The Gospel of Mark (Part Seven)

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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk2CH">
 <div class="chapter ch18" data-usfm="2CH.18">
 <div class="label">18</div><div class="s1">Micaiah Prophesies Against Ahab</div><div class="p"> 1Now Jehoshaphat had great wealth and honor, and he allied himself with Ahab by marriage. 2Some years later he went down to see Ahab in Samaria. Ahab slaughtered many sheep and cattle for him and the people with him and urged him to attack Ramoth Gilead. 3Ahab king of Israel asked Jehoshaphat king of Judah, &#8220;Will you go with me against Ramoth Gilead?&#8221;</div><div class="p">Jehoshaphat replied, &#8220;I am as you are, and my people as your people; we will join you in the war.&#8221; 4But Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, &#8220;First seek the counsel of the Lord.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 5So the king of Israel brought together the prophets&#8212;four hundred men&#8212;and asked them, &#8220;Shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I not?&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;Go,&#8221; they answered, &#8220;for God will give it into the king&#8217;s hand.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 6But Jehoshaphat asked, &#8220;Is there no longer a prophet of the Lord here whom we can inquire of?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 7The king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat, &#8220;There is still one prophet through whom we can inquire of the Lord, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, but always bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;The king should not say such a thing,&#8221; Jehoshaphat replied.</div><div class="p"> 8So the king of Israel called one of his officials and said, &#8220;Bring Micaiah son of Imlah at once.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 9Dressed in their royal robes, the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah were sitting on their thrones at the threshing floor by the entrance of the gate of Samaria, with all the prophets prophesying before them. 10Now Zedekiah son of Kenaanah had made iron horns, and he declared, &#8220;This is what the Lord says: &#8216;With these you will gore the Arameans until they are destroyed.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 11All the other prophets were prophesying the same thing. &#8220;Attack Ramoth Gilead and be victorious,&#8221; they said, &#8220;for the Lord will give it into the king&#8217;s hand.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 12The messenger who had gone to summon Micaiah said to him, &#8220;Look, the other prophets without exception are predicting success for the king. Let your word agree with theirs, and speak favorably.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 13But Micaiah said, &#8220;As surely as the Lord lives, I can tell him only what my God says.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 14When he arrived, the king asked him, &#8220;Micaiah, shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I not?&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;Attack and be victorious,&#8221; he answered, &#8220;for they will be given into your hand.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 15The king said to him, &#8220;How many times must I make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 16Then Micaiah answered, &#8220;I saw all Israel scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd, and the Lord said, &#8216;These people have no master. Let each one go home in peace.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 17The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, &#8220;Didn&#8217;t I tell you that he never prophesies anything good about me, but only bad?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 18Micaiah continued, &#8220;Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne with all the multitudes of heaven standing on his right and on his left. 19And the Lord said, &#8216;Who will entice Ahab king of Israel into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there?&#8217;</div><div class="p">&#8220;One suggested this, and another that. 20Finally, a spirit came forward, stood before the Lord and said, &#8216;I will entice him.&#8217;</div><div class="p">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;By what means?&#8217; the Lord asked.</div><div class="p"> 21&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;I will go and be a deceiving spirit in the mouths of all his prophets,&#8217; he said.</div><div class="p">&#8220;&#8198;&#8216;You will succeed in enticing him,&#8217; said the Lord. &#8216;Go and do it.&#8217;</div><div class="p"> 22&#8220;So now the Lord has put a deceiving spirit in the mouths of these prophets of yours. The Lord has decreed disaster for you.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 23Then Zedekiah son of Kenaanah went up and slapped Micaiah in the face. &#8220;Which way did the spirit from#18:23 Or Spirit of the Lord go when he went from me to speak to you?&#8221; he asked.</div><div class="p"> 24Micaiah replied, &#8220;You will find out on the day you go to hide in an inner room.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 25The king of Israel then ordered, &#8220;Take Micaiah and send him back to Amon the ruler of the city and to Joash the king&#8217;s son, 26and say, &#8216;This is what the king says: Put this fellow in prison and give him nothing but bread and water until I return safely.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 27Micaiah declared, &#8220;If you ever return safely, the Lord has not spoken through me.&#8221; Then he added, &#8220;Mark my words, all you people!&#8221;</div><div class="s1">Ahab Killed at Ramoth Gilead</div><div class="p"> 28So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up to Ramoth Gilead. 29The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, &#8220;I will enter the battle in disguise, but you wear your royal robes.&#8221; So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle.</div><div class="p"> 30Now the king of Aram had ordered his chariot commanders, &#8220;Do not fight with anyone, small or great, except the king of Israel.&#8221; 31When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they thought, &#8220;This is the king of Israel.&#8221; So they turned to attack him, but Jehoshaphat cried out, and the Lord helped him. God drew them away from him, 32for when the chariot commanders saw that he was not the king of Israel, they stopped pursuing him.</div><div class="p"> 33But someone drew his bow at random and hit the king of Israel between the breastplate and the scale armor. The king told the chariot driver, &#8220;Wheel around and get me out of the fighting. I&#8217;ve been wounded.&#8221; 34All day long the battle raged, and the king of Israel propped himself up in his chariot facing the Arameans until evening. Then at sunset he died.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk2CH">
 <div class="chapter ch19" data-usfm="2CH.19">
 <div class="label">19</div><div class="p"> 1When Jehoshaphat king of Judah returned safely to his palace in Jerusalem, 2Jehu the seer, the son of Hanani, went out to meet him and said to the king, &#8220;Should you help the wicked and love#19:2 Or and make alliances with those who hate the Lord? Because of this, the wrath of the Lord is on you. 3There is, however, some good in you, for you have rid the land of the Asherah poles and have set your heart on seeking God.&#8221;</div><div class="s1">Jehoshaphat Appoints Judges</div><div class="p"> 4Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem, and he went out again among the people from Beersheba to the hill country of Ephraim and turned them back to the Lord, the God of their ancestors. 5He appointed judges in the land, in each of the fortified cities of Judah. 6He told them, &#8220;Consider carefully what you do, because you are not judging for mere mortals but for the Lord, who is with you whenever you give a verdict. 7Now let the fear of the Lord be on you. Judge carefully, for with the Lord our God there is no injustice or partiality or bribery.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 8In Jerusalem also, Jehoshaphat appointed some of the Levites, priests and heads of Israelite families to administer the law of the Lord and to settle disputes. And they lived in Jerusalem. 9He gave them these orders: &#8220;You must serve faithfully and wholeheartedly in the fear of the Lord. 10In every case that comes before you from your people who live in the cities&#8212;whether bloodshed or other concerns of the law, commands, decrees or regulations&#8212;you are to warn them not to sin against the Lord; otherwise his wrath will come on you and your people. Do this, and you will not sin.</div><div class="p"> 11&#8220;Amariah the chief priest will be over you in any matter concerning the Lord, and Zebadiah son of Ishmael, the leader of the tribe of Judah, will be over you in any matter concerning the king, and the Levites will serve as officials before you. Act with courage, and may the Lord be with those who do well.&#8221;</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk2CH">
 <div class="chapter ch20" data-usfm="2CH.20">
 <div class="label">20</div><div class="s1">Jehoshaphat Defeats Moab and Ammon</div><div class="p"> 1After this, the Moabites and Ammonites with some of the Meunites#20:1 Some Septuagint manuscripts; Hebrew Ammonites came to wage war against Jehoshaphat.</div><div class="p"> 2Some people came and told Jehoshaphat, &#8220;A vast army is coming against you from Edom,#20:2 One Hebrew manuscript; most Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint and Vulgate Aram from the other side of the Dead Sea. It is already in Hazezon Tamar&#8221; (that is, En Gedi). 3Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah. 4The people of Judah came together to seek help from the Lord; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him.</div><div class="p"> 5Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of the Lord in the front of the new courtyard 6and said:</div><div class="pm">&#8220;Lord, the God of our ancestors, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you. 7Our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? 8They have lived in it and have built in it a sanctuary for your Name, saying, 9&#8216;If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague or famine, we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.&#8217;</div><div class="pm"> 10&#8220;But now here are men from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, whose territory you would not allow Israel to invade when they came from Egypt; so they turned away from them and did not destroy them. 11See how they are repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession you gave us as an inheritance. 12Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 13All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the Lord.</div><div class="p"> 14Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Jahaziel son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite and descendant of Asaph, as he stood in the assembly.</div><div class="p"> 15He said: &#8220;Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: &#8216;Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God&#8217;s. 16Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel. 17You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 18Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the Lord. 19Then some Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites stood up and praised the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.</div><div class="p"> 20Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, &#8220;Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.&#8221; 21After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his#20:21 Or him with the splendor of holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;Give thanks to the Lord,</div><div class="q2">for his love endures forever.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 22As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated. 23The Ammonites and Moabites rose up against the men from Mount Seir to destroy and annihilate them. After they finished slaughtering the men from Seir, they helped to destroy one another.</div><div class="p"> 24When the men of Judah came to the place that overlooks the desert and looked toward the vast army, they saw only dead bodies lying on the ground; no one had escaped. 25So Jehoshaphat and his men went to carry off their plunder, and they found among them a great amount of equipment and clothing#20:25 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Vulgate; most Hebrew manuscripts corpses and also articles of value&#8212;more than they could take away. There was so much plunder that it took three days to collect it. 26On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Berakah, where they praised the Lord. This is why it is called the Valley of Berakah#20:26 Berakah means praise. to this day.</div><div class="p"> 27Then, led by Jehoshaphat, all the men of Judah and Jerusalem returned joyfully to Jerusalem, for the Lord had given them cause to rejoice over their enemies. 28They entered Jerusalem and went to the temple of the Lord with harps and lyres and trumpets.</div><div class="p"> 29The fear of God came on all the surrounding kingdoms when they heard how the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. 30And the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, for his God had given him rest on every side.</div><div class="s1">The End of Jehoshaphat&#8217;s Reign</div><div class="p"> 31So Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he became king of Judah, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-five years. His mother&#8217;s name was Azubah daughter of Shilhi. 32He followed the ways of his father Asa and did not stray from them; he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. 33The high places, however, were not removed, and the people still had not set their hearts on the God of their ancestors.</div><div class="p"> 34The other events of Jehoshaphat&#8217;s reign, from beginning to end, are written in the annals of Jehu son of Hanani, which are recorded in the book of the kings of Israel.</div><div class="p"> 35Later, Jehoshaphat king of Judah made an alliance with Ahaziah king of Israel, whose ways were wicked. 36He agreed with him to construct a fleet of trading ships.#20:36 Hebrew of ships that could go to Tarshish After these were built at Ezion Geber, 37Eliezer son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, &#8220;Because you have made an alliance with Ahaziah, the Lord will destroy what you have made.&#8221; The ships were wrecked and were not able to set sail to trade.#20:37 Hebrew sail for Tarshish</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk2CH">
 <div class="chapter ch21" data-usfm="2CH.21">
 <div class="label">21</div><div class="p"> 1Then Jehoshaphat rested with his ancestors and was buried with them in the City of David. And Jehoram his son succeeded him as king. 2Jehoram&#8217;s brothers, the sons of Jehoshaphat, were Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariahu, Michael and Shephatiah. All these were sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel.#21:2 That is, Judah, as frequently in 2 Chronicles 3Their father had given them many gifts of silver and gold and articles of value, as well as fortified cities in Judah, but he had given the kingdom to Jehoram because he was his firstborn son.</div><div class="s1">Jehoram King of Judah</div><div class="p"> 4When Jehoram established himself firmly over his father&#8217;s kingdom, he put all his brothers to the sword along with some of the officials of Israel. 5Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years. 6He followed the ways of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for he married a daughter of Ahab. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord. 7Nevertheless, because of the covenant the Lord had made with David, the Lord was not willing to destroy the house of David. He had promised to maintain a lamp for him and his descendants forever.</div><div class="p"> 8In the time of Jehoram, Edom rebelled against Judah and set up its own king. 9So Jehoram went there with his officers and all his chariots. The Edomites surrounded him and his chariot commanders, but he rose up and broke through by night. 10To this day Edom has been in rebellion against Judah.</div><div class="p">Libnah revolted at the same time, because Jehoram had forsaken the Lord, the God of his ancestors. 11He had also built high places on the hills of Judah and had caused the people of Jerusalem to prostitute themselves and had led Judah astray.</div><div class="p"> 12Jehoram received a letter from Elijah the prophet, which said:</div><div class="pmo">&#8220;This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: &#8216;You have not followed the ways of your father Jehoshaphat or of Asa king of Judah. 13But you have followed the ways of the kings of Israel, and you have led Judah and the people of Jerusalem to prostitute themselves, just as the house of Ahab did. You have also murdered your own brothers, members of your own family, men who were better than you. 14So now the Lord is about to strike your people, your sons, your wives and everything that is yours, with a heavy blow. 15You yourself will be very ill with a lingering disease of the bowels, until the disease causes your bowels to come out.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 16The Lord aroused against Jehoram the hostility of the Philistines and of the Arabs who lived near the Cushites. 17They attacked Judah, invaded it and carried off all the goods found in the king&#8217;s palace, together with his sons and wives. Not a son was left to him except Ahaziah,#21:17 Hebrew Jehoahaz, a variant of Ahaziah the youngest.</div><div class="p"> 18After all this, the Lord afflicted Jehoram with an incurable disease of the bowels. 19In the course of time, at the end of the second year, his bowels came out because of the disease, and he died in great pain. His people made no funeral fire in his honor, as they had for his predecessors.</div><div class="p"> 20Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years. He passed away, to no one&#8217;s regret, and was buried in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bk2CH">
 <div class="chapter ch22" data-usfm="2CH.22">
 <div class="label">22</div><div class="s1">Ahaziah King of Judah</div><div class="p"> 1The people of Jerusalem made Ahaziah, Jehoram&#8217;s youngest son, king in his place, since the raiders, who came with the Arabs into the camp, had killed all the older sons. So Ahaziah son of Jehoram king of Judah began to reign.</div><div class="p"> 2Ahaziah was twenty-two#22:2 Some Septuagint manuscripts and Syriac (see also 2 Kings 8:26); Hebrew forty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem one year. His mother&#8217;s name was Athaliah, a granddaughter of Omri.</div><div class="p"> 3He too followed the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother encouraged him to act wickedly. 4He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, as the house of Ahab had done, for after his father&#8217;s death they became his advisers, to his undoing. 5He also followed their counsel when he went with Joram#22:5 Hebrew Jehoram, a variant of Joram; also in verses 6 and 7 son of Ahab king of Israel to wage war against Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth Gilead. The Arameans wounded Joram; 6so he returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds they had inflicted on him at Ramoth#22:6 Hebrew Ramah, a variant of Ramoth in his battle with Hazael king of Aram.</div><div class="p">Then Ahaziah#22:6 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac (see also 2 Kings 8:29); most Hebrew manuscripts Azariah son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to Jezreel to see Joram son of Ahab because he had been wounded.</div><div class="p"> 7Through Ahaziah&#8217;s visit to Joram, God brought about Ahaziah&#8217;s downfall. When Ahaziah arrived, he went out with Joram to meet Jehu son of Nimshi, whom the Lord had anointed to destroy the house of Ahab. 8While Jehu was executing judgment on the house of Ahab, he found the officials of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah&#8217;s relatives, who had been attending Ahaziah, and he killed them. 9He then went in search of Ahaziah, and his men captured him while he was hiding in Samaria. He was brought to Jehu and put to death. They buried him, for they said, &#8220;He was a son of Jehoshaphat, who sought the Lord with all his heart.&#8221; So there was no one in the house of Ahaziah powerful enough to retain the kingdom.</div><div class="s1">Athaliah and Joash</div><div class="p"> 10When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to destroy the whole royal family of the house of Judah. 11But Jehosheba,#22:11 Hebrew Jehoshabeath, a variant of Jehosheba the daughter of King Jehoram, took Joash son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the royal princes who were about to be murdered and put him and his nurse in a bedroom. Because Jehosheba,#22:11 Hebrew Jehoshabeath, a variant of Jehosheba the daughter of King Jehoram and wife of the priest Jehoiada, was Ahaziah&#8217;s sister, she hid the child from Athaliah so she could not kill him. 12He remained hidden with them at the temple of God for six years while Athaliah ruled the land.</div>
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