17:3 The Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he followed in his ancestor 1 David’s footsteps at the beginning of his reign. 2 He did not seek the Baals, 17:4 but instead sought the God of his ancestors 3 and obeyed 4 his commands, unlike the Israelites. 5 17:5 The Lord made his kingdom secure; 6 all Judah brought tribute to Jehoshaphat, and he became very wealthy and greatly respected. 7 17:6 He was committed to following the Lord; 8 he even removed the high places and Asherah poles from Judah.
17:7 In the third year of his reign he sent his officials Ben-Hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah to teach in the cities of Judah. 17:8 They were accompanied by the Levites Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tob-Adonijah, and by the priests Elishama and Jehoram. 17:9 They 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.
19:4 Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem. 12 He went out among the people from Beer Sheba to the hill country of Ephraim and encouraged them to follow 13 the Lord God of their ancestors. 14
15:4 He despises a reprobate, 15
but honors the Lord’s loyal followers. 16
He makes firm commitments and does not renege on his promise. 17
1 tn Heb “father.”
2 tn Heb “for he walked in the ways of David his father [in] the beginning [times].”
3 tn Heb “fathers.”
4 tn Heb “walked in.”
5 tn Heb “and not like the behavior of Israel.”
6 tn Heb “established the kingdom in his hand.”
7 tn Heb “and he had wealth and honor in abundance.”
8 tn Heb “and his heart was high in the ways of the
9 tn Heb “nevertheless good things are found with you.”
10 tn Here בָּעַר (ba’ar) is not the well attested verb “burn,” but the less common homonym meaning “devastate, sweep away, remove.” See HALOT 146 s.v. II בער.
11 tn Heb “and you set your heart to seek the
12 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
13 tn Heb “and turned them back to.”
14 tn Heb “fathers.”
15 tn Heb “despised in his eyes [is] a rejected [one].” The Hebrew term נִמְאָס (nim’as, “rejected [one]”) apparently refers here to one who has been rejected by God because of his godless behavior. It stands in contrast to “those who fear God” in the following line.
16 tn Heb “those who fear the
17 tn Heb “he takes an oath to do harm and does not change.” The phrase “to do harm” cannot mean “do harm to others,” for the preceding verse clearly characterizes this individual as one who does not harm others. In this context the phrase must refer to an oath to which a self-imprecation is attached. The godly individual takes his commitments to others so seriously he is willing to “swear to his own hurt.” For an example of such an oath, see Ruth 1:16-17.