2 Chronicles 20
1 Later [armies from] Moab and Ammon and some soldiers from [the] Meun [area in Edom] came [to fight] against Jehoshaphat’s [army].
Then, after this, the Moabites and Ammonites, as well as some of the Meunites, came to attack Jehoshaphat.
2 Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, “A huge army is coming to attack your army. They are coming from [the] Edom [region], from the eastern side of the [Dead] Sea. They have already come to Hazazon-Tamar!” Another name for that place is En-Gedi.
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).
3 Jehoshaphat became very afraid, so he decided to ask Yahweh [what he should do]. He also proclaimed that all [the people of] Judah should fast.
Jehoshaphat was afraid, and went to ask the Lord what to do. He also ordered everyone throughout Judah to fast.
4 The people of Judah gathered together to request Yahweh to help them. They came [to Jerusalem] from every town in Judah to seek help from Yahweh.
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.
5 Then Jehoshaphat stood up in front of the people of Judah in front of the new courtyard of the temple,
Jehoshaphat stood before the assembled people of Judah and Jerusalem at the Temple, in front of the new courtyard,
6 and he prayed this: “Yahweh, the God whom our ancestors belonged to, you are surely the God who [rules from] heaven. You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. You have great power, and no one can successfully oppose you.
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!
7 Our God, you expelled the people who lived in this land while your Israeli people advanced, and you certainly gave it to us who are descendants of your friend Abraham, to belong to us forever.
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?
8 We have lived here and have built a temple where we, your people, worship you. We said,
They are living in the land and have built a Temple for you here to honor you, saying,
9 'If we experience disasters, either from our enemies attacking us or from you punishing us, or if we experience a plague or a famine, we will stand in your presence in front of this temple that is built to honor you, and we will cry out to you when we are distressed/suffering, and you will hear us and will rescue us.'
‘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.’
10 You would not allow our Israeli ancestors to enter the countries of Ammon and Moab and Edom when they were traveling from Egypt [to Canaan]. So our ancestors turned away from those areas and did not attack the people there and did not destroy them. But now they are coming here [to attack us].
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.
11 [We did not destroy them. But now] look at how they are repaying us by trying to expel us from the land that you gave to our ancestors to belong to them [and their descendants forever]
See how they're rewarding us, coming to steal the land you gave us to possess forever!
12 So, our God, please punish them, because we do not have enough power to resist/defeat this huge army that is coming to attack us. We do not know what to do. But we are pleading for you to help us.”
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.”
13 All the men of Judah and their wives and children and babies were standing there in the presence of Yahweh [while Jehoshaphat prayed].
All the men of Judah stood before the Lord, together with their wives and children and babies.
14 Then the Spirit of Yahweh came upon Jahaziel, who was the son of Zechariah, who was the son of Benaiah, who was the son of Jeiel, who was the son of Mattaniah. He was a descendant of Levi and a descendant of Asaph. He stood up in front of the whole group that was gathered there,
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.
15 and said, “King Jehoshaphat and all you who live in Jerusalem and in other places in Judah, listen! This is what Yahweh says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this huge army [that is coming to attack you], because it is not you who [will win] this battle. It is God [who will win it].
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!
16 Tomorrow march down toward them. They will be climbing up through Ziz Pass [north of En-Gedi]. You will meet them at the end of the gorge near the Jeruel Desert.
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.
17 But you will not need to fight this battle. You soldiers from Jerusalem and other places in Judah, just take your positions, and then stand still and watch [what will happen]. You will see Yahweh rescue you. Do not be afraid or discouraged. March toward them tomorrow, and Yahweh will be with you.’”
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!”
18 Jehoshaphat prostrated himself with his face touching the ground, and all the people of Jerusalem and other places in Judah [who were there] knelt down to worship Yahweh.
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.
19 Then some descendants of Levi who were descendants of both Kohath and Korah stood up and loudly praised Yahweh, the God whom the Israelis [belonged to].
Then the Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites stood to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, shouting loudly.
20 Early the next morning the army left to go to the desert near Tekoa [town]. While they were leaving, Jehoshaphat stood up and said to the people, “You people of Jerusalem and other places in Judah, listen to me! Trust in Yahweh our God; if you do that, you will be strong. Trust in [what] his prophets [have said]; if you do that, you will be successful.”
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.”
21 Then, after consulting with some of the people, he appointed some men to go in front of the army, singing to Yahweh and praising him because of his being holy and wonderful. They were singing, “Thank Yahweh, because he faithfully loves us forever.”
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!”
22 When they began to sing and praise Yahweh, Yahweh caused the soldiers from Ammon and Moab and Edom who were invading Judah to panic, with the result that they were defeated.
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.
23 The soldiers from Ammon and Moab started to fight against the soldiers from Edom, and they completely annihilated the soldiers from Edom. After they finished slaughtering the men from Edom, they started to attack each other.
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.
24 When the soldiers from Judah came to the place where they could look down over the desert, they looked toward that huge army [of their enemies], and they saw only corpses lying on the ground. No one had survived.
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.
25 So Jehoshaphat and his soldiers went to take the possessions of their enemies, and they saw that there was a lot of equipment and clothing and other valuable things; there was more than they could carry away. There were very many things, with the result that it took three days for them to collect it all.
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.
26 The following day they gathered in Beracah Valley and praised Yahweh there. That is why that valley is still called Beracah, [which means praise.]
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.
27 Then while Jehoshaphat led them, all the soldiers who were from Jerusalem and other places in Judah returned to Jerusalem. They were happy because Yahweh had enabled them to defeat their enemies.
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.
28 When they arrived at Jerusalem, they went to the temple, [playing] harps and lutes and trumpets.
They entered Jerusalem and went straight to the Temple of Lord, accompanied by music from harps, lyres, and trumpets.
29 People in the kingdoms of the nearby countries became very afraid when they heard how Yahweh had fought against the enemies of the Israelis.
All the kingdoms around were in awe of God when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel.
30 Then there was peace in the kingdom that was ruled by Jehoshaphat, because God had caused the surrounding nations not to attack it.
Jehoshaphat and his kingdom were at peace, for God gave him rest—there were no attacks from any direction.
31 Jehoshaphat continued to rule Judah. He was 35 years old when he became king of Judah, and he ruled in Jerusalem for 25 years. His mother’s name was Azubah, the daughter of Shilhi.
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.
32 He did things that were pleasing to Yahweh, like his father Asa had done, and he did not stop doing those things.
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.
33 But he did not get rid of the shrines on the hilltops, and many of the people still did not faithfully do what the God whom their ancestors belonged to wanted.
However, the high places were not removed, and the people were not committed to the God of their forefathers.
34 A record of the other things that Jehoshaphat did while he ruled, from when he began to rule until he died, is in the scrolls written by [the prophet] Jehu, the son of Hanani. They are also in the scroll called ‘The History of the Kings of Israel.
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.
35 During his reign, Jehoshaphat made a treaty with Ahaziah, the king of Israel, who was a very wicked king.
Later in his life, Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, allied himself with Ahaziah, king of Israel, who did wicked things.
36 They agreed that their workers would build a fleet of ships to use to buy and sell [things with other countries]. After those ships were built at Ezion-Geber [on the Gulf of Aqaba],
They agreed to work together and send ships to Tarshish. The ships were built in Ezion-geber.
37 Eliezer the son of Dodavahu from Mareshah [city] warned Jehoshaphat. He said, “You have made an alliance with Ahaziah, [who is a wicked king]. Therefore, Yahweh will destroy the ships that your workers have made.” And the ships were wrecked, and were not able to sail to other countries.
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.
