2 Chronicles 20:36 (YLT)

Passage

and he joineth him with himself to make ships to go to Tarshish, and they make ships in Ezion-Geber,

Nearby Context

2 Chronicles 20:34 And the rest of the matters of Jehoshaphat, the first and the last, lo, they are written among the matters of Jehu son of Hanani, who hath been mentioned on the book of the kings of Israel.

2 Chronicles 20:35 And after this hath Jehoshaphat king of Judah joined himself with Ahaziah king of Israel, (he did wickedly in <FI>so<Fi> doing),

2 Chronicles 20:36 and he joineth him with himself to make ships to go to Tarshish, and they make ships in Ezion-Geber,

2 Chronicles 20:37 and prophesy doth Eliezer son of Dodavah, of Mareshah, against Jehoshaphat, saying, `For thy joining thyself with Ahaziah, Jehovah hath broken up thy works;' and the ships are broken, and have not retained <FI>power<Fi> to go unto Tarshish.

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 35's "And after this hath Jehoshaphat king of..." into verse 37's "and prophesy doth Eliezer son of Dodavah...", so "joineth" 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 "joineth" and "himself" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.