¹⁵ Again the Israelites cried out to the Lord, and he gave them a deliverer^(A)—Ehud^(B), a left-handed^(C) man, the son of Gera the Benjamite. The Israelites sent him with tribute^(D) to Eglon king of Moab. ¹⁶ Now Ehud^(E) had made a double-edged sword about a cubit^[a] long, which he strapped to his right thigh under his clothing. ¹⁷ He presented the tribute^(F) to Eglon king of Moab, who was a very fat man.^{(G) 18} After Ehud had presented the tribute, he sent on their way those who had carried it. ¹⁹ But on reaching the stone images near Gilgal he himself went back to Eglon and said, “Your Majesty, I have a secret message for you.”

The king said to his attendants, “Leave us!” And they all left.

²⁰ Ehud then approached him while he was sitting alone in the upper room of his palace^[b](H) and said, “I have a message from God for you.” As the king rose^(I) from his seat, ²¹ Ehud reached with his left hand, drew the sword^(J) from his right thigh and plunged it into the king’s belly. ²² Even the handle sank in after the blade, and his bowels discharged. Ehud did not pull the sword out, and the fat closed in over it. ²³ Then Ehud went out to the porch^[c]; he shut the doors of the upper room behind him and locked them.

²⁴ After he had gone, the servants came and found the doors of the upper room locked. They said, “He must be relieving himself^(K) in the inner room of the palace.” ²⁵ They waited to the point of embarrassment,^(L) but when he did not open the doors of the room, they took a key and unlocked them. There they saw their lord fallen to the floor, dead.

²⁶ While they waited, Ehud got away. He passed by the stone images and escaped to Seirah. ²⁷ When he arrived there, he blew a trumpet^(M) in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went down with him from the hills, with him leading them.

²⁸ “Follow me,” he ordered, “for the Lord has given Moab,^(N) your enemy, into your hands.^(O)” So they followed him down and took possession of the fords of the Jordan^(P) that led to Moab; they allowed no one to cross over. ²⁹ At that time they struck down about ten thousand Moabites, all vigorous and strong; not one escaped. ³⁰ That day Moab^(Q) was made subject to Israel, and the land had peace^(R) for eighty years.

Jehoshaphat Defeats Moab and Ammon

20 After this, the Moabites^(A) and Ammonites with some of the Meunites^[a](B) came to wage war against Jehoshaphat.

² Some people came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast army^(C) is coming against you from Edom,^[b] from the other side of the Dead Sea. It is already in Hazezon Tamar^(D)” (that is, En Gedi).^{(E) 3} Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast^(F) for all Judah. ⁴ The people of Judah^(G) came together to seek help from the Lord; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him.

⁵ Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of the Lord in the front of the new courtyard ⁶ and said:

¹³ All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the Lord.

¹⁴ Then the Spirit^(T) of the Lord came on Jahaziel son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah,^(U) a Levite and descendant of Asaph, as he stood in the assembly.

¹⁵ He said: “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged^(V) because of this vast army. For the battle^(W) is not yours, but God’s. ¹⁶ Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel. ¹⁷ You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see^(X) the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.’”

¹⁸ Jehoshaphat bowed down^(Y) with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the Lord. ¹⁹ Then some Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites stood up and praised the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.

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^(Z) in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.^(AA)” ²¹ After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his^[c] holiness^(AB) as they went out at the head of the army, saying:

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

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^[d] 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^[e] 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^(AH) of God came on all the surrounding kingdoms when they heard how the Lord had fought^(AI) against the enemies of Israel. ³⁰ And the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, for his God had given him rest^(AJ) on every side.

The End of Jehoshaphat’s Reign^(AK)

³¹ So Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he became king of Judah, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-five years. His mother’s name was Azubah daughter of Shilhi. ³² He followed the ways of his father Asa and did not stray from them; he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. ³³ The high places,^(AL) however, were not removed, and the people still had not set their hearts on the God of their ancestors.

³⁴ The other events of Jehoshaphat’s reign, from beginning to end, are written in the annals of Jehu^(AM) son of Hanani, which are recorded in the book of the kings of Israel.

³⁵ Later, Jehoshaphat king of Judah made an alliance^(AN) with Ahaziah king of Israel, whose ways were wicked.^{(AO) 36} He agreed with him to construct a fleet of trading ships.^[f] After these were built at Ezion Geber, ³⁷ Eliezer son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you have made an alliance with Ahaziah, the Lord will destroy what you have made.” The ships^(AP) were wrecked and were not able to set sail to trade.^[g]

Moab and Ammon