“1 It came to pass after this also, [that] the children of Moab, and
the children of Ammon, and with them [other] beside the Ammonites, came
against Jehoshaphat to battle. 2 Then there came some that told
Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh a great multitude against thee from
beyond the sea on this side Syria; and, behold, they [be] in
Hazazontamar, which [is] Engedi. 3 And Jehoshaphat feared, and set
himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. 4
And Judah gathered themselves together, to ask [help] of the LORD: even
out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD. 5 And
Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the
house of the LORD, before the new court, 6 And said, O LORD God of our
fathers, [art] not thou God in heaven? and rulest [not] thou over all
the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand [is there not] power and
might, so that none 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 gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever? 8 And
they dwelt therein, and have built thee a sanctuary therein for thy
name, saying, 9 If, [when] evil cometh upon us, [as] the sword,
judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house, and in
thy presence, (for thy name [is] in this house,) and cry unto thee in
our affliction, then thou wilt hear and help. 10 And now, behold, the
children of Ammon and Moab and mount Seir, whom thou wouldest not let
Israel invade, when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned
from them, and destroyed them not; 11 Behold, [I say, how] they reward
us, to come to cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us
to inherit. 12 O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might
against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what
to do: but our eyes [are] upon thee. 13 And 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; 15 And he said,
Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king
Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by
reason of this great multitude; for the battle [is] not yours, but
God’s. 16 To morrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the
cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the
wilderness of Jeruel. 17 Ye shall not [need] to fight in this [battle]:
set yourselves, stand ye [still], and see the salvation of the LORD with
you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out
against them: for the LORD [will be] with you. 18 And Jehoshaphat bowed
his head with [his] face to the ground: and all Judah and the
inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the LORD, worshipping the LORD. 19
And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites, and of the children
of the Korhites, stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with a loud
voice on high.”
“20 And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the
wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said,
Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the LORD
your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye
prosper. 21 And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed
singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as
they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for his
mercy [endureth] for ever. 22 And when they began to sing and to praise,
the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount
Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten. 23 For the
children of Ammon and Moab stood 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, every one helped to destroy another. 24 And
when Judah came toward the watch tower in the wilderness, they looked
unto the multitude, and, behold, they [were] dead bodies fallen to the
earth, and none escaped. 25 And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to
take away the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both
riches with the dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped
off for themselves, more than they could carry away: and they were three
days in gathering of the spoil, it was so much. 26 And on the fourth day
they assembled themselves in the valley of Berachah; for there they
blessed the LORD: therefore the name of the same place was called, The
valley of Berachah, unto this day. 27 Then they returned, every man of
Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat in the forefront of them, to go
again to Jerusalem with joy; for the LORD had made them to rejoice over
their enemies. 28 And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries and harps
and trumpets unto the house of the LORD. 29 And the fear of God was on
all the kingdoms of [those] countries, when they had heard that the LORD
fought against the enemies of Israel. 30 So the realm of Jehoshaphat was
quiet: for his God gave him rest round about.”
“31 And Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah: [he was] thirty and five years
old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty and five years in
Jerusalem. And his mother’s name [was] Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. 32
And he walked in the way of Asa his father, and departed not from it,
doing [that which was] right in the sight of the LORD. 33 Howbeit the
high places were not taken away: for as yet the people had not prepared
their hearts unto the God of their fathers. 34 Now 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. 35 And after this did Jehoshaphat king of Judah join himself
with Ahaziah king of Israel, who did very wickedly: 36 And he joined
himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish: and they made the
ships in Eziongeber. 37 Then Eliezer the son of Dodavah of Mareshah
prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, Because thou hast joined thyself
with Ahaziah, the LORD hath broken thy works. And the ships were broken,
that they were not able to go to Tarshish.” (2 Chronicles 20:1-37 AV)
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