Worth the Wait: Living Pure in a Culture of Pressure

Adversity

Scriptures and Hymns to Grow Your Joy This Christmas

Coffee Talks With Worship Leaders

The Mandate to Multiply.

What the Bible Says About Advent - 29 Days of Advent Meditations

Christmas Morning: Son Rise on a New Day

Your Prayer Has Been Heard: How God Meets Us in Seasons of Weariness and Waiting

The Promise of Revival

Hope in Creator’s Promises

The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by Permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.

New International Version

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 <div class="p">40Now the length of time the Israelite people lived in Egypt#12:40 Masoretic Text; Samaritan Pentateuch and Septuagint Egypt and Canaan was 430 years. </div>
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 <div class="p">20After all this, when Josiah had set the temple in order, Necho king of Egypt went up to fight at Carchemish on the Euphrates, and Josiah marched out to meet him in battle. </div>
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 <div class="p">7Ahaz sent messengers to say to Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria, &#8220;I am your servant and vassal. Come up and save me out of the hand of the king of Aram and of the king of Israel, who are attacking me.&#8221; 8And Ahaz took the silver and gold found in the temple of the Lord and in the treasuries of the royal palace and sent it as a gift to the king of Assyria. </div>
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 <div class="p">3Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up to attack Hoshea, who had been Shalmaneser&#8217;s vassal and had paid him tribute. 4But the king of Assyria discovered that Hoshea was a traitor, for he had sent envoys to So#17:4 So is probably an abbreviation for Osorkon. king of Egypt, and he no longer paid tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year. Therefore Shalmaneser seized him and put him in prison. 5The king of Assyria invaded the entire land, marched against Samaria and laid siege to it for three years. 6In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and deported the Israelites to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, in Gozan on the Habor River and in the towns of the Medes.</div><div class="p"> </div>
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 <div class="p">1In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah&#8217;s reign, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them. </div>
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 <div class="q1">23He brings princes to naught</div><div class="q2">and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.</div><div class="q1"> </div>
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 <div class="q1">28for dominion belongs to the Lord</div><div class="q2">and he rules over the nations.</div><div class="q1"> </div>
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 <div class="q1">5&#8220;Will they not return to Egypt</div><div class="q2">and will not Assyria rule over them</div><div class="q2">because they refuse to repent?</div><div class="q1"> </div>
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 <div class="pm">12But because our ancestors angered the God of heaven, he gave them into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar the Chaldean, king of Babylon, who destroyed this temple and deported the people to Babylon.</div><div class="pm"> 13&#8220;However, in the first year of Cyrus king of Babylon, King Cyrus issued a decree to rebuild this house of God. 14He even removed from the temple#5:14 Or palace of Babylon the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to the temple#5:14 Or palace in Babylon. Then King Cyrus gave them to a man named Sheshbazzar, whom he had appointed governor, 15and he told him, &#8216;Take these articles and go and deposit them in the temple in Jerusalem. And rebuild the house of God on its site.&#8217;</div><div class="pm"> 16&#8220;So this Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundations of the house of God in Jerusalem. From that day to the present it has been under construction but is not yet finished.&#8221;</div><div class="b"></div><div class="pm"> 17Now if it pleases the king, let a search be made in the royal archives of Babylon to see if King Cyrus did in fact issue a decree to rebuild this house of God in Jerusalem. Then let the king send us his decision in this matter.</div>
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 <div class="chapter ch2" data-usfm="DAN.2.24+DAN.2.25+DAN.2.26+DAN.2.27+DAN.2.28+DAN.2.29+DAN.2.30+DAN.2.31+DAN.2.32+DAN.2.33+DAN.2.34+DAN.2.35+DAN.2.36+DAN.2.37+DAN.2.38+DAN.2.39+DAN.2.40+DAN.2.41+DAN.2.42+DAN.2.43+DAN.2.44+DAN.2.45+DAN.2.46+DAN.2.47+DAN.2.48+DAN.2.49">
 <div class="p">24Then Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to execute the wise men of Babylon, and said to him, &#8220;Do not execute the wise men of Babylon. Take me to the king, and I will interpret his dream for him.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 25Arioch took Daniel to the king at once and said, &#8220;I have found a man among the exiles from Judah who can tell the king what his dream means.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 26The king asked Daniel (also called Belteshazzar), &#8220;Are you able to tell me what I saw in my dream and interpret it?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 27Daniel replied, &#8220;No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about, 28but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come. Your dream and the visions that passed through your mind as you were lying in bed are these:</div><div class="p"> 29&#8220;As Your Majesty was lying there, your mind turned to things to come, and the revealer of mysteries showed you what is going to happen. 30As for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because I have greater wisdom than anyone else alive, but so that Your Majesty may know the interpretation and that you may understand what went through your mind.</div><div class="p"> 31&#8220;Your Majesty looked, and there before you stood a large statue&#8212;an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance. 32The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, 33its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay. 34While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. 35Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were all broken to pieces and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth.</div><div class="p"> 36&#8220;This was the dream, and now we will interpret it to the king. 37Your Majesty, you are the king of kings. The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory; 38in your hands he has placed all mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds in the sky. Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold.</div><div class="p"> 39&#8220;After you, another kingdom will arise, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth. 40Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron&#8212;for iron breaks and smashes everything&#8212;and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others. 41Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom; yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay. 42As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. 43And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay.</div><div class="p"> 44&#8220;In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. 45This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands&#8212;a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces.</div><div class="p">&#8220;The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future. The dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 46Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell prostrate before Daniel and paid him honor and ordered that an offering and incense be presented to him. 47The king said to Daniel, &#8220;Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 48Then the king placed Daniel in a high position and lavished many gifts on him. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and placed him in charge of all its wise men. 49Moreover, at Daniel&#8217;s request the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego administrators over the province of Babylon, while Daniel himself remained at the royal court.</div>
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The Listener’s Bible®: NIV Edition

New International Version™  (Anglicised), Audio Edition

Holy Bible, New International Version™ (Anglicised), South Asian Audio Edition

<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
 <div class="book bkNUM">
 <div class="chapter ch21" data-usfm="NUM.21">
 <div class="label">21</div><div class="s1">Arad Destroyed</div><div class="p"> 1When the Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev, heard that Israel was coming along the road to Atharim, he attacked the Israelites and captured some of them. 2Then Israel made this vow to the Lord: &#8220;If you will deliver these people into our hands, we will totally destroy#21:2 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them; also in verse 3. their cities.&#8221; 3The Lord listened to Israel&#8217;s plea and gave the Canaanites over to them. They completely destroyed them and their towns; so the place was named Hormah.#21:3 Hormah means destruction.</div><div class="s1">The Bronze Snake</div><div class="p"> 4They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea,#21:4 Or the Sea of Reeds to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; 5they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, &#8220;Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 6Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. 7The people came to Moses and said, &#8220;We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us.&#8221; So Moses prayed for the people.</div><div class="p"> 8The Lord said to Moses, &#8220;Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.&#8221; 9So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.</div><div class="s1">The Journey to Moab</div><div class="p"> 10The Israelites moved on and camped at Oboth. 11Then they set out from Oboth and camped in Iye Abarim, in the wilderness that faces Moab toward the sunrise. 12From there they moved on and camped in the Zered Valley. 13They set out from there and camped alongside the Arnon, which is in the wilderness extending into Amorite territory. The Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. 14That is why the Book of the Wars of the Lord says:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;&#8230;Zahab#21:14 Septuagint; Hebrew Waheb in Suphah and the ravines,</div><div class="q2">the Arnon 15and#21:14,15 Or &#8220;I have been given from Suphah and the ravines / of the Arnon 15 to the slopes of the ravines</div><div class="q1">that lead to the settlement of Ar</div><div class="q2">and lie along the border of Moab.&#8221;</div><div class="m"> 16From there they continued on to Beer, the well where the Lord said to Moses, &#8220;Gather the people together and I will give them water.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 17Then Israel sang this song:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;Spring up, O well!</div><div class="q2">Sing about it,</div><div class="q1"> 18about the well that the princes dug,</div><div class="q2">that the nobles of the people sank&#8212;</div><div class="q2">the nobles with scepters and staffs.&#8221;</div><div class="m">Then they went from the wilderness to Mattanah, 19from Mattanah to Nahaliel, from Nahaliel to Bamoth, 20and from Bamoth to the valley in Moab where the top of Pisgah overlooks the wasteland.</div><div class="s1">Defeat of Sihon and Og</div><div class="p"> 21Israel sent messengers to say to Sihon king of the Amorites:</div><div class="pm"> 22&#8220;Let us pass through your country. We will not turn aside into any field or vineyard, or drink water from any well. We will travel along the King&#8217;s Highway until we have passed through your territory.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 23But Sihon would not let Israel pass through his territory. He mustered his entire army and marched out into the wilderness against Israel. When he reached Jahaz, he fought with Israel. 24Israel, however, put him to the sword and took over his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, but only as far as the Ammonites, because their border was fortified. 25Israel captured all the cities of the Amorites and occupied them, including Heshbon and all its surrounding settlements. 26Heshbon was the city of Sihon king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and had taken from him all his land as far as the Arnon.</div><div class="p"> 27That is why the poets say:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;Come to Heshbon and let it be rebuilt;</div><div class="q2">let Sihon&#8217;s city be restored.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 28&#8220;Fire went out from Heshbon,</div><div class="q2">a blaze from the city of Sihon.</div><div class="q1">It consumed Ar of Moab,</div><div class="q2">the citizens of Arnon&#8217;s heights.</div><div class="q1"> 29Woe to you, Moab!</div><div class="q2">You are destroyed, people of Chemosh!</div><div class="q1">He has given up his sons as fugitives</div><div class="q2">and his daughters as captives</div><div class="q2">to Sihon king of the Amorites.</div><div class="b"></div><div class="q1"> 30&#8220;But we have overthrown them;</div><div class="q2">Heshbon&#8217;s dominion has been destroyed all the way to Dibon.</div><div class="q1">We have demolished them as far as Nophah,</div><div class="q2">which extends to Medeba.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 31So Israel settled in the land of the Amorites.</div><div class="p"> 32After Moses had sent spies to Jazer, the Israelites captured its surrounding settlements and drove out the Amorites who were there. 33Then they turned and went up along the road toward Bashan, and Og king of Bashan and his whole army marched out to meet them in battle at Edrei.</div><div class="p"> 34The Lord said to Moses, &#8220;Do not be afraid of him, for I have delivered him into your hands, along with his whole army and his land. Do to him what you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 35So they struck him down, together with his sons and his whole army, leaving them no survivors. And they took possession of his land.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
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 <div class="label">22</div><div class="s1">Balak Summons Balaam</div><div class="p"> 1Then the Israelites traveled to the plains of Moab and camped along the Jordan across from Jericho.</div><div class="p"> 2Now Balak son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites, 3and Moab was terrified because there were so many people. Indeed, Moab was filled with dread because of the Israelites.</div><div class="p"> 4The Moabites said to the elders of Midian, &#8220;This horde is going to lick up everything around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field.&#8221;</div><div class="p">So Balak son of Zippor, who was king of Moab at that time, 5sent messengers to summon Balaam son of Beor, who was at Pethor, near the Euphrates River, in his native land. Balak said:</div><div class="pm">&#8220;A people has come out of Egypt; they cover the face of the land and have settled next to me. 6Now come and put a curse on these people, because they are too powerful for me. Perhaps then I will be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land. For I know that whoever you bless is blessed, and whoever you curse is cursed.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 7The elders of Moab and Midian left, taking with them the fee for divination. When they came to Balaam, they told him what Balak had said.</div><div class="p"> 8&#8220;Spend the night here,&#8221; Balaam said to them, &#8220;and I will report back to you with the answer the Lord gives me.&#8221; So the Moabite officials stayed with him.</div><div class="p"> 9God came to Balaam and asked, &#8220;Who are these men with you?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 10Balaam said to God, &#8220;Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, sent me this message: 11&#8216;A people that has come out of Egypt covers the face of the land. Now come and put a curse on them for me. Perhaps then I will be able to fight them and drive them away.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 12But God said to Balaam, &#8220;Do not go with them. You must not put a curse on those people, because they are blessed.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 13The next morning Balaam got up and said to Balak&#8217;s officials, &#8220;Go back to your own country, for the Lord has refused to let me go with you.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 14So the Moabite officials returned to Balak and said, &#8220;Balaam refused to come with us.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 15Then Balak sent other officials, more numerous and more distinguished than the first. 16They came to Balaam and said:</div><div class="pm">&#8220;This is what Balak son of Zippor says: Do not let anything keep you from coming to me, 17because I will reward you handsomely and do whatever you say. Come and put a curse on these people for me.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 18But Balaam answered them, &#8220;Even if Balak gave me all the silver and gold in his palace, I could not do anything great or small to go beyond the command of the Lord my God. 19Now spend the night here so that I can find out what else the Lord will tell me.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 20That night God came to Balaam and said, &#8220;Since these men have come to summon you, go with them, but do only what I tell you.&#8221;</div><div class="s1">Balaam&#8217;s Donkey</div><div class="p"> 21Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey and went with the Moabite officials. 22But God was very angry when he went, and the angel of the Lord stood in the road to oppose him. Balaam was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. 23When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, it turned off the road into a field. Balaam beat it to get it back on the road.</div><div class="p"> 24Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path through the vineyards, with walls on both sides. 25When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it pressed close to the wall, crushing Balaam&#8217;s foot against it. So he beat the donkey again.</div><div class="p"> 26Then the angel of the Lord moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn, either to the right or to the left. 27When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it lay down under Balaam, and he was angry and beat it with his staff. 28Then the Lord opened the donkey&#8217;s mouth, and it said to Balaam, &#8220;What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 29Balaam answered the donkey, &#8220;You have made a fool of me! If only I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 30The donkey said to Balaam, &#8220;Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?&#8221;</div><div class="p">&#8220;No,&#8221; he said.</div><div class="p"> 31Then the Lord opened Balaam&#8217;s eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown.</div><div class="p"> 32The angel of the Lord asked him, &#8220;Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before me.#22:32 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain. 33The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If it had not turned away, I would certainly have killed you by now, but I would have spared it.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 34Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, &#8220;I have sinned. I did not realize you were standing in the road to oppose me. Now if you are displeased, I will go back.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 35The angel of the Lord said to Balaam, &#8220;Go with the men, but speak only what I tell you.&#8221; So Balaam went with Balak&#8217;s officials.</div><div class="p"> 36When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him at the Moabite town on the Arnon border, at the edge of his territory. 37Balak said to Balaam, &#8220;Did I not send you an urgent summons? Why didn&#8217;t you come to me? Am I really not able to reward you?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 38&#8220;Well, I have come to you now,&#8221; Balaam replied. &#8220;But I can&#8217;t say whatever I please. I must speak only what God puts in my mouth.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 39Then Balaam went with Balak to Kiriath Huzoth. 40Balak sacrificed cattle and sheep, and gave some to Balaam and the officials who were with him. 41The next morning Balak took Balaam up to Bamoth Baal, and from there he could see the outskirts of the Israelite camp.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
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 <div class="label">20</div><div class="s1">Jehoshaphat Defeats Moab and Ammon</div><div class="p"> 1After this, the Moabites and Ammonites with some of the Meunites#20:1 Some Septuagint manuscripts; Hebrew Ammonites came to wage war against Jehoshaphat.</div><div class="p"> 2Some people came and told Jehoshaphat, &#8220;A vast army is coming against you from Edom,#20:2 One Hebrew manuscript; most Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint and Vulgate Aram from the other side of the Dead Sea. It is already in Hazezon Tamar&#8221; (that is, En Gedi). 3Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah. 4The people of Judah came together to seek help from the Lord; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him.</div><div class="p"> 5Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of the Lord in the front of the new courtyard 6and said:</div><div class="pm">&#8220;Lord, the God of our ancestors, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand 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 it and have built in it a sanctuary for your Name, saying, 9&#8216;If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague or famine, we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.&#8217;</div><div class="pm"> 10&#8220;But now here are men from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, whose territory you would not allow Israel to invade when they came from Egypt; so they turned away from them and did not destroy them. 11See how they are repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession you gave us as an inheritance. 12Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 13All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the Lord.</div><div class="p"> 14Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Jahaziel son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite and descendant of Asaph, as he stood in the assembly.</div><div class="p"> 15He said: &#8220;Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: &#8216;Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God&#8217;s. 16Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel. 17You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 18Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the Lord. 19Then some Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites stood up and praised the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.</div><div class="p"> 20Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, &#8220;Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.&#8221; 21After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his#20:21 Or him with the splendor of holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;Give thanks to the Lord,</div><div class="q2">for his love endures forever.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 22As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated. 23The Ammonites and Moabites rose up against the men from Mount Seir to destroy and annihilate them. After they finished slaughtering the men from Seir, they helped to destroy one another.</div><div class="p"> 24When the men of Judah came to the place that overlooks the desert and looked toward the vast army, they saw only dead bodies lying on the ground; no one had escaped. 25So Jehoshaphat and his men went to carry off their plunder, and they found among them a great amount of equipment and clothing#20:25 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Vulgate; most Hebrew manuscripts corpses and also articles of value&#8212;more than they could take away. There was so much plunder that it took three days to collect it. 26On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Berakah, where they praised the Lord. This is why it is called the Valley of Berakah#20:26 Berakah means praise. to this day.</div><div class="p"> 27Then, led by Jehoshaphat, all the men of Judah and Jerusalem returned joyfully to Jerusalem, for the Lord had given them cause to rejoice over their enemies. 28They entered Jerusalem and went to the temple of the Lord with harps and lyres and trumpets.</div><div class="p"> 29The fear of God came on all the surrounding kingdoms when they heard how the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. 30And the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, for his God had given him rest on every side.</div><div class="s1">The End of Jehoshaphat&#8217;s Reign</div><div class="p"> 31So Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he became king of Judah, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-five years. His mother&#8217;s name was Azubah daughter of Shilhi. 32He followed the ways of his father Asa and did not stray from them; he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. 33The high places, however, were not removed, and the people still had not set their hearts on the God of their ancestors.</div><div class="p"> 34The other events of Jehoshaphat&#8217;s reign, from beginning to end, are written in the annals of Jehu son of Hanani, which are recorded in the book of the kings of Israel.</div><div class="p"> 35Later, Jehoshaphat king of Judah made an alliance with Ahaziah king of Israel, whose ways were wicked. 36He agreed with him to construct a fleet of trading ships.#20:36 Hebrew of ships that could go to Tarshish After these were built at Ezion Geber, 37Eliezer son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, &#8220;Because you have made an alliance with Ahaziah, the Lord will destroy what you have made.&#8221; The ships were wrecked and were not able to set sail to trade.#20:37 Hebrew sail for Tarshish</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
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 <div class="p">20In the time of Jehoram, Edom rebelled against Judah and set up its own king. 21So Jehoram#8:21 Hebrew Joram, a variant of Jehoram; also in verses 23 and 24 went to Zair with all his chariots. The Edomites surrounded him and his chariot commanders, but he rose up and broke through by night; his army, however, fled back home. 22To this day Edom has been in rebellion against Judah. Libnah revolted at the same time.</div><div class="p"> 23As for the other events of Jehoram&#8217;s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? 24Jehoram rested with his ancestors and was buried with them in the City of David. And Ahaziah his son succeeded him as king.</div>
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