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Jehoshaphat stood before the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the Lord’s temple, in front of the new courtyard. He prayed: “O Lord God of our ancestors,[a] you are the God who lives in heaven[b] and rules over all the kingdoms of the nations. You possess strength and power; no one can stand against you. Our God, you drove out[c] the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and gave it as a permanent possession[d] to the descendants of your friend[e] Abraham. They settled down in it and built in it a temple[f] to honor you,[g] saying, ‘If disaster comes on us in the form of military attack,[h] judgment, plague, or famine, we will stand in front of this temple before you, for you are present in this temple.[i] We will cry out to you for help in our distress, so that you will[j] hear and deliver us.’ 10 Now the Ammonites, Moabites, and men from Mount Seir are coming![k] When Israel came from the land of Egypt, you did not allow them to invade these lands.[l] They bypassed them and did not destroy them. 11 Look how they are repaying us! They come to drive us out of our allotted land which you assigned to us! 12 Our God, will you not judge them? For we are powerless against this huge army that attacks us. We don’t know what we should do; we look to you for help.”[m]

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 20:6 tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 33).
  2. 2 Chronicles 20:6 tn Heb “are you not God in heaven?” The rhetorical question expects the answer “yes,” resulting in the positive statement “you are the God who lives in heaven” employed in the translation.
  3. 2 Chronicles 20:7 tn Heb “did you not drive out . . . ?” This is another rhetorical question which expects a positive response; see the note on the word “heaven” in the previous verse.
  4. 2 Chronicles 20:7 tn Heb “permanently.”
  5. 2 Chronicles 20:7 tn Or perhaps “your covenantal partner.” See Isa 41:8.
  6. 2 Chronicles 20:8 tn Or “sanctuary.”
  7. 2 Chronicles 20:8 tn Heb “for your name.” The word “name” sometimes refers to one’s reputation or honor (thus the translation here, “to honor you).
  8. 2 Chronicles 20:9 tn Heb “sword.”
  9. 2 Chronicles 20:9 tn Heb “for your name is in this house.” The “name” of the Lord sometimes designates the Lord himself, being indistinguishable from the proper name. In this case the temple is referred to as a “house” where the Lord himself can reside.
  10. 2 Chronicles 20:9 tn Or “so that you may.”
  11. 2 Chronicles 20:10 tn Heb “now, look, the sons of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir.”
  12. 2 Chronicles 20:10 tn Heb “whom you did not allow Israel to enter when they came from the land of Egypt.”
  13. 2 Chronicles 20:12 tn Heb “for [or “indeed”] upon you are our eyes.”

Jehoshaphat’s Prayer and Victory

Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court, 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.(A) 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?(B) They have lived in it and in it have built you a sanctuary for your name, saying, ‘If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment,[a] 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.’(C) 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,(D) 11 they reward us by coming to drive us out of your possession that you have given us to inherit.(E) 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.”(F)

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Footnotes

  1. 20.9 Or the sword of judgment