And 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 fathers, are you not (A)God in heaven? You (B)rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. (C)In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you. Did you not, our God, (D)drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of (E)Abraham your friend? And they have lived in it and have built for you in it a sanctuary for your name, saying, (F)‘If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment,[a] or pestilence, or famine, (G)we will stand before this house and before you—(H)for your name is in this house—and cry out to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save.’ 10 And now behold, the men of (I)Ammon and Moab and (J)Mount Seir, whom (K)you would not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt, (L)and whom they avoided and did not destroy— 11 behold, they reward us (M)by coming to drive us out of your possession, which you have given us to inherit. 12 O our God, will you not (N)execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but (O)our eyes are on you.”

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 20:9 Or the sword of judgment

Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem in the Lord’s temple in front of the new courtyard. Lord, the God of our ancestors, you alone are God in heaven. You rule all the kingdoms of the nations. You are so powerful that no one can oppose you. You, our God, drove out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and gave this land to the descendants of your friend Abraham forever. They have lived in it and have built a sanctuary in honor of your name in it, saying, ‘If calamity, sword, flood,[a] plague, or famine comes upon us, we will stand before this temple, before you, because your name is in this temple. We will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.’ 10 So look here! The Ammonites, the Moabites, and those from Mount Seir—the people you wouldn’t let Israel invade when they came out of Egypt’s land, so Israel avoided them and didn’t destroy them— 11 here they are, returning the favor by coming to drive us out of your possession that you gave to us! 12 Our God, won’t you punish them? We are powerless against this mighty army that is about to attack us. We don’t know what to do, and so we are looking to you for help.”

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 20:9 LXX; MT judgment