2 Chronicles 20:5–17

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