2 Chronicles 20
1 Then, after this, the Moabites and Ammonites, as well as some of the Meunites, came to attack Jehoshaphat.
And it came to pass after this, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them some of the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle.
2 Some people came and told Jehoshaphat, “A large army is coming to fight you from Edom, from the other side of the Dead Sea. They have already reached Hazazon-tamar,” (otherwise called En-gedi).
Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying: 'There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea from Aram; and, behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar' — the same is En-gedi.
3 Jehoshaphat was afraid, and went to ask the Lord what to do. He also ordered everyone throughout Judah to fast.
And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek unto the LORD; and he proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
4 So the people of Judah gathered in Jerusalem to pray to the Lord—in fact, they came from all the towns of Judah to commit themselves to him.
And Judah gathered themselves together, to seek help of the LORD; even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD.
5 Jehoshaphat stood before the assembled people of Judah and Jerusalem at the Temple, in front of the new courtyard,
And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court;
6 and said, “Lord, God of our forefathers, aren't you the God of heaven? Don't you rule over all earthly kingdoms? You possess strength and power, and no one can stand against you!
and he said: 'O LORD, the God of our fathers, art not Thou alone God in heaven? and art not Thou ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? and in Thy hand is power and might, so that none is able to withstand Thee.
7 Our God, didn't you drive out before your people Israel those who living in this land? Didn't you give this land to the descendants of your friend Abraham forever?
Didst not Thou, O our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before Thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham Thy friend for ever?
8 They are living in the land and have built a Temple for you here to honor you, saying,
And they dwelt therein, and have built Thee a sanctuary therein for Thy name, saying:
9 ‘If disaster strikes us, whether it's invasion or judgment, disease or famine, we will stand in front of this Temple and before you, for this Temple is yours. We will cry out to you to help us in our suffering, and you will hear us and save us.’
If evil come upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house, and before Thee — for Thy name is in this house — and cry unto Thee in our affliction, and Thou wilt hear and save.
10 Look, here come the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, those very countries you did not let Israel invade when they came out of Egypt. Israel left them alone and did not destroy them.
And now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and mount Seir, whom Thou wouldest not let Israel invade, when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned aside from them, and destroyed them not;
11 See how they're rewarding us, coming to steal the land you gave us to possess forever!
behold, they render unto us evil, to come to cast us out of Thy possession, which Thou hast given us to inherit.
12 Our God, won't you punish them, because we don't have the power to confront such a great army that is marching against us? We don't know what to do. We're looking to you for help.”
O our God, wilt Thou not execute judgment on them? for we have no might against this great multitude that cometh against us; neither know we what to do; but our eyes are upon Thee.'
13 All the men of Judah stood before the Lord, together with their wives and children and babies.
And all Judah stood before the LORD, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.
14 Then the Spirit of the Lord came over Jahaziel while he was standing there in the assembly. He was the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite from the descendants of Asaph.
Then upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, the Levite, of the sons of Asaph, came the spirit of the LORD in the midst of the congregation;
15 He said, “Listen, everyone from Judah, people of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat. This is what the Lord has to say to you: Don't be afraid or discouraged because of this large army. This isn't your battle—it's God's!
and he said: 'Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat: thus saith the LORD unto you: Fear not ye, neither be dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's.
16 Tomorrow march down to face them. You will see them coming up the pass at Ziz—you'll find them at the end of the valley in front of the desert of Jeruel.
To-morrow go ye down against them; behold, they come up by the ascent of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the valley, before the wilderness of Jeruel.
17 But you do not need to fight this battle. Just stand still and watch the Lord's victory. He is with you, Judah and Jerusalem! Don't be afraid or discouraged! March down to face them, for the Lord is with you!”
Ye shall not need to fight in this battle; set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem; fear not, nor be dismayed; to-morrow go out against them; for the LORD is with you.'
18 Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell to the ground before the Lord, worshiping him.
And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground; and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the LORD, worshipping the LORD.
19 Then the Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites stood to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, shouting loudly.
And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites, stood up to praise the LORD, the God of Israel, with an exceeding loud voice.
20 They got up early the next morning and went to the desert of Tekoa. As they left, Jehoshaphat stood up and said, “Listen to me, people of Judah and Jerusalem. Trust in the Lord your God, and you will be vindicated; trust in his prophets, and you will be successful.”
And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said: 'Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe His prophets, so shall ye prosper.'
21 After discussion with the people, he appointed singers to praise the Lord for his glorious, holy goodness. They led the way at the front of the army, singing, “Praise the Lord, for his trustworthy love lasts forever!”
And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed them that should sing unto the LORD, and praise in the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and say: 'Give thanks unto the LORD, for His mercy endureth for ever.'
22 As soon as they started singing and praising, the Lord ambushed the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir who were coming to attack Judah, and they were defeated.
And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set liers-in-wait against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, that were come against Judah; and they were smitten.
23 The men of Ammon and Moab turned on the men from Mount Seir, killing all of them. Once they'd finished wiping out the army from Seir, they turned on each other, destroying themselves.
For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them; and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another.
24 So when the men of Judah came to the watchtower in the desert, they looked out to see the enemy army and all they saw were corpses lying on the ground! No one had escaped.
And when Judah came to the watch-tower of the wilderness, they looked upon the multitude; and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and there were none that escaped.
25 When Jehoshaphat and his people came to collect the plunder, they found a great deal of cattle, equipment, clothing, and other valuable articles, more than they could carry. It took three days to collect the plunder because there was so much of it.
And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both riches and dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away; and they were three days in taking the spoil, it was so much.
26 On the fourth day they gathered in the Valley of Blessing. They gave it this name because this was where they blessed the Lord. It is still called the Valley of Blessing to this day.
And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Beracah; for there they blessed the LORD; therefore the name of that place was called The valley of Beracah, unto this day.
27 Then all the men of Judah and Jerusalem celebrated as they returned to Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat leading them, full of joy for the Lord's victory over their enemies.
Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat in the forefront of them, to go back to Jerusalem with joy; for the LORD had made them to rejoice over their enemies.
28 They entered Jerusalem and went straight to the Temple of Lord, accompanied by music from harps, lyres, and trumpets.
And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries and harps and trumpets unto the house of the LORD.
29 All the kingdoms around were in awe of God when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel.
And a terror from God was on all the kingdoms of the countries, when they heard that the LORD fought against the enemies of Israel.
30 Jehoshaphat and his kingdom were at peace, for God gave him rest—there were no attacks from any direction.
So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet; for his God gave him rest round about.
31 So Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah, having become king when he was thirty-five years, and he reigned in Jerusalem for twenty-five years. His mother's name was Azubah, daughter of Shilhi.
And Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah; he was thirty and five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and five years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi.
32 Jehoshaphat followed the way of his father Asa and did not turn away from it. He did what was right in the Lord's sight.
And he walked in the way of Asa his father, and turned not aside from it, doing that which was right in the eyes of the LORD.
33 However, the high places were not removed, and the people were not committed to the God of their forefathers.
Howbeit the high places were not taken away; neither as yet had the people set their hearts unto the God of their fathers.
34 The rest of what Jehoshaphat did, from beginning to end, is written down in the chronicles of Jehu, son of Hanani, recorded in the Book of the Kings of Israel.
Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last, behold, they are written in the words of Jehu the son of Hanani, which is inserted in the book of the kings of Israel.
35 Later in his life, Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, allied himself with Ahaziah, king of Israel, who did wicked things.
And after this did Jehoshaphat king of Judah join himself with Ahaziah king of Israel; the same did very wickedly;
36 They agreed to work together and send ships to Tarshish. The ships were built in Ezion-geber.
and he joined him with himself to make ships to go to Tarshish; and they made the ships in Ezion-geber.
37 But Eliezer, son of Dodavahu of Mareshah, prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you have made an alliance with Ahaziah, the Lord will destroy what you're doing.” The ships were wrecked and couldn't sail to Tarshish.
Then Eliezer the son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying: 'Because thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah, the LORD hath made a breach in thy works.' And the ships were broken, that they were not able to go to Tarshish.
