1 Jehoshaphat returned safely to his palace in Jerusalem. 2 But the prophet Jehu son of Hanani met him and said:
By helping that wicked Ahab, you have made friends with someone who hates the Lord. Now the Lord God is angry with you! 3 But not everything about you is bad. You destroyed the sacred poles used in worshiping the goddess Asherah—that shows you have tried to obey the Lord.
Jehoshaphat Appoints Judges To Settle Cases
4 Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem, but he often traveled through his kingdom, from Beersheba in the south to the edge of the hill country of Ephraim in the north. He talked with the people and convinced them to turn back to the Lord God and worship him, just as their ancestors had done.
5 He assigned judges to each of the fortified cities in Judah 6 and told them:
Be careful when you make your decisions in court, because you are judging by the Lord's standards and not by human standards, and he will know what you decide. 7 So do your work in honor of him and know that he won't allow you to be unfair to anyone or to take bribes.
8 Jehoshaphat also chose some Levites, some priests, and some of the family leaders, and he appointed them to serve as judges in Jerusalem. 9 He told them:
Faithfully serve the Lord! 10 The people of Judah will bring you legal cases that involve every type of crime, including murder. You must settle these cases and warn the people to stop sinning against the Lord, so that he won't get angry and punish Judah. Remember, if you follow these instructions, you won't be held responsible for anything that happens.
11 Amariah the high priest will have the final say in any religious case. And Zebadiah, the leader of the Judah tribe, will have the final say in all other cases. The rest of the Levites will serve as your assistants. Be brave, and I pray that the Lord will help you do right.
Kēbo-aob ge Josafata ra ǀau
1 Judab gao-aob Josafati ge ǃnorasase, ǁîb di gao-ommi Jerusalems ǃnâ hâb tawa ge oasī. 2 Ob ge Hananib ôab, kēbo-aob Jehuba gao-aob Josafati tawa sī tsî ǁîb ǃoa ge mî: “ǂHanu i kha a eloxoresana hui tsî ǃKhūba ǁkhan hâna ǀnamsa? Sats go dī ǃkhais ge ǃKhūb di ǁaiba sa ǂama go hā-ū. 3 ǁNāti i ī, xawen ge ǁkhāti ǃgâin tsîna sats ǃnâ go hōhe. Sats ge ǁgôa-elos Aseras, khoen ra ǀgoreǀîs di īgu hoaga ūbē tsî Eloba saoǃgonsa gere ǁgūba.”
Josafati ge dī dī-unudi
4 Gao-aob Josafati ge Jerusalems ǃnâb ge ǁan hâ i, xawe ǁîb di khoena, Bersebas, ǃkhawagas ǃnâ ǁgoesa xu Efraimǃhomgu ǀapas ǃnâ ǁgoegu kōse gere sari, ǁînab ǃKhūb ǁîn aboxagu di Eloba ǃoa nî oaǀkhī-ūse. 5 ǁÎb ge ǂhanuǂhanu-aoga mâ omǂnamisa ǃās, Judab dis hoas ǃnâ mâi 6 tsî ǁîga ge mîmā: “Mâti go ra ǀgoraǃgâsa ǃûisen re, khoesi ǀgaib ai go sîsen tama tsî go ǃKhūb di ǀgaib ai ra sîsen xuige. ǁÎb ge ǁkharaba go ra gowaǂui ǁaeb ai sago ǀkha hâ. 7 ǃKhūba ǃaoǃgâ, î ǃûisens ǀkha sîsen, ǃKhūb sada Elob gaxaǃnâsi-i kas, ǀkhāǁhûi-i kas, ǀhôagao ǀgaub ai ǀkhaexū-e ǃkhōǃoas kas hoasa ǂgao tama xuige.”
8 Josafati ge Jerusalems tsîn ǃnâ Leviǁîgu, pristergu tsî ǀnî ǂamkhoegu ǃās digu tsîga ǀgoraǃgâ-aose ge mâi, î gu ǃKhūb di ǂhanuba ǃûǂamdi kas, khoen ǁaegu hâ ǂnoagu-ain kas hoasa ǀgoraǃgâ. 9 Tsîb ge ǁîga nēti ge mîmā: “Nē ǃoabade ǃKhūb di ǃaoǃgâb ǀkha dī, îǂhôase tsî hoa xūn ǃnâ ǁîba ra ǁnâuǀnamse. 10 Sadu ǃhūb di ǁanǂgāsaben, nau ǃādi ǃnâ ǁan hân ga ǃgams kas, ǂhanub tamas ka io mîmāsa ǃûǂams kas hoas di ǁhō-e sago ǃoa hā-ū, o go ge ǁîna nî ǁkhāǁkhā, mâtin ǀgoraǃgâs ǃnâ nî tanisensa, în tā ǃKhūb ǃoagu ǁore tsî ǁnās ǀkha ǀhapixa. ǁNāsa go ga dī tama i, ob ge ǃKhūb di ǁaiba sago tsî ǁîn tsîn ai nî hā, xawe ǁnāsa go ga dī, o go ge ǀhapixa tide. 11 ǀGapipristeri Amariab ge ǃKhūb di sîsengu hoagu ǃnâ sago nî mûǂam tsî Ismaeli ôab Sebadjab, Judab di gowoniab ge ǃhūb ǂgaeǂguis di sîsengu ǃnâ sago nî mûǂam. Leviǁîgu ge ǂamkhoese sago ǀkha ǃoabadi ǃnâ nî hâ. ǁKhoaǂgaoxa, î sago ǁguiǂamde dī. Ab ǃKhūba ǂhanu-aina hâǀkhā re.”
