New Living Translation NLT
The Message Bible MSG
1 Then Jehoshaphat, Asa’s son, became the next king. He strengthened Judah to stand against any attack from Israel.
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Asa's son Jehoshaphat was the next king; he started out by working on his defense system against Israel.
2 He 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.
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He put troops in all the fortress cities of Judah and deployed garrisons throughout Judah and in the towns of Ephraim that his father Asa had captured.
3 The LORD was with Jehoshaphat because he followed the example of his father’s early years and did not worship the images of Baal.
3
God was on Jehoshaphat's side because he stuck to the ways of his father Asa's early years. He didn't fool around with the popular Baal religion -
4 He sought his father’s God and obeyed his commands instead of following the evil practices of the kingdom of Israel.
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he was a seeker and follower of the God of his father and was obedient to him; he wasn't like Israel.
5 So 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.
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And God secured the kingdom under his rule, gave him a firm grip on it. And everyone in Judah showed their appreciation by bringing gifts. Jehoshaphat ended up very rich and much honored.
6 He was deeply committed to the ways of the LORD . He removed the pagan shrines and Asherah poles from Judah.
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He was single-minded in following God; and he got rid of the local sex-and-religion shrines.
7 In 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.
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In the third year of his reign he sent his officials - excellent men, every one of them - Ben-Hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah on a teaching mission to the cities of Judah.
8 He 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.
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They were accompanied by Levites - Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tob-Adonijah; the priests Elishama and Jehoram were also in the company.
9 They took copies of the Book of the Law of the LORD and traveled around through all the towns of Judah, teaching the people.
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They made a circuit of the towns of Judah, teaching the people and using the Book of The Revelation of God as their text.
10 Then the fear of the LORD fell over all the surrounding kingdoms so that none of them wanted to declare war on Jehoshaphat.
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There was a strong sense of the fear of God in all the kingdoms around Judah - they didn't dare go to war against Jehoshaphat.
11 Some of the Philistines brought him gifts and silver as tribute, and the Arabs brought 7,700 rams and 7,700 male goats.
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Some Philistines even brought gifts and a load of silver to Jehoshaphat, and the desert bedouin brought flocks - 7,700 rams and 7,700 goats.
12 So Jehoshaphat became more and more powerful and built fortresses and storage cities throughout Judah.
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So Jehoshaphat became stronger by the day, and constructed more and more forts and store-cities - an age of prosperity for Judah!
13 He stored numerous supplies in Judah’s towns and stationed an army of seasoned troops at Jerusalem.
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He also had excellent fighting men stationed in Jerusalem.
14 His 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.
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The captains of the military units of Judah, classified according to families, were: Captain Adnah with 300,000 soldiers;
15 Next in command was Jehohanan, who commanded 280,000 troops.
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his associate Captain Jehohanan with 280,000;
16 Next was Amasiah son of Zicri, who volunteered for the LORD ’s service, with 200,000 troops under his command.
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his associate Amasiah son of Zicri, a volunteer for God, with 200,000.
17 From Benjamin there were 200,000 troops equipped with bows and shields. They were under the command of Eliada, a veteran soldier.
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Officer Eliada represented Benjamin with 200,000 fully equipped with bow and shield;
18 Next in command was Jehozabad, who commanded 180,000 armed men.
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and his associate was Jehozabad with 180,000 armed and ready for battle.
19 These were the troops stationed in Jerusalem to serve the king, besides those Jehoshaphat stationed in the fortified towns throughout Judah.
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These were under the direct command of the king; in addition there were the troops assigned to the fortress cities spread all over Judah.