Charles Ellicott Commentary 2 Chronicles 19:2

"And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to king Jehoshaphat, Shouldest thou help the wicked, and love them that hate Jehovah? for this thing wrath is upon thee from before Jehovah." — 2 Chronicles 19:2 (ASV)

And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer. — This refers to the seer whose father had suffered for his reproof of Asa (2 Chronicles 16:7–10), and who had himself already witnessed against Baasha, king of Israel (1 Kings 16:1–7).

To meet him. — Unto his presence (1 Chronicles 12:17; 2 Chronicles 15:2).

King. — The king. The prophets never shrank from facing the highest representatives of earthly power (Compare to 1 Kings 21:20).

Shouldest thou help. — Literally, to help the ungodly. The infinitive (as in 1 Chronicles 5:1; 1 Chronicles 9:25), that is, ought you to help?

The ungodly. — The emphatic word. (Psalms 119:158: “I beheld the transgressors with loathing.”)

Them that hate the Lord. — And haters of Jehovah do you love? (The particle le prefixed to the word for “haters” is characteristic of the Chronicler’s style.)

Therefore is wrath upon thee. — See the same phrase in 1 Chronicles 27:24. In the case of David, the Divine wrath was embodied in pestilence; what form did it take with Jehoshaphat? The following chapters seem to supply the answer. His land suffered invasion and his fleet shipwrecked; his posterity was evil and came to an evil end (2 Chronicles 20:21–22). There may also be a reference to the failure of the campaign in which Jehoshaphat had engaged, and his inglorious return to his own land.