| New Living Translation | NET Bible |
| 1Then Jehoshaphat, Asa’s son, became the next king. He strengthened Judah to stand against any attack from Israel. | 1His son Jehoshaphat replaced him as king and solidified his rule over Israel. |
| 2He stationed troops in all the fortified towns of Judah, and he assigned additional garrisons to the land of Judah and to the towns of Ephraim that his father, Asa, had captured. | 2He placed troops in all of Judah's fortified cities and posted garrisons throughout the land of Judah and in the cities of Ephraim that his father Asa had seized. |
| 3The LORD was with Jehoshaphat because he followed the example of his father’s early years and did not worship the images of Baal. | 3The LORD was with Jehoshaphat because he followed in his ancestor David's footsteps at the beginning of his reign. He did not seek the Baals, |
| 4He sought his father’s God and obeyed his commands instead of following the evil practices of the kingdom of Israel. | 4but instead sought the God of his ancestors and obeyed his commands, unlike the Israelites. |
| 5So 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. | 5The LORD made his kingdom secure; all Judah brought tribute to Jehoshaphat, and he became very wealthy and greatly respected. |
| 6He was deeply committed to the ways of the LORD. He removed the pagan shrines and Asherah poles from Judah. | 6He was committed to following the LORD; he even removed the high places and Asherah poles from Judah. |
| 7In the third year of his reign Jehoshaphat sent his officials to teach in all the towns of Judah. These officials included Ben-hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah. | 7In the third year of his reign he sent his officials Ben-Hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah to teach in the cities of Judah. |
| 8He sent Levites along with them, including Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tob-adonijah. He also sent out the priests Elishama and Jehoram. | 8They were accompanied by the Levites Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tob-Adonijah, and by the priests Elishama and Jehoram. |
| 9They took copies of the Book of the Law of the LORD and traveled around through all the towns of Judah, teaching the people. | 9They taught throughout Judah, taking with them the scroll of the law of the LORD. They traveled to all the cities of Judah and taught the people. |
| 10Then the fear of the LORD fell over all the surrounding kingdoms so that none of them wanted to declare war on Jehoshaphat. | 10The LORD put fear into all the kingdoms surrounding Judah; they did not make war with Jehoshaphat. |
| 11Some of the Philistines brought him gifts and silver as tribute, and the Arabs brought 7,700 rams and 7,700 male goats. | 11Some of the Philistines brought Jehoshaphat tribute, including a load of silver. The Arabs brought him 7,700 rams and 7,700 goats from their flocks. |
| 12So Jehoshaphat became more and more powerful and built fortresses and storage cities throughout Judah. | 12Jehoshaphat's power kept increasing. He built fortresses and storage cities throughout Judah. |
| 13He stored numerous supplies in Judah’s towns and stationed an army of seasoned troops at Jerusalem. | 13He had many supplies stored in the cities of Judah and an army of skilled warriors stationed in Jerusalem. |
| 14His army was enrolled according to ancestral clans. From Judah there were 300,000 troops organized in units of 1,000, under the command of Adnah. | 14These were their divisions by families: There were a thousand officers from Judah. Adnah the commander led 300,000 skilled warriors, |
| 15Next in command was Jehohanan, who commanded 280,000 troops. | 15Jehochanan the commander led 280,000, |
| 16Next was Amasiah son of Zicri, who volunteered for the LORD’s service, with 200,000 troops under his command. | 16and Amasiah son of Zikri, who volunteered to serve the LORD, led 200,000 skilled warriors. |
| 17From Benjamin there were 200,000 troops equipped with bows and shields. They were under the command of Eliada, a veteran soldier. | 17From Benjamin, Eliada, a skilled warrior, led 200,000 men who were equipped with bows and shields, |
| 18Next in command was Jehozabad, who commanded 180,000 armed men. | 18and Jehozabad led 180,000 trained warriors. |
| 19These were the troops stationed in Jerusalem to serve the king, besides those Jehoshaphat stationed in the fortified towns throughout Judah. | 19These were the ones who served the king, besides those whom the king placed in the fortified cities throughout Judah. |
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