< 2 Chronicles 20 >

1 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.
After this the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them of the Ammonites, were gathered together to fight against Josaphat.
2 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.
And there came messengers, and told Josaphat, saying: There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea, and out of Syria, and behold they are in Asasonthamar, which is Engaddi.
3 And Jehoshaphat was afraid, and set his face to seek unto Yahweh, —and proclaimed a fast for all Judah.
And Josaphat being seized with fear betook himself wholly to pray to the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Juda.
4 And Judah gathered themselves together, to enquire of Yahweh, —even, out of all the cities of Judah, came they in, to seek Yahweh.
And Juda gathered themselves together to pray to the Lord: and all came out of their cities to make supplication to him.
5 And Jehoshaphat stood, in the convocation of Judah and Jerusalem in the house of Yahweh, —before the new court;
And Josaphat stood in the midst of the assembly of Juda, and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord before the new court,
6 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?
And said: O Lord God of our fathers, thou art God in heaven, and rulest over all the kingdoms and nations, in thy hand is strength and power, and no one can resist thee.
7 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?
Didst not thou our God kill all the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever?
8 and they have dwelt therein, —and have built for thee therein, a sanctuary for thy Name, saying:
And they dwelt in it, and built in it a sanctuary to thy name, saying:
9 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.
If evils fall upon us, the sword of judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand in thy presence before this house, in which thy name is called upon: and we will cry to thee in our afflictions, and thou wilt hear, and save us.
10 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,
Now therefore behold the children of Ammon, and of Moab, and mount Seir, through whose lands thou didst not allow Israel to pass, when they came out of Egypt, but they turned aside from them, and slew them not,
11 yea lo! they, are requiting us, —by coming to drive us out, from thy possession, which thou didst cause us to possess.
Do the contrary, and endeavour to cast us out of the possession which thou hast delivered to us.
12 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.
O our God, wilt thou not then judge them? as for us we have not strength enough, to be able to resist this multitude, which cometh violently upon us. But as we know not what to do, we can only turn our eyes to thee.
13 And, all Judah, were standing before Yahweh, —also their little ones, their wives and their children.
And all Juda stood before the Lord with their little ones, and their wives, and their children.
14 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:
And Jahaziel the son of Zacharias, the son of Banaias, the son of Jehiel, the son of Mathanias, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, was there, upon whom the spirit of the Lord came in the midst of the multitude,
15 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.
And he said: Attend ye, all Juda, and you that dwell in Jerusalem, and thou king Josaphat: Thus saith the Lord to you: Fear ye not, and be not dismayed at this multitude: for the battle is not yours, but God’s.
16 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.
Tomorrow you shall go down against them: for they will come up by the ascent named Sis, and you shall find them at the head of the torrent, which is over against the wilderness of Jeruel.
17 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.
It shall not be you that shall fight, but only stand with confidence, and you shall see the help of the Lord over you, O Juda, and Jerusalem: fear ye not, nor be you dismayed: tomorrow you shall go out against them, and the Lord will be with you.
18 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.
Then Josaphat, and Juda, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell hat on the ground before the Lord, and adored him.
19 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.
And the Levites of the sons of Caath, and of the sons of Core praised the Lord the God of Israel with a loud voice, on high.
20 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.
And they rose early in the morning, and went out through the desert of Thecua: and as they were marching, Josaphat standing in the midst of them, said: Hear me, ye men of Juda, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem: believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be secure: believe his prophets, and all things shall succeed well.
21 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.
And he gave counsel to the people, and appointed the singing men of the Lord, to praise him by their companies, and to go before the army, and with one voice to say: Give glory to the Lord, for his mercy endureth for ever.
22 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.
And when they began to sing praises, the Lord turned their ambushments upon themselves, that is to say, of the children of Ammon, and of Moab, and of mount Seir, who were come out to fight against Juda, and they were slain.
23 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.
For the children of Ammon, and of Moab, rose up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, to kill and destroy them: and when they had made an end of them, they turned also against one another, and destroyed one another.
24 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.
And when Juda came to the watch tower, that looketh toward the desert, they saw afar off all the country, for a great space, full of dead bodies, and that no one was left that could escape death.
25 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.
Then Josaphat came, and all the people with him to take away the spoils of the dead, and they found among the dead bodies, stuff of various kinds, and garments, and most precious vessels: and they took them for themselves, insomuch that they could not carry all, nor in three days take away the spoils, the booty was so great.
26 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.
And on the fourth day they were assembled in the valley of Blessing: for there they blessed the Lord, and therefore they called that place the valley of Blessing until this day.
27 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.
And every man of Juda, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem returned, and Josaphat at their head, into Jerusalem with great joy, because the Lord had made them rejoice over their enemies.
28 So they came to Jerusalem, with harps and with lyres, and with trumpets, —unto the house of Yahweh.
And they came into Jerusalem with psalteries, and harps, and trumpets into the house of the Lord.
29 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.
And the fear of the Lord fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel.
30 So the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was quiet, —for his God, gave him rest, round about.
And the kingdom of Josaphat was quiet, and God gave him peace round about.
31 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.
And Josaphat reigned over Juda, and he was five and thirty years old when he began to reign: and he reigned five and twenty years in Jerusalem: and the name of his mother was Azuba the daughter of Selahi.
32 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.
And he walked in the way of his father Asa, and departed not from it, doing the things that were pleasing before the Lord.
33 Howbeit, the high places, were not taken away, —for as yet, the people, had not fixed their heart unto the God of their fathers.
But yet he took not away the high places, and the people had not yet turned their heart to the Lord the God of their fathers.
34 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.
But the rest of the acts of Josaphat, first and last, are written in the words of Jehu the son of Hanani, which he digested into the books of the kings of Israel.
35 Yet, after this, did Jehoshaphat king of Judah join himself with Ahaziah king of Israel, —he, was lawless in his doings;
After these things Josaphat king of Juda made friendship with Ochozias king of Israel, whose works were very wicked.
36 and he joined with him, to make ships to go unto Tarshish, —and they made ships in Ezion-geber,
And he was partner with him in making ships, to go to Tharsis: and they made the ships in Asiongaber.
37 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.
And Eliezer the son of Dodau of Maresa prophesied to Josaphat, saying: Because thou hast made a league with Ochozias, the Lord hath destroyed thy works, and the ships are broken, and they could not go to Tharsis.

< 2 Chronicles 20 >