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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

Jehoshaphat Prays and the People Wait

Jehoshaphat stood among the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem in the Lord’s Temple in the vicinity of the new court and said:

Lord God of our ancestors, you are the God who lives in heaven, are you not? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, don’t you? In your own hands you grasp both strength and power, don’t you? As a result, no one can oppose you, can they? You are our God, who expelled the former inhabitants of this land right in front of our people Israel, aren’t you? Then you gave it to your friend Abraham’s descendant[a] forever, didn’t you? They lived in it and have built there a sanctuary for your name, where they said, ‘If evil comes upon us, such as war[b] as punishment, disease, or famine and we stand in your presence in this Temple (because your Name is in this Temple) and cry out to you in our distress, then you will hear and deliver.’ 10 Now therefore look! The Ammonites, the Moabites, and the inhabitants of[c] Mount Seir,[d] whom you would not permit Israel to attack when they arrived from the land of Egypt—since they turned away from them and did not eliminate them— 11 Look how they’re rewarding us! They’re coming to drive us from your property that you gave us to be our inheritance. 12 Our God, you are going to punish them, aren’t you? We have no strength to face this vast multitude that has come against us, nor do we know what to do, except that our eyes are on you.”

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 20:7 Lit seed (sing.)
  2. 2 Chronicles 20:9 Lit. us the sword
  3. 2 Chronicles 20:10 The Heb. lacks inhabitants of
  4. 2 Chronicles 20:10 This mountain, the modern Jebel esh-sherá, is located in the mountain range that extends south of the Dead Sea toward the Gulf of Aqaba, and is bordered by the Arabah Valley to the west.