Jehoshaphat was a good king, following the example of his father, Asa. He did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight. During his reign, however, he failed to remove all the pagan shrines, and the people still offered sacrifices and burned incense there.

约沙法行他父亲亚撒所行的道，不偏离左右，行耶和华眼中看为正的事；只是邱坛还没有废去，百姓仍在那里献祭烧香。

约沙法效法他父亲亚撒所行的道，不偏离左右，行耶和华眼中看为正的事。只是丘坛还没有废去，百姓仍在那里献祭烧香。

约沙法效法他父亲亚撒所行的道，不偏离左右，行耶和华眼中看为正的事。只是丘坛还没有废去，百姓仍在那里献祭烧香。

约沙法事事效法他父亲亚撒，不偏不离，做耶和华视为正的事。但他没有拆毁丘坛，百姓仍然在那里献祭烧香。

约沙法遵行他父亲亚撒所行的一切，总不偏离，行耶和华看为正的事。只是邱坛还没有废去，人民仍在邱坛上献祭烧香（“只是邱坛⋯⋯献祭烧香。”《马索拉文本》为22:44）。

約沙法行他父親亞撒所行的道，不偏離左右，行耶和華眼中看為正的事；只是邱壇還沒有廢去，百姓仍在那裏獻祭燒香。

約沙法效法他父親亞撒所行的道，不偏離左右，行耶和華眼中看為正的事。只是丘壇還沒有廢去，百姓仍在那裏獻祭燒香。

約沙法效法他父親亞撒所行的道，不偏離左右，行耶和華眼中看為正的事。只是丘壇還沒有廢去，百姓仍在那裏獻祭燒香。

約沙法事事效法他父親亞撒，不偏不離，做耶和華視為正的事。但他沒有拆毀邱壇，百姓仍然在那裡獻祭燒香。

約沙法遵行他父親亞撒所行的一切，總不偏離，行耶和華看為正的事。只是邱壇還沒有廢去，人民仍在邱壇上獻祭燒香（“只是邱壇⋯⋯獻祭燒香。”《馬索拉文本》為22:44）。

約沙法走他父親亞撒所始終走的路，總不偏離，乃行永恆主所看為對的事；只是邱壇還沒有廢去，人民仍然在邱壇上宰牲燻祭。

約沙法循其父亞撒之道、不偏離之、行耶和華所悅、惟崇邱未廢、民仍獻祭焚香於其上、

從父亞撒所為、不背厥道、行善於耶和華前、惟崇坵猶不廢、民尚在彼獻祭焚香。

約沙法行其父亞撒之道、不偏離左右、行善於主前、

In everything he followed the ways of his father Asa and did not stray from them; he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. The high places, however, were not removed, and the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there.

Jehoshaphat followed all the ways of his father Asa. He didn’t wander away from them. He did what was right in the sight of the Lord. But the high places weren’t removed. The people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense at them.

He walked in all the way of Asa his father. He did not turn aside from it, doing what was right in the sight of the Lord. Yet the high places were not taken away, and the people still sacrificed and made offerings on the high places.

He walked in all the ways of his father Asa; he did not turn away from them but did what was right in the LORD’s sight. However, the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.

He walked entirely in the way of his father Asa; he did not turn aside from it, doing what was right in the sight of the Lord. However, the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.

And he walked in all the ways of his father Asa. He did not turn aside from them, doing what was right in the eyes of the Lord. Nevertheless the high places were not taken away, for the people offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places.

And he walked in all the way of Asa his father; He turned not aside from it, doing that which was right in the eyes of Jehovah: howbeit the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places.

He walked in all the ways of his father Asa; he did not turn away from them but did what was right in the Lord’s sight. However, the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.

And he walked in all the ways of Asa his father; he turned not aside from it, doing[ that which was] right in the eyes of the LORD: nevertheless the high places were not taken away;[ for] the people offered and burnt incense yet in the high places.

He followed in his father Asa’s footsteps and was careful to do what the LORD approved.( 22: 44) However, the high places were not eliminated; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense on the high places.

He walked in all the way of Asa his father. He didn’t turn away from it, doing that which was right in Yahweh’s eyes. However the high places were not taken away. The people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.

Although the pagan shrines were not removed, Asa’s heart remained completely faithful to the Lord throughout his life.

Yet even so, he did not destroy the pagan shrines, and the people still offered sacrifices and burned incense there.

Even so, there is some good in you, for you have removed the Asherah poles throughout the land, and you have committed yourself to seeking God.”Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem, but he went out among the people, traveling from Beersheba to the hill country of Ephraim, encouraging the people to return to the Lord, the God of their ancestors.

For they also built for themselves pagan shrines and set up sacred pillars and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree.

At that time Hanani the seer came to King Asa and told him,“ Because you have put your trust in the king of Aram instead of in the Lord your God, you missed your chance to destroy the army of the king of Aram.Don’t you remember what happened to the Ethiopians and Libyans and their vast army, with all of their chariots and charioteers? At that time you relied on the Lord, and he handed them over to you.The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. What a fool you have been! From now on you will be at war.”Asa became so angry with Hanani for saying this that he threw him into prison and put him in stocks. At that time Asa also began to oppress some of his people.The rest of the events of Asa’s reign, from beginning to end, are recorded in The Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.In the thirty ninth year of his reign, Asa developed a serious foot disease. Yet even with the severity of his disease, he did not seek the Lord’s help but turned only to his physicians.

He did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight, just as his father, Amaziah, had done.But he did not destroy the pagan shrines, and the people still offered sacrifices and burned incense there.

Asa did what was pleasing and good in the sight of the Lord his God.He removed the foreign altars and the pagan shrines. He smashed the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherah poles.He commanded the people of Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and to obey his law and his commands.Asa also removed the pagan shrines, as well as the incense altars from every one of Judah’s towns. So Asa’s kingdom enjoyed a period of peace.

Asa did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight, as his ancestor David had done.

Jehoshaphat was terrified by this news and begged the Lord for guidance. He also ordered everyone in Judah to begin fasting.So people from all the towns of Judah came to Jerusalem to seek the Lord’s help.Jehoshaphat stood before the community of Judah and Jerusalem in front of the new courtyard at the Temple of the Lord.He prayed,“ O Lord, God of our ancestors, you alone are the God who is in heaven. You are ruler of all the kingdoms of the earth. You are powerful and mighty; no one can stand against you!O our God, did you not drive out those who lived in this land when your people Israel arrived? And did you not give this land forever to the descendants of your friend Abraham?Your people settled here and built this Temple to honor your name.They said,‘ Whenever we are faced with any calamity such as war, plague, or famine, we can come to stand in your presence before this Temple where your name is honored. We can cry out to you to save us, and you will hear us and rescue us.’“ And now see what the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir are doing. You would not let our ancestors invade those nations when Israel left Egypt, so they went around them and did not destroy them.Now see how they reward us! For they have come to throw us out of your land, which you gave us as an inheritance.O our God, won’t you stop them? We are powerless against this mighty army that is about to attack us. We do not know what to do, but we are looking to you for help.”As all the men of Judah stood before the Lord with their little ones, wives, and children,the Spirit of the Lord came upon one of the men standing there. His name was Jahaziel son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite who was a descendant of Asaph.He said,“ Listen, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Listen, King Jehoshaphat! This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid! Don’t be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.Tomorrow, march out against them. You will find them coming up through the ascent of Ziz at the end of the valley that opens into the wilderness of Jeruel.But you will not even need to fight. Take your positions; then stand still and watch the Lord’s victory. He is with you, O people of Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid or discouraged. Go out against them tomorrow, for the Lord is with you!”Then King Jehoshaphat bowed low with his face to the ground. And all the people of Judah and Jerusalem did the same, worshiping the Lord.Then the Levites from the clans of Kohath and Korah stood to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud shout.Early the next morning the army of Judah went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. On the way Jehoshaphat stopped and said,“ Listen to me, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be able to stand firm. Believe in his prophets, and you will succeed.”After consulting the people, the king appointed singers to walk ahead of the army, singing to the Lord and praising him for his holy splendor. This is what they sang:“ Give thanks to the Lord; his faithful love endures forever!”At the very moment they began to sing and give praise, the Lord caused the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir to start fighting among themselves.The armies of Moab and Ammon turned against their allies from Mount Seir and killed every one of them. After they had destroyed the army of Seir, they began attacking each other.So when the army of Judah arrived at the lookout point in the wilderness, all they saw were dead bodies lying on the ground as far as they could see. Not a single one of the enemy had escaped.King Jehoshaphat and his men went out to gather the plunder. They found vast amounts of equipment, clothing, and other valuables— more than they could carry. There was so much plunder that it took them three days just to collect it all!On the fourth day they gathered in the Valley of Blessing, which got its name that day because the people praised and thanked the Lord there. It is still called the Valley of Blessing today.Then all the men returned to Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat leading them, overjoyed that the Lord had given them victory over their enemies.They marched into Jerusalem to the music of harps, lyres, and trumpets, and they proceeded to the Temple of the Lord.When all the surrounding kingdoms heard that the Lord himself had fought against the enemies of Israel, the fear of God came over them.So Jehoshaphat’s kingdom was at peace, for his God had given him rest on every side.

“ But perhaps you will say to me,‘ We are trusting in the Lord our God!’ But isn’t he the one who was insulted by Hezekiah? Didn’t Hezekiah tear down his shrines and altars and make everyone in Judah and Jerusalem worship only at the altar here in Jerusalem?

When Asa heard this message from Azariah the prophet, he took courage and removed all the detestable idols from the land of Judah and Benjamin and in the towns he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. And he repaired the altar of the Lord, which stood in front of the entry room of the Lord’s Temple.

But banish those who turn to crooked ways, O Lord. Take them away with those who do evil. May Israel have peace!

Oh, the joys of those who trust the Lord, who have no confidence in the proud or in those who worship idols.

Although the pagan shrines were not removed from Israel, Asa’s heart remained completely faithful throughout his life.

Don’t get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil.

I will refuse to look at anything vile and vulgar. I hate all who deal crookedly; I will have nothing to do with them.

For David had done what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight and had obeyed the Lord’s commands throughout his life, except in the affair concerning Uriah the Hittite.

“ Don’t be afraid,” Samuel reassured them.“ You have certainly done wrong, but make sure now that you worship the Lord with all your heart, and don’t turn your back on him.Don’t go back to worshiping worthless idols that cannot help or rescue you— they are totally useless!

Amaziah did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight, but not like his ancestor David. Instead, he followed the example of his father, Joash.Amaziah did not destroy the pagan shrines, and the people still offered sacrifices and burned incense there.

The Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he followed the example of his father’s early years and did not worship the images of Baal.He sought his father’s God and obeyed his commands instead of following the evil practices of the kingdom of Israel.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.He was deeply committed to the ways of the Lord. He removed the pagan shrines and Asherah poles from Judah.

Then Asa cried out to the Lord his God,“ O Lord, no one but you can help the powerless against the mighty! Help us, O Lord our God, for we trust in you alone. It is in your name that we have come against this vast horde. O Lord, you are our God; do not let mere men prevail against you!”

How quickly they have turned away from the way I commanded them to live! They have melted down gold and made a calf, and they have bowed down and sacrificed to it. They are saying,‘ These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.’”