2 Chronicles 20
New American Standard Bible
Judah Invaded
20 Now it came about after this, that the sons of Moab and the sons of Ammon, together with some of the [a](A)Meunites, came to make war against Jehoshaphat. 2 Then some came and reported to Jehoshaphat, saying, “A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, from [b]Aram; and behold, they are in (B)Hazazon-tamar (that is Engedi).” 3 Jehoshaphat was afraid and [c](C)turned his attention to seek the Lord; and he (D)proclaimed a period of fasting throughout Judah. 4 So Judah gathered together to (E)seek help from the Lord; they even came from all the cities of Judah to seek the Lord.
Jehoshaphat’s Prayer
5 Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord in front of the new courtyard; 6 and he said, “Lord, God of our fathers, (F)are You not God in the heavens? And (G)are You not ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in Your hand so that no one can stand against You. 7 Did You not, our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land from Your people Israel, and (H)give it to the descendants of (I)Your friend Abraham forever? 8 They have lived in it, and have built You a sanctuary in it for Your name, saying, 9 ‘(J)If disaster comes upon us, the sword, or judgment, or plague, or famine, we will stand before this house and before You (for (K)Your name is in this house), and cry out to You in our distress, and You will hear and save us.’ 10 Now behold, (L)the sons of Ammon, Moab, and [d]Mount Seir, (M)whom You did not allow Israel to invade when they came out of the land of Egypt (for they turned aside from them and did not destroy them), 11 see how they are rewarding us by (N)coming to drive us out from Your possession which You have given us as an inheritance. 12 Our God, (O)will You not judge them? For we are powerless before this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but (P)our eyes are on You.”
13 All Judah was standing before the Lord, with their infants, their wives, and their children.
Jahaziel Answers the Prayer
14 Then in the midst of the assembly (Q)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; 15 and he said, “Listen, all you of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat: This is what the Lord says to you: ‘(R)Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for (S)the battle is not yours but God’s. 16 Tomorrow, go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the valley in front of the wilderness of Jeruel. 17 You need not fight in this battle; take your position, (T)stand and watch the salvation of the Lord in your behalf, Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow, go out to face them, (U)for the Lord is with you.”
18 Jehoshaphat (V)bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. 19 The Levites, from the sons of the Kohathites and from the sons of the Korahites, stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel, with a very loud voice.
Enemies Destroy Themselves
20 They rose early in the morning and went out to the wilderness of Tekoa; and when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: (W)Put your trust in the Lord your God and you will endure. Put your trust in His prophets, and succeed.” 21 When he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who sang to the Lord and those who (X)praised Him in holy attire, as they went out before the army and said, “(Y)Give thanks to the Lord, for His faithfulness is everlasting.” 22 When they began singing and praising, the Lord (Z)set ambushes against the sons of (AA)Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; so they were struck down. 23 For the sons of Ammon and Moab rose up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, completely destroying them; and when they had finished with the inhabitants of Seir, (AB)they helped to destroy one another.
24 When Judah came to the watchtower of the wilderness, they turned toward the multitude, and behold, they were corpses lying on the ground, and there was no survivor. 25 When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take their spoils, they found much among them, including goods, [e]garments, and valuable things which they took for themselves, more than they could carry. And they were taking the spoils for three days because there was so much.
Triumphant Return to Jerusalem
26 Then on the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Beracah, for they blessed the Lord there. Therefore they have named that place “The Valley of [f]Beracah” until today. 27 Every man of Judah and Jerusalem returned, with Jehoshaphat at their head, returning to Jerusalem with joy, (AC)for the Lord had helped them to rejoice over their enemies. 28 They came to Jerusalem with harps, lyres, and trumpets, to the house of the Lord. 29 And (AD)the dread of God was on all the kingdoms of the lands when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. 30 So the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, (AE)for his God gave him rest on all sides.
31 (AF)Now Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for twenty-five years. And his mother’s name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. 32 He walked in the way of his father Asa and did not deviate from it, doing right in the sight of the Lord. 33 (AG)The high places, however, were not removed; (AH)the people had not yet directed their hearts to the God of their fathers.
34 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first [g]to last, behold, they are written in the annals of (AI)Jehu the son of Hanani, which is [h]recorded in the Book of the Kings of Israel.
Alliance Displeases God
35 (AJ)After this Jehoshaphat king of Judah allied himself with Ahaziah king of Israel. He acted wickedly [i]in so doing. 36 So he allied himself with him to make ships to go (AK)to Tarshish, and they made the ships in Ezion-geber. 37 Then Eliezer the son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you have allied yourself with Ahaziah, the Lord has destroyed your works.” So the ships were wrecked and could not go to Tarshish.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 20:1 As in LXX; MT Ammonites
- 2 Chronicles 20:2 Another reading is Edom
- 2 Chronicles 20:3 Lit set his face
- 2 Chronicles 20:10 I.e., Edom
- 2 Chronicles 20:25 As in several ancient mss; others corpses
- 2 Chronicles 20:26 I.e., blessing
- 2 Chronicles 20:34 Lit and
- 2 Chronicles 20:34 Lit taken up
- 2 Chronicles 20:35 Lit to do
2 Chronicles 20
Lexham English Bible
The Prayer of Jehoshaphat
20 And it happened that afterward, the Moabites,[a] the Ammonites,[b] and some of the Meunites[c] came against Jehoshaphat for war. 2 And they came and reported it to Jehoshaphat, saying, “A great multitude from beyond the sea, from Aram,[d] is coming against you. Now behold, they are in Hazazon Tamar” (that is, En Gedi). 3 Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek Yahweh. And he called for a fast through all Judah. 4 And Judah assembled to seek after Yahweh; even from all the cities of Judah they came to seek Yahweh.
5 Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem in the house of Yahweh before the new courtyard. 6 And he said, “O Yahweh, God of our ancestors,[e] are you not God in heaven? Now you rule in all the kingdoms of the nations, and in your hand are power and might, and there is none who can resist against you. 7 O, our God, did you yourself not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it to the descendants[f] of Abraham your friend forever? 8 And they lived in it and built for you a sanctuary for your name in it, saying, 9 ‘If disaster, a sword, punishment, disease, or famine come upon us, we shall stand before this house and before you—for your name is in this house—and cry out to you out of our trouble, then you will hear and save us.’ 10 And now, look, the people[g] of Moab and Ammon and Mount Seir whom you did not allow Israel to come against when they came from Egypt, from whom they turned aside and did not destroy, 11 now behold, they are rewarding us by coming to dispossess us from your possession which you gave us as an inheritance. 12 O our God, will you not judge them, for there is no power in us before this great multitude that is coming against us. Now we do not know what we shall do, for our eyes are upon you.”
13 And all Judah was standing before Yahweh, and also their little children, their wives, and their children. 14 Then the Spirit of Yahweh came upon Jahaziel, the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, the Levite from the descendants[h] of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly. 15 And he said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat, thus says Yahweh to you: ‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed before this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. 16 Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they are coming up the ascent of Ziz. And you will find them at the end of the valley facing the desert of Jeruel. 17 There will be no need for you to fight in this battle. Take your stand! Stand and see the deliverance of Yahweh among you, O Judah and Jerusalem! Do not fear and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out before them and Yahweh will be with you.’” 18 Then Jehoshaphat bowed his face[i] down to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before Yahweh to worship Yahweh. 19 Then the Levites, from the Kohathites[j] and from the Korahites[k] stood up to praise Yahweh the God of Israel with an exceedingly[l] loud voice.
God Delivers Judah and Jerusalem
20 And they rose up early in the morning and went out to the desert of Tekoa. And when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in Yahweh your God, and you shall be established! Believe in his prophets, and you shall succeed!” 21 And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed singers to Yahweh who were giving praise to the splendor of his holiness when they went out before the army. And they said, “Give thanks to Yahweh, for his loyal love is everlasting!”
22 And when[m] they began with singing and praise, Yahweh set ambushes against the people[n] of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir who were coming against Judah. And they were defeated 23 when the people[o] of Ammon and Moab rose up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to destroy and demolish them. And when the inhabitants of Seir had made an end of them, each helped to destroy his comrade.
24 And Judah came against the watchtower of the wilderness. And they looked at the crowd, and behold, corpses were lying on the ground. There was none who had escaped. 25 When Jehoshaphat came with his people to plunder their booty, they found among them in abundance possessions, corpses, and precious items. And they took plunder for themselves until they could carry no more.[p] And they were three days in plundering the booty, for it was abundant. 26 And on the fourth day, they assembled in the Valley of Berakah, for there they blessed Yahweh. Therefore the name of that place is called the Valley of Berakah up to this day. 27 And all the men of Judah and Jerusalem returned, and Jehoshaphat was at their head in returning to Jerusalem with joy, for Yahweh caused them to rejoice over their enemies. 28 And they came to Jerusalem with harps, stringed instruments, and trumpets to the house of Yahweh. 29 And the fear of God came upon all the kingdoms of the earth when they heard that Yahweh had fought against the enemies of Israel. 30 So the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at rest, since his God gave rest to him all around.
The End of Jehoshaphat’s Reign
31 So Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he began to reign. And he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. The name of his mother was Azubah, the daughter of Shilhi. 32 And he walked in the way of his father Asa and did not turn aside from it, to do what was right in the eyes of Yahweh. 33 Only the high places were not removed. The people still had not yet set their heart on the God of their ancestors.[q] 34 Now the rest of the words of Jehoshaphat, from the first to the last, behold, they are written in the chronicles[r] of Jehu the son of Hanani, which are recorded in the scroll of the kings of Israel.
35 And afterward Jehoshaphat the king of Judah joined with Ahaziah the king of Israel, who acted wickedly. 36 He joined with him to build ships to go to Tarshish. And they built the ships in Ezion Geber. 37 Then Eliezer the son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because of your joining with Ahaziah, Yahweh will break down your works.” And the ships were destroyed and were not able to go to Tarshish.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 20:1 Literally “sons/children of Moab”
- 2 Chronicles 20:1 Literally “sons/children of Ammon”
- 2 Chronicles 20:1 The Hebrew term is difficult; it may also mean “Ammonim”
- 2 Chronicles 20:2 Or “Syria”
- 2 Chronicles 20:6 Or “fathers”
- 2 Chronicles 20:7 Or “seed”
- 2 Chronicles 20:10 Or “sons”
- 2 Chronicles 20:14 Or “sons”
- 2 Chronicles 20:18 Literally “nostrils”
- 2 Chronicles 20:19 Literally “sons of the Kohathites”
- 2 Chronicles 20:19 Literally “sons of the Korahites”
- 2 Chronicles 20:19 Literally “above”
- 2 Chronicles 20:22 Or “on time” or “at the time”
- 2 Chronicles 20:22 Or “sons”
- 2 Chronicles 20:23 Or “sons”
- 2 Chronicles 20:25 Literally “until not carrying”
- 2 Chronicles 20:33 Or “fathers”
- 2 Chronicles 20:34 Or “words”
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