Παραλειπομένων Βʹ 19
1 καὶ ἀπέστρεψεν Ιωσαφατ βασιλεὺς Ιουδα εἰς τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ ἐν εἰρήνῃ εἰς Ιερουσαλημ
When King Jehoshaphat was returning safely to his palace in Jerusalem,
2 καὶ ἐξῆλθεν εἰς ἀπάντησιν αὐτοῦ Ιου ὁ τοῦ Ανανι ὁ προφήτης καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ βασιλεῦ Ιωσαφατ εἰ ἁμαρτωλῷ σὺ βοηθεῖς ἢ μισουμένῳ ὑπὸ κυρίου φιλιάζεις διὰ τοῦτο ἐγένετο ἐπὶ σὲ ὀργὴ παρὰ κυρίου
the prophet Jehu, the son of [the prophet] Hanani, went out of the city to meet the king, and said to him, “It was not right for you to help a wicked man and to love those who hate Yahweh. Because of what you have done, Yahweh is angry with you.
3 ἀλλ’ ἢ λόγοι ἀγαθοὶ ηὑρέθησαν ἐν σοί ὅτι ἐξῆρας τὰ ἄλση ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς Ιουδα καὶ κατηύθυνας τὴν καρδίαν σου ἐκζητῆσαι τὸν κύριον
But you have done some good things; you got rid of the poles in this country for [worshiping the goddess] Asherah, and you have strongly determined to do what pleases God.”
4 καὶ κατῴκησεν Ιωσαφατ ἐν Ιερουσαλημ καὶ πάλιν ἐξῆλθεν εἰς τὸν λαὸν ἀπὸ Βηρσαβεε ἕως ὄρους Εφραιμ καὶ ἐπέστρεψεν αὐτοὺς ἐπὶ κύριον θεὸν τῶν πατέρων αὐτῶν
Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem. But [one time], like he had done once previously, he went out among all the people in the country, from Beersheba [city in the far south] to the hilly area of [the tribe of] Ephraim [in the far north], and he convinced them to return to [worshiping] Yahweh, the God whom their ancestors [worshiped].
5 καὶ κατέστησεν κριτὰς ἐν πάσαις ταῖς πόλεσιν Ιουδα ταῖς ὀχυραῖς ἐν πόλει καὶ πόλει
He appointed judges throughout Judah, in each of the cities that had walls around them.
6 καὶ εἶπεν τοῖς κριταῖς ἴδετε τί ὑμεῖς ποιεῖτε ὅτι οὐκ ἀνθρώπῳ ὑμεῖς κρίνετε ἀλλ’ ἢ τῷ κυρίῳ καὶ μεθ’ ὑμῶν λόγοι τῆς κρίσεως
He told them, “Make your decisions carefully, because you are judging cases not [in order] to [please] people but to [please] Yahweh. And he will be watching you whenever you make a decision.
7 καὶ νῦν γενέσθω φόβος κυρίου ἐφ’ ὑμᾶς καὶ φυλάσσετε καὶ ποιήσετε ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν μετὰ κυρίου θεοῦ ἡμῶν ἀδικία οὐδὲ θαυμάσαι πρόσωπον οὐδὲ λαβεῖν δῶρα
So now revere Yahweh, and judge cases carefully, [and do not forget that] Yahweh our God never acts unjustly, and he never does what people want because of their offering him money; he never accepts bribes.”
8 καὶ γὰρ ἐν Ιερουσαλημ κατέστησεν Ιωσαφατ τῶν ἱερέων καὶ τῶν Λευιτῶν καὶ τῶν πατριαρχῶν Ισραηλ εἰς κρίσιν κυρίου καὶ κρίνειν τοὺς κατοικοῦντας ἐν Ιερουσαλημ
In Jerusalem also, Jehoshaphat appointed some priests and other descendants of Levi and some leaders of Israeli families [to be judges]. He told them to do what Yahweh’s laws said was right when they settled disputes. Those men lived in Jerusalem.
9 καὶ ἐνετείλατο πρὸς αὐτοὺς λέγων οὕτως ποιήσετε ἐν φόβῳ κυρίου ἐν ἀληθείᾳ καὶ ἐν πλήρει καρδίᾳ
He told them this: “You must always do your work faithfully, revering Yahweh.
10 πᾶς ἀνὴρ κρίσιν τὴν ἐλθοῦσαν ἐφ’ ὑμᾶς τῶν ἀδελφῶν ὑμῶν τῶν κατοικούντων ἐν ταῖς πόλεσιν αὐτῶν ἀνὰ μέσον αἵματος αἷμα καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον προστάγματος καὶ ἐντολῆς καὶ δικαιώματα καὶ κρίματα καὶ διαστελεῖσθε αὐτοῖς καὶ οὐχ ἁμαρτήσονται τῷ κυρίῳ καὶ οὐκ ἔσται ἐφ’ ὑμᾶς ὀργὴ καὶ ἐπὶ τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς ὑμῶν οὕτως ποιήσετε καὶ οὐχ ἁμαρτήσεσθε
In every dispute that your fellow Israelis who live in the cities want you to settle, you must warn them to not sin against Yahweh [by telling lies during the trial]. If you do not warn them, God will punish both you and your fellow Israelis. If you warn them, you will not be sinning. You must warn them whether [someone has accused them] of murdering someone, or of disobeying some other law or command or decree [of Yahweh].
11 καὶ ἰδοὺ Αμαριας ὁ ἱερεὺς ἡγούμενος ἐφ’ ὑμᾶς εἰς πᾶν λόγον κυρίου καὶ Ζαβδιας υἱὸς Ισμαηλ ὁ ἡγούμενος εἰς οἶκον Ιουδα πρὸς πᾶν λόγον βασιλέως καὶ οἱ γραμματεῖς καὶ οἱ Λευῖται πρὸ προσώπου ὑμῶν ἰσχύσατε καὶ ποιήσατε καὶ ἔσται κύριος μετὰ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ
Amariah the Supreme Priest will supervise you in any matter that Yahweh is concerned about, and Zebadiah the son of Ishmael, the leader of the tribe of Judah, will supervise you in any matter that I am responsible for. And the descendants of Levi will assist you. Act courageously, and I pray that Yahweh will help those who do their work well.”
