20 After that, armies from Moab and Ammon, as well as some Meunites, attacked Jehoshaphat. [ a ]
2 Some men brought this news to Jehoshaphat: ‘A large army is coming from the other side of the Dead Sea to attack you. They came from Edom and they are already in Hazezon Tamar.’ (That is another name for En Gedi.)
3 Jehoshaphat was afraid. So he decided to ask the Lord what he should do. He commanded all the people in Judah that they must fast. 4 Judah's people came together to ask the Lord for his help. They came from every town in Judah to pray to the Lord .
5 Then Jehoshaphat stood up in front of the people of Jerusalem and the other places in Judah. He was standing in front of the new yard of the Lord 's temple. 6 He prayed, ‘ Lord , you are the God of our ancestors. You are the God who is in heaven and you rule over all kingdoms and nations. You are strong and powerful. Nobody can fight against you and win. 7 Our God, you chased out the people who were living in this land, so that your people, the Israelites, could move in. You have given this land to the descendants of your friend Abraham. It belongs to them for ever. 8 Your people made their homes here and they built a temple to give honour to your name. When they built it, they said, 9 “In the future, we may have trouble. There might be war, disease, famine or some other punishment. If that happens, we will come to you and we will stand in front of this temple. You have chosen this place to be your home. We will call out to you to help us when we are in trouble. Then you will hear us and you will rescue us.”
10 But now soldiers from Ammon, Moab and Edom are coming to attack us. When the Israelites were escaping from Egypt, you would not allow them to attack those lands. So our people turned away and they did not destroy those people. 11 But now those people want to destroy us! They are coming to chase us out of the land that you gave to us as our home. 12 So, our God, please punish these people! We are not strong enough to fight against this large army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do. But we are asking you to help us.’
13 As King Jehoshaphat prayed, all the men of Judah were standing there at the temple. They had their babies, their wives and their children with them.
14 Then the Lord 's Spirit came with power to Jahaziel as he stood among the people. Jahaziel was a Levite, a descendant of Asaph. He was the son of Zechariah, who was the son of Benaiah, who was the son of Jeiel, who was the son of Mattaniah.
15 Jahaziel said, ‘Listen to me all you people of Judah. That includes you people who live in Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat too. The Lord says to you, “Do not be afraid because this large army is coming to attack you. You must be brave! This is God's battle, not your battle. 16 Tomorrow, you must march out of here to attack them. They will be coming up the road through the hills at Ziz. You will meet them at the end of the narrow valley that is on the east side of the Jeruel desert. 17 You will not have to fight in this battle. Go to your places and stand still. Then you will see the Lord rescue you. People of Judah and Jerusalem, do not be afraid. Be brave! Tomorrow you must march out of here towards the enemy army. The Lord is with you!” ’
18 Then Jehoshaphat bent down with his face towards the ground. All the people of Judah and the people who lived in Jerusalem also bent down to worship the Lord . 19 Then some Levites stood up. They praised the Lord , Israel's God, with loud voices. They belonged to the clans of Kohath and Korah.
20 Early the next morning, Jehoshaphat prepared to leave with his army. They started to march to the Tekoa desert. When they were ready to leave, Jehoshaphat stood up and he said, ‘Listen to me, people of Judah and people who live in Jerusalem! Trust in the Lord your God. Then you will be safe. Believe the message that his prophets have spoken. Then you will win the battle.’
21 Jehoshaphat spoke with the people. He chose some musicians to march in front of his army. They sang songs to worship the Lord and to praise him for his holy power. As they marched, they sang, ‘We thank the Lord ! His faithful love continues for ever!’
22 As the musicians began to sing, the Lord suddenly made the soldiers of Judah's enemies confused. 23 The soldiers from Ammon and Moab started to attack the soldiers from Edom. They destroyed Edom's army. When they had done that, they started to fight against each other. So they all destroyed one another. 24 Judah's soldiers came to a tower from where they could see the desert. They looked at the large army of their enemies. But they could not see any soldier who was still alive! They only saw dead bodies that were lying on the ground.
25 So Jehoshaphat and his men went to take things from the dead soldiers. They found a lot of weapons, clothes and other valuable things. They took as many things as they could carry. There were so many things that it took them three days to take them all away. 26 On the fourth day they all met together in Berakah valley. There they praised the Lord . That is why that place is still called Berakah valley. [ b ]
27 Then all the men of Judah and Jerusalem returned to Jerusalem. Jehoshaphat marched in front of them. They were very happy because the Lord had helped them. He had caused them to win the fight against their enemies. 28 As they went into Jerusalem, they made music with harps, lyres and trumpets. They went to the Lord 's temple.
29 People in all the kingdoms around Judah heard that the Lord had fought against Israel's enemies. So they became afraid of God's power. 30 There was a time of peace in Jehoshaphat's kingdom. God kept them safe from the nations all around.
31 So Jehoshaphat continued to rule Judah as king. He was 35 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 25 years. His mother's name was Azubah. She was the daughter of Shilhi. 32 Jehoshaphat lived in the good way that his father Asa had lived. He only did things that the Lord says are right. 33 But he did not remove all the altars that were on the hills. The people still did not want to be completely faithful to the God of their ancestors.
34 The other things that happened while Jehoshaphat was king are written in a book. Hanani's son Jehu recorded all of them in his book, which is part of ‘The history of Israel's kings’.
35 While Jehoshaphat was king, he became a friend of King Ahaziah of Israel, who did evil things. 36 They agreed to build big ships that would bring things from countries that were far away. They built the ships in Ezion-Geber. 37 Dodavahu's son Eliezer from Mareshah warned Jehoshaphat with a message from the Lord . He said, ‘You should not have become a friend of Ahaziah. Because of that, the Lord will destroy the things that you have made.’
A storm destroyed the ships and they never went anywhere.
20 Later, the Moabites, the Ammonites, and some Meunites [ a ] came to start a war with Jehoshaphat. 2 Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, “There is a large army coming against you from Edom. They are coming from the other side of the Dead Sea. They are already in Hazazon Tamar!” (Hazazon Tamar is also called En Gedi.) 3 Jehoshaphat became afraid, and he decided to ask the Lord what to do. He announced a time of fasting for everyone in Judah. 4 The people of Judah came together to ask the Lord for help. They came from out of all the towns of Judah to ask for the Lord ’s help. 5 Jehoshaphat was in the new courtyard of the Lord ’s Temple. He stood up in the meeting of the people from Judah and Jerusalem 6 and said,
“ Lord God of our ancestors, you are the God in heaven. You rule over all the kingdoms in all the nations. You have power and strength. No one can stand against you. 7 You are our God! You forced the people living in this land to leave. You did this in front of your people Israel. You gave this land to the descendants of Abraham forever. Abraham was your friend. 8 His descendants lived in this land, and built a Temple for your name. 9 They said, ‘If trouble comes to us—the sword, punishment, sicknesses, or famine—we will stand in front of this Temple and in front of you. Your name is on this Temple. We will shout to you when we are in trouble. Then you will hear and save us.’
10 “But now, here are men from Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir. You would not let the Israelites enter their lands when they came out of Egypt. [ b ] So the Israelites turned away and didn’t destroy them. 11 But see the kind of reward those people give us for not destroying them. They have come to force us out of your land that you gave to us. 12 Our God, punish those people. We don’t have the strength to stop this large army that is coming against us. We don’t know what to do! We are looking to you for help.” [ c ]
13 All the men of Judah stood before the Lord with their wives, babies, and children. 14 Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Jahaziel son of Zechariah. (Zechariah was the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah.) Jahaziel was a Levite from the family of Asaph. In the middle of the meeting, 15 Jahaziel said, “Listen to me King Jehoshaphat and everyone living in Judah and Jerusalem! The Lord says this to you: ‘Don’t be afraid or worry about this large army, because the battle is not your battle. It is God’s battle! 16 Tomorrow, they will come up through the Ziz Pass. You must go down to them. You will find them at the end of the valley on the other side of the desert of Jeruel. 17 You will not have to fight this battle. Just stand there and watch the Lord save you. Judah and Jerusalem, don’t be afraid. Don’t worry, because the Lord is with you. So go out to stand against those people tomorrow.’”
18 Jehoshaphat bowed with his face to the ground. And all the people of Judah and Jerusalem bowed down before the Lord and worshiped him. 19 The Levites from the Kohath family groups and the Korah family stood up to praise the Lord , the God of Israel. They sang very loudly.
20 Early the next morning, Jehoshaphat’s army went out into the desert of Tekoa. As they marched out, Jehoshaphat stood there saying, “Listen to me, men of Judah and Jerusalem. Have faith in the Lord your God, and you will stand strong! Have faith in his prophets, and you will succeed!”
21 Jehoshaphat encouraged the men and gave them instructions. Then he had the Temple singers stand up in their special clothes to praise the Lord . They marched in front of the army and sang,
“Give thanks to the Lord !
His faithful love will last forever.”
22 As they began to sing and to praise God, the Lord set an ambush for the army from Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir who had come to attack Judah. The enemy was defeated! 23 The Ammonites and the Moabites started to fight the men from Mount Seir. After they killed them, the Ammonites and Moabites turned on themselves and killed each other.
24 The men from Judah arrived at the lookout point in the desert. They looked for the enemy’s large army, but all they saw were dead bodies lying on the ground. There were no survivors. 25 Jehoshaphat and his army came to take things from the bodies. They found many animals, riches, clothes, and other valuable things. It was more than Jehoshaphat and his men could carry away. There was so much that they spent three days taking everything from the dead bodies. 26 On the fourth day Jehoshaphat and his army met in the Valley of Beracah. [ d ] They praised the Lord . That is why people still call that place, “The Valley of Beracah.”
27 All the men from Judah and Jerusalem were very happy as they marched back to Jerusalem with Jehoshaphat in the front. The Lord made them very happy when he defeated their enemy. 28 They entered Jerusalem with lyres, harps, and trumpets and went to the Temple of the Lord .
29 People in all the surrounding kingdoms became afraid of God when they heard that the Lord fought against the enemies of Israel. 30 That is why there was peace for Jehoshaphat’s kingdom—his God brought him rest from the enemies that were all around him.
31 Jehoshaphat ruled over the country of Judah. He was 35 years old when he became king, and he ruled 25 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Azubah, the daughter of Shilhi. 32-33 Like his father Asa, Jehoshaphat was good and did everything that the Lord wanted, except he did not destroy the high places. Also, the people did not turn back to the God their ancestors worshiped.
34 Everything else Jehoshaphat did, from beginning to end, is written in The Official Records of Jehu Son of Hanani . It was copied and included in the book, The History of the Kings of Israel .
35 Later on, King Jehoshaphat of Judah made an agreement with King Ahaziah of Israel. Ahaziah was very evil. 36 Jehoshaphat joined with Ahaziah to make ships to go to the town of Tarshish. They built some ships at Ezion Geber. 37 There was a man from the town of Mareshah named Eliezer son of Dodavahu. He spoke against Jehoshaphat and said, “Jehoshaphat, since you have joined with Ahaziah, the Lord will destroy what you have built.” The ships were wrecked, so Jehoshaphat and Ahaziah were not able to send them to Tarshish.
20 It came to pass after this also, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them other beside the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle.
2 Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea on this side Syria; and, behold, they be in Hazazontamar, which is Engedi.
3 And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord , and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
4 And Judah gathered themselves together, to ask help of the Lord : even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord .
5 And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord , before the new court,
6 And said, O Lord God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee?
7 Art not thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever?
8 And they dwelt therein, and have built thee a sanctuary therein for thy name, saying,
9 If, when evil cometh upon us, as the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house, and in thy presence, (for thy name is in this house,) and cry unto thee in our affliction, then thou wilt hear and help.
10 And now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and mount Seir, whom thou wouldest not let Israel invade, when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them, and destroyed them not;
11 Behold, I say, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit.
12 O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee.
13 And all Judah stood before the Lord , with their little ones, their wives, and their children.
14 Then upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of the Lord in the midst of the congregation;
15 And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the Lord unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's.
16 To morrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel.
17 Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the Lord will be with you.
18 And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the Lord , worshipping the Lord .
19 And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites, and of the children of the Korhites, stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with a loud voice on high.
20 And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.
21 And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the Lord , and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the Lord ; for his mercy endureth for ever.
22 And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten.
23 For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another.
24 And when Judah came toward the watch tower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped.
25 And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both riches with the dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away: and they were three days in gathering of the spoil, it was so much.
26 And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Berachah; for there they blessed the Lord : therefore the name of the same place was called, The valley of Berachah, unto this day.
27 Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat in the forefront of them, to go again to Jerusalem with joy; for the Lord had made them to rejoice over their enemies.
28 And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries and harps and trumpets unto the house of the Lord .
29 And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries, when they had heard that the Lord fought against the enemies of Israel.
30 So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet: for his God gave him rest round about.
31 And Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah: he was thirty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi.
32 And he walked in the way of Asa his father, and departed not from it, doing that which was right in the sight of the Lord .
33 Howbeit the high places were not taken away: for as yet the people had not prepared their hearts unto the God of their fathers.
34 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Jehu the son of Hanani, who is mentioned in the book of the kings of Israel.
35 And after this did Jehoshaphat king of Judah join himself with Ahaziah king of Israel, who did very wickedly:
36 And he joined himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish: and they made the ships in Eziongaber.
37 Then Eliezer the son of Dodavah of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, Because thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah, the Lord hath broken thy works. And the ships were broken, that they were not able to go to Tarshish.
20 Now it came about after this, that the sons of Moab and the sons of Ammon, together with some of the [ a ] ( A ) Meunites, came to make war against Jehoshaphat. 2 Then some came and reported to Jehoshaphat, saying, “A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, from [ b ] Aram; and behold, they are in ( B ) Hazazon-tamar (that is Engedi).” 3 Jehoshaphat was afraid and [ c ] ( C ) turned his attention to seek the Lord ; and he ( D ) proclaimed a period of fasting throughout Judah. 4 So Judah gathered together to ( E ) seek help from the Lord ; they even came from all the cities of Judah to seek the Lord .
5 Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord in front of the new courtyard; 6 and he said, “ Lord , God of our fathers, ( F ) are You not God in the heavens? And ( G ) are You not ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in Your hand so that no one can stand against You. 7 Did You not, our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land from Your people Israel, and ( H ) give it to the descendants of ( I ) Your friend Abraham forever? 8 They have lived in it, and have built You a sanctuary in it for Your name, saying, 9 ‘ ( J ) If disaster comes upon us, the sword, or judgment, or plague, or famine, we will stand before this house and before You (for ( K ) Your name is in this house), and cry out to You in our distress, and You will hear and save us .’ 10 Now behold, ( L ) the sons of Ammon, Moab, and [ d ] Mount Seir, ( M ) whom You did not allow Israel to invade when they came out of the land of Egypt (for they turned aside from them and did not destroy them), 11 see how they are rewarding us by ( N ) coming to drive us out from Your possession which You have given us as an inheritance. 12 Our God, ( O ) will You not judge them? For we are powerless before this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but ( P ) our eyes are on You.”
13 All Judah was standing before the Lord , with their infants, their wives, and their children.
14 Then in the midst of the assembly ( Q ) the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, the Levite of the sons of Asaph; 15 and he said, “Listen, all you of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat: This is what the Lord says to you: ‘ ( R ) Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for ( S ) the battle is not yours but God’s. 16 Tomorrow, go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the valley in front of the wilderness of Jeruel. 17 You need not fight in this battle ; take your position, ( T ) stand and watch the salvation of the Lord in your behalf, Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow, go out to face them, ( U ) for the Lord is with you.”
18 Jehoshaphat ( V ) bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord , worshiping the Lord . 19 The Levites, from the sons of the Kohathites and from the sons of the Korahites, stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel, with a very loud voice.
20 They rose early in the morning and went out to the wilderness of Tekoa; and when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: ( W ) Put your trust in the Lord your God and you will endure. Put your trust in His prophets, and succeed.” 21 When he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who sang to the Lord and those who ( X ) praised Him in holy attire, as they went out before the army and said, “ ( Y ) Give thanks to the Lord , for His faithfulness is everlasting.” 22 When they began singing and praising, the Lord ( Z ) set ambushes against the sons of ( AA ) Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; so they were struck down. 23 For the sons of Ammon and Moab rose up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, completely destroying them ; and when they had finished with the inhabitants of Seir, ( AB ) they helped to destroy one another.
24 When Judah came to the watchtower of the wilderness, they turned toward the multitude, and behold, they were corpses lying on the ground, and there was no survivor. 25 When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take their spoils, they found much among them, including goods, [ e ] garments, and valuable things which they took for themselves, more than they could carry. And they were taking the spoils for three days because there was so much.
26 Then on the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Beracah, for they blessed the Lord there. Therefore they have named that place “The Valley of [ f ] Beracah” until today. 27 Every man of Judah and Jerusalem returned, with Jehoshaphat at their head, returning to Jerusalem with joy, ( AC ) for the Lord had helped them to rejoice over their enemies. 28 They came to Jerusalem with harps, lyres, and trumpets, to the house of the Lord . 29 And ( AD ) the dread of God was on all the kingdoms of the lands when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. 30 So the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, ( AE ) for his God gave him rest on all sides.
31 ( AF ) Now Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for twenty-five years. And his mother’s name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. 32 He walked in the way of his father Asa and did not deviate from it, doing right in the sight of the Lord . 33 ( AG ) The high places, however, were not removed; ( AH ) the people had not yet directed their hearts to the God of their fathers.
34 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first [ g ] to last, behold, they are written in the annals of ( AI ) Jehu the son of Hanani, which is [ h ] recorded in the Book of the Kings of Israel.
35 ( AJ ) After this Jehoshaphat king of Judah allied himself with Ahaziah king of Israel. He acted wickedly [ i ] in so doing. 36 So he allied himself with him to make ships to go ( AK ) to Tarshish, and they made the ships in Ezion-geber. 37 Then Eliezer the son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you have allied yourself with Ahaziah, the Lord has destroyed your works.” So the ships were wrecked and could not go to Tarshish.
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:
“ Lord , the God of our ancestors, ( H ) are you not the God who is in heaven? ( I ) You rule over all the kingdoms ( J ) of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you. ( K ) 7 Our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land ( L ) before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? ( M ) 8 They have lived in it and have built in it a sanctuary ( N ) for your Name, saying, 9 ‘If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague or famine, ( O ) 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; ( P ) 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 ( Q ) you gave us as an inheritance. 12 Our God, will you not judge them? ( R ) 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. ( S ) ”
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:
“Give thanks to the Lord ,
for his love endures forever.” ( AC )
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.
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 ]
