II Chronicles 20

¹Now after this, the children of Moab and the children of Ammon, and with them some of the Meunim, made war against Jehoshaphat.

²And they came to Jehoshaphat with the news, saying, A great army is moving against you from Edom across the sea; and now they are in Hazazon-tamar (which is En-gedi).

³Then Jehoshaphat, in his fear, went to the Lord for directions, and gave orders all through Judah for the people to go without food.

⁴And Judah came together to make prayer for help from the Lord; from every town of Judah they came to give worship to the Lord.

⁵And Jehoshaphat took his place in the meeting of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord in front of the new open space,

⁶And said, O Lord, the God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? are you not ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? and in your hands are power and strength so that no one is able to keep his place against you.

⁷Did you not, O Lord our God, after driving out the people of this land before your people Israel, give it to the seed of Abraham, your friend, for ever?

⁸And they made it their living-place, building there a holy house for your name, and saying,

⁹If evil comes on us, the sword, or punishment, or disease, or need of food, we will come to this house and to you, (for your name is in this house,) crying to you in our trouble, and you will give us salvation in answer to our cry.

¹⁰And now, see, the children of Ammon and Moab and the people of Mount Seir, whom you kept Israel from attacking when they came out of Egypt, so that turning to one side they did not send destruction on them:

¹¹See now, how as our reward they have come to send us out of your land which you have given us as our heritage.

¹²O our God, will you not be their judge? for our strength is not equal to this great army which is coming against us; and we are at a loss what to do: but our eyes are on you.

¹³And all Judah were waiting before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.

¹⁴Then, before all the meeting, the spirit of the Lord came on Jahaziel, the son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite and one of the family of Asaph;

¹⁵And he said, Give ear, O Judah, and you people of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat: the Lord says to you, Have no fear and do not be troubled on account of this great army; for the fight is not yours but God's.

¹⁶Go down against them tomorrow: see, they are coming up by the slope of Ziz; at the end of the valley, before the waste land of Jeruel, you will come face to face with them.

¹⁷There will be no need for you to take up arms in this fight; put yourselves in position, and keep where you are, and you will see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: have no fear and do not be troubled: go out against them tomorrow, for the Lord is with you.

¹⁸Then Jehoshaphat went down with his face to the earth, and all Judah and the people of Jerusalem gave worship to the Lord, falling down before him.

¹⁹And the Levites, the children of the Kohathites and the Korahites, got to their feet and gave praise to the Lord, the God of Israel, with a loud voice.

²⁰And early in the morning they got up and went out to the waste land of Tekoa: and when they were going out, Jehoshaphat took his station and said to them, Give ear to me, O Judah and you people of Jerusalem: have faith in the Lord your God and you will be safe; have faith in his prophets and all will go well for you.

²¹And after discussion with the people, he put in their places those who were to make melody to the Lord, praising him in holy robes, while they went at the head of the army, and saying, May the Lord be praised, for his mercy is unchanging for ever.

²²And at the first notes of song and praise the Lord sent a surprise attack against the children of Ammon and Moab and the people of Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were overcome.

²³And the children of Ammon and Moab made an attack on the people of Mount Seir with a view to their complete destruction; and when they had put an end to the people of Seir, everyman's hand was turned against his neighbour for his destruction.

²⁴And Judah came to the watchtower of the waste land, and looking in the direction of the army, they saw only dead bodies stretched on the earth; no living man was to be seen.

²⁵And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take their goods from them, they saw beasts in great numbers, and wealth and clothing and things of value, more than they were able to take away; all this they took for themselves, and they were three days getting it away, there was so much.

²⁶On the fourth day they all came together in the Valley of Blessing, and there they gave blessing to the Lord; for which cause that place has been named the Valley of Blessing to this day.

²⁷Then all the men of Judah and Jerusalem went back, with Jehoshaphat at their head, coming back to Jerusalem with joy; for the Lord had made them glad over their haters.

²⁸So they came to Jerusalem with corded instruments and wind-instruments into the house of the Lord.

²⁹And the fear of God came on all the kingdoms of the lands, when they had news of how the Lord made war on those who came against Israel.

³⁰So the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for the Lord gave him rest on every side.

³¹And Jehoshaphat was king over Judah: he was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he was ruling for twenty-five years in Jerusalem: his mother's name was Azubah, the daughter of Shilhi.

³²He went in the ways of his father Asa, not turning away, but doing right in the eyes of the Lord.

³³The high places, however, were not taken away, and the hearts of the people were still not true to the God of their fathers.

³⁴Now as for the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last, they are recorded in the words of Jehu, the son of Hanani, which were put in the book of the kings of Israel.

³⁵After this Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, became friends with Ahaziah, king of Israel, who did much evil:

³⁶Together they made ships to go to Tarshish, building them in Ezion-geber.

³⁷Then the word of Eliezer the prophet, the son of Dodavahu of Mareshah, came against Jehoshaphat, saying, Because you have let yourself be joined with Ahaziah, the Lord has sent destruction on your works. And the ships were broken and were not able to go to Tarshish.

II Chronicles 20

¹It happened after this, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them some of the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle.

²Then some came who told Jehoshaphat, saying, "A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea from Syria. Behold, they are in Hazazon Tamar" (that is, En Gedi).

³Jehoshaphat was alarmed, and set himself to seek to the Lord. He proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.

⁴Judah gathered themselves together, to seek help from the Lord. They came out of all the cities of Judah to seek the Lord.

⁵Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court;

⁶and he said, "O Lord, the God of our fathers, aren't you God in heaven? Aren't you ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in your hand, so that no one is able to withstand you.

⁷Did you not, our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it to the seed of Abraham your friend forever?

⁸They lived in it, and have built you a sanctuary in it for your name, saying,

⁹'If evil comes on us-the sword, judgment, pestilence, or famine-we will stand before this house, and before you, (for your name is in this house), and cry to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save.'

¹⁰Now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom you would not let Israel invade, when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned aside from them, and did not destroy them;

¹¹behold, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of your possession, which you have given us to inherit.

¹²Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no might against this great company that comes against us; neither know we what to do, but our eyes are on you."

¹³All Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.

¹⁴Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, the Levite, of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly;

¹⁵and he said, "Listen, all Judah, and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you king Jehoshaphat. Thus says the Lord to you, 'Do not be afraid, neither be dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's.

¹⁶Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they are coming up by the ascent of Ziz. You shall find them at the end of the valley, before the wilderness of Jeruel.

¹⁷You will not need to fight this battle. Set yourselves, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed. Go out against them tomorrow, for the Lord is with you.'"

¹⁸Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground; and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshipping the Lord.

¹⁹The Levites, of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites, stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with an exceeding loud voice.

²⁰They rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Listen to me, Judah, and you inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God, so you shall be established! Believe his prophets, so you shall prosper."

²¹When he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the Lord, and give praise in holy array, as they went out before the army, and say, Give thanks to the Lord; for his loving kindness endures forever.

²²When they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushers against the children of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were struck.

²³For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, utterly to kill and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, everyone helped to destroy another.

²⁴When Judah came to the place overlooking the wilderness, they looked at the multitude; and behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and there were none who escaped.

²⁵When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take their spoil, they found among them in abundance both riches and dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away: and they were three days in taking the spoil, it was so much.

²⁶On the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Beracah; for there they blessed the Lord: therefore the name of that place was called The valley of Beracah to this day.

²⁷Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat in their forefront, to go again to Jerusalem with joy; for the Lord had made them to rejoice over their enemies.

²⁸They came to Jerusalem with stringed instruments and harps and trumpets to the house of the Lord.

²⁹The fear of God was on all the kingdoms of the countries, when they heard that the Lord fought against the enemies of Israel.

³⁰So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet; for his God gave him rest all around.

³¹Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah: he was thirty-five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi.

³²He walked in the way of Asa his father, and did not turn aside from it, doing that which was right in the eyes of the Lord.

³³However the high places were not taken away; neither as yet had the people set their hearts to the God of their fathers.

³⁴Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last, behold, they are written in the history of Jehu the son of Hanani, which is inserted in the book of the kings of Israel.

³⁵After this Jehoshaphat king of Judah joined himself with Ahaziah king of Israel. The same did very wickedly:

³⁶and he joined himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish; and they made the ships in Ezion Geber.

³⁷Then Eliezer the son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, "Because you have joined yourself with Ahaziah, the Lord has destroyed your works." The ships were broken, so that they were not able to go to Tarshish.