2 Chronicles 20:36 (LSB)

Passage

So he allied himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish, and they made the ships in Ezion-geber.

Nearby Context

2 Chronicles 20:34 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first to last, behold, they are written in the chronicles of Jehu the son of Hanani, which is recorded in the Book of the Kings of Israel.

2 Chronicles 20:35 Afterwards, Jehoshaphat king of Judah allied himself with Ahaziah king of Israel. He acted wickedly in so doing.

2 Chronicles 20:36 So he allied himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish, and they made the ships in Ezion-geber.

2 Chronicles 20:37 Then Eliezer the son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat saying, “Because you have allied yourself with Ahaziah, Yahweh has destroyed your works.” So the ships were broken and could not go to Tarshish.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "allied", "himself", "make", "ships", "tarshish", and "ezion-geber". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "allied" and "himself", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 35's "Afterwards Jehoshaphat king of Judah allied himself..." into verse 37's "Then Eliezer the son of Dodavahu of...", so "allied" and "himself" belong inside that flow. In 2 Chronicles context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "allied" and "himself" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.