Chapter 17

  And Jehoshaphat his son became king in his place, and made himself strong against Israel.  

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  He put forces in all the walled towns of Judah, and responsible chiefs in the land of Judah and in the towns of Ephraim, which Asa his father had taken.  

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  And the Lord was with Jehoshaphat, because he went in the early ways of his father, not turning to the Baals,  

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  But turning to the God of his father and keeping his laws, and not doing as Israel did.  

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  So the Lord made his kingdom strong; and all Judah gave offerings to Jehoshaphat, and he had great wealth and honour.  

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  His heart was lifted up in the ways of the Lord; and he went so far as to take away the high places and the wood pillars out of Judah.  

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  In the third year of his rule he sent Benhail and Obadiah and Zechariah and Nethanel and Micaiah, his captains, as teachers into the towns of Judah;  

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  And with them, Shemaiah and Nethaniah and Zebadiah and Asahel and Shemiramoth and Jehonathan and Adonijah and Tobijah and Tob-adonijah, the Levites; and Elishama and Jehoram the priests.  

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  And they gave teaching in Judah and had the book of the law of the Lord with them; they went through all the towns of Judah teaching the people.  

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  And the fear of the Lord was on all the kingdoms of the lands round Judah, so that they made no wars against Jehoshaphat.  

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  And some of the Philistines took offerings to Jehoshaphat, and made him payments of silver; and the Arabians gave him flocks, seven thousand, seven hundred sheep, and seven thousand, seven hundred he-goats.  

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  Jehoshaphat became greater and greater, and made strong towers and store-towns in Judah.  

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  He had much property in the towns of Judah; he had forces of armed men, great and strong, in Jerusalem.  

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  This is the number of them, listed by their families, the captains of thousands of Judah: Adnah, the captain, and with him three hundred thousand men of war;  

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  Second to him Jehohanan, the captain, and with him two hundred and eighty thousand;  

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  After him Amasiah, the son of Zichri, who freely gave himself to the Lord, and with him two hundred thousand men of war;  

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  And the captains of Benjamin: Eliada, a great man of war, and with him two hundred thousand armed with bows and body-covers;  

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  And after him Jehozabad, and with him a hundred and eighty thousand trained for war.  

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  These were the men who were waiting on the king, in addition to those placed by the king in the walled towns through all Judah.  

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