Jehoshaphat Defeats Moab and Ammon
20 After that, the Moabites and the Ammonites, together with some Meunites,[a] came against Jehoshaphat for battle.
2 And some came and declared this to Jehoshaphat, “A large multitude is coming against you from across the Dead Sea from Edom; and observe, they are in Hazezon Tamar” (that is, En Gedi). 3 Then Jehoshaphat was fearful and set himself to seek the Lord, and he called for a fast throughout all Judah. 4 And Judah was assembled to seek the Lord; even from all the cities of Judah, they came to obtain aid from the Lord.
5 And Jehoshaphat stood in the midst of the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem in the house of the Lord before the new courtyard, 6 and he said:
“O Lord God of our fathers, are You not God in the heavens? And do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations? In Your hand are strength and might, and there is no one who can oppose You. 7 Did You not, our God, drive out those who lived in this land before Your people Israel, and You gave it perpetually to the descendants of Abraham, who was in covenant love with You. 8 And they have dwelled in it and have built in it for You a sanctuary for Your name saying, 9 ‘If disaster comes upon us, the sword, or judgment, or pestilence, or famine, then we will stand before this temple and before You because Your name is in this temple. And we will cry out to You in our distress, and You will hear and deliver.’
10 “Now here are the sons of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom You did not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, when they turned away from them and did not destroy them. 11 See how they are rewarding us by coming to drive us out of Your possession, which You have given us to inherit. 12 O our God, will You not render judgment on them? For we have not strength enough to stand before this great army that is coming against us. And we do not know what we should do, but our eyes are on You.”
13 Now all of Judah was standing before the Lord, even their infants, wives, and children.
14 And in the midst of the assembly the Spirit of the Lord came on Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite from the line of Asaph.
15 And he said, “Pay attention all Judah, and those dwelling in Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you, ‘Do not fear, nor be dismayed because of this great army, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. 16 Tomorrow, go down against them. They will travel up by the Ascent of Ziz. You will find them at the back of the valley, before the Wilderness of Jeruel. 17 It will not be necessary for you to fight in this conflict. Take your positions, stand, and observe the deliverance of the Lord for you, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not fear or be filled with terror. Tomorrow, go out before them, and the Lord will be with you.”
18 Then Jehoshaphat bowed his face to the ground, and all Judah and those dwelling in Jerusalem fell before the Lord to worship Him. 19 And the Levites from the descendants of the Kohathites and Korahites rose up to praise the Lord God of Israel with a very loud voice.
20 So they rose up early in the morning and went out to the Wilderness of Tekoa. And when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and those dwelling in Jerusalem. Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be supported. Believe His prophets, and you will succeed.” 21 And he consulted with the people and then appointed singers for the Lord and those praising Him in holy attire as they went before those equipped for battle saying,
“Praise the Lord,
for His mercy endures forever.”
22 When they began singing and praising, the Lord set ambushes against Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; so they were defeated. 23 Then the Ammonites and Moabites stood up against those dwelling from Mount Seir to destroy and finish them. Then when they made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, each man attacked his companion to destroy each other.
24 And Judah came to the watchtower of the wilderness, and they turned to the vast army and saw only corpses lying on the ground. And no one was spared. 25 Then Jehoshaphat and his people came to gather their plunder, and they found among them an abundance of riches with the corpses, and precious jewelry, which they took for themselves, more than they could carry. They were gathering the plunder for three days because there was so much to carry. 26 On the fourth day they gathered at the Valley of Berakah, because there they blessed the Lord. For this reason people have called the name of this place the Valley of Berakah until this day.
27 Then they all returned, every man from Judah and Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat as their head, to Jerusalem with joy because the Lord made them rejoice because of the death of their enemies. 28 So they entered Jerusalem with harps, lyres, and trumpets to the house of the Lord.
29 And it happened that the terror of God was on all the kingdoms of the lands who heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. 30 So the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was quiet, because his God gave him rest on all sides.
The End of Jehoshaphat’s Reign(A)
31 And Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he began his reign, and he was king in Jerusalem for twenty-five years. The name of his mother was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. 32 He walked in the way of his father Asa, and he did not turn aside from doing what was right in the eyes of the Lord. 33 Only the high places were not taken down. The people had yet to set their hearts to the God of their fathers.
34 And the remainder of the acts of Jehoshaphat, from beginning to end, are written in the annals of Jehu son of Hanani, which are taken up in the book of the kings of Israel.
35 Also, Jehoshaphat king of Judah was united with Ahaziah king of Israel, who acted wickedly. 36 Jehoshaphat joined with him to make ships to travel to Tarshish, and they made ships in Ezion Geber. 37 And Eliezer son of Dodavahu from Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat saying, “Because you have joined with Ahaziah, the Lord will tear down your works.” So the ships were wrecked, so that they were not able to journey to Tarshish.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 20:1 Heb. and others with those from the Ammonites.