2 Chronicles 20

1It 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.

2Then 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 Hazazon-tamar, which is En-gedi.

3And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.footnote a

4And Judah gathered themselves together, to ask help of the LORD: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD.

5And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court,

6And 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?

7Art 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?footnote b

8And they dwelt therein, and have built thee a sanctuary therein for thy name, saying,

9If, 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.

10And 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;

11Behold, I say, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit.

12O 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.

13And all Judah stood before the LORD, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.

14Then 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;

15And 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.

16To 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.footnote cfootnote d

17Ye 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.

18And 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.

19And 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.

20And 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.

21And 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.footnote e

22And 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.footnote ffootnote gfootnote h

23For 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.footnote i

24And 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.footnote j

25And 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.

26And 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.footnote k

27Then 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.footnote l

28And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries and harps and trumpets unto the house of the LORD.

29And 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.

30So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet: for his God gave him rest round about.

31And 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.

32And 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.

33Howbeit the high places were not taken away: for as yet the people had not prepared their hearts unto the God of their fathers.

34Now 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.footnote mfootnote n

35And after this did Jehoshaphat king of Judah join himself with Ahaziah king of Israel, who did very wickedly:

36And he joined himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish: and they made the ships in Ezion-geber.

37Then 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.

War against Jehoshaphat

1After this, the Moabites and Ammonites, together with some of the Meunites,footnote a came to make war against Jehoshaphat. 2Then some men came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast army is coming against you from Edom,footnote b from beyond the Sea;footnote c they are already in Hazazon-tamar” (that is, En-gedi).

3Jehoshaphat was alarmed and set his face to seek the LORD. And he proclaimed a fast throughout Judah. 4So the people of Judah gathered to seek the LORD, and indeed, they came from all the cities of Judah to seek Him.

Jehoshaphat’s Prayer

5Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem in the house of the LORD in front of the new courtyard 6and said, “O LORD, God of our fathers, are You not the God who is in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in Your hand, and no one can stand against You.

7Our God, did You not drive out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham Your friend? 8They have lived in the land and have built in it a sanctuary for Your Name, saying, 9‘If disaster comes upon us—whether sword or judgment,footnote d plague or famine—we will stand before this temple and before You, for Your Name is in this temple. We will cry out to You in our distress, and You will hear us and save us.’

10And now, here are the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, whom You did not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt. So Israel turned away from them and did not destroy them. 11See how they are repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession that You gave us as an inheritance.

12Our God, will You not judge them? For we are powerless before this vast army that comes against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.”

13Meanwhile all the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, were standing before the LORD.

The Prophecy of Jahaziel

14Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite from Asaph’s descendants, as he stood in the midst of the assembly. 15And he said, “Listen, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Listen, King Jehoshaphat! This is what the LORD says: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army, for the battle does not belong to you, but to God. 16Tomorrow you are to march down against them. You will see them coming up the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the valley facing the Wilderness of Jeruel. 17You need not fight this battle. Take up your positions, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid or discouraged. Go out and face them tomorrow, for the LORD is with you.’”

18Then Jehoshaphat bowed facedown, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down before the LORD to worship Him. 19And the Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites stood up to praise the LORD, the God of Israel, shouting in a very loud voice.

The Enemies Destroy Themselves

20Early in the morning they got up and left for the Wilderness of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood up and said, “Hear me, O people of Judah and Jerusalem. Believe in the LORD your God, and you will be upheld; believe in His prophets, and you will succeed.”

21Then Jehoshaphat consulted with the people and appointed those who would sing to the LORD and praise the splendor of His holiness. As they went out before the army, they were singing:“Give thanks to the LORD,for His loving devotion endures forever.”

22The moment they began their shouts and praises, the LORD set ambushes against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir who had come against Judah, and they were defeated. 23The Ammonites and Moabites rose up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, devoting them to destruction.footnote e And when they had finished off the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another.

24When the men of Judah came to a place overlooking the wilderness, they looked for the vast army, but there were only corpses lying on the ground; no one had escaped. 25Then Jehoshaphat and his people went to carry off the plunder, and they found on the bodies an abundance of goods and valuablesfootnote f—more than they could carry away. They were gathering the plunder for three days because there was so much.

The Joyful Return

26On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Beracah,footnote g where they blessed the LORD. Therefore that place is called the Valley of Beracah to this day.

27Then all the men of Judah and Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat at their head, returned joyfully to Jerusalem, for the LORD had made them rejoice over their enemies. 28So they entered Jerusalem and went into the house of the LORD with harps, lyres, and trumpets.

29And the fear of God came upon all the kingdoms of the lands when they heard that the LORD had fought against the enemies of Israel. 30Then Jehoshaphat’s kingdom was at peace, for his God had given him rest on every side.

Summary of Jehoshaphat’s Reign

31So Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-five years. His mother’s name was Azubah daughter of Shilhi.

32And Jehoshaphat walked in the way of his father Asa and did not turn away from it; he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD.

33The high places, however, were not removed; the people had not yet set their hearts on the God of their fathers.

34As for the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, from beginning to end, they are indeed written in the Chronicles of Jehu son of Hanani, which are recorded in the Book of the Kings of Israel.

Jehoshaphat’s Fleet Is Wrecked

35Later, Jehoshaphat king of Judah made an alliance with Ahaziah king of Israel, who acted wickedly.footnote h 36They agreed to make ships to go to Tarshish,footnote i and these were built in Ezion-geber.

37Then Eliezer 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 were unable to sail to Tarshish.footnote j