The Second Book of the Chronicles

⭑ Literal Standard Version :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

- Chapter 20 -

And it comes to pass after this, the sons of Moab have come in, and the sons of Ammon, and with them of the peoples, to battle against Jehoshaphat.

And [some] come in and declare [it] to Jehoshaphat, saying, “A great multitude has come against you from beyond the sea, from Aram, and behold, they [are] in Hazezon-Tamar—it [is] En-Gedi.”

And Jehoshaphat fears, and sets his face to seek for YHWH, and proclaims a fast over all Judah;

and Judah is gathered to inquire of YHWH; also, from all the cities of Judah they have come to seek YHWH.

Jehoshaphat’s Prayer

And Jehoshaphat stands in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of YHWH, at the front of the new court,

and says, “O YHWH, God of our fathers, are You not God in the heavens? Indeed, You are ruling over all kingdoms of the nations, and power and might [are] in Your hand, and there is none with You to station himself.

Are You not our God? You have dispossessed the inhabitants of this land from before Your people Israel, and give it to the seed of Your friend Abraham for all time,

and they dwell in it, and build a sanctuary in it for You, for Your Name, saying,

If evil comes on us—sword, judgment, and pestilence, and famine—we stand before this house, and before You, for Your Name [is] in this house, and cry to You out of our distress, and You hear and save.

And now, behold, sons of Ammon, and Moab, and Mount Seir, whom You did not grant to Israel to go in against in their coming out of the land of Egypt, for they turned aside from off them and did not destroy them,

and behold, they are repaying to us—to come to drive us out of Your possession that You have caused us to possess.

O our God, do You not execute judgment on them? For there is no power in us before this great multitude that has come against us, and we do not know what we do, but our eyes [are] on You.”

And all Judah is standing before YHWH, also their infants, their wives, and their sons.

The Prophecy of Jahaziel

And the Spirit of YHWH has been on Jahaziel, son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, the Levite, of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly,

and he says, “Attend, all Judah, and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and O King Jehoshaphat, Thus said YHWH to you: You do not fear, nor be afraid of the face of this great multitude, for the battle [is] not for you, but for God.

Tomorrow, go down against them, behold, they are coming up by the ascent of Ziz, and you have found them in the end of the valley, the front of the wilderness of Jeruel.

[It is] not for you to fight in this; station yourselves, stand, and see the salvation of YHWH with you, O Judah and Jerusalem—do not be afraid nor fear—tomorrow go out before them, and YHWH [is] with you.”

And Jehoshaphat bows—face to the earth—and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem have fallen before YHWH, to bow themselves to YHWH.

And the Levites, of the sons of the Kohathites, and of the sons of the Korahites, rise to give praise to YHWH, God of Israel, with a loud voice on high.

The Enemies Destroy Themselves

And they rise early in the morning, and go out to the wilderness of Tekoa, and in their going out Jehoshaphat has stood and says, “Hear me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, remain steadfast in your God YHWH, and be steadfast; remain steadfast in His prophets and prosper.”

And he takes counsel with the people, and appoints singers for YHWH, and those giving praise for the honor of holiness, in the going out before the armed [men], and saying, “Give thanks to YHWH, for His kindness [is] for all time.”

And at the time they have begun with singing and praise, YHWH has put ambushes against the sons of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who are coming in to Judah, and they are struck,

and the sons of Ammon stand up, and Moab, against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, to devote and to destroy, and at their finishing with the inhabitants of Seir, they helped, a man against his neighbor, to destroy.

And Judah has come to the watchtower in the wilderness, and they look toward the multitude, and behold, they [are] carcasses fallen to the earth, and none [had] an escape,

and Jehoshaphat comes in, and his people, to seize their spoil, and they find among them, in abundance, both goods and carcasses, and desirable vessels, and they take spoil for themselves without prohibition, and they are seizing the spoil [for] three days, for it [is] abundant.

The Joyful Return

And on the fourth day they have been assembled at the Valley of Blessing, for there they blessed YHWH: therefore they have called the name of that place, “Valley of Blessing,” to this day.

And they return, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat at their head, to go back to Jerusalem with joy, for YHWH has made them rejoice over their enemies.

And they come to Jerusalem with psalteries, and with harps, and with trumpets, to the house of YHWH.

And there is a fear of God on all kingdoms of the lands in their hearing that YHWH has fought with the enemies of Israel,

and the kingdom of Jehoshaphat is quiet, and his God gives rest to him all around.

Summary of Jehoshaphat’s Reign

(1 Kings 22:41–50)

And Jehoshaphat reigns over Judah, a son of thirty-five years in his reigning, and he has reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother [is] Azubah daughter of Shilhi.

And he walks in the way of his father Asa, and has not turned aside from it, to do that which is right in the eyes of YHWH.

Only, the high places have not been removed, and still the people have not prepared their heart for the God of their fathers.

And the rest of the matters of Jehoshaphat, the first and the last, behold, they are written among the matters of Jehu son of Hanani, who has been mentioned on the scroll of the kings of Israel.

Jehoshaphat’s Fleet Is Wrecked

And after this Jehoshaphat king of Judah has joined himself with Ahaziah king of Israel (he did wickedly in doing [this]),

and he joins him with himself to make ships to go to Tarshish, and they make ships in Ezion-Geber,

and Eliezer son of Dodavah, of Mareshah, prophesies against Jehoshaphat, saying, “For your joining yourself with Ahaziah, YHWH has broken up your works”; and the ships are broken, and have not retained [power] to go to Tarshish.

After this, the children of Moab, the children of Ammon, and with them some of the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle.

Then some came who told Jehoshaphat, saying, “A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea from Syria. Behold, they are in Hazazon Tamar” (that is, En Gedi).

Jehoshaphat was alarmed, and set himself to seek to the LORD. He proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.

Judah gathered themselves together to seek help from the LORD. They came out of all the cities of Judah to seek the LORD.

Jehoshaphat’s Prayer

Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the LORD’s house, before the new court;

and he said, “LORD, the God of our fathers, aren’t you God in heaven? Aren’t you ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in your hand, so that no one is able to withstand you.

Didn’t you, our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it to the offspring

(a)

of Abraham your friend forever?

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

‘If evil comes on us—the sword, judgment, pestilence, or famine—we will stand before this house, and before you (for your name is in this house), and cry to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save.’

Now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom you would not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned away from them, and didn’t destroy them;

behold, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of your possession, which you have given us to inherit.

Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no might against this great company that comes against us. We don’t know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”

All Judah stood before the LORD, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.

The Prophecy of Jahaziel

Then the LORD’s Spirit came on Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, the Levite, of the sons of Asaph, in the middle of the assembly;

and he said, “Listen, all Judah, and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat. The LORD says to you, ‘Don’t be afraid, and don’t be dismayed because of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.

Tomorrow, go down against them. Behold, they are coming up by the ascent of Ziz. You will find them at the end of the valley, before the wilderness of Jeruel.

You will not need to fight this battle. Set yourselves, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Don’t be afraid, nor be dismayed. Go out against them tomorrow, for the LORD is with you.’”

Jehoshaphat 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.

The Levites, of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites, stood up to praise the LORD, the God of Israel, with an exceedingly loud voice.

The Enemies Destroy Themselves

They rose early in the morning and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. As they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the LORD your God, so you will be established! Believe his prophets, so you will prosper.”

When he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the LORD and give praise in holy array as they go out before the army, and say, “Give thanks to the LORD, for his loving kindness endures forever.”

When they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushers against the children of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were struck.

For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to utterly kill and destroy them. When they had finished the inhabitants of Seir, everyone helped to destroy each other.

When Judah came to the place overlooking the wilderness, they looked at the multitude; and behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and there were none who escaped.

When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take their plunder, they found among them in abundance both riches and dead bodies with precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away. They took plunder for three days, it was so much.

The Joyful Return

On the fourth day, they assembled themselves in Beracah

(b)

Valley, for there they blessed the LORD. Therefore the name of that place was called “Beracah Valley” to this day.

Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat in front of them, to go again to Jerusalem with joy; for the LORD had made them to rejoice over their enemies.

They came to Jerusalem with stringed instruments, harps, and trumpets to the LORD’s house.

The fear of God was on all the kingdoms of the countries when they heard that the LORD fought against the enemies of Israel.

So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his God gave him rest all around.

Summary of Jehoshaphat’s Reign

(1 Kings 22:41–50)

So Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he began to reign. He reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi.

He walked in the way of Asa his father, and didn’t turn away from it, doing that which was right in the LORD’s eyes.

However the high places were not taken away, and the people had still not set their hearts on the God of their fathers.

Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last, behold, they are written in the history of Jehu the son of Hanani, which is included in the book of the kings of Israel.

Jehoshaphat’s Fleet Is Wrecked

After this, Jehoshaphat king of Judah joined himself with Ahaziah king of Israel. The same did very wickedly.

He joined himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish. They made the ships in Ezion Geber.

Then Eliezer the son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you have joined yourself with Ahaziah, the LORD has destroyed your works.” The ships were wrecked, so that they were not able to go to Tarshish.

Footnotes

(a)20:7 or, seed

(b)20:26 “Beracah” means “blessing”.