2 Chronicles 20

¹ Some time later, the Moabites and Ammonites, and with them the Meunites, advanced to war againstJehoshaphat.

² Jehoshaphat received the following intel igence, 'A vast horde is advancing on you from the other sideof the Sea, from Edom; they are already at Hazazon-Tamar, that is, En-Gedi.'

³ Jehoshaphat was alarmed and resolved to have recourse to Yahweh; he proclaimed a fast throughoutal Judah.

⁴ So Judah assembled to seek help from Yahweh; to seek Yahweh they came from every town inJudah.

⁵ Then, standing in the Temple of Yahweh in front of the new court among the assembled people ofJudah and Jerusalem, Jehoshaphat

⁶ said, 'Yahweh, God of our ancestors, are you not God in heaven, and do you not rule al the kingdomsof the nations? Your power and might are such that no one can resist you.

⁷ Did not you, our God, dispossess the inhabitants of this country for your people Israel and give it tothe descendants of Abraham, your friend, for ever?

⁸ They have lived in it and built you a sanctuary there for your name,

⁹ saying, "If disaster, war, flood, pestilence or famine befal us, and we stand in front of this Temple,before you -- for your name is in this Temple -- and cry to you in our distress, then you wil listen and rescue us."

¹⁰ 'Now see, the Ammonites and Moabites and the people of Mount Seir, whom you would not al owIsrael to invade when they came out of Egypt -- on the contrary, Israel avoided them, and did not destroy them-

¹¹ see how they reward us, by coming to drive us out of your possession which you allotted to us!

¹² Our God, will you not pass sentence on them, since we are helpless against this vast horde about toattack us? Because we do not know what to do, we look to you.'

¹³ Al Judah, including their families, wives and children, were standing before Yahweh,

¹⁴ when, in the middle of the assembly, the spirit of Yahweh came on Jahaziel son of Zechariah, son ofBenaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah the Levite, a member of the clan of Asaph,

¹⁵ who then cried, 'Listen, al Judah and you citizens of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat!Yahweh says this to you, "Do not be afraid, do not be daunted by this vast horde, for the war is not your affair butGod's.

¹⁶ Go down against them tomorrow; they are coming up by the Slope of Ziz and you wil encounterthem at the end of the ravine near the desert of Jeruel.

¹⁷ You wil not need to fight in this battle. Take up your position, stand firm, and see what salvationYahweh has in store for you. Judah and Jerusalem, be fearless, be dauntless; march out against them tomorrowand Yahweh will be with you." '

¹⁸ Jehoshaphat bowed his head, his face to the ground, and al Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem feldown before Yahweh to worship Yahweh.

¹⁹ Then the Levites -- both the Kohathites and Korahites -- stood up to praise Yahweh, God of Israel, atthe top of their voices.

²⁰ Early next morning they prepared to set out for the desert of Tekoa. As they were setting out,Jehoshaphat stood up and said, 'Listen to me, Judah and you citizens of Jerusalem! Believe in Yahweh yourGod and you wil be secure; believe in his prophets and you wil be successful.'

²¹ Then, having conferred with the people, he appointed singers who were to praise Yahweh and go outahead of the army in sacred vestments, singing Praise Yahweh, for his faithful love endures for ever!

²² The moment they began their shouts of praise, Yahweh sprang an ambush on the Ammonites,Moabites and the people of Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and that was the end of them,

²³ for the Ammonites and Moabites turned on the people of Mount Seir, and put them under the curseof destruction and then, having finished off the people of Seir, set to work slaughtering one another.

²⁴ When Judah reached the point overlooking the desert and looked towards the horde, there werenothing but corpses lying on the ground; no one escaped.

²⁵ When Jehoshaphat arrived to take the booty, they found quantities of cattle and innumerablepossessions, clothes and valuables, which they seized for themselves; it was impossible to carry it, and it tookthem three days to collect it.

²⁶ On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Beracah, where they blessed Yahweh -- hence theplace was given the name Val ey of Beracah, which it stil has today.

²⁷ Then al the men of Judah and Jerusalem returned joyfully to Jerusalem with Jehoshaphat at theirhead as Yahweh had given them cause to rejoice over their enemies.

²⁸ To the sound of lyre, harp and trumpet they came to Jerusalem, to the Temple of Yahweh,

²⁹ and a panic from Yahweh seized al the neighbouring kings when they heard how Yahweh hadfought against the enemies of Israel.

³⁰ And henceforth Jehoshaphat's reign was undisturbed, for his God gave him peace all round.

³¹ So Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he came to the throne and hereigned for twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Azubah daughter of Shilhi.

³² He fol owed the example of his father Asa undeviatingly, doing what Yahweh regards as right.

³³ The high places, however, were not abolished; the people had still not set their hearts on the God oftheir ancestors.

³⁴ The rest of the history of Jehoshaphat, from first to last, is written down in the records of Jehu son ofHanani, which are quoted in the Book of the Kings of Israel.

³⁵ Afterwards, Jehoshaphat formed a partnership with Ahaziah king of Israel, which was very wrong ofhim.

³⁶ He joined him in building some ships to go to Tarshish; they built them at Ezion-Geber.

³⁷ Eliezer son of Dodavahu of Mareshah then prophesied against Jehoshaphat as fol ows, 'Becauseyou have become Ahaziah's partner, Yahweh has wrecked your efforts.' The ships were wrecked and werenever fit to sail for Tarshish.