2 Chronicles 20
1 Aftir these thingis the sones of Moab, and the sones of Amon, and with hem of Idumeis, weren gaderid togidere to Josaphat, for to fiyte ayens hym.
Later [armies from] Moab and Ammon and some soldiers from [the] Meun [area in Edom] came [to fight] against Jehoshaphat’s [army].
2 And messangeris camen, and schewiden to Josaphat, seiden, A greet multitude of tho placis that ben biyondis the see, and of Sirie, is comun ayens thee; and, lo! thei stonden in Asasonthamar, which is Engaddi.
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.
3 Forsothe Josaphat was aferd by drede, and `yaf hym silf al for to preye `the Lord, and prechide fastynge to al Juda.
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.
4 And Juda was gaderid togidere for to preye the Lord, but also alle men camen fro her citees for to biseche hym.
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.
5 And whanne Josaphat hadde stonde in the myddis of the cumpeny of Juda and of Jerusalem, in the hows of the Lord, bifor the newe large place,
Then Jehoshaphat stood up in front of the people of Judah in front of the new courtyard of the temple,
6 he seide, Lord God of oure fadris, thou art God in heuene, and thou art lord of alle rewmes of folkis; strengthe and power ben in thin hond, `and noon may ayenstonde thee.
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.
7 Whether not thou, oure God, hast slayn alle the dwelleris of this lond bifor thi puple Israel, and hast youe it to the seed of Abraham, thi freend, withouten ende?
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.
8 And thei dwelliden therynne, and bildiden therinne a seyntuarie to thi name, and seiden,
We have lived here and have built a temple where we, your people, worship you. We said,
9 If yuelis comen on vs, the swerd of doom, pestilence, and hungur, we schulen stonde bifor this hows withouten ende in thi siyt, in which hows thi name is clepid, and we schulen crie to thee in oure tribulaciouns; and thou schalt here vs, and schalt make vs saaf.
'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.'
10 Now therfor lo! the sones of Amon and of Moab and the hil of Seir, bi whiche thou grauntidist not to the sones of Israel for to passe, whanne thei yeden out of Egipt, but thei bowiden awei fro hem, and killiden not hem,
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].
11 thei doon ayenward, and enforsen to caste vs out of the possessioun, which thou, oure God, hast youe to vs;
[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]
12 therfor whether thou schalt not deme hem? Treuli in vs is not so greet strengthe, that we moun ayenstonde this multitude, that felde yn on vs; but sithen we witen not what we owen to do, we `han oneli this residue, that we dresse oure iyen to thee.
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.”
13 Sotheli al Juda stood bifor the Lord, with her litle children and wyues and fre children.
All the men of Judah and their wives and children and babies were standing there in the presence of Yahweh [while Jehoshaphat prayed].
14 Forsothe Hiaziel, the sone of Zacarie, sone of Ananye, sone of Hieyel, sone of Machanye, was a dekene, and of the sones of Asaph, on whom the Spirit of the Lord was maad in the myddis of the cumpeny,
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,
15 and he seide, Al Juda, and ye that dwellen in Jerusalem, and thou, king Josaphat, perseyue ye, the Lord seith these thingis to you, Nyle ye drede, nether be ye aferd of this multitude, for it is not youre batel, but Goddis batel.
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].
16 To morewe ye schulen stie `ayens hem; for thei schulen stie bi the side of the hil, `bi name Seys, and ye schulen fynde hem in the hiynesse of the stronde, which is ayens the wildirnesse of Jheruhel.
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.
17 For it schulen not be ye, that schulen fiyte; but oneli stonde ye trustili, and ye schulen se the help of the Lord on you. A! Juda and Jerusalem, nyle ye drede, nether be ye aferd; to morewe ye schulen go out ayens hem, and the Lord schal be with you.
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.’”
18 Therfor Josaphat, and Juda, and alle the dwelleris of Jerusalem, felden lowli on the erthe bifor the Lord, and worschypiden hym.
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.
19 Forsothe the dekenes of the sones of Caath, and of the sones of Chore, herieden the Lord God of Israel with greet vois an hiy.
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].
20 And whanne thei hadden rise eerli, thei yeden not bi the deseert of Thecue; and whanne thei `hadden gon forth, Josaphat stood in the myddis of hem, and seide, Juda and alle the dwelleris of Jerusalem, here ye me; bileue ye in `youre Lord God, and ye schulen be sikur; bileue ye to hise prophetis, and alle prosperitees schulen come.
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.”
21 And he yaf counsel to the puple, and he ordeynede the syngeris of the Lord, that thei schulden herye hym in her cumpanyes, and that thei schulden go bifor the oost, and seie with acordynge vois, Knouleche ye to the Lord, for he is good; for his merci is `in to the world.
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.”
22 And whanne thei bigunnen to synge heriyngis, the Lord turnede the buyschementis of hem `in to hem silf, that is, of the sones of Amon and of Moab and of the hil of Seir, that yeden out to fiyte ayens Juda; and thei weren slayn.
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.
23 For whi the sones of Amon and of Moab risiden togidere ayens the dwelleris of the hil of Seir, to sle, and to do awey hem; and whanne thei hadden do this in werk, thei weren `turned also `in to hem silf, and felden doun togidere bi woundis ech of othere.
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.
24 Certis whanne Juda was comun to the denne, that biholdith the wildirnesse, he siy afer al the large cuntrei ful of deed bodies, and that noon was left, that miyte ascape deeth.
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.
25 Therfor Josaphat cam, and al the puple with hym, to drawe awey the spuylis of deed men, and thei founden among the deed bodies dyuerse purtenaunce of houshold, and clothis, and ful preciouse vessels; and thei rauyischiden in dyuerse maneres, so that thei myyten not bere alle thingis, nether thei myyten take awei the spuylis bi thre daies, for the greetnesse of prey.
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.
26 Sotheli in the fourthe dai thei weren gaderid togidere in the valey of Blessyng; `forsothe for thei blessiden the Lord there, thei clepiden that place the valei of Blessyng `til in to present dai.
The following day they gathered in Beracah Valley and praised Yahweh there. That is why that valley is still called Beracah, [which means praise.]
27 And ech man of Juda turnede ayen, and the dwelleris of Jerusalem, and Josaphat bifor hem, in to Jerusalem with greet gladnesse; for the Lord God hadde youe to hem ioye of her enemyes.
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.
28 And thei entriden in to Jerusalem with sawtrees, and harpis, and trumpis, in to the hows of the Lord.
When they arrived at Jerusalem, they went to the temple, [playing] harps and lutes and trumpets.
29 Forsothe the drede of the Lord felde on alle the rewmes of londis, whanne thei hadden herd, that the Lord hadde fouyte ayens the enemies of Israel.
People in the kingdoms of the nearby countries became very afraid when they heard how Yahweh had fought against the enemies of the Israelis.
30 And the rewme of Josaphat restide; and the Lord yaf `pees to hym `bi cumpas.
Then there was peace in the kingdom that was ruled by Jehoshaphat, because God had caused the surrounding nations not to attack it.
31 Therfor Josaphat regnede on Juda; and he was of fyue and thritti yeer, whanne he bigan to regne; sotheli he regnede fyue and twenti yeer in Jerusalem; and the name of his modir was Azuba, the douytir of Selathi.
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.
32 And he yede in the weie of Asa his fadir, and bowide not fro it, and he dide what euer thingis weren plesaunt bifor the Lord.
He did things that were pleasing to Yahweh, like his father Asa had done, and he did not stop doing those things.
33 Netheles he dide not awei hiy thingis; yit the puple hadde not dressid her herte to the Lord God of her fadris.
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.
34 Forsothe the residue of the formere and the laste dedis of Josaphat ben writun in the book of Hieu, the sone of Anany, which he ordeynede in the book of kyngis of Israel.
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.
35 After these thingis Josaphat, kyng of Juda, made frendschipis with Ocozie, kyng of Israel, whose werkis weren ful yuele;
During his reign, Jehoshaphat made a treaty with Ahaziah, the king of Israel, who was a very wicked king.
36 and he was parcener that thei maden schippis, that schulden go in to Tharsis; and thei maden o schip in to Asiongaber.
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],
37 Sotheli Eliezer, sone of Dodan, of Maresa, profesiede to Josaphat, and seide, For thou haddist boond of pees with Ocozie, the Lord smoot thi werkis; and the schippis ben brokun, and myyten not go in to Tharsis.
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.
