2 Chronicles 20
20
1Then, after this, the Moabites and Ammonites, as well as some of the Meunites,#20:1. “Meunites”: according to some manuscripts of the Septuagint. The Hebrew repeats the word “Ammonites.” came to attack Jehoshaphat. 2Some people came and told Jehoshaphat, “A large army is coming to fight you from Edom,#20:2. “From Edom,” more likely than “from Aram,” as most Hebrew manuscripts read. from the other side of the Dead Sea. They have already reached Hazazon-tamar,” (otherwise called En-gedi).
3Jehoshaphat was afraid, and went to ask the Lord what to do. He also ordered everyone throughout Judah to fast. 4So the people of Judah gathered in Jerusalem to pray to the Lord—in fact, they came from all the towns of Judah to commit themselves to him. 5Jehoshaphat stood before the assembled people of Judah and Jerusalem at the Temple, in front of the new courtyard, 6and said, “Lord, God of our forefathers, aren't you the God of heaven? Don't you rule over all earthly kingdoms? You possess strength and power, and no one can stand against you! 7Our God, didn't you drive out before your people Israel those who were living in this land? Didn't you give this land to the descendants of your friend Abraham forever? 8They are living in the land and have built a Temple for you here to honor you, saying, 9‘If disaster strikes us, whether it's invasion or judgment, disease or famine, we will stand in front of this Temple and before you, for this Temple is yours. We will cry out to you to help us in our suffering, and you will hear us and save us.’#20:9. See 6:24-30.
10Look, here come the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, those very countries you did not let Israel invade when they came out of Egypt. Israel left them alone and did not destroy them. 11See how they're rewarding us, coming to steal the land you gave us to possess forever! 12Our God, won't you punish them, because we don't have the power to confront such a great army that is marching against us? We don't know what to do. We're looking to you for help.”
13All the men of Judah stood before the Lord, together with their wives and children and babies. 14Then the Spirit of the Lord came over Jahaziel while he was standing there in the assembly. He was the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite from the descendants of Asaph. 15He said, “Listen, everyone from Judah, people of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat. This is what the Lord has to say to you: Don't be afraid or discouraged because of this large army. This isn't your battle—it's God's! 16Tomorrow march down to face them. You will see them coming up the pass at Ziz—you'll find them at the end of the valley in front of the desert of Jeruel. 17But you do not need to fight this battle. Just stand still and watch the Lord's victory. He is with you, Judah and Jerusalem! Don't be afraid or discouraged! March down to face them, for the Lord is with you!”
18Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell to the ground before the Lord, worshiping him. 19Then the Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites stood to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, shouting loudly.
20They got up early the next morning and went to the desert of Tekoa. As they left, Jehoshaphat stood up and said, “Listen to me, people of Judah and Jerusalem. Trust in the Lord your God, and you will be vindicated; trust in his prophets, and you will be successful.”
21After discussion with the people, he appointed singers to praise the Lord for his glorious, holy goodness. They led the way at the front of the army, singing, “Praise the Lord, for his trustworthy love lasts forever!”
22As soon as they started singing and praising, the Lord ambushed the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir who were coming to attack Judah, and they were defeated. 23The men of Ammon and Moab turned on the men from Mount Seir, killing all of them. Once they'd finished wiping out the army from Seir, they turned on each other, destroying themselves.#20:23. “They turned on each other, destroying themselves”: literally, “each helped his neighbor to destruction.” 24So when the men of Judah came to the watchtower in the desert, they looked out to see the enemy army and all they saw were corpses lying on the ground! No one had escaped.
25When Jehoshaphat and his people came to collect the plunder, they found a great deal of cattle, equipment, clothing,#20:25. “Clothing”: Some manuscripts and the Vulgate. Most manuscripts have “corpses.” and other valuable articles, more than they could carry. It took three days to collect the plunder because there was so much of it. 26On the fourth day they gathered in the Valley of Blessing. They gave it this name because this was where they blessed the Lord. It is still called the Valley of Blessing to this day.
27Then all the men of Judah and Jerusalem celebrated as they returned to Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat leading them, full of joy for the Lord's victory over their enemies. 28They entered Jerusalem and went straight to the Temple of the Lord, accompanied by music from harps, lyres, and trumpets.
29All the kingdoms around were in awe of God when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel.#20:29. See 17:10. 30Jehoshaphat and his kingdom were at peace, for God gave him rest—there were no attacks from any direction.
31So Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah, having become king when he was thirty-five years old, and he reigned in Jerusalem for twenty-five years. His mother's name was Azubah, daughter of Shilhi. 32Jehoshaphat followed the way of his father Asa and did not turn away from it. He did what was right in the Lord's sight. 33However, the high places were not removed, and the people were not committed to the God of their forefathers. 34The rest of what Jehoshaphat did, from beginning to end, is written down in the chronicles of Jehu, son of Hanani, recorded in the Book of the Kings of Israel.
35Later in his life, Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, allied himself with Ahaziah, king of Israel, who did wicked things. 36They agreed to work together and send ships to Tarshish.#20:36. A joint trading venture. The ships were built in Ezion-geber. 37But Eliezer, son of Dodavahu of Mareshah, prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you have made an alliance with Ahaziah, the Lord will destroy what you're doing.” The ships were wrecked and couldn't sail to Tarshish.
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2 Chronicles 20: FBV
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com
2 Chronicles 20
20
2 Chronicles 20
1¶ It came to pass after this also that the sons of Moab and the sons of Ammon and with them others besides the Ammonites came against Jehoshaphat to battle.
2Then some came and told Jehoshaphat, saying, There comes a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea, and from Syria; and, behold, they are in Hazazontamar, which is Engedi.
3Then Jehoshaphat feared and set himself to seek the Lord and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
4And Judah gathered themselves together, to consult the Lord; and out of all the cities of Judah they came to consult 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 the heavens and dost thou not rule in all the kingdoms of the Gentiles? Is there not power and might in thy hand so that no one is able to withstand thee?
7 Art not thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel and didst give it to the seed of Abraham, thy friend, for ever?
8And they have dwelt in it and have built thee a sanctuary in it for thy name, saying,
9If evil comes upon us or the sword of judgment or pestilence or famine, we shall stand before this house and in thy presence (for thy name is in this house) and cry unto thee out of our tribulations, and thou wilt hear us and save us.
10And now, behold, the sons of Ammon and of Moab and those of Mount Seir, whose land thou would not let Israel enter when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them and did not destroy them;
11behold they reward us by coming 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 comes against us; we do not know what to do; but our eyes are fixed upon thee.
13And all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.
14¶ Then 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, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou King Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the Lord unto you, Do not be afraid nor dismayed before this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.
16Tomorrow ye shall go down against them; behold, they shall come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them next to the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel.
17Ye shall not need to fight in this battle; set yourselves, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you. O Judah and Jerusalem; fear not, neither be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord shall be with you.
18Then Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and likewise all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the Lord, worshipping the Lord.
19And the Levites, of the sons of the Kohath and of the sons of the Korah, stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with a loud voice on high.
20¶ And when they arose early in the morning and while they were going forth into the wilderness of Tekoa, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe the Lord your God, and ye shall be secure; believe his prophets, and ye shall be prospered.
21And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed some to sing unto the Lord and to praise in the beauty of holiness, while the army went out and to say, Praise the Lord, for his mercy endures for ever.
22And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set the sons of Moab and those of Mount Seir to ambush the sons of Ammon, who were coming against Judah; and they smote one another.
23And the sons of Ammon and Moab rose 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, each one helped his companion to kill himself.
24And when Judah came to the watch tower of the wilderness, they looked for the multitude, and, behold, they were fallen to the earth dead, for none had escaped.
25And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to spoil them, they found among them an abundance of riches and of dead bodies and clothing and precious vessels which they took for themselves, more than they could carry away; and they were three days gathering in the spoil, it was so much.
26And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Berachah; {Heb. of Blessing} for there they blessed the Lord; therefore, they called the name of that place, The valley of Berachah, unto this day.
27Then they returned, those of Judah and those of Jerusalem with Jehoshaphat at their head, to go again to Jerusalem with joy, for the Lord had made them to rejoice over their enemies.
28And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries and harps and trumpets unto the house of the Lord.
29And the fear of God came upon all the kingdoms of the land when they heard how the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel.
30So the kingdom of Jehoshaphat had rest, for his God gave him rest round about.
31¶ Thus Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah; he was thirty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-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 did not depart from it, doing that which was right in the sight of the Lord.
33With all this 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.
35After these things, Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, joined himself with Ahaziah, king of Israel, who was given over to wickedness;
36he joined himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish, and they made the ships in Eziongeber.
37Then Eliezer, the son of Dodavah of Mareshah, prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, Because thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah, the Lord shall destroy thy works. And the ships were broken, and they were not able to go to Tarshish.
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The Jubilee Bible 2000 (JUB) by Ransom Press International