2 Chronicles 17
17
King Jehoshaphat of Judah
1Jehoshaphat son of Asa became king and strengthened his defenses against Israel. 2He assigned troops to the fortified cities in Judah, as well as to other towns in Judah and to those towns in Ephraim that his father Asa had captured.
3-4When Jehoshaphat's father had first become king of Judah, he was faithful to the Lord and refused to worship the god Baal as the kings of Israel did. Jehoshaphat followed his father's example and obeyed and worshiped the Lord. And so the Lord blessed Jehoshaphat 5and helped him keep firm control of his kingdom. The people of Judah brought gifts to Jehoshaphat, but even after he became very rich and respected, 6he remained completely faithful to the Lord. He destroyed all the local shrines#17.6 local shrines: See the note at 11.15. in Judah, including the places where the goddess Asherah was worshiped.
7In the third year of Jehoshaphat's rule, he chose five officials and gave them orders to teach the Lord's Law in every city and town in Judah. They were Benhail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah. 8Their assistants were the following nine Levites: Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tob-Adonijah. Two priests, Elishama and Jehoram, also went along. 9They carried with them a copy of the Lord's Law wherever they went and taught the people from it.
10The nations around Judah were afraid of the Lord's power, so none of them attacked Jehoshaphat. 11Philistines brought him silver and other gifts to keep peace. Some of the Arab people brought him 7,700 rams and the same number of goats.
12As Jehoshaphat became more powerful, he built fortresses and cities 13where he stored supplies. He also kept in Jerusalem some experienced soldiers 14from the Judah and Benjamin tribes. These soldiers were grouped according to their clans.
Adnah was the commander of the troops from Judah, and he had 300,000 soldiers under his command. 15Jehohanan was second in command, with 280,000 soldiers under him. 16Amasiah son of Zichri, who had volunteered to serve the Lord, was third in command, with 200,000 soldiers under him.
17Eliada was a brave warrior who commanded the troops from Benjamin. He had 200,000 soldiers under his command, all of them armed with bows and shields. 18Jehozabad was second in command, with 180,000 soldiers under him. 19These were the troops who protected the king in Jerusalem, not counting those he had assigned to the fortified cities throughout the country.
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2 Chronicles 17: CEVDCI
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
2 Chronicles 17
17
Jehoshaphat Rules in Judah
1Then Jehoshaphat, Asa’s son, became the next king. He strengthened Judah to stand against any attack from Israel. 2He stationed troops in all the fortified towns of Judah, and he assigned additional garrisons to the land of Judah and to the towns of Ephraim that his father, Asa, had captured.
3The Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he followed the example of his father’s early years#17:3 Some Hebrew manuscripts read the example of his father, David. and did not worship the images of Baal. 4He sought his father’s God and obeyed his commands instead of following the evil practices of the kingdom of Israel. 5So the Lord established Jehoshaphat’s control over the kingdom of Judah. All the people of Judah brought gifts to Jehoshaphat, so he became very wealthy and highly esteemed. 6He was deeply committed to#17:6 Hebrew His heart was courageous in. the ways of the Lord. He removed the pagan shrines and Asherah poles from Judah.
7In the third year of his reign Jehoshaphat sent his officials to teach in all the towns of Judah. These officials included Ben-hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah. 8He sent Levites along with them, including Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tob-adonijah. He also sent out the priests Elishama and Jehoram. 9They took copies of the Book of the Law of the Lord and traveled around through all the towns of Judah, teaching the people.
10Then the fear of the Lord fell over all the surrounding kingdoms so that none of them wanted to declare war on Jehoshaphat. 11Some of the Philistines brought him gifts and silver as tribute, and the Arabs brought 7,700 rams and 7,700 male goats.
12So Jehoshaphat became more and more powerful and built fortresses and storage cities throughout Judah. 13He stored numerous supplies in Judah’s towns and stationed an army of seasoned troops at Jerusalem. 14His army was enrolled according to ancestral clans.
From Judah there were 300,000 troops organized in units of 1,000, under the command of Adnah. 15Next in command was Jehohanan, who commanded 280,000 troops. 16Next was Amasiah son of Zicri, who volunteered for the Lord’s service, with 200,000 troops under his command.
17From Benjamin there were 200,000 troops equipped with bows and shields. They were under the command of Eliada, a veteran soldier. 18Next in command was Jehozabad, who commanded 180,000 armed men.
19These were the troops stationed in Jerusalem to serve the king, besides those Jehoshaphat stationed in the fortified towns throughout Judah.
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