猶大王約沙法
1亞撒的兒子約沙法繼位，他發憤圖強對抗以色列。 2他派兵駐守猶大所有的堅城，又把守備軍安置在猶大和他父親亞撒所征服的以法蓮各城邑。 3耶和華與約沙法同在，因為他效法他祖先大衛起初所行的，沒有尋求巴力， 4只尋求他父親的上帝，遵行祂的誡命，沒有效法以色列人的行為。 5因此，耶和華鞏固他的王位，所有的猶大人都向他進貢，他極有財富和尊榮。 6他專心遵行耶和華的道，剷除猶大境內的邱壇和亞舍拉神像。
7他在執政第三年委派官員便·亥伊勒、俄巴底、撒迦利雅、拿坦業和米該亞到猶大各城教導民眾， 8與他們同去的還有利未人示瑪雅、尼探雅、西巴第雅、亞撒黑、示米拉末、約拿單、亞多尼雅、多比雅和駝·巴多尼雅，還有祭司以利沙瑪和約蘭。 9他們帶著耶和華的律法書，走遍猶大各城鎮教導民眾。 10猶大周圍的列國都懼怕耶和華，不敢與約沙法爭戰。 11一些非利士人向他進貢禮物和銀子，阿拉伯人也給他送來公綿羊和公山羊各七千七百隻。
12約沙法日漸強大，在猶大境內修建堡壘和儲貨城， 13在猶大各城儲備大量物資。他又在耶路撒冷屯駐精兵， 14其人數按宗族記在下面。
猶大族有千夫長押拿，率領精兵三十萬； 15其次是千夫長約哈難，率領軍兵二十八萬； 16其次是自願事奉耶和華的細基利的兒子亞瑪斯雅，率領精兵二十萬。 17便雅憫族有勇士以利雅大，率領手持弓箭和盾牌的軍兵二十萬； 18其次是約薩拔，率領全副武裝的軍兵十八萬。 19以上都是服侍王的軍兵，不包括王派去駐守猶大各堅城的軍兵。
Jehoshaphat King of Judah
1Jehoshaphat was the son of Asa. Jehoshaphat became the next king after him. He made his kingdom strong in case Israel would attack him. 2He placed troops in all the cities of Judah that had high walls around them. He stationed some soldiers in Judah. He also put some in the towns of Ephraim that his father Asa had captured.
3The Lord was with Jehoshaphat. That’s because he lived the way King David had lived. He didn’t ask for advice from the gods that were named Baal. 4Instead, Jehoshaphat obeyed the God of his father. He obeyed the Lord’s commands instead of the practices of Israel. 5The Lord made the kingdom secure under Jehoshaphat’s control. All the people of Judah brought gifts to Jehoshaphat. So he had great wealth and honor. 6His heart was committed to living the way the Lord wanted him to. He removed the high places from Judah. He also removed the poles used to worship the female god named Asherah.
7In the third year of his rule, he sent his officials to teach in the towns of Judah. The officials were Ben-Hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel and Micaiah. 8Some Levites were with them. Their names were Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah and Tob-Adonijah. Elishama and Jehoram, the priests, were also with them. 9They taught people all through Judah. They took the Book of the Law of the Lord with them. They went around to all the towns of Judah. And they taught the people.
10All the kingdoms of the lands around Judah became afraid of the Lord. So they didn’t go to war against Jehoshaphat. 11Some Philistines brought to Jehoshaphat the gifts and silver he required of them. The Arabs brought him their flocks. They brought him 7,700 rams and 7,700 goats.
12Jehoshaphat became more and more powerful. He built forts in Judah. He also built cities in Judah where he could store things. 13He had large supplies in the towns of Judah. In Jerusalem he kept men who knew how to fight well. 14Here is a list of them, family by family.
From Judah there were commanders of groups of 1,000.
One of them was Adnah. He commanded 300,000 fighting men.
15Another was Jehohanan. He commanded 280,000.
16Another was Amasiah, the son of Zikri. Amasiah commanded 200,000. He had offered to serve the Lord.
17From Benjamin there were also commanders.
One of them was Eliada. He was a brave soldier. He commanded 200,000 men. They were armed with bows and shields.
18Another was Jehozabad. He commanded 180,000 men. They were prepared for battle.
19These were the men who served the king. He stationed some other men in the cities all through Judah. The cities had high walls around them.
