2 Chronicles 20
1 After this, the Moabites and Ammonites, together with some of the Meunites, came to make war against Jehoshaphat.
And it came to pass, after this, that the sons of Moab and the sons of Ammon, and, with them, some of the Meunim, came against Jehoshaphat, to battle.
2 Then some men came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast army is coming against you from Edom, from beyond the Sea; they are already in Hazazon-tamar” (that is, En-gedi).
And there came [some] and told Jehoshaphat, saying, There is coming against thee, a great multitude from beyond the sea, from Syria, —and lo! they are in Hazazon-tamar, the same, is Engedi.
3 Jehoshaphat was alarmed and set his face to seek the LORD. And he proclaimed a fast throughout Judah.
And Jehoshaphat was afraid, and set his face to seek unto Yahweh, —and proclaimed a fast for all Judah.
4 So the people of Judah gathered to seek the LORD, and indeed, they came from all the cities of Judah to seek Him.
And Judah gathered themselves together, to enquire of Yahweh, —even, out of all the cities of Judah, came they in, to seek Yahweh.
5 Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem in the house of the LORD in front of the new courtyard
And Jehoshaphat stood, in the convocation of Judah and Jerusalem in the house of Yahweh, —before the new court;
6 and said, “O LORD, God of our fathers, are You not the God who is in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in Your hand, and no one can stand against You.
and said, O Yahweh, God of our fathers, art not, thou, God in the heavens? and art, thou, not ruling throughout all the kingdoms of the nations? and, in thy hand, [are there not] strength and might? and is there any who, against thee, can stand?
7 Our God, did You not drive out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham Your friend?
Art not, thou, our God, who didst dispossess the inhabitants of this land, from before thy people Israel, —and didst give it unto the seed of Abraham who loved thee, unto times age-abiding?
8 They have lived in the land and have built in it a sanctuary for Your Name, saying,
and they have dwelt therein, —and have built for thee therein, a sanctuary for thy Name, saying:
9 ‘If disaster comes upon us—whether sword or judgment, plague or famine—we will stand before this temple and before You, for Your Name is in this temple. We will cry out to You in our distress, and You will hear us and save us.’
If there come upon us calamity, the sword of judgment or pestilence or famine, we will stand before this house and before thee, for, thy Name, is in this house, —that we may make outcry unto thee out of our distress, that thou mayest hear and save.
10 And now, here are the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, whom You did not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt; but Israel turned away from them and did not destroy them.
Now, therefore, lo! the sons of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom thou didst not suffer Israel to invade, when they came out of the land of Egypt, —but they turned away from them and destroyed them not,
11 See how they are repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession that You gave us as an inheritance.
yea lo! they, are requiting us, —by coming to drive us out, from thy possession, which thou didst cause us to possess.
12 Our God, will You not judge them? For we are powerless before this vast army that comes against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.”
O our God, wilt thou not bring judgment upon them, seeing that there is, in us, no strength, before this great multitude, that is coming against us, —we, therefore, know not what we shall do, but, unto thee, are our eyes.
13 Meanwhile all the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, were standing before the LORD.
And, all Judah, were standing before Yahweh, —also their little ones, their wives and their children.
14 Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite from Asaph’s descendants, as he stood in the midst of the assembly.
Now, as for Jahaziel son of Zechariah son of Benaiah son of Jeiel son of Mattaniah a Levite, of the sons of Asaph, there came upon him the spirit of Yahweh, in the midst of the convocation:
15 And he said, “Listen, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Listen, King Jehoshaphat! This is what the LORD says: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army, for the battle does not belong to you, but to God.
and he said, Give ye heed, all Judah and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat! Thus, saith Yahweh unto you. As for you, do not fear nor be dismayed, by reason of this great multitude, for, not yours, is the battle, but, God’s.
16 Tomorrow you are to march down against them. You will see them coming up the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the valley facing the Wilderness of Jeruel.
To-morrow, go ye down against them, for lo! there they are coming up by the ascent of Ziz, —and ye shall find them at the end of the ravine, facing the wilderness of Jeruel.
17 You need not fight this battle. Take up your positions, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid or discouraged. Go out and face them tomorrow, for the LORD is with you.’”
It is not, for you, to fight in this matter, —take your station, stand still, and see the salvation of Yahweh with you, O Judah and Jerusalem, do not fear, nor be dismayed, to-morrow, go ye out to meet them, and, Yahweh, will be with you.
18 Then Jehoshaphat bowed facedown, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down before the LORD to worship Him.
And Jehoshaphat bowed his head, with his face to the ground, —and, all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, fell down before Yahweh, prostrating themselves unto Yahweh.
19 And the Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites stood up to praise the LORD, the God of Israel, shouting in a very loud voice.
And Levites—of the sons of the Kohathites and of the sons of the Korahites, stood up to offer praise unto Yahweh, God of Israel, with an exceedingly loud voice.
20 Early in the morning they got up and left for the Wilderness of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood up and said, “Hear me, O people of Judah and Jerusalem. Believe in the LORD your God, and you will be upheld; believe in His prophets, and you will succeed.”
So they rose early in the morning, and went out to the wilderness of Tekoa, —and, as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, Trust ye in Yahweh your God, and ye shall be trusted, Trust ye in his prophets, and ye shall prosper.
21 Then Jehoshaphat consulted with the people and appointed those who would sing to the LORD and praise the splendor of His holiness. As they went out before the army, they were singing: “Give thanks to the LORD, for His loving devotion endures forever.”
And, when he had given counsel unto the people, he appointed such as should sing unto Yahweh, and offer praise with holy adorning, —as they should be going forth before the armed men, that they should be saying, O give thanks unto Yahweh, For, age-abiding, is his lovingkindness.
22 The moment they began their shouts and praises, the LORD set ambushes against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir who had come against Judah, and they were defeated.
And, when they began to sing and to praise, Yahweh had set liers-in-wait against the sons of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, who were coming against Judah, and they were smitten.
23 The Ammonites and Moabites rose up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, devoting them to destruction. And when they had made an end to the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another.
Then rose up the sons of Ammon and Moab against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, to devote and to destroy, —and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to cut off, every man his neighbour.
24 When the men of Judah came to a place overlooking the wilderness, they looked for the vast army, but there were only corpses lying on the ground; no one had escaped.
So when, Judah, came near the watch-tower of the wilderness, —they turned towards the multitude, and lo! there they were, dead bodies fallen to the earth, with none to escape.
25 Then Jehoshaphat and his people went to carry off the plunder, and they found on the bodies an abundance of goods and valuables —more than they could carry away. They were gathering the plunder for three days because there was so much.
And, when Jehoshaphat and his people came near to plunder the spoil of them, they found among them, in abundance, both riches and dead bodies and precious jewels, and they stripped off for themselves, beyond what they could carry away, —and they were three days plundering the spoil, for great it was.
26 On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Beracah, where they blessed the LORD. Therefore that place is called the Valley of Beracah to this day.
And, on the fourth day, they assembled themselves in the vale of Beracah, for there they blessed Yahweh, —on this account, was the name of that place called The Vale of Beracah—unto this day.
27 Then all the men of Judah and Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat at their head, returned joyfully to Jerusalem, for the LORD had made them rejoice over their enemies.
Then turned every man of Judah and Jerusalem, with, Jehoshaphat, at their head, to go again to Jerusalem with joy, —for Yahweh had caused them to rejoice over their enemies.
28 So they entered Jerusalem and went into the house of the LORD with harps, lyres, and trumpets.
So they came to Jerusalem, with harps and with lyres, and with trumpets, —unto the house of Yahweh.
29 And the fear of God came upon all the kingdoms of the lands when they heard that the LORD had fought against the enemies of Israel.
And it came to pass that, the dread of God, was upon all the kingdoms of the countries, -when they heard, that Yahweh had fought against the enemies of Israel.
30 Then Jehoshaphat’s kingdom was at peace, for his God had given him rest on every side.
So the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was quiet, —for his God, gave him rest, round about.
31 So Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-five years. His mother’s name was Azubah daughter of Shilhi.
Thus Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah, —thirty-five years old, was he when he began to reign, and, twenty-five years, reigned he in Jerusalem, and the, name of his mother, was Azubah, daughter of Shilhi.
32 And Jehoshaphat walked in the way of his father Asa and did not turn away from it; he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD.
And he walked in the way of his father Asa, and turned not from it, —doing that which was right, in the eyes of Yahweh.
33 The high places, however, were not removed; the people had not yet set their hearts on the God of their fathers.
Howbeit, the high places, were not taken away, —for as yet, the people, had not fixed their heart unto the God of their fathers.
34 As for the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, from beginning to end, they are indeed written in the Chronicles of Jehu son of Hanani, which are recorded in the Book of the Kings of Israel.
But, the rest of the story of Jehoshaphat, first and last, lo! there it is written in the story of Jehu son of Hanani, which hath been added to the book of the Kings of Israel.
35 Later, Jehoshaphat king of Judah made an alliance with Ahaziah king of Israel, who acted wickedly.
Yet, after this, did Jehoshaphat king of Judah join himself with Ahaziah king of Israel, —he, was lawless in his doings;
36 They agreed to make ships to go to Tarshish, and these were built in Ezion-geber.
and he joined with him, to make ships to go unto Tarshish, —and they made ships in Ezion-geber,
37 Then Eliezer son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you have allied yourself with Ahaziah, the LORD has destroyed your works.” So the ships were wrecked and were unable to sail to Tarshish.
Then prophesied, Eliezer son of Dodavahu of Mareshah, against Jehoshaphat, saying, —Because thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah, Yahweh hath broken in pieces thy works. So the ships were wrecked, and were not able to go unto Tarshish.
