also given into the hand of the king of Israel, and he defeated him by a great attack.

And Pekah, the son of Remaliah, killed in one day one hundred and twenty thousand in Judah, all men of strength, because they forsook Yahweh the God of their ancestors.

Now a prophet of Yahweh was there; Oded [was] his name. And he went out before the army that was coming to Samaria and said to them, "Look, [it is] on account of the anger of Yahweh, the God of your ancestors, against Judah [that] he gave them into your hands, and you killed them in a rage reaching to the heavens.

So now, you yourselves plan to subdue people of Judah and Jerusalem as slaves and female servants for yourselves. {Is there not also guilt on your part} against Yahweh your God?

So now, listen to me and return the captives of your brothers whom you have taken captive, for the fierce anger of Yahweh [is] against you."

And they said to them, "You shall not bring the captives here, for [it is] as guilt [against] Yahweh upon us. You yourselves plan to add to our sins and to our guilt, but our guilt is very great, and [there is] great anger against Israel."