2 Chronicles 20
1 It came about after this, that the people of Moab and Ammon, and with them some Meunites came against Jehoshaphat to do battle.
And after this came the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them [some] of the Minaeans, against Josaphat to battle.
2 Then some came who told Jehoshaphat, saying, “A large multitude is coming against you from beyond the Dead Sea, from Edom. See, they are in Hazezon Tamar,” that is, Engedi.
And they came and told Josaphat, saying, There is come against you a great multitude from Syria, from beyond the sea; and, behold, they are in Asasan Thamar, this is Engadi.
3 Jehoshaphat became afraid and set himself to seek Yahweh. He proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
And Josaphat was alarmed, and set his face to seek the Lord earnestly, and he proclaimed a fast in all Juda.
4 Judah gathered together to seek Yahweh; they came to seek Yahweh from all the cities of Judah.
And Juda gathered themselves together to seek after the Lord: even from all the cities of Juda they came to seek the Lord.
5 Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, at the house of Yahweh, in front of the new courtyard.
And Josaphat stood up in the assembly of Juda in Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, in front of the new court.
6 He said, “Yahweh, the God of our ancestors, are you not God in heaven? Are you not the ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in your hand, so no one is able to resist you.
And he said, O Lord God of my fathers, are not you God in heaven above, and are not you Lord of all the kingdoms of the nations? and [is there] not in your hand the might of dominion, and there is no one who can resist you?
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?
Are not you the Lord that did destroy the inhabitants of this land before the face of your people Israel, and did give it to your beloved seed of Abraham for ever?
8 They lived in it and built you a holy place in it for your name, saying,
And they lived in it, and built in it a sanctuary to your name, saying,
9 'If disaster comes on us—the sword, judgment, or disease, or famine—we will stand before this house, and before you (for your name is in this house), and we will cry to you in our affliction, and you will hear us and save us.'
If there should come upon us evils, sword, judgement, pestilence, famine, we will stand before this house, and before you, (for your name [is] upon this house, ) and we will cry to you because of the affliction, and you shall hear, and deliver.
10 See now, here are the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir whom you would not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt; instead, Israel turned away from them and did not destroy them.
And now, behold, the children of Ammon, and Moab, and mount Seir, with regard to whom you did 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; )—
11 See how they are rewarding us; they are coming to drive us out of your land that you have given us to inherit.
yet now, behold, they make attempts against us, to come forth to cast us out from our inheritance which you gave us.
12 Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power against this great army that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”
O Lord our God, will you 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 towards you.
13 All Judah stood before Yahweh, with their little ones, wives, and children.
And all Juda was standing before the Lord, and their children, and their wives.
14 Then in the middle of the assembly, the Spirit of Yahweh came on Jahaziel, son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, the Levite, one of the sons of Asaph.
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:
15 Jahaziel said, “Listen, all Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat. This is what Yahweh says to you, 'Do not fear; do not be discouraged because of this great army, for the battle does not belong to you, but to God.
and he said, Hear you, all Juda, and the dwellers in Jerusalem, and king Josaphat: Thus says 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.
16 You must go down against them tomorrow. See, they are coming up by way of the pass of Ziz. You will find them at the end of the valley, before the wilderness of Jeruel.
To-morrow go you down against them: behold, they come up by the ascent of Assis, and you shall find them at the extremity of the river of the wilderness of Jeriel.
17 You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand in your positions, stand still, and see the rescue of Yahweh with you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not fear nor be discouraged. Go out against them tomorrow, for Yahweh is with you.'”
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.
18 Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground. All Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before Yahweh, worshiping him.
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.
19 The Levites, those of the descendants of the Kohathites and Korahites, stood up to praise Yahweh, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.
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.
20 Early in the morning they arose and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. As they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah, and you inhabitants of Jerusalem! Trust in Yahweh your God, and you will be supported. Trust in his prophets, and you will succeed.”
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 honoured; trust in his prophet, and you shall prosper.
21 After he consulted with the people, he appointed those who sang to Yahweh and who praised him for his majestic splendor as they went out before the army, saying, “Give thanks to Yahweh, for his covenant faithfulness endures forever.”
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.
22 When they began to sing and to praise, Yahweh set men in ambush against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who were coming against Judah. They were defeated.
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.
23 For the people of Ammon and Moab rose to fight the inhabitants of Mount Seir, in order to completely kill them and destroy them. When they had finished with the inhabitants of Mount Seir, they all helped to destroy each other.
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.
24 When Judah came to a place overlooking the wilderness, they looked out on the army. Behold, they were dead, fallen to the ground; none had escaped.
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.
25 When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take plunder from them, they found among them abundant goods, clothing, and valuable articles, which they took for themselves, more than they could carry away. It took them three days to carry off the plunder, there was so much of it.
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.
26 On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Berakah. There they praised Yahweh, so the name of that place is the “Valley of Berakah” to this day.
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.
27 Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat in their lead, to go again to Jerusalem with joy, for Yahweh had made them rejoice over their enemies.
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.
28 They came to Jerusalem and to the house of Yahweh with lyres, harps, and trumpets.
And they entered into Jerusalem with lutes and harps and trumpets, [going] into the house of the lord.
29 The terror of God was on all the kingdoms of the nations when they heard that Yahweh had fought against Israel's enemies.
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.
30 So Jehoshaphat's kingdom was quiet, for his God gave him peace all around him.
And the kingdom of Josaphat was at peace; and his God gave him rest round about.
31 Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah: He was thirty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem for twenty-five years. His mother's name was Azubah, the daughter of Shilhi.
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.
32 He walked in the ways of Asa, his father; he did not turn away from them; he did what was right in the eyes of Yahweh.
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.
33 However, the high places were not taken away. The people still had not directed their hearts to the God of their ancestors.
nevertheless the high places yet remained; and as yet the people did not direct their heart to the Lord God of their fathers.
34 As for the other matters concerning Jehoshaphat, first and last, behold, they are written in the history of Jehu son of Hanani, which is recorded in the book of the kings of Israel.
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.
35 After this Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, allied himself with Ahaziah, king of Israel, who committed much wickedness.
And afterwards Josaphat king of Juda entered into an alliance with Ochozias king of Israel, (now this was an unrighteous man, )
36 He allied himself with him to build ships to go to Tarshish. They built the ships at Ezion Geber.
by acting [with] and going to him, to build ships to go to Tharsis: and he built ships in Gasion Gaber.
37 Then Eliezer son of Dodavahu of Mareshah, prophesied against Jehoshaphat; he said, “Because you have allied yourself with Ahaziah, Yahweh has destroyed your projects.” The ships were wrecked so that they were not able to sail.
And Eliezer you [son] of Dodia of Marisa prophesied against Josaphat, saying, Forasmuch as you have allied yourself with Ochozias, the Lord has broken your work, and your vessels have been wrecked. And they could not go to Tharsis.
