Jehoshaphat’s Prayer

Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem in the Lord’s temple before the new courtyard. He said:

Yahweh, the God of our ancestors, are You not the God who is in heaven,(A) and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations?(B) Power and might are in Your hand, and no one can stand against You. Are You not our God who drove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel(C) and who gave it forever to the descendants of Abraham(D) Your friend? They have lived in the land and have built You a sanctuary in it for Your name and have said, “If disaster comes on us—sword or judgment, pestilence or famine(E)—we will stand before this temple and before You, for Your name is in this temple.(F) We will cry out to You because of our distress, and You will hear and deliver.”

10 Now here are the Ammonites, Moabites, and the inhabitants of Mount Seir.(G) You did not let Israel invade them when Israel came out of the land of Egypt, but Israel turned away from them and did not destroy them.(H) 11 Look how they repay us by coming to drive us out of Your possession that You gave us as an inheritance. 12 Our God, will You not judge them?(I) For we are powerless before this vast number that comes to fight against us. We do not know what to do, but we look to You.[a](J)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 20:12 Lit but on You our eyes

Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem in the house of Yahweh before the new courtyard. And he said, “O Yahweh, God of our ancestors,[a] 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. O, our God, did you yourself not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it to the descendants[b] of Abraham your friend forever? And they lived in it and built for you a sanctuary for your name in it, saying, ‘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[c] 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.”

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 20:6 Or “fathers”
  2. 2 Chronicles 20:7 Or “seed”
  3. 2 Chronicles 20:10 Or “sons”