2 Chronicles 20:1–25

The Prayer of Jehoshaphat

20And it happened that afterward, the Moabites,^a the Ammonites,^b and some of the Meunites^c came against Jehoshaphat for war. ²And they came and reported it to Jehoshaphat, saying, “A great multitude from beyond the sea, from Aram,^d is coming against you. Now behold, they are in Hazazon Tamar” (that is, En Gedi). ³Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek Yahweh. And he called for a fast through all Judah. ⁴And Judah assembled to seek after Yahweh; even from all the cities of Judah they came to seek Yahweh.

⁵Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem in the house of Yahweh before the new courtyard. ⁶And he said, “O Yahweh, God of our ancestors,^e are you not God in heaven? Now you rule in all the kingdoms of the nations, and in your hand are power and might, and there is none who can resist against you. ⁷O, our God, did you yourself not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it to the descendants^f of Abraham your friend forever? ⁸And they lived in it and built for you a sanctuary for your name in it, saying, ⁹‘If disaster, a sword, punishment, disease, or famine come upon us, we shall stand before this house and before you—for your name is in this house—and cry out to you out of our trouble, then you will hear and save us.’ ¹⁰And now, look, the people^g of Moab and Ammon and Mount Seir whom you did not allow Israel to come against when they came from Egypt, from whom they turned aside and did not destroy, ¹¹now behold, they are rewarding us by coming to dispossess us from your possession which you gave us as an inheritance. ¹²O our God, will you not judge them, for there is no power in us before this great multitude that is coming against us. Now we do not know what we shall do, for our eyes are upon you.”

¹³And all Judah was standing before Yahweh, and also their little children, their wives, and their children. ¹⁴Then the Spirit of Yahweh came upon Jahaziel, the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, the Levite from the descendants^h of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly. ¹⁵And he said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat, thus says Yahweh to you: ‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed before this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. ¹⁶Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they are coming up the ascent of Ziz. And you will find them at the end of the valley facing the desert of Jeruel. ¹⁷There will be no need for you to fight in this battle. Take your stand! Stand and see the deliverance of Yahweh among you, O Judah and Jerusalem! Do not fear and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out before them and Yahweh will be with you.’ ” ¹⁸Then Jehoshaphat bowed his faceⁱ down to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before Yahweh to worship Yahweh. ¹⁹Then the Levites, from the Kohathites^j and from the Korahites^k stood up to praise Yahweh the God of Israel with an exceedingly^l loud voice.

God Delivers Judah and Jerusalem

²⁰And they rose up early in the morning and went out to the desert of Tekoa. And when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in Yahweh your God, and you shall be established! Believe in his prophets, and you shall succeed!” ²¹And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed singers to Yahweh who were giving praise to the splendor of his holiness when they went out before the army. And they said, “Give thanks to Yahweh, for his loyal love is everlasting!”

²²And when^m they began with singing and praise, Yahweh set ambushes against the peopleⁿ of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir who were coming against Judah. And they were defeated ²³when the people^o of Ammon and Moab rose up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to destroy and demolish them. And when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, each helped to destroy his comrade.

²⁴And Judah came against the watchtower of the wilderness. And they looked at the crowd, and behold, corpses were lying on the ground. There was none who had escaped. ²⁵When Jehoshaphat came with his people to plunder their booty, they found among them in abundance possessions, corpses, and precious items. And they took plunder for themselves until they could carry no more.^p And they were three days in plundering the booty, for it was abundant.