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.
犹大王约沙法
1亚撒的儿子约沙法继位，他发愤图强对抗以色列。 2他派兵驻守犹大所有的坚城，又把守备军安置在犹大和他父亲亚撒所征服的以法莲各城邑。 3耶和华与约沙法同在，因为他效法他祖先大卫起初所行的，没有寻求巴力， 4只寻求他父亲的上帝，遵行祂的诫命，没有效法以色列人的行为。 5因此，耶和华巩固他的王位，所有的犹大人都向他进贡，他极有财富和尊荣。 6他专心遵行耶和华的道，铲除犹大境内的丘坛和亚舍拉神像。
7他在执政第三年委派官员便·亥伊勒、俄巴底、撒迦利雅、拿坦业和米该亚到犹大各城教导民众， 8与他们同去的还有利未人示玛雅、尼探雅、西巴第雅、亚撒黑、示米拉末、约拿单、亚多尼雅、多比雅和驼·巴多尼雅，还有祭司以利沙玛和约兰。 9他们带着耶和华的律法书，走遍犹大各城镇教导民众。 10犹大周围的列国都惧怕耶和华，不敢与约沙法争战。 11一些非利士人向他进贡礼物和银子，阿拉伯人也给他送来公绵羊和公山羊各七千七百只。
12约沙法日渐强大，在犹大境内修建堡垒和储货城， 13在犹大各城储备大量物资。他又在耶路撒冷屯驻精兵， 14其人数按宗族记在下面。
犹大族有千夫长押拿，率领精兵三十万； 15其次是千夫长约哈难，率领军兵二十八万； 16其次是自愿事奉耶和华的细基利的儿子亚玛斯雅，率领精兵二十万。 17便雅悯族有勇士以利雅大，率领手持弓箭和盾牌的军兵二十万； 18其次是约萨拔，率领全副武装的军兵十八万。 19以上都是服侍王的军兵，不包括王派去驻守犹大各坚城的军兵。
