2 Chronicles 20
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Invasion from the East
20 After this the Moabites and Ammonites, and with them some of the Meunites,[a] came against Jehoshaphat for battle. 2 Messengers[b] came and told Jehoshaphat, “A great multitude is coming against you from Edom,[c] from beyond the sea; already they are at Hazazon-tamar” (that is, En-gedi).(A) 3 Jehoshaphat was afraid; he set himself to seek the Lord and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.(B) 4 Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord; from all the towns of Judah they came to seek the Lord.
Jehoshaphat’s Prayer and Victory
5 Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court, 6 and said, “O Lord, God of our ancestors, are you not God in heaven? Do you not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations? In your hand are power and might, so that no one is able to withstand you.(C) 7 Did you not, O our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of your friend Abraham?(D) 8 They have lived in it and in it have built you a sanctuary for your name, saying, 9 ‘If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment,[d] or 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 distress, and you will hear and save.’(E) 10 See now, the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, whom you would not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt and whom they avoided and did not destroy,(F) 11 they reward us by coming to drive us out of your possession that you have given us to inherit.(G) 12 O our God, will you not execute judgment upon them? For we are powerless against this great multitude that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”(H)
13 Meanwhile, all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. 14 Then the spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the middle of the assembly.(I) 15 He said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you: Do not fear or be dismayed at this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s.(J) 16 Tomorrow go down against them; they will come up by the ascent of Ziz; you will find them at the end of the valley, before the wilderness of Jeruel. 17 This battle is not for you to fight; take your position, stand still, and see the victory of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you.”(K)
18 Then Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord.(L) 19 And the Levites of the Kohathites and the Korahites stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.
20 They rose early in the morning and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa, and as they went out Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God and you will be established; believe his prophets and you will succeed.”(M) 21 When he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the Lord and praise him in holy splendor, as they went before the army, saying,
“Give thanks to the Lord,
for his steadfast love endures forever.”(N)
22 As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set an ambush against the Ammonites, Moab, and Mount Seir who had come against Judah, so that they were routed.(O) 23 For the Ammonites and Moab attacked the inhabitants of Mount Seir, destroying them utterly, and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they all helped to destroy one another.(P)
24 When Judah came to the watchtower of the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude; they were corpses lying on the ground; no one had escaped. 25 When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take the spoil from them, they found livestock[e] in great numbers, goods, clothing, and precious things, which they took for themselves until they could carry no more. They spent three days taking the spoil because of its abundance. 26 On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Beracah, for there they blessed the Lord; therefore that place has been called the Valley of Beracah[f] to this day. 27 Then all the people of Judah and Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat at their head, returned to Jerusalem with joy, for the Lord had enabled them to rejoice over their enemies.(Q) 28 They came to Jerusalem with harps and lyres and trumpets to the house of the Lord. 29 The fear of God came on all the kingdoms of the countries when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel.(R) 30 And the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his God gave him rest all around.(S)
The End of Jehoshaphat’s Reign
31 So Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he began to reign; he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Azubah daughter of Shilhi.(T) 32 He walked in the way of his father Asa and did not turn aside from it, doing what was right in the sight of the Lord. 33 Yet the high places were not removed; the people had not yet set their hearts upon the God of their ancestors.(U)
34 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, from first to last, are written in the Annals of Jehu son of Hanani, which are recorded in the Book of the Kings of Israel.(V)
35 After this King Jehoshaphat of Judah joined with King Ahaziah of Israel, who did wickedly.(W) 36 He joined him in building ships to go to Tarshish; they built the ships in Ezion-geber. 37 Then Eliezer son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you have joined with Ahaziah, the Lord will destroy what you have made.” And the ships were wrecked and were not able to go to Tarshish.(X)
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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