2 Chronicles 19 KJV
Jehoshaphat Appoints Judges
2 Chronicles Chapter 19: Jehoshaphat Appoints Judges
The rebuke by Jehu son of Hanani continues a multi-generational prophetic confrontation, as his father Hanani had earlier denounced Jehoshaphat's own father Asa for a similar foreign alliance, underscoring recurring dynastic patterns of prophetic accountability in Chronicles.
1nd Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned to his house in peace to Jerusalem.
2 And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to king Jehoshaphat, Shouldest thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the LORD? therefore is wrath upon thee from before the LORD.
3 Nevertheless there are good things found in thee, in that thou hast taken away the groves out of the land, and hast prepared thine heart to seek God.
4 And Jehoshaphat dwelt at Jerusalem: and he went out again through the people from Beersheba to mount Ephraim, and brought them back unto the LORD God of their fathers.
5 And he set judges in the land throughout all the fenced cities of Judah, city by city,
6 And said to the judges, Take heed what ye do: for ye judge not for man, but for the LORD, who is with you in the judgment.
7 Wherefore now let the fear of the LORD be upon you; take heed and do it: for there is no iniquity with the LORD our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts.
8 Moreover in Jerusalem did Jehoshaphat set of the Levites, and of the priests, and of the chief of the fathers of Israel, for the judgment of the LORD, and for controversies, when they returned to Jerusalem.
9 And he charged them, saying, Thus shall ye do in the fear of the LORD, faithfully, and with a perfect heart.
10 And what cause soever shall come to you of your brethren that dwell in their cities, between blood and blood, between law and commandment, statutes and judgments, ye shall even warn them that they trespass not against the LORD, and so wrath come upon you, and upon your brethren: this do, and ye shall not trespass.
11 And, behold, Amariah the chief priest is over you in all matters of the LORD; and Zebadiah the son of Ishmael, the ruler of the house of Judah, for all the kingโs matters: also the Levites shall be officers before you. Deal courageously, and the LORD shall be with the good.
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Did You Know?
The rebuke by Jehu son of Hanani continues a multi-generational prophetic confrontation, as his father Hanani had earlier denounced Jehoshaphat's own father Asa for a similar foreign alliance, underscoring recurring dynastic patterns of prophetic accountability in Chronicles.
Jehoshaphat's explicit instruction that judges 'judge not for man, but for the Lord' directly echoes and applies Deuteronomy's theocratic jurisprudence, framing human courts as extensions of divine authority rather than independent royal institutions.
The reform integrates Levites and priests into both 'matters of the Lord' and 'matters of the king' in Jerusalem, revealing a distinctive Judahite fusion of cultic and civil adjudication absent from parallel Mosaic legislation.
By traversing the land 'from Beersheba to mount Ephraim,' Jehoshaphat reasserts judicial oversight over border regions that had fluctuated between Judah and Israel, indicating administrative efforts to consolidate southern territories post-alliance.
The chapter positions the judicial appointments as an immediate sequel to the prophetic warning after the Ahab alliance, implying the reforms function as a concrete act of repentance rather than routine governance.
Commentary & Study Notes Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871) ยท Public Domain Jehoshaphat... returned to his house in peace โ (See 2Ch 18:16). Not long after he had resumed the ordinary functions of royalty in Jerusalem, he was one day disturbed by an unexpeโฆ
Classic verse-by-verse commentary on 2 Chronicles 19 from Jamieson, Fausset & Brown (1871). Covers: Jehoshaphat visits his kingdom; His instructions to the judges; To the priests and levites.
- 1-4
- Jehoshaphat... returned to his house in peace โ (See 2Ch 18:16). Not long after he had resumed the ordinary functions of royalty in Jerusalem, he was one day disturbed by an unexpected and ominous visit from a prophet of the Lord [2Ch 19:2]. This was Jehu, of whose father we read in 2Ch 16:7. He himself had been called to discharge the prophetic office in Israel. But probably for his bold rebuke to Baasha (1Ki 16:1), he had been driven by that arbitrary monarch within the territory of Judah, where we now find him with the privileged license of his order, taking the same religious supervision of Jehoshaphat's proceedings as he had formerly done of Baasha's. At the interview here described, he condemned, in the strongest terms, the king of Judah's imprudent and incongruous league with Ahab โ God's open enemy (1Ki 22:2) โ as an unholy alliance that would be conducive neither to the honor and comfort of his house nor to the best interests of his kingdom. He apprised Jehoshaphat that, on account of that grave offense, "wrath was upon him from before the Lord," a judgment that was inflicted soon after (see on 2Ch 20:1-37). The prophet's rebuke, however, was administered in a mingled strain of severity and mildness; for he interposed "a nevertheless" (2Ch 19:3), which implied that the threatened storm would be averted, in token of the divine approval of his public efforts for the promotion of the true religion, as well as of the sincere piety of his personal character and life.
- 4
- he went out again through the people โ This means his reappointing the commissioners of public instruction (2Ch 17:7-9), perhaps with new powers and a larger staff of assistants to overtake every part of the land. The complement of teachers required for that purpose would be easily obtained because the whole tribe of Levites was now concentrated within the kingdom of Judah.
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