^20:3Jehoshaphat was afraid, so he decided to seek the Lord’s advice.⁵ He decreed that all Judah should observe a fast. ^20:4The people of Judah⁶ assembled to ask for the Lord’s help;⁷ they came from all the cities of Judah to ask for the Lord’s help.⁸

^20:5Jehoshaphat stood before the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem⁹ at the Lord’s temple, in front of the new courtyard. ^20:6He prayed: “O Lord God of our ancestors,¹⁰ you are the God who lives in heaven¹¹ and rules over all the kingdoms of the nations. You possess strength and power; no one can stand against you. ^20:7Our God, you drove out¹² the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and gave it as a permanent possession¹³ to the descendants of your friend¹⁴ Abraham. ^20:8They settled down in it and built in it a temple¹⁵ to honor you,¹⁶ saying, ^20:9‘If disaster comes on us in the form of military attack,¹⁷ judgment, plague, or famine, we will stand in front of this temple before you, for you are present in this temple.¹⁸ We will cry out to you for help in our distress, so that you will¹⁹ hear and deliver us.’ ^20:10Now the Ammonites, Moabites, and men from Mount Seir are coming!²⁰ When Israel came from the land of Egypt, you did not allow them to invade these lands.²¹ They bypassed them and did not destroy them. ^20:11Look how they are repaying us! They come to drive us out of our allotted land which you assigned to us! ^20:12Our God, will you not judge them? For we are powerless against this huge army that attacks us! We don’t know what we should do; we look to you for help.”²²

Read in Logos

2 Chronicles 20:12: O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you…

Footnotes

5 Heb “and he set his face to seek the Lord.”
6 The words “the people of” are supplied in the translation for clarity. The Hebrew text uses the name “Judah” by metonymy for the people of Judah.
7 Heb “to seek from the Lord.” The verb here (בָּקַשׁ, baqash) is different from the one translated “seek” in v. 3 (דָּרַשׁ, darash).
8 Heb “to seek the Lord.” The verb here (ָָבּקַשׁ, baqash) is different from the one translated “seek” in v. 3 (דָּרַשׁ, darash).
9 For location see ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .
10 Heb “fathers” (also in v. 33).
11 Heb “are you not God in heaven?” The rhetorical question expects the answer “yes,” resulting in the positive statement “you are the God who lives in heaven” employed in the translation.
12 Heb “did you not drive out?” This is another rhetorical question which expects a positive response; see the note on the word “heaven” in the previous verse.
13 Heb “permanently.”
14 Or perhaps “your covenantal partner.” See Isa 41:8.
15 Or “sanctuary.”
16 Heb “for your name.” The word “name” sometimes refers to one’s reputation or honor (thus the translation here, “to honor you”).
17 Heb “sword.”
18 Heb “for your name is in this house.” The “name” of the Lord sometimes designates the Lord himself, being indistinguishable from the proper name. In this case the temple is referred to as a “house” where the Lord himself can reside.
19 Or “so that you may.”
20 Heb “now, look, the sons of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir.”
21 Heb “whom you did not allow Israel to enter when they came from the land of Egypt.”
22 Heb “for [or “indeed”] upon you are our eyes.”