The Lord sent prophets among them to lead them back to him. ¹  They warned ²  the people, but they would not pay attention.

When Amaziah returned from defeating the Edomites, he brought back the gods of the people ¹  of Seir and made them his personal gods. ²  He bowed down before them and offered them sacrifices.

He appointed military officers over the army ¹  and assembled them in the square at the city gate. He encouraged them, ²  saying,

He made ornamental chains ¹  and put them on top of the pillars. He also made one hundred pomegranate-shaped ornaments and arranged them within the chains.

then listen from heaven, forgive the sin of your people Israel, and bring them back to the land you gave to them and their ancestors. ¹ 

Whenever the king visited the Lord’s temple, the royal guards carried them and then brought them back to the guardroom. ¹ 

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.

King Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them and assigned them to the officers of the royal guard ¹  who protected the entrance to the royal palace.

Men were assigned to take the prisoners and find clothes among the plunder for those who were naked. ¹  So they clothed them, supplied them with sandals, gave them food and drink, and provided them with oil to rub on their skin. ²  They put the ones who couldn’t walk on donkeys. ³  They brought them back to their brothers at Jericho, ⁴  the city of the date palm trees, and then returned to Samaria.

“The time will come when your people ¹  will sin against you (for there is no one who is sinless!) and you will be angry at them and deliver them over to their enemies, who will take them as prisoners to their land, whether far away or close by.

Now the Ammonites, Moabites, and men from Mount Seir are coming! ¹  When Israel came from the land of Egypt, you did not allow them to invade these lands. ²  They bypassed them and did not destroy them.

The Israelites fled from before the Judahite army, ¹  and God handed them over to the men of Judah. ² 

In the most holy place he made two images of cherubim and plated them with gold.

Others will then answer, ¹  ‘Because they abandoned the Lord God of their ancestors, ²  who led them out of Egypt. They embraced other gods whom they worshiped and served. ³  That is why he brought all this disaster down on them.’”

The men ¹  of Judah captured 10,000 men alive. They took them to the top of a cliff and threw them over. ²  All the captives ³  fell to their death. ⁴ 

He wisely placed some of his many sons throughout the regions of Judah and Benjamin in the various fortified cities. ¹  He supplied them with abundant provisions and acquired many wives for them. ² 

Tomorrow march down against them as ¹  they come up the Ascent of Ziz. You will find them at the end of the ravine in front of the Desert of Jeruel.

Oded, a prophet of the Lord, was there. He went to meet the army as they arrived in Samaria and said to them: “Look, because the Lord God of your ancestors was angry with Judah he handed them over to you. You have killed them so mercilessly that God has taken notice. ¹ 

All Judah was happy about the oath, because they made the vow with their whole heart. They willingly sought the Lord and he responded to them. ¹  He made them secure on every side. ² 

He fortified these cities and placed officers in them, as well as storehouses of food, olive oil, and wine.