2Chronicles:20

---

Seeker Overlay ON

* And it came to pass after this , that the children of Moab , and the children of Ammon , and with them some of the Ammonites , came against Jehoshaphat to battle . * Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat , saying : 'There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea from Aram ; and , behold , they are in Hazazon-tamar '--the same is En-gedi . * And Jehoshaphat feared , and set himself to seek unto the LORD ; and he proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah . * And Judah gathered themselves together , to seek help of the LORD ; even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD . * And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem , in the house of the LORD , before the new court ; * and he said : 'O LORD , the God of our fathers , art not Thou alone God in heaven ? and art not Thou ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations ? and in Thy hand is power and might , so that none is able to withstand Thee . * Didst not Thou , O our God , drive out the inhabitants of this land before Thy people Israel , and gavest it to the seed of Abraham Thy friend for ever ? * And they dwelt therein , and have built Thee a sanctuary therein for Thy name , saying : * If evil come upon us , the sword , judgment , or pestilence , or famine , we will stand before this house , and before Thee--for Thy name is in this house--and cry unto Thee in our affliction , and Thou wilt hear and save . * 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 aside from them , and destroyed them not ; * behold , they render unto us evil , to come to cast us out of Thy possession , which Thou hast given us to inherit . * O our God , wilt Thou not execute judgment on them ? for we have no might against this great multitude that cometh against us ; neither know we what to do ; but our eyes are upon Thee .' * And all Judah stood before the LORD , with their little ones , their wives , and their children . * Then upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah , the son of Benaiah , the son of Jeiel , the son of Mattaniah , the Levite , of the sons of Asaph , came the spirit of the LORD in the midst of the congregation ; * and he said : 'Hearken ye , all Judah , and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem , and thou king Jehoshaphat : thus saith the LORD unto you : Fear not ye , neither be dismayed by reason of this great multitude ; for the battle is not yours , but God 's . * To-morrow go ye down against them ; behold , they come up by the ascent of Ziz ; and ye shall find them at the end of the valley , before the wilderness of Jeruel . * 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 is with you .' * And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground ; and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the LORD , worshipping the LORD . * And the Levites , of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites , stood up to praise the LORD , the God of Israel , with an exceeding loud voice . * 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 .' * And when he had taken counsel with the people , he appointed them that should sing unto the LORD , and praise in the beauty of holiness , as they went out before the army , and say : 'Give thanks unto the LORD , for His mercy endureth for ever .' * And when they began to sing and to praise , the LORD set liers-in-wait against the children of Ammon , Moab , and mount Seir , that were come against Judah ; and they were smitten . * 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 . * And when Judah came to the watch-tower of the wilderness , they looked upon the multitude ; and , behold , they were dead bodies fallen to the earth , and there were none that escaped . * And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take the spoil of them , they found among them in abundance both riches and dead bodies , and precious jewels , which they stripped off for themselves , more than they could carry away ; and they were three days in taking the spoil , it was so much . * And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Beracah ; for there they blessed the LORD ; therefore the name of that place was called The valley of Beracah , unto this day . * Then they returned , every man of Judah and Jerusalem , and Jehoshaphat in the forefront of them , to go back to Jerusalem with joy ; for the LORD had made them to rejoice over their enemies . * And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries and harps and trumpets unto the house of the LORD . * And a terror from God was on all the kingdoms of the countries , when they heard that the LORD fought against the enemies of Israel . * So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet ; for his God gave him rest round about . * 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 . * And he walked in the way of Asa his father , and turned not aside from it , doing that which was right in the eyes of the LORD . * Howbeit the high places were not taken away ; neither as yet had the people set their hearts unto the God of their fathers . * Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat , first and last , behold , they are written in the words of Jehu the son of Hanani , which is inserted in the book of the kings of Israel . * And after this did Jehoshaphat king of Judah join himself with Ahaziah king of Israel ; the same did very wickedly ; * and he joined him with himself to make ships to go to Tarshish ; and they made the ships in Ezion-geber . * Then Eliezer the son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat , saying : 'Because thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah , the LORD hath made a breach in thy works .' And the ships were broken , that they were not able to go to Tarshish .

---