2 Chronicles 20

Jehoshaphat prays for help

¹After this the Moabites and the Ammonites, together with some of the Meunites, came to make war on Jehoshaphat.^{a 2}Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, “A great army is coming against you from beyond the Dead Sea, from Edom. They are already at Hazazon-tamar, which is En-gedi.”^{b 3}Jehoshaphat was afraid, and he resolved to seek the LORD. He proclaimed a fast for all Judah. ⁴The people of Judah gathered to seek help from the LORD; they came from every town in Judah to seek the LORD. ⁵Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the house of the LORD, in front of the new courtyard. ⁶He said, “LORD, God of our ancestors, are you not God in heaven? You rule over every kingdom of the nations. In your hand are power and might, and no one is able to withstand you. ⁷Our God, was it not you who drove out the people living in this land as your people Israel came in, and gave it for all time to the descendants of your friend Abraham? ⁸They have lived in it and built you a sanctuary in it for your name, saying, ⁹‘If disaster comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or disease, or famine, we will stand before this house and in your presence, since this house bears your name. We will cry out to you in our trouble, and you will hear and save us.’ ¹⁰But now look at the people of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir. You would not let Israel invade them when Israel came out of the land of Egypt, so Israel turned away from them and did not destroy them, ¹¹and see how they repay us: they are coming to drive us out of your possession, the land you gave us to hold as our own. ¹²Our God, will you not judge them? We have no strength to face this great army that is coming against us. We have no idea what we should do, but our eyes are turned toward you.” ¹³All Judah stood before the LORD, together with their little ones, their wives and their children.

God answers and gives victory

¹⁴Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the family of Asaph, there in the middle of the assembly. ¹⁵He said, “Listen, all Judah, people of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat! The LORD says this to you: ‘Do not be afraid or lose heart because of this great army, for the battle is not yours; it belongs to God. ¹⁶Tomorrow go down against them. They will be coming up by the Ascent of Ziz; you will find them where the valley ends, opposite the wilderness of Jeruel. ¹⁷You will not need to fight in this battle. Hold your ground, stand firm, and watch how the LORD will save you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid or lose heart. Tomorrow go out to face them, and the LORD will be with you.’” ¹⁸Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the people of Jerusalem fell down before the LORD to worship the LORD. ¹⁹Then the Levites from the Kohathites and the Korahites stood up to praise the LORD, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice. ²⁰Early in the morning they set out for the wilderness of Tekoa. As they were leaving, Jehoshaphat stood up and said, “Hear me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Hold firm in your trust in the LORD your God, and you will be held firm. Trust his prophets, and you will succeed.” ²¹After consulting with the people, he appointed singers to sing to the LORD and to praise him in holy splendor as they went out ahead of the army, saying, “Give the LORD thanks, for his loyal love lasts forever.”^{c 22}The moment they began their shouts of joy and praise, the LORD set ambushes against the invaders from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir who had come to attack Judah, and they were routed. ²³The men of Ammon and Moab turned against the people of Mount Seir to devote them to destruction and wipe them out. When they had finished off the people of Seir, they all helped to destroy one another. ²⁴When Judah came to the lookout point over the wilderness and looked toward the great army, there were only dead bodies lying on the ground; no one had escaped. ²⁵When Jehoshaphat and his troops came to take the spoil, they found among them, with the dead, great quantities of goods and valuable things. They took more for themselves than they could carry. There was so much spoil that it took them three days to gather it.^{d 26}On the fourth day they gathered in the Valley of Beracah, for there they blessed the LORD. That is why that place has been called the Valley of Beracah to this day. ²⁷Then all the men of Judah and Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat leading them, returned joyfully to Jerusalem, for the LORD had given them joy over their enemies. ²⁸They came into Jerusalem with harps, lyres and trumpets, and went to the house of the LORD. ²⁹When all the kingdoms of the lands heard that the LORD had fought against Israel’s enemies, the fear of God fell on them. ³⁰So Jehoshaphat’s kingdom had peace, for his God gave him rest on every side.

The end of Jehoshaphat’s reign

³¹Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he became king. He reigned in Jerusalem twenty-five years, and his mother’s name was Azubah daughter of Shilhi. ³²He followed the ways of his father Asa and did not turn aside from them, doing what was right in the sight of the LORD. ³³However, the high places were not removed, and the people had still not fixed their hearts on the God of their ancestors.^{e 34}The rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, from first to last, are written in the records of Jehu son of Hanani, which are included in the Book of the Kings of Israel. ³⁵Later on, Jehoshaphat king of Judah joined in an alliance with Ahaziah king of Israel, a man who acted wickedly.^{f 36}He joined with him in building ships to go to Tarshish, and they built the ships at Ezion-geber.^{g 37}Then Eliezer son of Dodavahu from Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat: “Because you have allied yourself with Ahaziah, the LORD will break down what you have made.” And the ships were wrecked and could not sail to Tarshish.