War against Edom

20 After this the men of Moab, and Ammon, and some of the Meunites, came to make war against Jehoshaphat. ² Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, “Very many people are coming against you from the other side of the sea, from Syria. See, they are in Hazazon-tamar (that is, Engedi).” ³ Jehoshaphat was afraid and decided to call on the Lord. He made a special time of not eating in all Judah. ⁴ And Judah gathered together to pray for help from the Lord. They came to the Lord from all the cities of Judah to call on the Lord.

⁵ Jehoshaphat stood among the people of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, in front of the new open space. ⁶ Then he said, “O Lord, the God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven? Do You not rule over all the nations? Power and strength are in Your hand, so that no one is able to stand against You. ⁷ O our God, did You not make the people of this land leave so that Your people Israel could have it and give it to the children of Your friend Abraham forever? ⁸ And they have lived in it. They have built You a holy place in it for Your name, saying, ⁹ ‘If what is bad comes upon us, fighting, hard times, disease, or no food, we will stand in front of this house. And we will stand before You, (for Your name is in this house). We will cry to You in our trouble. And You will hear and take us out of trouble.’ ¹⁰ Now see the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom You did not let Israel fight when they came from the land of Egypt. (They turned aside from them and did not destroy them.) ¹¹ Look how they are paying us back. They are coming to make us leave Your land which You have given to us. ¹² O our God, will You not punish them? For we have no power against all these men who are coming against us. We do not know what to do. But our eyes look to You.” ¹³ And all the men of Judah were standing before the Lord, with their babies, their wives, and their children.

¹⁴ Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, the Levite of the sons of Asaph, as he stood among the people. ¹⁵ He said, “Listen, all Judah, the people of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat. The Lord says to you, ‘Do not be afraid or troubled because of these many men. For the battle is not yours but God’s. ¹⁶ Go down to fight them tomorrow. See, they will come up by the hill of Ziz. You will find them at the end of the valley, in front of the desert of Jeruel. ¹⁷ You will not need to fight in this battle. Just stand still in your places and see the saving power of the Lord work for you, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not be afraid or troubled. Go out against them tomorrow, for the Lord is with you.” ¹⁸ Then Jehoshaphat put his face to the ground. And all Judah and the people of Jerusalem fell down in worship before the Lord. ¹⁹ The Levites, of the Kohathites and Korahites, stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel, with a very loud voice.

²⁰ They got up early in the morning and went out to the desert of Tekoa. When they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, O Judah and people of Jerusalem. Trust in the Lord your God, and you will be made strong. Trust in the men who speak for Him, and you will do well.” ²¹ When he had spoken with the people, he called those who sang to the Lord and those who praised Him in holy clothing. They went out in front of the army and said, “Give thanks to the Lord. For His loving-kindness lasts forever.” ²² When they began to sing and praise, the Lord set traps against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah. So they were destroyed. ²³ The men of Ammon and Moab fought against the people of Mount Seir, and killed all of them. And when they finished with the people of Seir, they all helped to kill each other.

²⁴ Judah came to the place where they could look out over the desert. When they looked toward the armies, they saw that dead bodies were lying on the ground. No one had been left alive. ²⁵ So Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away what they wanted from them. They found cattle, many good things, clothing, and things of great worth, which they took for themselves. There was more than they could carry. It took them three days to take all the things, because there was so much. ²⁶ They gathered together in the Valley of Beracah on the fourth day. There they praised and thanked the Lord. So the name of that place has been the Valley of Beracah to this day. ²⁷ Then every man of Judah and Jerusalem returned, with Jehoshaphat leading them. They returned to Jerusalem with joy. For the Lord had filled them with joy by saving them from those who hated them. ²⁸ They came to the house of the Lord in Jerusalem with horns and different kinds of harps. ²⁹ And the fear of God came upon all the nations of the lands, when they heard that the Lord had fought against those who hate Israel. ³⁰ So the nation of Jehoshaphat was at peace. His God gave him rest on all sides.

The End of Jehoshaphat’s Rule

³¹ So Jehoshaphat ruled over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he became king. And he ruled in Jerusalem for twenty-five years. His mother’s name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. ³² Jehoshaphat walked in the way of his father Asa, and did not leave it. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. ³³ But the high places were not taken away. The people had not yet set their hearts on the God of their fathers. ³⁴ The rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, from first to last, are written in the story of Jehu the son of Hanani, which is written in the Book of the Kings of Israel.

³⁵ After this King Jehoshaphat of Judah joined with King Ahaziah of Israel who was very sinful. ³⁶ He joined him in making ships to go to Tarshish. They made the ships in Ezion-geber. ³⁷ Then Eliezer the son of Dodavahu of Mareshah told what would happen against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you have joined with Ahaziah, the Lord will destroy what you have made.” So the ships were wrecked, and could not go to Tarshish.