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Jehoshaphat Becomes King

¹ His son Jehoshaphat replaced him as king and solidified his rule over Israel. ² He placed troops in all of Judah's fortified cities and posted garrisons 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 David's footsteps at the beginning of his reign. He did not seek the Baals, ⁴ but instead sought the God of his ancestors and obeyed his commands, unlike the Israelites. ⁵ The Lord made his kingdom secure; all Judah brought tribute to Jehoshaphat, and he became very wealthy and greatly respected. ⁶ He was committed to following the Lord; 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; 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. ¹⁴ These were their divisions by families:

There were a thousand officers from Judah. 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.