2 Chronicles 20:20-30
Lexham English Bible
God Delivers Judah and Jerusalem
20 And they rose up early in the morning and went out to the desert of Tekoa. And when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in Yahweh your God, and you shall be established! Believe in his prophets, and you shall succeed!” 21 And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed singers to Yahweh who were giving praise to the splendor of his holiness when they went out before the army. And they said, “Give thanks to Yahweh, for his loyal love is everlasting!”
22 And when[a] they began with singing and praise, Yahweh set ambushes against the people[b] of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir who were coming against Judah. And they were defeated 23 when the people[c] of Ammon and Moab rose up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to destroy and demolish them. And when the inhabitants of Seir had made an end of them, each helped to destroy his comrade.
24 And Judah came against the watchtower of the wilderness. And they looked at the crowd, and behold, corpses were lying on the ground. There was none who had escaped. 25 When Jehoshaphat came with his people to plunder their booty, they found among them in abundance possessions, corpses, and precious items. And they took plunder for themselves until they could carry no more.[d] And they were three days in plundering the booty, for it was abundant. 26 And on the fourth day, they assembled in the Valley of Berakah, for there they blessed Yahweh. Therefore the name of that place is called the Valley of Berakah up to this day. 27 And all the men of Judah and Jerusalem returned, and Jehoshaphat was at their head in returning to Jerusalem with joy, for Yahweh caused them to rejoice over their enemies. 28 And they came to Jerusalem with harps, stringed instruments, and trumpets to the house of Yahweh. 29 And the fear of God came upon all the kingdoms of the earth when they heard that Yahweh had fought against the enemies of Israel. 30 So the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at rest, since his God gave rest to him all around.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 2 Chronicles 20:22 Or “on time” or “at the time”
- 2 Chronicles 20:22 Or “sons”
- 2 Chronicles 20:23 Or “sons”
- 2 Chronicles 20:25 Literally “until not carrying”
2 Chronicles 20:20-30
Christian Standard Bible
Victory and Plunder
20 In the morning they got up early and went out to the wilderness of Tekoa. As they were about to go out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem. Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be established;(A) believe in his prophets, and you will succeed.” 21 Then he consulted with the people and appointed some to sing for the Lord and some to praise the splendor of his holiness.(B) When they went out in front of the armed forces, they kept singing:[a]
Give thanks to the Lord,
for his faithful love endures forever.(C)
22 The moment they began their shouts and praises, the Lord set an ambush(D) against the Ammonites, Moabites, and the inhabitants of Mount Seir who came to fight against Judah, and they were defeated. 23 The Ammonites and Moabites turned against the inhabitants of Mount Seir and completely annihilated them.(E) When they had finished with the inhabitants of Seir, they helped destroy each other.(F)
24 When Judah came to a place overlooking the wilderness, they looked for the large army, but there were only corpses lying on the ground; nobody had escaped. 25 Then Jehoshaphat and his people went to gather the plunder. They found among them[b] an abundance of goods on the bodies[c] and valuable items. So they stripped them until nobody could carry any more. They were gathering the plunder for three days because there was so much. 26 They assembled in the Valley of Beracah[d] on the fourth day, for there they blessed the Lord. Therefore, that place is still called the Valley of Beracah today.
27 Then all the men of Judah and Jerusalem turned back with Jehoshaphat their leader, returning joyfully to Jerusalem, for the Lord enabled them to rejoice over their enemies. 28 So they came into Jerusalem to the Lord’s temple with harps, lyres, and trumpets.
29 The terror of God(G) was on all the kingdoms of the lands when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. 30 Then Jehoshaphat’s kingdom was quiet, for his God gave him rest on every side.(H)
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