NKJV Bible in 365 Days
Aligning with God Brings Rise; Pride Brings Collapse — April 17
2 Chronicles 20-24
2 Chronicles 20
1 It happened after this that the people of Moab with the people of Ammon, and others with them besides the Ammonites, [a] came to battle against Jehoshaphat. 365N 107.1
2 Then some came and told Jehoshaphat, saying, “A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, from [b] Syria; and they are in Hazazon Tamar” (which is En Gedi). 365N 107.2
3 And Jehoshaphat feared, and set [c] himself to seek the Lord , and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. 365N 107.3
4 So Judah gathered together to ask help from the Lord ; and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord . 365N 107.4
5 Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord , before the new court, 365N 107.5
6 and said: “O Lord God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand You? 365N 107.6
7 Are You not our God, who drove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel, and gave it to the descendants of Abraham Your friend forever? 365N 107.7
8 And they dwell in it, and have built You a sanctuary in it for Your name, saying, 365N 107.8
9 ‘If disaster comes upon us—sword, judgment, pestilence, or famine—we will stand before this temple and in Your presence (for Your name is in this temple), and cry out to You in our affliction, and You will hear and save.’ 365N 107.9
10 And now, here are the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir—whom You would not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them and did not destroy them— 365N 107.10
11 here they are, rewarding us by coming to throw us out of Your possession which You have given us to inherit. 365N 107.11
12 O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.” 365N 107.12
13 Now all Judah, with their little ones, their wives, and their children, stood before the Lord . 365N 107.13
14 Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly. 365N 107.14
15 And he said, “Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the Lord to you: ‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. 365N 107.15
16 Tomorrow go down against them. They will surely come up by the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the [d] brook before the Wilderness of Jeruel. 365N 107.16
17 You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord , who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you.” 365N 107.17
18 And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem bowed before the Lord , worshiping the Lord . 365N 107.18
19 Then the Levites of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with voices loud and high. 365N 107.19
20 So they rose early in the morning and went out into the Wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.” 365N 107.20
21 And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the Lord , and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying: “Praise the Lord , For His mercy endures forever.” 365N 107.21
22 Now when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated. 365N 107.22
23 For the people of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to utterly kill and destroy them. And when they [e] had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another. 365N 107.23
24 So when Judah came to a place overlooking the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude; and there were their dead bodies, fallen on the earth. No one had escaped. 365N 107.24
25 When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away their spoil, they found among them an abundance of valuables on the [f] dead bodies, and precious jewelry, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away; and they were three days gathering the spoil because there was so much. 365N 107.25
26 And on the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of [g] Berachah, for there they blessed the Lord ; therefore the name of that place was called The Valley of Berachah until this day. 365N 107.26
27 Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat in front of them, to go back to Jerusalem with joy, for the Lord had made them rejoice over their enemies. 365N 107.27
28 So they came to Jerusalem, with stringed instruments and harps and trumpets, to the house of the Lord . 365N 107.28
29 And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. 365N 107.29
30 Then the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his God gave him rest all around. 365N 107.30
31 So Jehoshaphat was king over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. 365N 107.31
32 And he walked in the way of his father Asa, and did not turn aside from it, doing what was right in the sight of the Lord . 365N 107.32
33 Nevertheless the [h] high places were not taken away, for as yet the people had not directed their hearts to the God of their fathers. 365N 107.33
34 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last, indeed they are written in the book of Jehu the son of Hanani, which is mentioned in the book of the kings of Israel. 365N 107.34
35 After this Jehoshaphat king of Judah allied himself with Ahaziah king of Israel, who acted very wickedly. 365N 107.35
36 And he allied himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish, and they made the ships in Ezion Geber. 365N 107.36
37 But Eliezer the son of Dodavah of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you have allied yourself with Ahaziah, the Lord has destroyed your works.” Then the ships were wrecked, so that they were not able to go to Tarshish. 365N 107.37
2 Chronicles 21
1 And Jehoshaphat [a] rested with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David. Then Jehoram his son reigned in his place. 365N 107.38
2 He had brothers, the sons of Jehoshaphat: Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azaryahu, Michael, and Shephatiah; all these were the sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel. 365N 107.39
3 Their father gave them great gifts of silver and gold and precious things, with fortified cities in Judah; but he gave the kingdom to Jehoram, because he was the firstborn. 365N 107.40
4 Now when Jehoram [b] was established over the kingdom of his father, he strengthened himself and killed all his brothers with the sword, and also others of the princes of Israel. 365N 107.41
5 Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. 365N 107.42
6 And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab had done, for he had the daughter of Ahab as a wife; and he did evil in the sight of the Lord . 365N 107.43
7 Yet the Lord would not destroy the house of David, because of the covenant that He had made with David, and since He had promised to give a lamp to him and to his sons forever. 365N 107.44
8 In his days Edom revolted against Judah’s authority, and made a king over themselves. 365N 107.45
9 So Jehoram went out with his officers, and all his chariots with him. And he rose by night and attacked the Edomites who had surrounded him and the captains of the chariots. 365N 107.46
10 Thus Edom has been in revolt against Judah’s authority to this day. At that time Libnah revolted against his rule, because he had forsaken the Lord God of his fathers. 365N 107.47
11 Moreover he made [c] high places in the mountains of Judah, and caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to commit harlotry, and led Judah astray. 365N 107.48
12 And a letter came to him from Elijah the prophet, saying, Thus says the Lord God of your father David: Because you have not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat your father, or in the ways of Asa king of Judah, 365N 107.49
13 but have walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and have made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to play the harlot like the harlotry of the house of Ahab, and also have killed your brothers, those of your father’s household, who were better than yourself, 365N 107.50
14 behold, the Lord will strike your people with a serious affliction—your children, your wives, and all your possessions; 365N 107.51
15 and you will become very sick with a disease of your intestines, until your intestines come out by reason of the sickness, day by day. 365N 107.52
16 Moreover the Lord stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines and the Arabians who were near the Ethiopians. 365N 107.53
17 And they came up into Judah and invaded it, and carried away all the possessions that were found in the king’s house, and also his sons and his wives, so that there was not a son left to him except [d] Jehoahaz, the youngest of his sons. 365N 107.54
18 After all this the Lord struck him in his intestines with an incurable disease. 365N 107.55
19 Then it happened in the course of time, after the end of two years, that his intestines came out because of his sickness; so he died in severe pain. And his people made no [e] burning for him, like the burning for his fathers. 365N 107.56
20 He was thirty-two years old when he became king. He reigned in Jerusalem eight years and, to no one’s sorrow, departed. However they buried him in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings. 365N 107.57
2 Chronicles 22
1 Then the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah his youngest son king in his place, for the raiders who came with the Arabians into the camp had killed all the older sons. So Ahaziah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, reigned. 365N 107.58
2 Ahaziah was [a] forty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Athaliah the [b] granddaughter of Omri. 365N 107.59
3 He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother advised him to do wickedly. 365N 107.60
4 Therefore he did evil in the sight of the Lord , like the house of Ahab; for they were his counselors after the death of his father, to his destruction. 365N 107.61
5 He also followed their advice, and went with [c] Jehoram the son of Ahab king of Israel to war against Hazael king of Syria at Ramoth Gilead; and the Syrians wounded Joram. 365N 107.62
6 Then he returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds which he had received at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. And [d] Azariah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, went down to see Jehoram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick. 365N 107.63
7 His going to Joram was God’s occasion for Ahaziah’s [e] downfall; for when he arrived, he went out with [f] Jehoram against Jehu the son of Nimshi, whom the Lord had anointed to [g] cut off the house of Ahab. 365N 107.64
8 And it happened, when Jehu was executing judgment on the house of Ahab, and found the princes of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah’s brothers who served Ahaziah, that he killed them. 365N 107.65
9 Then he searched for Ahaziah; and they caught him (he was hiding in Samaria), and brought him to Jehu. When they had killed him, they buried him, “because,” they said, “he is the son of Jehoshaphat, who sought the Lord with all his heart.” So the house of Ahaziah had no one to assume power over the kingdom. 365N 107.66
10 Now when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal heirs of the house of Judah. 365N 107.67
11 But [h] Jehoshabeath, the daughter of the king, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him away from among the king’s sons who were being murdered, and put him and his nurse in a bedroom. So Jehoshabeath, the daughter of King Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada the priest (for she was the sister of Ahaziah), hid him from Athaliah so that she did not kill him. 365N 107.68
12 And he was hidden with them in the house of God for six years, while Athaliah reigned over the land. 365N 107.69
2 Chronicles 23
1 In the seventh year Jehoiada strengthened himself, and made a covenant with the captains of hundreds: Azariah the son of Jeroham, Ishmael the son of Jehohanan, Azariah the son of Obed, Maaseiah the son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat the son of Zichri. 365N 107.70
2 And they went throughout Judah and gathered the Levites from all the cities of Judah, and the chief fathers of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem. 365N 107.71
3 Then all the assembly made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And he said to them, “Behold, the king’s son shall reign, as the Lord has said of the sons of David. 365N 107.72
4 This is what you shall do: One-third of you entering on the Sabbath, of the priests and the Levites, shall be keeping watch over the doors; 365N 107.73
5 one-third shall be at the king’s house; and one-third at the Gate of the Foundation. All the people shall be in the courts of the house of the Lord . 365N 107.74
6 But let no one come into the house of the Lord except the priests and those of the Levites who serve. They may go in, for they are holy; but all the people shall keep the watch of the Lord . 365N 107.75
7 And the Levites shall surround the king on all sides, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whoever comes into the house, let him be put to death. You are to be with the king when he comes in and when he goes out.” 365N 107.76
8 So the Levites and all Judah did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded. And each man took his men who were to be on duty on the Sabbath, with those who were going off duty on the Sabbath; for Jehoiada the priest had not dismissed the divisions. 365N 107.77
9 And Jehoiada the priest gave to the captains of hundreds the spears and the large and small shields which had belonged to King David, that were in the temple of God. 365N 107.78
10 Then he set all the people, every man with his weapon in his hand, from the right side of the temple to the left side of the temple, along by the altar and by the temple, all around the king. 365N 107.79
11 And they brought out the king’s son, put the crown on him, gave him the [a] Testimony, and made him king. Then Jehoiada and his sons anointed him, and said, “ Long live the king!” 365N 107.80
12 Now when Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and praising the king, she came to the people in the temple of the Lord . 365N 107.81
13 When she looked, there was the king standing by his pillar at the entrance; and the leaders and the trumpeters were by the king. All the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets, also the singers with musical instruments, and those who led in praise. So Athaliah tore her clothes and said, “Treason! Treason!” 365N 107.82
14 And Jehoiada the priest brought out the captains of hundreds who were set over the army, and said to them, “Take her outside under guard, and slay with the sword whoever follows her.” For the priest had said, “Do not kill her in the house of the Lord .” 365N 107.83
15 So they seized her; and she went by way of the entrance of the Horse Gate into the king’s house, and they killed her there. 365N 107.84
16 Then Jehoiada made a covenant between himself, the people, and the king, that they should be the Lord ’s people. 365N 107.85
17 And all the people went to the [b] temple of Baal, and tore it down. They broke in pieces its altars and images, and killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. 365N 107.86
18 Also Jehoiada appointed the oversight of the house of the Lord to the hand of the priests, the Levites, whom David had assigned in the house of the Lord , to offer the burnt offerings of the Lord , as it is written in the Law of Moses, with rejoicing and with singing, as it was established by David. 365N 107.87
19 And he set the gatekeepers at the gates of the house of the Lord , so that no one who was in any way unclean should enter. 365N 107.88
20 Then he took the captains of hundreds, the nobles, the governors of the people, and all the people of the land, and brought the king down from the house of the Lord ; and they went through the Upper Gate to the king’s house, and set the king on the throne of the kingdom. 365N 107.89
21 So all the people of the land rejoiced; and the city was quiet, for they had slain Athaliah with the sword. 365N 107.90
2 Chronicles 24
1 Joash was seven years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zibiah of Beersheba. 365N 107.91
2 Joash did what was right in the sight of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the priest. 365N 107.92
3 And Jehoiada took two wives for him, and he had sons and daughters. 365N 107.93
4 Now it happened after this that Joash set his heart on repairing the house of the Lord . 365N 107.94
5 Then he gathered the priests and the Levites, and said to them, “Go out to the cities of Judah, and gather from all Israel money to repair the house of your God from year to year, and see that you do it quickly.” However the Levites did not do it quickly. 365N 107.95
6 So the king called Jehoiada the chief priest, and said to him, “Why have you not required the Levites to bring in from Judah and from Jerusalem the collection, according to the commandment of Moses the servant of the Lord and of the assembly of Israel, for the tabernacle of witness?” 365N 107.96
7 For the sons of Athaliah, that wicked woman, had broken into the house of God, and had also presented all the dedicated things of the house of the Lord to the Baals. 365N 107.97
8 Then at the king’s command they made a chest, and set it outside at the gate of the house of the Lord . 365N 107.98
9 And they made a proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem to bring to the Lord the collection that Moses the servant of God had imposed on Israel in the wilderness. 365N 107.99
10 Then all the leaders and all the people rejoiced, brought their contributions, and put them into the chest until all had given. 365N 107.100
11 So it was, at that time, when the chest was brought to the king’s official by the hand of the Levites, and when they saw that there was much money, that the king’s scribe and the high priest’s officer came and emptied the chest, and took it and returned it to its place. Thus they did day by day, and gathered money in abundance. 365N 107.101
12 The king and Jehoiada gave it to those who did the work of the service of the house of the Lord ; and they hired masons and carpenters to repair the house of the Lord , and also those who worked in iron and bronze to restore the house of the Lord . 365N 107.102
13 So the workmen labored, and the work was completed by them; they restored the house of God to its original condition and reinforced it. 365N 107.103
14 When they had finished, they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada; they made from it articles for the house of the Lord , articles for serving and offering, spoons and vessels of gold and silver. And they offered burnt offerings in the house of the Lord continually all the days of Jehoiada. 365N 107.104
15 But Jehoiada grew old and was full of days, and he died; he was one hundred and thirty years old when he died. 365N 107.105
16 And they buried him in the City of David among the kings, because he had done good in Israel, both toward God and His house. 365N 107.106
17 Now after the death of Jehoiada the leaders of Judah came and bowed down to the king. And the king listened to them. 365N 107.107
18 Therefore they left the house of the Lord God of their fathers, and served wooden images and idols; and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem because of their trespass. 365N 107.108
19 Yet He sent prophets to them, to bring them back to the Lord ; and they testified against them, but they would not listen. 365N 107.109
20 Then the Spirit of God [a] came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, who stood above the people, and said to them, “Thus says God: ‘Why do you transgress the commandments of the Lord , so that you cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken the Lord , He also has forsaken you.’ ” 365N 107.110
21 So they conspired against him, and at the command of the king they stoned him with stones in the court of the house of the Lord . 365N 107.111
22 Thus Joash the king did not remember the kindness which Jehoiada his [b] father had done to him, but killed his son; and as he died, he said, “The Lord look on it, and repay!” 365N 107.112
23 So it happened in the spring of the year that the army of Syria came up against him; and they came to Judah and Jerusalem, and destroyed all the leaders of the people from among the people, and sent all their [c] spoil to the king of Damascus. 365N 107.113
24 For the army of the Syrians came with a small company of men; but the Lord delivered a very great army into their hand, because they had forsaken the Lord God of their fathers. So they executed judgment against Joash. 365N 107.114
25 And when they had withdrawn from him (for they left him severely wounded), his own servants conspired against him because of the blood of the [d] sons of Jehoiada the priest, and killed him on his bed. So he died. And they buried him in the City of David, but they did not bury him in the tombs of the kings. 365N 107.115
26 These are the ones who conspired against him: [e] Zabad the son of Shimeath the Ammonitess, and Jehozabad the son of [f] Shimrith the Moabitess. 365N 107.116
27 Now concerning his sons, and the many oracles about him, and the repairing of the house of God, indeed they are written in the [g] annals of the book of the kings. Then Amaziah his son reigned in his place. 365N 107.117