2 Chronicles 20–21

War against Eastern Enemies

20After this, the Moabites and Ammonites, together with some of the Meunites, ^rscame to fight against Jehoshaphat. ²People came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast number from beyond the Dead Sea and from Edom ^thas come to fight against you; they are already in Hazazon-tamar” ^u(that is, En-gedi). ³Jehoshaphat was afraid, and he resolved ^vto seek the Lord. Then he proclaimed a fast ^wfor all Judah, ⁴who gathered to seek the Lord. They even came from all the cities of Judah to seek Him.

Jehoshaphat’s Prayer

⁵Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem in the Lord’s temple before the new courtyard. ⁶He said:

Yahweh, the God of our ancestors, are You not the God who is in heaven, ^xand do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations? ^yPower and might are in Your hand, and no one can stand against You. ⁷Are You not our God who drove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel ^zand who gave it forever to the descendants of Abraham ^aYour friend? ⁸They have lived in the land and have built You a sanctuary in it for Your name and have said, ⁹“If disaster comes on us—sword or judgment, pestilence or famine ^b—we will stand before this temple and before You, for Your name is in this temple. ^cWe will cry out to You because of our distress, and You will hear and deliver.”

¹⁰Now here are the Ammonites, Moabites, and the inhabitants of Mount Seir. ^dYou did not let Israel invade them when Israel came out of the land of Egypt, but Israel turned away from them and did not destroy them. ^e11Look how they repay us by coming to drive us out of Your possession that You gave us as an inheritance. ¹²Our God, will You not judge them? ^fFor we are powerless before this vast number that comes to fight against us. We do not know what to do, but we look to You. ^gh

God’s Answer

¹³All Judah was standing before the Lord with their infants, their wives, and their children. ¹⁴In the middle of the congregation, the Spirit of the Lord came on ⁱJahaziel (son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite from Asaph’s descendants), ¹⁵and he said, “Listen carefully, all Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat. This is what the Lord says: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast number, ^jfor the battle is not yours, but God’s. ^k16Tomorrow, go down against them. You will see them coming up the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the valley facing the Wilderness of Jeruel. ¹⁷You do not have to fight this battle. Position yourselves, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord. ^lHe is with you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid or discouraged. ^mTomorrow, go out to face them, for Yahweh is with you.’ ” ⁿ

¹⁸Then Jehoshaphat bowed with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord to worship Him. ^o19Then the Levites from the sons of the Kohathites and the Korahites ^pstood up to praise the Lord God of Israel shouting with a loud voice.

Victory and Plunder

²⁰In the morning they got up early and went out to the wilderness of Tekoa. As they were about to go out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem. Believe in Yahweh your God, and you will be established; ^qbelieve in His prophets, and you will succeed.” ²¹Then he consulted with the people and appointed some to sing for the Lord and some to praise the splendor of His holiness. ^rWhen they went out in front of the armed forces, they kept singing: ^s

Give thanks to the Lord,

for His faithful love endures forever. ^t

²²The moment they began their shouts and praises, the Lord set an ambush ^uagainst the Ammonites, Moabites, and the inhabitants of Mount Seir who came to fight against Judah, and they were defeated. ²³The Ammonites and Moabites turned against the inhabitants of Mount Seir and completely annihilated them. ^vWhen they had finished with the inhabitants of Seir, they helped destroy each other. ^w

²⁴When Judah came to a place overlooking the wilderness, they looked for the large army, but there were only corpses lying on the ground; nobody had escaped. ²⁵Then Jehoshaphat and his people went to gather the plunder. They found among them ^xan abundance of goods on the bodies ^yand valuable items. So they stripped them until nobody could carry any more. They were gathering the plunder for three days because there was so much. ²⁶They assembled in the Valley of Beracah ^zon the fourth day, for there they praised the Lord. Therefore, that place is still called the Valley of Beracah today.

²⁷Then all the men of Judah and Jerusalem turned back with Jehoshaphat their leader, returning joyfully to Jerusalem, for the Lord enabled them to rejoice over their enemies. ²⁸So they came into Jerusalem to the Lord’s temple with harps, lyres, and trumpets.

²⁹The terror of God ^awas on all the kingdoms of the lands when they heard that Yahweh had fought against the enemies of Israel. ³⁰Then Jehoshaphat’s kingdom was quiet, for his God gave him rest on every side. ^b

Summary of Jehoshaphat’s Reign

³¹Jehoshaphat became king over Judah. ^cHe was 35 years old when he became king and reigned 25 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Azubah daughter of Shilhi. ³²He walked in the way of Asa his father; he did not turn away from it but did what was right in the Lord’s sight. ³³However, the high places were not taken away; ^dthe people had not yet set their hearts on the God of their ancestors. ^e

³⁴The rest of the events of Jehoshaphat’s reign from beginning to end are written in the Events of Jehu ^fson of Hanani, which is recorded in the Book of Israel’s Kings. ^g

Jehoshaphat’s Fleet of Ships

³⁵After this, ^hJudah’s King Jehoshaphat made an alliance with Israel’s King Ahaziah, who was guilty of wrongdoing. ³⁶Jehoshaphat formed an alliance with him to make ships to go to Tarshish, ⁱand they made the ships in Ezion-geber. ³⁷Then Eliezer son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you formed an alliance with Ahaziah, the Lord has broken up what you have made.” So the ships were wrecked and were not able to go to Tarshish.

Jehoram Becomes King Over Judah

21Jehoshaphat rested with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. His son Jehoram ^jbecame king in his place. ^k2He had brothers, sons of Jehoshaphat: Azariah, Jehiel, Zechariah, Azariah, Michael, and Shephatiah; all these were the sons of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. ^l3Their father had given them many gifts of silver, gold, and valuable things, along with fortified cities ^min Judah, but he gave the kingdom to Jehoram because he was the firstborn. ⁴When Jehoram had established himself over his father’s kingdom, he strengthened his position by killing with the sword all his brothers as well as some of the princes of Israel.

Judah’s King Jehoram

⁵Jehoram ⁿwas 32 years old when he became king and reigned eight years in Jerusalem. ⁶He walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, ^ofor Ahab’s daughter was his wife. ^pHe did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, ⁷but because of the covenant the Lord had made with David, He was unwilling to destroy the house of David since the Lord had promised ^qto give a lamp ^rto David and to his sons forever.

⁸During Jehoram’s reign, Edom rebelled against Judah’s domination and appointed their own king. ⁹So Jehoram crossed into Edom with his commanders and all his chariots. Then at night he set out to attack the Edomites who had surrounded him and the chariot commanders. ¹⁰And now Edom is still in rebellion against Judah’s domination today. Libnah also rebelled at that time against his domination because he had abandoned Yahweh, the God of his ancestors. ¹¹Jehoram also built high places ^sin the hills ^tof Judah, and he caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to prostitute themselves, ^uand he led Judah astray.

Elijah’s Letter to Jehoram

¹²Then a letter came to Jehoram from Elijah the prophet, saying:

This is what Yahweh, the God of your ancestor David says: “Because you have not walked in the ways of your father Jehoshaphat ^vor in the ways of Asa king of Judah ^w13but have walked in the way of the kings of Israel, ^xhave caused Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to prostitute themselves like the house of Ahab ^yprostituted itself, and also have killed your brothers, ^zyour father’s family, who were better than you, ¹⁴Yahweh is now about to strike your people, your sons, your wives, and all your possessions with a horrible affliction. ¹⁵You yourself will be struck with many illnesses, including a disease of the intestines, until your intestines come out day after day because of the disease.” ^a

Jehoram’s Last Days

¹⁶The Lord put it into the mind of the Philistines and the Arabs ^bwho live near the Cushites to attack Jehoram. ^c17So they went to war against Judah and invaded it. They carried off all the possessions found in the king’s palace and also his sons and wives; not a son was left to him except Jehoahaz, ^dehis youngest son.

¹⁸After all these things, the Lord afflicted him in his intestines with an incurable disease. ¹⁹This continued day after day until two full years passed. Then his intestines came out because of his disease, and he died from severe ^fillnesses. But his people did not hold a fire in his honor like the fire in honor of his fathers. ^g

²⁰Jehoram ^hwas 32 years old when he became king; he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. He died to no one’s regret ^ijand was buried in the city of David but not in the tombs of the kings. ^k