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20 And they rose early in the morning and went forth into the Wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the Lord your God; so shall ye be established. Believe His prophets; so shall ye prosper.”

21 And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the Lord who should praise the beauty of holiness as they went out before the army, and to say, “Praise the Lord, for His mercy endureth for ever.”

22 And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against the children of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were smitten.

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

24 And when Judah came toward the watchtower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude; and behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped.

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

26 And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the Valley of Berachah [that is, Blessing], for there they blessed the Lord. Therefore the name of the same place was called The Valley of Berachah unto this day.

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

28 And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries and harps and trumpets unto the house of the Lord.

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

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

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20 And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem: believe in Jehovah your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper. 21 And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed them that should sing unto Jehovah, and give praise [a]in holy array, as they went out before the army, and say, Give thanks unto Jehovah; for his lovingkindness endureth for ever. 22 And when they began to sing and to praise, Jehovah set liers-in-wait against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, that were come against Judah; and they were smitten. 23 For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another.

24 And when Judah came to the watch-tower of the wilderness, they looked upon the multitude; and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and there were none that escaped. 25 And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both riches and [b]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. 26 And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of [c]Beracah; for there they blessed Jehovah: therefore the name of that place was called The valley of Beracah unto this day. 27 Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat in the forefront of them, to go again to Jerusalem with joy; for Jehovah had made them to rejoice over their enemies. 28 And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries and harps and trumpets unto the house of Jehovah. 29 And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of the countries, when they heard that Jehovah fought against the enemies of Israel. 30 So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet; for his God gave him rest round about.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 20:21 Or, in the beauty of holiness
  2. 2 Chronicles 20:25 According to Vulgate, garments
  3. 2 Chronicles 20:26 That is, Blessing.

20 Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith(A) in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.(B) 21 After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his[a] holiness(C) as they went out at the head of the army, saying:

“Give thanks to the Lord,
    for his love endures forever.”(D)

22 As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes(E) against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated. 23 The Ammonites(F) and Moabites rose up against the men from Mount Seir(G) to destroy and annihilate them. After they finished slaughtering the men from Seir, they helped to destroy one another.(H)

24 When the men of Judah came to the place that overlooks the desert and looked toward the vast army, they saw only dead bodies lying on the ground; no one had escaped. 25 So Jehoshaphat and his men went to carry off their plunder, and they found among them a great amount of equipment and clothing[b] and also articles of value—more than they could take away. There was so much plunder that it took three days to collect it. 26 On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Berakah, where they praised the Lord. This is why it is called the Valley of Berakah[c] to this day.

27 Then, led by Jehoshaphat, all the men of Judah and Jerusalem returned joyfully to Jerusalem, for the Lord had given them cause to rejoice over their enemies. 28 They entered Jerusalem and went to the temple of the Lord with harps and lyres and trumpets.

29 The fear(I) of God came on all the surrounding kingdoms when they heard how the Lord had fought(J) against the enemies of Israel. 30 And the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, for his God had given him rest(K) on every side.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 20:21 Or him with the splendor of
  2. 2 Chronicles 20:25 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Vulgate; most Hebrew manuscripts corpses
  3. 2 Chronicles 20:26 Berakah means praise.