2 Chronicles 19

Jehoshaphat's Reforms

¹Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned in safety to his house in Jerusalem. ²But nJehu the son of oHanani pthe seer went out to meet him and said to King Jehoshaphat, “Should you qhelp the wicked and love those who hate the Lord? Because of this, rwrath has gone out against you from the Lord. ³Nevertheless, ssome good is found in you, for tyou destroyed the Asheroth out of the land, and have uset your heart to seek God.”

⁴Jehoshaphat lived at Jerusalem. And he went out again among the people, from Beersheba to vthe hill country of Ephraim, and brought them back to the Lord, the God of their fathers. ⁵He appointed wjudges in the land in all xthe fortified cities of Judah, city by city, ⁶and said to the judges, “Consider what you do, yfor you judge not for man but for the Lord. He is with you in giving judgment. ⁷Now then, let the fear of the Lord be upon you. Be careful what you do, for zthere is no injustice with the Lord our God, aor partiality or taking bribes.”

⁸Moreover, in Jerusalem Jehoshaphat bappointed certain Levites and priests and heads of families of Israel, yto give judgment for the Lord and to decide disputed cases. They had their seat at Jerusalem. ⁹And he charged them: c“Thus you shall do in the fear of the Lord, in faithfulness, dand with your whole heart: ¹⁰ewhenever a case comes to you from your brothers who live in their cities, concerning bloodshed, law or commandment, statutes or rules, then you shall warn them, that they may not incur guilt before the Lord and fwrath may not come upon you and your brothers. Thus you shall do, and you will not incur guilt. ¹¹And behold, Amariah the chief priest is over you gin all matters of the Lord; and Zebadiah the son of Ishmael, the governor of the house of Judah, in all the king's matters, and the Levites will serve you as officers. hDeal courageously, and may the Lord be with the upright!”1

2 Chronicles 20

Jehoshaphat's Prayer

¹After this ithe Moabites and Ammonites, and with them some of the Meunites,1 came against Jehoshaphat for battle. ²Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, “A great multitude is coming against you from Edom,2 from beyond the sea; and, behold, they are in jHazazon-tamar” (that is, kEngedi). ³Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face lto seek the Lord, and mproclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. ⁴And Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord; from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.

⁵And Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court, ⁶and said, “O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not nGod in heaven? You orule over all the kingdoms of the nations. pIn your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you. ⁷Did you not, our God, qdrive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of rAbraham your friend? ⁸And they have lived in it and have built for you in it a sanctuary for your name, saying, ⁹s‘If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment,3 or pestilence, or famine, twe will stand before this house and before you—ufor your name is in this house—and cry out to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save.’ ¹⁰And now behold, the men of vAmmon and Moab and wMount Seir, whom xyou would not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt, yand whom they avoided and did not destroy— ¹¹behold, they reward us zby coming to drive us out of your possession, which you have given us to inherit. ¹²O our God, will you not aexecute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but bour eyes are on you.”

¹³Meanwhile all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. ¹⁴And cthe Spirit of the Lord came4 upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly. ¹⁵And he said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you, d‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, efor the battle is not yours but God's. ¹⁶Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz. You will find them at the end of fthe valley, east of the wilderness of Jeruel. ¹⁷gYou will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ dDo not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, hand the Lord will be with you.”

¹⁸Then Jehoshaphat ibowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. ¹⁹And the Levites, of the jKohathites and the kKorahites, stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.

²⁰And they rose early in the morning and went out into lthe wilderness of Tekoa. And when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! mBelieve in the Lord your God, and you will be established; believe his prophets, and you will succeed.” ²¹And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the Lord and praise him nin holy attire, as they went before the army, and say,

o“Give thanks to the Lord,

for his steadfast love endures forever.”

²²And when they began to sing and praise, the Lord set pan ambush against the men of qAmmon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed. ²³For the men of Ammon and Moab rose against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, devoting them to destruction, and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, rthey all helped to destroy one another.

The Lord Delivers Judah

²⁴When Judah came to the watchtower of the wilderness, they looked toward the horde, and behold, there5 were dead bodies lying on the ground; none had escaped. ²⁵When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take their spoil, they found among them, in great numbers, goods, clothing, and precious things, which they took for themselves until they could carry no more. They were three days in taking the spoil, it was so much. ²⁶On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Beracah,6 for there they blessed the Lord. Therefore the name of that place has been called the Valley of Beracah to this day. ²⁷Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat at their head, returning to Jerusalem with joy, sfor the Lord had made them rejoice over their enemies. ²⁸They came to Jerusalem with harps and lyres and trumpets, to the house of the Lord. ²⁹tAnd the fear of God came on all the kingdoms of the countries when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. ³⁰So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, ufor his God gave him rest all around.

³¹vThus Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. ³²He walked in the way of Asa his father and did not turn aside from it, doing what was right in the sight of the Lord. ³³wThe high places, however, were not taken away; xthe people had not yet set their hearts upon the God of their fathers.

³⁴Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, from first to last, are written in the chronicles of yJehu the son of Hanani, zwhich are recorded in the Book of the Kings of Israel.

The End of Jehoshaphat's Reign

³⁵aAfter this Jehoshaphat king of Judah joined with Ahaziah king of Israel, who acted wickedly. ³⁶He joined him in building ships to go to bTarshish, and they built the ships in Ezion-geber. ³⁷Then Eliezer the son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, c“Because you have joined with Ahaziah, the Lord will destroy what you have made.” And the ships were wrecked and were not able to go to Tarshish.

The Seventh Seal and the Golden Censer

¹When the Lamb opened uthe seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. ²Then I saw the seven angels vwho stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. ³And another angel came and stood wat the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with xthe prayers of all the saints on ythe golden altar before the throne, ⁴and zthe smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel. ⁵Then the angel took the censer and afilled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and bthere were peals of cthunder, rumblings,1 flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.

The Seven Trumpets

⁶Now the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them.

⁷The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed dhail and efire, mixed with blood, and these were thrown upon the earth. And a fthird of the earth was burned up, and a third of gthe trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.

⁸The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like ha great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea ibecame blood. ⁹A third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of jthe ships were destroyed.

¹⁰The third angel blew his trumpet, and ka great star fell from heaven, blazing like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on lthe springs of water. ¹¹The name of the star is Wormwood.2 A third of the waters mbecame wormwood, and many people died from the water, nbecause it had been made bitter.

¹²The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of othe sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of their light might be darkened, and a third of the day might be kept from shining, and likewise a third of the night.

¹³Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice as it flew directly overhead, p“Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, at the blasts of the other trumpets that the three angels are about to blow!”

A Vision of a Golden Lampstand

¹And fthe angel who talked with me came again gand woke me, like a man who is awakened out of his sleep. ²And he said to me, “What do you see?” I said, “I see, and behold, ha lampstand all of gold, with a bowl on the top of it, and iseven lamps on it, with seven lips on each of the lamps that are on the top of it. ³And there are jtwo olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.” ⁴And I said to fthe angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?” ⁵Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, k“Do you not know what these are?” I said, “No, my lord.” ⁶Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to lZerubbabel: mNot by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts. ⁷Who are you, nO great mountain? Before lZerubbabel oyou shall become a plain. And he shall bring forward pthe top stone amid shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’”

⁸Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ⁹q“The hands of lZerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also rcomplete it. sThen you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. ¹⁰tFor whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice, and shall see uthe plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.

v“These seven vare the eyes of the Lord, wwhich range through the whole earth.” ¹¹Then I said to him, “What are these jtwo olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand?” ¹²And a second time I answered and said to him, “What are these jtwo branches of the olive trees, which are beside the two golden pipes from which the golden oil1 is poured out?” ¹³He said to me, x“Do you not know what these are?” I said, “No, my lord.” ¹⁴Then he said, y“These are the two anointed ones2 who stand by zthe Lord of the whole earth.”

Jesus at the Feast of Booths

¹After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea, because pthe Jews1 were seeking to kill him. ²Now qthe Jews' Feast of rBooths was at hand. ³sSo his brothers2 said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. ⁴For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, tshow yourself to the world.” ⁵uFor not even vhis brothers believed in him. ⁶Jesus said to them, w“My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. ⁷The world cannot hate you, but xit hates me because I testify about it that yits works are evil. ⁸You go up to the feast. I am not3 going up to this feast, for zmy time has not yet fully come.” ⁹After saying this, he remained in Galilee.

¹⁰But after ahis brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private. ¹¹bThe Jews cwere looking for him at the feast, and saying, “Where is he?” ¹²And there was much dmuttering about him among the people. eWhile some said, “He is a good man,” others said, “No, fhe is leading the people astray.” ¹³Yet gfor fear of the Jews no one spoke openly of him.

¹⁴About the middle of the feast Jesus went up hinto the temple and began teaching. ¹⁵The Jews therefore imarveled, saying, “How is it that this man has learning,4 when he has never studied?” ¹⁶So Jesus answered them, j“My teaching is not mine, but his kwho sent me. ¹⁷lIf anyone's will is to do God's5 will, mhe will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I nam speaking on my own authority. ¹⁸The one who speaks on his own authority oseeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood. ¹⁹pHas not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. qWhy do you seek to kill me?” ²⁰The crowd answered, r“You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill you?” ²¹Jesus answered them, “I did sone work, and you all marvel at it. ²²tMoses gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but ufrom the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. ²³If on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, vare you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a man's whole body well? ²⁴wDo not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”

Can This Be the Christ?

²⁵Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, “Is not this the man whom xthey seek to kill? ²⁶And here he is, yspeaking openly, and they say nothing to him! Can it be that zthe authorities really know that this is the Christ? ²⁷But awe know bwhere this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, cno one will know where he comes from.” ²⁸So Jesus proclaimed, das he taught in the temple, a“You know me, and you know where I come from. But eI have not come of my own accord. fHe who sent me is true, gand him you do not know. ²⁹hI know him, for I come ifrom him, and jhe sent me.” ³⁰kSo they were seeking to arrest him, but lno one laid a hand on him, mbecause his hour had not yet come. ³¹Yet nmany of the people believed in him. They said, o“When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?”

Officers Sent to Arrest Jesus

³²The Pharisees heard the crowd pmuttering these things about him, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent qofficers to arrest him. ³³Jesus then said, r“I will be with you a little longer, and then sI am going to him who sent me. ³⁴tYou will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am you cannot come.” ³⁵The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? uDoes he intend to go to vthe Dispersion among wthe Greeks and teach the Greeks? ³⁶What does he mean by saying, x‘You will seek me and you will not find me,’ and, ‘Where I am you cannot come’?”

Rivers of Living Water

³⁷yOn the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, z“If anyone thirsts, let him acome to me and drink. ³⁸Whoever believes in me, bas6 the Scripture has said, c‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of dliving water.’” ³⁹Now ethis he said about the Spirit, fwhom those who believed in him were to receive, gfor as yet the Spirit had not been hgiven, ibecause Jesus was not yet glorified.

Division Among the People

⁴⁰When they heard these words, jsome of the people said, “This really is kthe Prophet.” ⁴¹Others said, “This is lthe Christ.” But some said, m“Is the Christ to come from Galilee? ⁴²Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes nfrom the offspring of David, and comes ofrom Bethlehem, the village pwhere David was?” ⁴³So there was qa division among the people over him. ⁴⁴rSome of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.

⁴⁵sThe officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why did you not bring him?” ⁴⁶The officers answered, t“No one ever spoke like this man!” ⁴⁷The Pharisees answered them, u“Have you also been deceived? ⁴⁸vHave any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? ⁴⁹But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.” ⁵⁰wNicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them, ⁵¹x“Does our law judge a man without first ygiving him a hearing and learning what he does?” ⁵²They replied, z“Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that ano prophet arises from Galilee.”

[The earliest manuscripts do not include 7:53–8:11.]7

The Woman Caught in Adultery

⁵³[[They went each to his own house,