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.
