Jehoshaphat’s Reforms

1 Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned in safety to his house in Jerusalem. 2 But ^jJehu the son of ^kHanani the seer went out to meet him and said to King Jehoshaphat, “Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord? Because of this, wrath has gone out against you from the Lord. 3 Nevertheless, some good is found in you, for ^lyou destroyed the Asheroth out of the land, and have ^mset your heart to seek God.”

4 Jehoshaphat lived at Jerusalem. And he went out again among the people, from Beersheba to the hill country of Ephraim, and ⁿbrought them back to the Lord, the God of their fathers. 5 He ^oappointed judges in the land in all the fortified cities of Judah, city by city, 6 and said to the judges, “Consider what you do, for you judge not for man but for the Lord. He is with you in giving judgment. 7 Now then, let the fear of the Lord be upon you. Be careful what you do, for ^pthere is no injustice with the Lord our God, or ^qpartiality or taking bribes.”

8 Moreover, in Jerusalem Jehoshaphat appointed certain Levites and priests and heads of families of Israel, to give ^rjudgment for the Lord and to decide disputed cases. They had their seat at Jerusalem. 9 And he charged them: “Thus you shall do in the fear of the Lord, in faithfulness, and with your whole heart: 10 whenever a case ^scomes to you from your brothers who live in their cities, concerning bloodshed, law or commandment, statutes or rules, then you shall warn them, that they may not incur guilt before the Lord and wrath may not come upon you and your brothers. Thus you shall do, and you will not incur guilt. 11 And behold, Amariah the chief priest is over you in all matters of the Lord; and Zebadiah the son of Ishmael, the governor of the house of Judah, in all the king’s matters, and the Levites will serve you as officers. Deal courageously, and may the Lord be with the upright!”¹

Jehoshaphat’s Prayer

1 After this the Moabites and Ammonites, and with them some of the ^tMeunites,² came against Jehoshaphat for battle. 2 Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, “A great multitude is coming against you from Edom,³ from beyond the sea; and, behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar” (that is, Engedi). 3 Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a ^ufast throughout all Judah. 4 And Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord; from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.

5 And Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court, 6 and said, “O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? ^vYou rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that ^wnone is able to withstand you. 7 Did you not, our God, ^xdrive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham ^yyour friend? 8 And they have lived in it and have built for you in it a sanctuary for your name, saying, 9 ^z‘If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment,⁴ or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before you—for ^ayour name is in this house—and cry out to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save.’ 10 And now behold, the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, ^bwhom you would not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt, and whom they avoided and did not destroy— 11 behold, they reward us by coming to drive us out of your possession, which you have given us to inherit. 12 O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”

13 Meanwhile all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. 14 And ^cthe Spirit of the Lord came⁵ upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of ^dAsaph, in the midst of the assembly. 15 And he said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you, ^e‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for ^fthe battle is not yours but God’s. 16 Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz. You will find them at the end of the valley, east of the wilderness of Jeruel. 17 You will not need to fight in this battle. ^gStand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ ^hDo not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you.”

18 Then Jehoshaphat ⁱbowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. 19 And the Levites, of the Kohathites and the Korahites, stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.

20 And they rose early in the morning and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. And when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! ^jBelieve in the Lord your God, and you will be established; believe his prophets, and you will succeed.” 21 And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed ^kthose who were to sing to the Lord and praise him in holy attire, as they went before the army, and say,

22 And when they began to sing and praise, the Lord set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed. 23 For the men of Ammon and Moab rose against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, devoting them to destruction, and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, ⁿthey all helped to destroy one another.

The Lord Delivers Judah

24 When Judah came to the watchtower of the wilderness, they looked toward the horde, and behold, there⁶ were dead bodies lying on the ground; none had escaped. 25 When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take their spoil, they found among them, in great numbers, goods, clothing, and precious things, which they took for themselves until they could carry no more. They were three days in taking the spoil, it was so much. 26 On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Beracah,⁷ for there they blessed the Lord. Therefore the name of that place has been called the Valley of Beracah to this day. 27 Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat at their head, returning to Jerusalem with joy, for the Lord had made them rejoice over their enemies. 28 They came to Jerusalem with harps and lyres and trumpets, to the house of the Lord. 29 And ^othe fear of God came on all the kingdoms of the countries when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. 30 So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for ^phis God gave him rest all around.

31 ^qThus Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. 32 He walked in the way of ^rAsa his father and did not turn aside from it, ^sdoing what was right in the sight of the Lord. 33 The ^thigh places, however, were not taken away; the people had not yet ^uset their hearts upon the God of their fathers.

34 ^vNow the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, from first to last, are written in the chronicles of ^wJehu the son of ^xHanani, which are recorded in the Book of the Kings of Israel.

The End of Jehoshaphat’s Reign

35 After this Jehoshaphat king of Judah joined with ^yAhaziah king of Israel, who acted wickedly. 36 He joined him in building ships to go to Tarshish, and they built the ships in Ezion-geber. 37 Then Eliezer the son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you have joined with Ahaziah, the Lord will destroy what you have made.” And the ships were wrecked and were not able to go to Tarshish.

One of You Will Betray Me

21 ^dAfter saying these things, Jesus was ^etroubled in his spirit, and testified, “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will ^fbetray me.” 22 The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke. 23 One of his disciples, ^gwhom Jesus loved, was reclining at table ^hat Jesus’ side,¹ 24 so Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus² of whom he was speaking. 25 ⁱSo that disciple, leaning back against Jesus, said to him, “Lord, who is it?” 26 Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it.” So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. 27 Then after he had taken the morsel, ^jSatan entered into him. Jesus said to him, ^k“What you are going to do, do quickly.” 28 Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him. 29 Some thought that, ^lbecause Judas had the moneybag, Jesus was telling him, “Buy what we need for the feast,” or that he should give something to the poor. 30 So, after receiving the morsel of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night.

A New Commandment

31 When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man ^mglorified, and ⁿGod is glorified in him. 32 If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once. 33 Little children, ^oyet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and ^pjust as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going you cannot come.’ 34 ^qA new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have ^rlove for one another.”

Jesus Foretells Peter’s Denial

36 ^sSimon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but ^tyou will follow afterward.” 37 Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” 38 Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the ^urooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.