Micaiah said, “If you really do return safely, then the Lord has not spoken through me!” Then he added, “Take note, ¹  all you people.”

Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem. ¹  He went out among the people from Beer Sheba to the hill country of Ephraim and encouraged them to follow ²  the Lord God of their ancestors. ³ 

In Jerusalem Jehoshaphat appointed some Levites, priests, and Israelite family leaders to judge on behalf of the Lord ¹  and to settle disputes among the residents of Jerusalem. ² 

Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face toward the ground, and all the people of Judah ¹  and the residents of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord and worshiped him. ² 

When they began to shout and praise, the Lord suddenly attacked ¹  the Ammonites, Moabites, and men from Mount Seir ²  who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.

Then all the men of Judah and Jerusalem returned joyfully to Jerusalem with Jehoshaphat leading them; the Lord had given them reason to rejoice over their enemies.

All the kingdoms of the surrounding lands were afraid of God ¹  when they heard how the Lord had fought against Israel’s enemies.

He followed in the footsteps of the kings of Israel, just as Ahab’s dynasty had done, for he married Ahab’s daughter. ¹  He did evil in the sight of ²  the Lord.

He did evil in the sight of ¹  the Lord like Ahab’s dynasty because, after his father’s death, they ²  gave him advice that led to his destruction.

When Athaliah heard the royal guard ¹  shouting and praising the king, she joined the crowd ²  at the Lord’s temple.

(Wicked Athaliah and her sons had broken into God’s temple and used all the holy items of the Lord’s temple in their worship of the Baals.)

They abandoned the temple of the Lord God of their ancestors, ¹  and worshiped ²  the Asherah poles and idols. Because of this sinful activity, God was angry with Judah and Jerusalem.

King Joash disregarded ¹  the loyalty his father Jehoiada had shown him and killed Jehoiada’s ²  son. As Zechariah ³  was dying, he said, “May the Lord take notice and seek vengeance!” ⁴ 

From the time Amaziah turned from following the Lord, conspirators plotted against him in Jerusalem, ¹  so he fled to Lachish. But they sent assassins after him ²  and they killed him there.

He followed ¹  God during the lifetime of ²  Zechariah, who taught him how to honor God. As long as he followed ³  the Lord, God caused him to succeed. ⁴ 

But once he became powerful, his pride destroyed him. ¹  He disobeyed ²  the Lord his God. He entered the Lord’s temple to offer incense on the incense altar.

Uzziah, who had an incense censer in his hand, became angry. While he was ranting and raving ¹  at the priests, a skin disease ²  appeared on his forehead right there in front of the priests in the Lord’s temple near the incense altar.

Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for sixteen years in Jerusalem. ¹  He did not do what pleased the Lord, in contrast to his ancestor David. ² 

He offered sacrifices in the Valley of Ben-Hinnom and passed his sons through the fire, ¹  a horrible sin practiced by the nations ²  whom the Lord drove out before the Israelites.

In one day King Pekah son of Remaliah of Israel killed 120,000 warriors in Judah, because they had abandoned the Lord God of their ancestors. ¹