< 2 Chronicles 20 >

1 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 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 And Jehoshaphat was afraid, and set his face to seek unto Yahweh, —and proclaimed a fast for all Judah. 4 And Judah gathered themselves together, to enquire of Yahweh, —even, out of all the cities of Judah, came they in, to seek Yahweh. 5 And Jehoshaphat stood, in the convocation of Judah and Jerusalem in the house of Yahweh, —before the new court; 6 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 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 and they have dwelt therein, —and have built for thee therein, a sanctuary for thy Name, saying: 9 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 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 yea lo! they, are requiting us, —by coming to drive us out, from thy possession, which thou didst cause us to possess. 12 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 And, all Judah, were standing before Yahweh, —also their little ones, their wives and their children. 14 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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, 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 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 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 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 So they came to Jerusalem, with harps and with lyres, and with trumpets, —unto the house of Yahweh. 29 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 So the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was quiet, —for his God, gave him rest, round about. 31 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 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 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 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 Yet, after this, did Jehoshaphat king of Judah join himself with Ahaziah king of Israel, —he, was lawless in his doings; 36 and he joined with him, to make ships to go unto Tarshish, —and they made ships in Ezion-geber, 37 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.

< 2 Chronicles 20 >