2 Chronicles 20
1 After these things, the sons of Moab, and the sons of Ammon, and with them some from the Ammonites, gathered together so that they might fight against him.
And it came to pass after this, that the children of Moab, and the children of 'Ammon, and with them some of the 'Ammonim, came against Jehoshaphat to battle.
2 And messengers arrived and reported to Jehoshaphat, saying: “A great multitude has arrived against you, from those places that are across the sea, and from Syria. And behold, they are standing together at Hazazon-tamar, which is Engedi.”
And there came some and told unto Jehoshaphat, saying, There is coming against thee a great multitude from beyond the sea, from Syria; and, behold, they are in Chazazon-thamar, which is 'En-gedi.
3 Then Jehoshaphat, being terrified with fear, gave himself entirely to petitioning the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all of Judah.
Then became Jehoshaphat afraid, and he directed his face to seek the Lord; and he proclaimed a fast over all Judah.
4 And Judah gathered together to pray to the Lord. Moreover, everyone from their cities came to beseech him.
And [the people of] Judah gathered themselves together, to ask [help] of the Lord: also out of all the cities of Judah did they come to seek the Lord.
5 And when Jehoshaphat had stood up in the midst of the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new atrium,
And Jehoshaphat stood forward in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court.
6 he said: “O Lord, God of our fathers, you are God in heaven, and you rule over all the kingdoms of the Gentiles. In your hand is strength and power, and no one is able to withstand you.
And he said, O Lord, the God of our fathers, thou art God in the heavens, and thou rulest over all the kingdoms of the nations; and in thy hand are the power and might, and there is none that can withstand thee.
7 Did not you, our God, put to death all the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel? And you gave it to the offspring of your friend Abraham, for all time.
Behold, it is thou, O our God, who hast driven out the inhabitants of this land from before thy people Israel; and thou gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend to eternity.
8 And they lived in it. And they built a Sanctuary to your name in it, saying:
And they have dwelt therein, and have built for thee therein a sanctuary for thy name, saying,
9 ‘If evils will have fallen upon us, the sword of judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand in your sight before this house, in which your name is invoked, and we will cry out to you in our tribulations. And you will heed us and accomplish our salvation.’
If there should come over us any evil, the sword, punishment, or pestilence, or famine, [then] will we stand before this house, and in thy presence, for thy name is in this house, and we will cry unto thee out of our distress, and thou wilt hear and help.
10 Now therefore, behold the sons of Ammon, and of Moab, and mount Seir, through whose lands you did not permit Israel to cross when they were departing from Egypt. Instead, they turned aside from them, and they did not put them to death.
And now, behold, the children of 'Ammon and Moab and mount Se'ir, against whom thou wouldst not suffer Israel to come, when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned aside from them, and destroyed them not: —
11 They are doing the contrary, and they are striving to cast us from the possession which you delivered to us.
And behold, they recompense us, by coming to drive us out of thy inheritance, which thou hast given us to possess.
12 Therefore, will you, our God, not judge them? Certainly, in us there is not enough strength so that we would be able to withstand this multitude, which rushes against us. But although we do not know what we ought to do, we have this alone remaining, that we direct our eyes to you.”
O our God, wilt thou not execute justice on them? for there is no power in us against this great multitude that is coming against us; and we indeed know not what we are to do: but upon thee are our eyes [directed].
13 Truly, all of Judah was standing before the Lord with their little ones and wives and children.
And all Judah were standing before the Lord, also their little ones, their wives, and their sons.
14 But there was Jahaziel, the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite from the sons of Asaph, upon whom the Spirit of the Lord went, in the midst of the crowd.
And upon Jachaziel the son of Zecharyahu, the son of Benayah, the son of Je'iel, the son of Matthanyah, the Levite, of the sons of Assaph, came the spirit of the Lord in the midst of the assembly;
15 And he said: “Pay attention, all of Judah, and you who live in Jerusalem, and you, king Jehoshaphat. Thus says the Lord to you: Do not be afraid. Neither should you be dismayed by this multitude. For the fight is not yours, but God’s.
And he said, Listen ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus hath said the Lord unto you, Be ye not afraid and be not dismayed because of this great multitude; for not unto you belongeth the battle, but unto God.
16 Tomorrow, you shall descend against them. For they will ascend along the incline named Ziz, and will find them at the summit of the torrent, which is opposite the wilderness of Jeruel.
Tomorrow go ye down against them behold, they come up by the ascent of Ziz; and ye will find them at the end of the valley, in front of the wilderness of Jeruel.
17 It will not be you who will fight. Instead, only stand with confidence, and you will see the help of the Lord over you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid. Neither should you be dismayed. Tomorrow you shall go forth against them, and the Lord will be with you.”
Ye shall not need to fight in this place: stand firmly, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, and be not dismayed; tomorrow go out to meet them, and the Lord will be with you.
18 Then Jehoshaphat, and Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell prone on the ground before the Lord, and they adored 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, to prostrate themselves unto the Lord.
19 And the Levites from the sons of Kohath, and from the sons of Korah, were praising the Lord, the God of Israel, with a great voice, on high.
And then arose the Levites, of the children of the Kehathites, and of the children of the Korehites, to praise the Lord the God of Israel with a very loud voice.
20 And when they had risen up in the morning, they went out through the desert of Tekoa. And as they were setting out, Jehoshaphat, standing in their midst, said: “Listen to me, men of Judah and all inhabitants of Jerusalem. Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be secure. Believe in his prophets, and everything will come to prosperity.”
And they rose up early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Thekoa': and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood forward and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; believe in the Lord your God, and ye will have permanence; believe his prophets, and ye will prosper.
21 And he gave counsel to the people. And he appointed the singing men of the Lord, so that they would praise him by their companies, and so that they would go before the army, and with one voice say: “Confess to the Lord. For his mercy is eternal.”
And he consulted with his people, and he appointed singers unto the Lord, and those that should praise in the holy ornaments, as they went out before the armed array, and said, Give thanks unto the Lord; for unto everlasting endureth his kindness.
22 And when they had begun to sing praises, the Lord turned their ambushes upon themselves, that is, those of the sons of Ammon, and of Moab, and of mount Seir, who had gone forth so that they might fight against Judah. And they were struck down.
And at the time when they began with the song and the praise, the Lord set an ambush against the children of 'Ammon, Moab, and mount Se'ir, who were come against Judah, and they were smitten.
23 For the sons of Ammon and of Moab rose up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, so that they might slay and destroy them. And when they had perpetrated this work, now also turning upon themselves, they cut one another with wounds.
And the children of 'Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Se'ir, utterly to annihilate and to destroy them; and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Se'ir, they helped to destroy one another.
24 Then, when Judah had gone to the high point that looks out toward the desert, they saw, from far away, the entire wide region filled with dead bodies. Neither was there anyone who was left alive and had been able to escape death.
And when Judah came toward the watchtower in the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none had escaped.
25 Therefore, Jehoshaphat went, and all the people with him, in order to take away the spoils of the dead. And they found, among the dead bodies, diverse equipment, and also garments, and very precious vessels. And they despoiled these, to such an extent that they were unable to carry everything. Neither could they, over three days, take away the spoils because of the magnitude of the plunder.
And then came Jehoshaphat and his people to plunder their booty, and they found among them in abundance both riches and dead bodies, and costly vessels, which they stript off for themselves, more than they could carry away: and they were three days in plundering the booty, for it was so much.
26 Then, on the fourth day, they were gathered together in the Valley of Blessing. For they had blessed the Lord there, and therefore they called that place the Valley of Blessing, even to the present day.
And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Berachah; for there they blessed the Lord: therefore did they call the name of this place, The valley of Berachah [[Blessing]], until this day.
27 And every man of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, returned, with Jehoshaphat before them, to Jerusalem, with great rejoicing. For the Lord had granted to them gladness concerning their enemies.
Then returned all the men of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat at their head, to return to Jerusalem with joy; for the Lord had caused them to rejoice over their enemies.
28 And they entered into Jerusalem with psalteries, and harps, and trumpets, into the house of the Lord.
And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries and with harps and with trumpets unto the house of the Lord.
29 Then the fear of the Lord fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands, when they had heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel.
And a dread from God was on all the kingdoms of [those] countries, when they heard that the Lord had fought with the enemies of Israel.
30 And the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was quiet. And God granted to him peace on all sides.
So the kingdom of Jehoshaphat had repose, and his God gave him rest all round about.
31 And so Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. And he was thirty-five years old when he had begun to reign. Then he reigned for twenty-five years in Jerusalem. And the name of his mother was Azubah, the daughter of Shilhi.
And [so] did Jehoshaphat reign over Judah; thirty and five years old was he when he became king, and twenty and five years did he reign in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was 'Azubah the daughter of Shilchi.
32 And he walked in the way of his father, Asa, and he did not decline from it, doing the things that were pleasing before the Lord.
And he walked in the way of his father Assa, and turned not aside from it, doing what is right in the eyes of the Lord.
33 Yet truly, he did not take away the high places, and the people still had not directed their heart to the Lord, the God of their fathers.
Nevertheless the high-places were not removed; for the people had not yet directed their heart firmly unto the God of their fathers.
34 But the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, the first and the last, have been written in the words of Jehu, the son of Hanani, which he digested into the books of the kings of Israel.
And the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, the first and the last, behold, they are written in the history of Jehu the son of Chanani, which was entered into the book of the kings of Israel.
35 After these things, Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, formed a friendship with Ahaziah, the king of Israel, whose works were very impious.
And after this did Jehoshaphat the king of Judah connect himself with Achazyah the king of Israel, the same who acted very wickedly;
36 And he was a partner in the making of ships, which would go to Tarshish. And they made the fleet at Eziongeber.
And he connected himself with him to make ships to go to Tharshish: and they made ships in 'Ezyon-geber.
37 Then Eliezer, the son of Dodavahu, from Mareshah, prophesied to Jehoshaphat, saying: “Because you have made a pact with Ahaziah, the Lord has struck your works, and the ships have been broken, and they have not been able to go to Tarshish.”
Then prophesied Eli'ezer the son of Dodavahu of Mareshah against Jehoshaphat, saying, Because thou hast connected thyself with Achazyahu, the Lord hath broken down thy works. And the ships were wrecked, so that they were not able to go to Tharshish.
