2 Chronicles 20

NEW JERUSALEM	DOUAI-RHEIMS
1 Some time later, the Moabites and Ammonites, and with them the Meunites, advanced to war againstJehoshaphat.	1 After this the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them of the Ammonites, were gathered together to fight against Josaphat.
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.'	2 And there came messengers, and told Josaphat, saying: There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea, and out of Syria, and behold they are in Asasonthamar, which is Engaddi.
3 Jehoshaphat was alarmed and resolved to have recourse to Yahweh; he proclaimed a fast throughoutal Judah.	3 And Josaphat being seized with fear betook himself wholly to pray to the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Juda.
4 So Judah assembled to seek help from Yahweh; to seek Yahweh they came from every town inJudah.	4 And Juda gathered themselves together to pray to the Lord: and all came out of their cities to make supplication to him.
5 Then, standing in the Temple of Yahweh in front of the new court among the assembled people ofJudah and Jerusalem, Jehoshaphat	5 And Josaphat stood in the midst of the assembly of Juda, and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord before the new court,
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.	6 And said: O Lord God of our fathers, thou art God in heaven, and rulest over all the kingdoms and nations, in thy hand is strength and power, and no one can resist thee.
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?	7 Didst not thou our God kill all the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever?
8 They have lived in it and built you a sanctuary there for your name,	8 And they dwelt in it, and built in it a sanctuary to thy name, saying:
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."	9 If evils fall upon us, the sword of judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand in thy presence before this house, in which thy name is called upon: and we will cry to thee in our afflictions, and thou wilt hear, and save 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-	10 Now therefore behold the children of Ammon, and of Moab, and mount Seir, through whose lands thou didst not allow Israel to pass, when they came out of Egypt, but they turned aside from them, and slew them not,
11 see how they reward us, by coming to drive us out of your possession which you allotted to us!	11 Do the contrary, and endeavour to cast us out of the possession which thou hast delivered 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.'	12 O our God, wilt thou not then judge them? as for us we have not strength enough, to be able to resist this multitude, which cometh violently upon us. But as we know not what to do, we can only turn our eyes to thee.
13 Al Judah, including their families, wives and children, were standing before Yahweh,	13 And all Juda stood before the Lord with their little ones, and their wives, and their children.
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,	14 And Jahaziel the son of Zacharias, the son of Banaias, the son of Jehiel, the son of Mathanias, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, was there, upon whom the spirit of the Lord came in the midst of the multitude,
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.	15 And he said: Attend ye, all Juda, and you that dwell in Jerusalem, and thou king Josaphat: Thus saith the Lord to you: Fear ye not, and be not dismayed at this multitude: for the battle is not yours, but God'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.	16 To morrow you shall go down against them: for they will come up by the ascent named Sis, and you shall find them at the head of the torrent, which is over against the wilderness 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." '	17 It shall not be you that shall fight, but only stand with confidence, and you shall see the help of the Lord over you, O Juda, and Jerusalem: fear ye not, nor be you dismayed: to morrow you shall go out against them, and the Lord 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.	18 Then Josaphat, and Juda, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell hat on the ground before the Lord, and adored him.
19 Then the Levites -- both the Kohathites and Korahites -- stood up to praise Yahweh, God of Israel, atthe top of their voices.	19 And the Levites of the sons of Caath, and of the sons of Core praised the Lord the God of Israel with a loud voice, on high.
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.'	20 And they rose early in the morning, and went out through the desert of Thecua: and as they were marching, Josaphat standing in the midst of them, said: Hear me, ye men of Juda, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem: believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be secure: believe his prophets, and all things shall succeed well.
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!	21 And he gave counsel to the people, and appointed the singing men of the Lord, to praise him by their companies, and to go before the army, and with one voice to say: Give glory to the Lord, for his mercy endureth 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,	22 And when they began to sing praises, the Lord turned their ambushments upon themselves, that is to say, of the children of Ammon, and of Moab, and of mount Seir, who were come out to fight against Juda, and they were slain.
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.	23 For the children of Ammon, and of Moab, rose up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, to kill and destroy them: and when they had made an end of them, they turned also against one another, and destroyed 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.	24 And when Juda came to the watch tower, that looketh toward the desert, they saw afar off all the country, for a great space, full of dead bodies, and that no one was left that could escape death.
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.	25 Then Josaphat came, and all the people with him to take away the spoils of the dead, and they found among the dead bodies, stuff of various kinds, and garments, and most precious vessels: and they took them for themselves, insomuch that they could not carry all, nor in three days take away the spoils, the booty was so great.
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.	26 And on the fourth day they were assembled in the valley of Blessing: for there they blessed the Lord, and therefore they called that place the valley of Blessing until this day.
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.	27 And every man of Juda, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem returned, and Josaphat at their head, into Jerusalem with great joy, because the Lord had made them rejoice over their enemies.
28 To the sound of lyre, harp and trumpet they came to Jerusalem, to the Temple of Yahweh,	28 And they came into Jerusalem with psalteries, and harps, and trumpets into the house of the Lord.
29 and a panic from Yahweh seized al the neighbouring kings when they heard how Yahweh hadfought against the enemies of Israel.	29 And the fear of the Lord fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel.
30 And henceforth Jehoshaphat's reign was undisturbed, for his God gave him peace all round.	30 And the kingdom of Josaphat was quiet, and God gave him peace round about.
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.	31 And Josaphat reigned over Juda, and he was five and thirty years old when he began to reign: and he reigned five and twenty years in Jerusalem: and the name of his mother was Azuba the daughter of Selahi.
32 He fol owed the example of his father Asa undeviatingly, doing what Yahweh regards as right.	32 And he walked in the way of his father Asa, and departed not from it, doing the things that were pleasing before the Lord.
33 The high places, however, were not abolished; the people had still not set their hearts on the God oftheir ancestors.	33 But yet he took not away the high places, and the people had not yet turned their heart to the Lord the God of their fathers.
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.	34 But the rest of the acts of Josaphat, first and last, are written in the words of Jehu the son of Hanani, which he digested into the books of the kings of Israel.
35 Afterwards, Jehoshaphat formed a partnership with Ahaziah king of Israel, which was very wrong ofhim.	35 After these things Josaphat king of Juda made friendship with Ochozias king of Israel, whose works were very wicked.
36 He joined him in building some ships to go to Tarshish; they built them at Ezion-Geber.	36 And he was partner with him in making ships, to go to Tharsis: and they made the ships in Asiongaber.
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.	37 And Eliezer the son of Dodau of Maresa prophesied to Josaphat, saying: Because thou hast made a league with Ochozias, the Lord hath destroyed thy works, and the ships are broken, and they could not go to Tharsis.