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.
It came about after this, that the people of Moab and Ammon, and with them some Meunites came against Jehoshaphat to do 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.”
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.
3 Then Jehoshaphat, being terrified with fear, gave himself entirely to petitioning the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all of Judah.
Jehoshaphat became afraid and set himself to seek Yahweh. He proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
4 And Judah gathered together to pray to the Lord. Moreover, everyone from their cities came to beseech him.
Judah gathered together to seek Yahweh; they came to seek Yahweh from all the cities of Judah.
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,
Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, at the house of Yahweh, in front of the new courtyard.
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.
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.
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.
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?
8 And they lived in it. And they built a Sanctuary to your name in it, saying:
They lived in it and built you a holy place in it for your 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 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.'
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.
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.
11 They are doing the contrary, and they are striving to cast us from the possession which you delivered to us.
See how they are rewarding us; they are coming to drive us out of your land that you have given us to inherit.
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.”
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.”
13 Truly, all of Judah was standing before the Lord with their little ones and wives and children.
All Judah stood before Yahweh, with their little ones, wives, and children.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.”
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.'”
18 Then Jehoshaphat, and Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell prone on the ground before the Lord, and they adored him.
Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground. All Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before Yahweh, worshiping him.
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.
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.
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.”
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.”
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.”
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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
28 And they entered into Jerusalem with psalteries, and harps, and trumpets, into the house of the Lord.
They came to Jerusalem and to the house of Yahweh with lyres, harps, and trumpets.
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.
The terror of God was on all the kingdoms of the nations when they heard that Yahweh had fought against Israel's enemies.
30 And the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was quiet. And God granted to him peace on all sides.
So Jehoshaphat's kingdom was quiet, for his God gave him peace all around him.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
However, the high places were not taken away. The people still had not directed their hearts to the God of their ancestors.
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.
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.
35 After these things, Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, formed a friendship with Ahaziah, the king of Israel, whose works were very impious.
After this Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, allied himself with Ahaziah, king of Israel, who committed much wickedness.
36 And he was a partner in the making of ships, which would go to Tarshish. And they made the fleet at Eziongeber.
He allied himself with him to build ships to go to Tarshish. They built the ships at Ezion 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 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.
