Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of the Lord in the front of the new courtyard and said:

Lord, the God of our ancestors,(A) are you not the God who is in heaven?(B) You rule over all the kingdoms(C) of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you.(D) Our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land(E) before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend?(F) They have lived in it and have built in it a sanctuary(G) for your Name, saying, ‘If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague or famine,(H) we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.’

10 “But now here are men from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, whose territory you would not allow Israel to invade when they came from Egypt;(I) so they turned away from them and did not destroy them. 11 See how they are repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession(J) you gave us as an inheritance. 12 Our God, will you not judge them?(K) For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.(L)

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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.”