2 Chronicles 20
1 Then, after this, the Moabites and Ammonites, as well as some of the Meunites, came to attack Jehoshaphat.
And it came to pass, after this, that the sons of Moab and the sons of Ammon, and, with them, some of the Meunim, came against Jehoshaphat, to battle.
2 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).
And there came [some] and told Jehoshaphat, saying, There is coming against thee, a great multitude from beyond the sea, from Syria, —and lo! they are in Hazazon-tamar, the same, is Engedi.
3 Jehoshaphat was afraid, and went to ask the Lord what to do. He also ordered everyone throughout Judah to fast.
And Jehoshaphat was afraid, and set his face to seek unto Yahweh, —and proclaimed a fast for all Judah.
4 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.
And Judah gathered themselves together, to enquire of Yahweh, —even, out of all the cities of Judah, came they in, to seek Yahweh.
5 Jehoshaphat stood before the assembled people of Judah and Jerusalem at the Temple, in front of the new courtyard,
And Jehoshaphat stood, in the convocation of Judah and Jerusalem in the house of Yahweh, —before the new court;
6 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!
and said, O Yahweh, God of our fathers, art not, thou, God in the heavens? and art, thou, not ruling throughout all the kingdoms of the nations? and, in thy hand, [are there not] strength and might? and is there any who, against thee, can stand?
7 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?
Art not, thou, our God, who didst dispossess the inhabitants of this land, from before thy people Israel, —and didst give it unto the seed of Abraham who loved thee, unto times age-abiding?
8 They are living in the land and have built a Temple for you here to honor you, saying,
and they have dwelt therein, —and have built for thee therein, a sanctuary for thy Name, saying:
9 ‘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.’
If there come upon us calamity, the sword of judgment or pestilence or famine, we will stand before this house and before thee, for, thy Name, is in this house, —that we may make outcry unto thee out of our distress, that thou mayest hear and save.
10 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.
Now, therefore, lo! the sons of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom thou didst not suffer Israel to invade, when they came out of the land of Egypt, —but they turned away from them and destroyed them not,
11 See how they're rewarding us, coming to steal the land you gave us to possess forever!
yea lo! they, are requiting us, —by coming to drive us out, from thy possession, which thou didst cause us to possess.
12 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.”
O our God, wilt thou not bring judgment upon them, seeing that there is, in us, no strength, before this great multitude, that is coming against us, —we, therefore, know not what we shall do, but, unto thee, are our eyes.
13 All the men of Judah stood before the Lord, together with their wives and children and babies.
And, all Judah, were standing before Yahweh, —also their little ones, their wives and their children.
14 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.
Now, as for Jahaziel son of Zechariah son of Benaiah son of Jeiel son of Mattaniah a Levite, of the sons of Asaph, there came upon him the spirit of Yahweh, in the midst of the convocation:
15 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!
and he said, Give ye heed, all Judah and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat! Thus, saith Yahweh unto you. As for you, do not fear nor be dismayed, by reason of this great multitude, for, not yours, is the battle, but, God’s.
16 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.
To-morrow, go ye down against them, for lo! there they are coming up by the ascent of Ziz, —and ye shall find them at the end of the ravine, facing the wilderness of Jeruel.
17 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!”
It is not, for you, to fight in this matter, —take your station, stand still, and see the salvation of Yahweh with you, O Judah and Jerusalem, do not fear, nor be dismayed, to-morrow, go ye out to meet them, and, Yahweh, will be with you.
18 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.
And Jehoshaphat bowed his head, with his face to the ground, —and, all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, fell down before Yahweh, prostrating themselves unto Yahweh.
19 Then the Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites stood to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, shouting loudly.
And Levites—of the sons of the Kohathites and of the sons of the Korahites, stood up to offer praise unto Yahweh, God of Israel, with an exceedingly loud voice.
20 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.”
So they rose early in the morning, and went out to the wilderness of Tekoa, —and, as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, Trust ye in Yahweh your God, and ye shall be trusted, Trust ye in his prophets, and ye shall prosper.
21 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!”
And, when he had given counsel unto the people, he appointed such as should sing unto Yahweh, and offer praise with holy adorning, —as they should be going forth before the armed men, that they should be saying, O give thanks unto Yahweh, For, age-abiding, is his lovingkindness.
22 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.
And, when they began to sing and to praise, Yahweh had set liers-in-wait against the sons of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, who were coming against Judah, and they were smitten.
23 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.
Then rose up the sons of Ammon and Moab against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, to devote and to destroy, —and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to cut off, every man his neighbour.
24 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.
So when, Judah, came near the watch-tower of the wilderness, —they turned towards the multitude, and lo! there they were, dead bodies fallen to the earth, with none to escape.
25 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.
And, when Jehoshaphat and his people came near to plunder the spoil of them, they found among them, in abundance, both riches and dead bodies and precious jewels, and they stripped off for themselves, beyond what they could carry away, —and they were three days plundering the spoil, for great it was.
26 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.
And, on the fourth day, they assembled themselves in the vale of Beracah, for there they blessed Yahweh, —on this account, was the name of that place called The Vale of Beracah—unto this day.
27 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.
Then turned every man of Judah and Jerusalem, with, Jehoshaphat, at their head, to go again to Jerusalem with joy, —for Yahweh had caused them to rejoice over their enemies.
28 They entered Jerusalem and went straight to the Temple of Lord, accompanied by music from harps, lyres, and trumpets.
So they came to Jerusalem, with harps and with lyres, and with trumpets, —unto the house of Yahweh.
29 All the kingdoms around were in awe of God when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel.
And it came to pass that, the dread of God, was upon all the kingdoms of the countries, -when they heard, that Yahweh had fought against the enemies of Israel.
30 Jehoshaphat and his kingdom were at peace, for God gave him rest—there were no attacks from any direction.
So the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was quiet, —for his God, gave him rest, round about.
31 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.
Thus Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah, —thirty-five years old, was he when he began to reign, and, twenty-five years, reigned he in Jerusalem, and the, name of his mother, was Azubah, daughter of Shilhi.
32 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.
And he walked in the way of his father Asa, and turned not from it, —doing that which was right, in the eyes of Yahweh.
33 However, the high places were not removed, and the people were not committed to the God of their forefathers.
Howbeit, the high places, were not taken away, —for as yet, the people, had not fixed their heart unto the God of their fathers.
34 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.
But, the rest of the story of Jehoshaphat, first and last, lo! there it is written in the story of Jehu son of Hanani, which hath been added to the book of the Kings of Israel.
35 Later in his life, Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, allied himself with Ahaziah, king of Israel, who did wicked things.
Yet, after this, did Jehoshaphat king of Judah join himself with Ahaziah king of Israel, —he, was lawless in his doings;
36 They agreed to work together and send ships to Tarshish. The ships were built in Ezion-geber.
and he joined with him, to make ships to go unto Tarshish, —and they made ships in Ezion-geber,
37 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.
Then prophesied, Eliezer son of Dodavahu of Mareshah, against Jehoshaphat, saying, —Because thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah, Yahweh hath broken in pieces thy works. So the ships were wrecked, and were not able to go unto Tarshish.
