19:4 Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem. 4 He went out among the people from Beer Sheba to the hill country of Ephraim and encouraged them to follow 5 the Lord God of their ancestors. 6 19:5 He appointed judges throughout the land and in each of the fortified cities of Judah. 7 19:6 He told the judges, “Be careful what you do, 8 for you are not judging for men, but for the Lord, who will be with you when you make judicial decisions. 19:7 Respect the Lord and make careful decisions, for the Lord our God disapproves of injustice, partiality, and bribery.” 9
19:8 In Jerusalem Jehoshaphat appointed some Levites, priests, and Israelite family leaders to judge on behalf of the Lord 10 and to settle disputes among the residents of Jerusalem. 11 19:9 He commanded them: “Carry out your duties with respect for the Lord, with honesty, and with pure motives. 12
1 tn Heb “nevertheless good things are found with you.”
2 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.
3 tn Heb “and you set your heart to seek the
4 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
5 tn Heb “and turned them back to.”
6 tn Heb “fathers.”
7 tn Heb “in all the fortified cities of Judah, city by city.”
10 tn Heb “see what you are doing.”
13 tn Heb “and now let the terror of the
16 tn Heb “for the judgment of the
17 tc Heb “and to conduct a case [or “for controversy”], and they returned [to] Jerusalem.” Some emend וַיָּשֻׁבוּ (vayyashuvu, “and they returned”) to וַיֵּשְׁבוּ (vayyeshÿvu, “and they lived [in]”). The present translation assumes an emendation to יֹשְׁבֵי (yoshÿvey, “residents of”).
19 tn Heb “This you must do with the fear of the