Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir Defeated

20 It happened after this that the people of ^(A)Moab with the people of ^(B)Ammon, and others with them besides the ^(C)Ammonites,^[a] came to battle against Jehoshaphat. ² Then some came and told Jehoshaphat, saying, “A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, from ^[b]Syria; and they are ^(D)in Hazazon Tamar” (which is ^(E)En Gedi). ³ And Jehoshaphat feared, and set ^[c]himself to ^(F)seek the Lord, and ^(G)proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. ⁴ So Judah gathered together to ask ^(H)help from the Lord; and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.

⁵ Then 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 fathers, are You not ^(I)God in heaven, and ^(J)do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and ^(K)in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand You? ⁷ Are You not ^(L)our God, who ^(M)drove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel, and gave it to the descendants of Abraham ^(N)Your friend forever? ⁸ And they dwell in it, and have built You a sanctuary in it for Your name, saying, ^9 (O)‘If disaster comes upon us—sword, judgment, pestilence, or famine—we will stand before this temple and in Your presence (for Your ^(P)name is in this temple), and cry out to You in our affliction, and You will hear and save.’ ¹⁰ And now, here are the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir—whom You ^(Q)would not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, but ^(R)they turned from them and did not destroy them— ¹¹ here they are, rewarding us ^(S)by coming to throw us out of Your possession which You have given us to inherit. ¹² O our God, will You not ^(T)judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but ^(U)our eyes are upon You.”

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

¹⁴ Then ^(V)the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly. ¹⁵ And he said, “Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the Lord to you: ^(W)‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, ^(X)for the battle is not yours, but God’s. ¹⁶ Tomorrow go down against them. They will surely come up by the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the ^[d]brook before the Wilderness of Jeruel. ^17 (Y)You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, ^(Z)for the Lord is with you.”

¹⁸ And Jehoshaphat ^(AA)bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem bowed before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. ¹⁹ Then the Levites of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with voices loud and high.

²⁰ So they rose early in the morning and went out into the Wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: ^(AB)Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.” ²¹ And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the Lord, ^(AC)and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying:

²² Now when they began to sing and to praise, ^(AF)the Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated. ²³ For the people of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to utterly kill and destroy them. And when they ^[e]had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, ^(AG)they helped to destroy one another.

²⁴ So when Judah came to a place overlooking the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude; and there were their dead bodies, fallen on the earth. No one had escaped.

²⁵ When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away their spoil, they found among them an abundance of valuables on the ^[f]dead bodies, and precious jewelry, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away; and they were three days gathering the spoil because there was so much. ²⁶ And on the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of ^[g]Berachah, for there they blessed the Lord; therefore the name of that place was called The Valley of Berachah until this day. ²⁷ Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat in front of them, to go back to Jerusalem with joy, for the Lord had ^(AH)made them rejoice over their enemies. ²⁸ So they came to Jerusalem, with stringed instruments and harps and trumpets, to the house of the Lord. ²⁹ And ^(AI)the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. ³⁰ Then the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his ^(AJ)God gave him rest all around.

The End of Jehoshaphat’s Reign^(AK)

^31 (AL)So Jehoshaphat was king over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. ³² And he walked in the way of his father ^(AM)Asa, and did not turn aside from it, doing what was right in the sight of the Lord. ³³ Nevertheless ^(AN)the ^[h]high places were not taken away, for as yet the people had not ^(AO)directed their hearts to the God of their fathers.

³⁴ Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last, indeed they are written in the book of Jehu the son of Hanani, ^(AP)which is mentioned in the book of the kings of Israel.

³⁵ After this ^(AQ)Jehoshaphat king of Judah allied himself with Ahaziah king of Israel, ^(AR)who acted very ^(AS)wickedly. ³⁶ And he allied himself with him ^(AT)to make ships to go to Tarshish, and they made the ships in Ezion Geber. ³⁷ But Eliezer the son of Dodavah of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you have allied yourself with Ahaziah, the Lord has destroyed your works.” ^(AU)Then the ships were wrecked, so that they were not able to go ^(AV)to Tarshish.