Jehoshaphat Faces War

20 Later the Moabites, Ammonites, and some Meunites came to start a war with Jehoshaphat. ² Messengers came and told Jehoshaphat, “A ·large army [vast horde; ^Tgreat multitude] is coming against you from ·Edom [^Lbeyond the sea; ^Cthe Dead Sea]. They are already in Hazazon Tamar (that is, En Gedi)!” ³ Jehoshaphat was ·afraid [alarmed], so he decided to ·ask the Lord what to do [seek the Lord]. He announced that everyone in Judah should fast. ⁴ The people of Judah ·came together [assembled] to ·ask the Lord for help [seek the Lord]; they came from every town in Judah.

⁵ The ·people [assembly] of Judah and Jerusalem met in front of the new courtyard in the ·Temple [^Lhouse] of the Lord. Then Jehoshaphat stood up, ⁶ and he said, “Lord, God of our ·ancestors [fathers], ·you are the [^Lare you not…?] God in heaven. ·You [^LDo you not…?] rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. You have power and strength in your hand, so no one can ·stand against [withstand; resist] you. ⁷ Our God, ·you forced [^Ldid you not drive…?] out the people who lived in this land ·as your people Israel moved in [before your people Israel]. And you gave this land forever to the descendants of your friend Abraham. ⁸ They lived in this land and built a ·Temple [sanctuary here] for ·you [^Lyour name]. They said, ⁹ ‘If ·trouble [disaster; evil] comes upon us, or ·war [^Lthe sword], ·punishment [judgment; ^Cthis term should perhaps be combined with the previous one to read “the sword of judgment”], ·sickness [plague; pestilence], or ·hunger [famine], we will stand before you and before this ·Temple [^Lhouse] ·where you have chosen to be worshiped [for your name is in this house]. We will cry out to you ·when we are in trouble [in our distress]. Then you will hear and ·save [rescue; ^Tdeliver] us.’

¹⁰ “But now here are men from Ammon, Moab, and ·Edom [^LMount Seir]. You wouldn’t let the Israelites ·enter [invade] their lands when the Israelites came from Egypt. So the Israelites ·turned away [bypassed/went around them] and did not destroy them. ¹¹ But see how they repay us! They have come to force us out of your ·land [possession], which you gave us as our ·own [inheritance]. ¹² Our God, ·punish those people [will you not judge them?]. We have no power against this ·large army [vast horde; ^Tgreat multitude] that is attacking us. We don’t know what to do, so ·we look to you for help [^Lour eyes are on you].”

¹³ All the men of Judah stood before the Lord with their babies, wives, and children. ¹⁴ Then the Spirit of the Lord ·entered [came on] Jahaziel. (Jahaziel was Zechariah’s son. Zechariah was Benaiah’s son. Benaiah was Jeiel’s son, and Jeiel was Mattaniah’s son.) Jahaziel, a Levite and a descendant of Asaph, stood up in the ·meeting [assembly]. ¹⁵ He said, “Listen to me, King Jehoshaphat and all you people living in Judah and Jerusalem. ·The Lord says this [^TThus says the Lord] to you: ‘Don’t be afraid or ·discouraged [dismayed] because of this ·large army [vast horde; ^Tgreat multitude]. The battle is not your battle, it is God’s. ¹⁶ Tomorrow go down ·there and fight those people [^Lagainst them]. They will come up through the ·Pass [ascent] of Ziz. You will find them at the end of the ·ravine [valley] that ·leads [opens] to the ·Desert [wilderness] of Jeruel. ¹⁷ You won’t need to fight in this battle. Just ·stand strong in your places [take your positions], and you will see the ·Lord save you [salvation/deliverance/rescue of the Lord]. Judah and Jerusalem, don’t be afraid or ·discouraged [dismayed], because the Lord is with you. So go out ·against those people [to face them] tomorrow.’”

¹⁸ Jehoshaphat bowed facedown on the ground. All the people of Judah and Jerusalem bowed down before the Lord and worshiped him. ¹⁹ Then some Levites from the Kohathite and Korahite people stood up and praised the Lord, the God of Israel, with very loud ·voices [shouts].

²⁰ Jehoshaphat’s army went out into the ·Desert [wilderness] of Tekoa early in the morning. As they were starting out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, people of Judah and Jerusalem. ·Have faith [Trust; Believe] in the Lord your God, and you will ·stand strong [be secure/safe/^Testablished]. ·Have faith [Trust; Believe] in his prophets, and you will succeed.” ²¹ Jehoshaphat ·listened to the advice of [consulted/conferred with] the people. Then he ·chose [appointed] men to be singers to the Lord, to praise him ·because he is holy and wonderful [for his holy splendor; or in their holy/sacred vestments/robes]. As they ·marched in front [went ahead] of the army, they said,

²² As they began to sing and praise God, the Lord set ambushes for the people of Ammon, Moab, and ·Edom [^LMount Seir] who had come to attack Judah. And they were ·defeated [routed]. ²³ The Ammonites and Moabites attacked ·the Edomites [^Lthose from Mount Seir], ·destroying [annihilating] them completely. After they had ·killed [finished off] the Edomites, they killed each other.

²⁴ When the men from Judah came to ·a place where they could see [the lookout point in] the ·desert [wilderness], they looked ·at the enemy’s large army [toward the vast horde; ^Tgreat multitude]. But they only saw ·dead bodies [corpses] lying on the ground; no one had escaped. ²⁵ When Jehoshaphat and his army came to ·take [gather; carry off] their ·valuables [plunder; spoil; booty], they found many supplies, much clothing, and other valuable things. There was more than they could carry away; there was so much it took three days to gather it all. ²⁶ On the fourth day Jehoshaphat and his army met in the Valley of Beracah [^C“blessing”] and ·praised [blessed] the Lord. That is why that place has been called the Valley of Beracah [^C“blessing”] to this day.

²⁷ Then Jehoshaphat led all the men from Judah and Jerusalem back to Jerusalem. The Lord had ·made them happy because their enemies were defeated [given them cause to rejoice over their enemies]. ²⁸ They entered Jerusalem with harps, lyres, and trumpets and went to the ·Temple [^Lhouse] of the Lord.

²⁹ When all the kingdoms of the lands around them heard how the Lord had fought Israel’s enemies, ·they feared God [^Lthe terror/dread of God came upon them]. ³⁰ So Jehoshaphat’s kingdom was at ·peace [rest]. His God gave him ·peace from all the countries around him [^Lrest on every side].

Jehoshaphat’s Rule Ends^(A)

³¹ Jehoshaphat ·ruled [reigned] over the country of Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he ·ruled [reigned] in Jerusalem for twenty-five years. His mother’s name was Azubah daughter of Shilhi. ³² Jehoshaphat ·was good like [^Lwalked in the way of] his father Asa, and he did what ·the Lord said was right [^Lwas right/pleasing in the eyes/sight of the Lord]. ³³ But the ·places where gods were worshiped [^Lhigh places; 11:15] were not removed, and the people ·did not really want to follow [had not committed/devoted themselves to; had not set their hearts on] the God of their ·ancestors [fathers].

³⁴ The other things Jehoshaphat did as king, from ·the beginning to the end [first to last], ·are [are they not…?] written in the records of Jehu son of Hanani, which are in the ·book [scroll] of the kings of Israel.

³⁵ Later, Jehoshaphat king of Judah made a ·treaty [alliance] with Ahaziah king of Israel, which was a ·wrong [wicked; evil] thing to do. ³⁶ Jehoshaphat agreed with Ahaziah to build ·trading ships [^Lships to go to Tarshish; ^Cin present-day Spain, hence a large, seagoing trading ship], which they built in the town of Ezion Geber. ³⁷ Then Eliezer son of Dodavahu from the town of Mareshah ·spoke [prophesied] against Jehoshaphat. He said, “Jehoshaphat, because you ·joined [allied] with Ahaziah, the Lord will destroy what you have made.” The ships were wrecked so they could not sail out to trade.