Chronicles II 20
1 And after this came the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them [some] of the Minaeans, against Josaphat to battle.
After these things, the sons of Moab, and the sons of Ammon, and with them some from the Ammonites, gathered together so that they might fight against him.
2 And they came and told Josaphat, saying, There is come against thee a great multitude from Syria, from beyond the sea; and, behold, they are in Asasan Thamar, this is Engadi.
And messengers arrived and reported to Jehoshaphat, saying: “A great multitude has arrived against you, from those places that are across the sea, and from Syria. And behold, they are standing together at Hazazon-tamar, which is Engedi.”
3 And Josaphat was alarmed, and set his face to seek the Lord earnestly, and he proclaimed a fast in all Juda.
Then Jehoshaphat, being terrified with fear, gave himself entirely to petitioning the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all of Judah.
4 And Juda gathered themselves together to seek after the Lord: even from all the cities of Juda they came to seek the Lord.
And Judah gathered together to pray to the Lord. Moreover, everyone from their cities came to beseech him.
5 And Josaphat stood up in the assembly of Juda in Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, in front of the new court.
And when Jehoshaphat had stood up in the midst of the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new atrium,
6 And he said, O Lord God of my fathers, art not thou God in heaven above, and art not thou Lord of all the kingdoms of the nations? and [is there] not in thy hand the might of dominion, and there is no one who can resist thee?
he said: “O Lord, God of our fathers, you are God in heaven, and you rule over all the kingdoms of the Gentiles. In your hand is strength and power, and no one is able to withstand you.
7 Art not thou the Lord that didst destroy the inhabitants of this land before the face of thy people Israel, and didst give it to thy beloved seed of Abraham for ever?
Did not you, our God, put to death all the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel? And you gave it to the offspring of your friend Abraham, for all time.
8 And they dwelt in it, and built in it a sanctuary to thy name, saying,
And they lived in it. And they built a Sanctuary to your name in it, saying:
9 If there should come upon us evils, sword, judgment, pestilence, famine, we will stand before this house, and before thee, (for thy name [is] upon this house, ) and we will cry to thee because of the affliction, and thou shalt hear, and deliver.
‘If evils will have fallen upon us, the sword of judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand in your sight before this house, in which your name is invoked, and we will cry out to you in our tribulations. And you will heed us and accomplish our salvation.’
10 And now, behold, the children of Ammon, and Moab, and mount Seir, with regard to whom thou didst not permit Israel to pass through their border, when they had come out of the land of Egypt, (for they turned away from them, and did not destroy them; )—
Now therefore, behold the sons of Ammon, and of Moab, and mount Seir, through whose lands you did not permit Israel to cross when they were departing from Egypt. Instead, they turned aside from them, and they did not put them to death.
11 yet now, behold, they make attempts against us, to come forth to cast us out from our inheritance which thou gavest us.
They are doing the contrary, and they are striving to cast us from the possession which you delivered to us.
12 O Lord our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no strength to resist this great multitude that is come against us; and we know not what we shall do to them: but our eyes are toward thee.
Therefore, will you, our God, not judge them? Certainly, in us there is not enough strength so that we would be able to withstand this multitude, which rushes against us. But although we do not know what we ought to do, we have this alone remaining, that we direct our eyes to you.”
13 And all Juda was standing before the Lord, and their children, and their wives.
Truly, all of Judah was standing before the Lord with their little ones and wives and children.
14 And Oziel the [son] of Zacharias, of the children of Banaias, of the sons of Eleiel, the sons of Matthanias the Levite, of the sons of Asaph, —upon him came the Spirit of the Lord in the assembly:
But there was Jahaziel, the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite from the sons of Asaph, upon whom the Spirit of the Lord went, in the midst of the crowd.
15 and he said, Hear ye, all Juda, and the dwellers in Jerusalem, and king Josaphat: Thus saith the Lord to you, even you, Fear not, neither be alarmed, before all this great multitude; for the battle is not years, but God's.
And he said: “Pay attention, all of Judah, and you who live in Jerusalem, and you, king Jehoshaphat. Thus says the Lord to you: Do not be afraid. Neither should you be dismayed by this multitude. For the fight is not yours, but God’s.
16 To-morrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the ascent of Assis, and ye shall find them at the extremity of the river of the wilderness of Jeriel.
Tomorrow, you shall descend against them. For they will ascend along the incline named Ziz, and will find them at the summit of the torrent, which is opposite the wilderness of Jeruel.
17 It is not for you to fight: understand these things, and see the deliverance of the Lord with you, Juda and Jerusalem: fear not, neither be afraid to go forth to-morrow to meet them; and the Lord shall be with you.
It will not be you who will fight. Instead, only stand with confidence, and you will see the help of the Lord over you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid. Neither should you be dismayed. Tomorrow you shall go forth against them, and the Lord will be with you.”
18 And Josaphat bowed with his face [to the ground] with all Juda and the dwellers in Jerusalem, [and] they fell before the Lord to worship the Lord.
Then Jehoshaphat, and Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell prone on the ground before the Lord, and they adored him.
19 And the Levites of the children of Caath, and [they] of the sons of Core, rose up to praise the Lord God of Israel with a loud voice on high.
And the Levites from the sons of Kohath, and from the sons of Korah, were praising the Lord, the God of Israel, with a great voice, on high.
20 And they rose early in the morning and went out to the wilderness of Thecoe: and as they went out, Josaphat stood and cried, and said, Hear me, Juda, and the dwellers in Jerusalem; put your trust in the Lord God, and your trust shall be honored; trust in his prophet, and ye shall prosper.
And when they had risen up in the morning, they went out through the desert of Tekoa. And as they were setting out, Jehoshaphat, standing in their midst, said: “Listen to me, men of Judah and all inhabitants of Jerusalem. Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be secure. Believe in his prophets, and everything will come to prosperity.”
21 And he took counsel with the people, and set appointed men to sing psalms and praises, to give thanks, and sing the holy songs of praise in going forth before the host: and they said, Give thanks to the Lord, for his mercy [endures] for ever.
And he gave counsel to the people. And he appointed the singing men of the Lord, so that they would praise him by their companies, and so that they would go before the army, and with one voice say: “Confess to the Lord. For his mercy is eternal.”
22 And when they began the praise and thanksgiving, the Lord caused the children of Ammon to fight against Moab, and [the inhabitants of] mount Seir that came out against Juda; and they were routed.
And when they had begun to sing praises, the Lord turned their ambushes upon themselves, that is, those of the sons of Ammon, and of Moab, and of mount Seir, who had gone forth so that they might fight against Judah. And they were struck down.
23 Then the children of Ammon and Moab rose up against the dwellers in mount Seir, to destroy and consume them; and when they had made an end of [destroying] the inhabitants of Seir, they rose up against one another so that they were utterly destroyed.
For the sons of Ammon and of Moab rose up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, so that they might slay and destroy them. And when they had perpetrated this work, now also turning upon themselves, they cut one another with wounds.
24 And Juda came to the watch-tower of the wilderness, and looked, and saw the multitude, and, behold, [they were] all fallen dead upon the earth, not one escaped.
Then, when Judah had gone to the high point that looks out toward the desert, they saw, from far away, the entire wide region filled with dead bodies. Neither was there anyone who was left alive and had been able to escape death.
25 And Josaphat and his people went out to spoil them, and they found much cattle, and furniture, and spoils, and precious things: and they spoiled them, and they were three days gathering the spoil, for it was abundant.
Therefore, Jehoshaphat went, and all the people with him, in order to take away the spoils of the dead. And they found, among the dead bodies, diverse equipment, and also garments, and very precious vessels. And they despoiled these, to such an extent that they were unable to carry everything. Neither could they, over three days, take away the spoils because of the magnitude of the plunder.
26 And it came to pass on the fourth day they were gathered to the Valley of Blessing; for there they blessed the Lord: therefore they called the name of the place the Valley of Blessing, until this day.
Then, on the fourth day, they were gathered together in the Valley of Blessing. For they had blessed the Lord there, and therefore they called that place the Valley of Blessing, even to the present day.
27 And all the men of Juda returned to Jerusalem, and Josaphat led them with great joy; for the Lord gave them joy over their enemies.
And every man of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, returned, with Jehoshaphat before them, to Jerusalem, with great rejoicing. For the Lord had granted to them gladness concerning their enemies.
28 And they entered into Jerusalem with lutes and harps and trumpets, [going] into the house of the lord.
And they entered into Jerusalem with psalteries, and harps, and trumpets, into the house of the Lord.
29 And there was a terror of the Lord upon all the kingdoms of the land, when they heard that the Lord fought against the enemies of Israel.
Then the fear of the Lord fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands, when they had heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel.
30 And the kingdom of Josaphat was at peace; and his God gave him rest round about.
And the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was quiet. And God granted to him peace on all sides.
31 And Josaphat reigned over Juda, being thirty-five years [old] when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Azuba, daughter of Sali.
And so Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. And he was thirty-five years old when he had begun to reign. Then he reigned for twenty-five years in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother was Azubah, the daughter of Shilhi.
32 And he walked in the ways of his father Asa, and turned not aside from doing that which was right in the sight of the Lord.
And he walked in the way of his father, Asa, and he did not decline from it, doing the things that were pleasing before the Lord.
33 nevertheless the high places yet remained; and as yet the people did not direct their heart to the Lord God of their fathers.
Yet truly, he did not take away the high places, and the people still had not directed their heart to the Lord, the God of their fathers.
34 And the rest of the acts of Josaphat, the first and the last, behold, they are written in the history of Jeu [the son] of Anani, who wrote the book of the kings of Israel.
But the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, the first and the last, have been written in the words of Jehu, the son of Hanani, which he digested into the books of the kings of Israel.
35 And afterwards Josaphat king of Juda entered into an alliance with Ochozias king of Israel, (now this was an unrighteous man, )
After these things, Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, formed a friendship with Ahaziah, the king of Israel, whose works were very impious.
36 by acting [with] and going to him, to build ships to go to Tharsis: and he built ships in Gasion Gaber.
And he was a partner in the making of ships, which would go to Tarshish. And they made the fleet at Eziongeber.
37 And Eliezer thee [son] of Dodia of Marisa prophesied against Josaphat, saying, Forasmuch as thou hast allied thyself with Ochozias, the Lord has broken thy work, and thy vessels have been wrecked. And they could not go to Tharsis.
Then Eliezer, the son of Dodavahu, from Mareshah, prophesied to Jehoshaphat, saying: “Because you have made a pact with Ahaziah, the Lord has struck your works, and the ships have been broken, and they have not been able to go to Tarshish.”
