2 Chronicles 20:35 (WEB)

Passage

After this, Jehoshaphat king of Judah joined himself with Ahaziah king of Israel. The same did very wickedly.

Nearby Context

2 Chronicles 20:33 However the high places were not taken away, and the people had still not set their hearts on the God of their fathers.

2 Chronicles 20:34 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last, behold, they are written in the history of Jehu the son of Hanani, which is included in the book of the kings of Israel.

2 Chronicles 20:35 After this, Jehoshaphat king of Judah joined himself with Ahaziah king of Israel. The same did very wickedly.

2 Chronicles 20:36 He joined himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish. 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 joined yourself with Ahaziah, Yahweh has destroyed your works.” The ships were wrecked, so that they were not able to go to Tarshish.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "after", "jehoshaphat", "king", "judah", "joined", "himself", and "ahaziah". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "after" and "jehoshaphat", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 34's "Now the rest of the acts of..." into verse 36's "He joined himself with him to make...", so "after" and "jehoshaphat" 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 "after" and "jehoshaphat" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.