^20:1Later the Moabites and Ammonites, along with some of the Meunites,¹ attacked Jehoshaphat. ^20:2Messengers² arrived and reported to Jehoshaphat, “A huge army is attacking you from the other side of the Dead Sea,³ from the direction of Edom.⁴ Look, they are in Hazezon Tamar (that is, En Gedi).” ^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

^20:13All the men of Judah²³ were standing before the Lord, along with their infants, wives, and children. ^20:14Then in the midst of the assembly, the Lord’s Spirit came upon Jachaziel son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite and descendant of Asaph. ^20:15He said: “Pay attention, all you people of Judah,²⁴ residents of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat! This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Don’t be afraid and don’t panic²⁵ because of this huge army! For the battle is not yours, but God’s. ^20:16Tomorrow march down against them as²⁶ they come up the Ascent of Ziz. You will find them at the end of the ravine in front of the Desert of Jeruel. ^20:17You will not fight in this battle. Take your positions, stand, and watch the Lord deliver you,²⁷ O Judah and Jerusalem. Don’t be afraid and don’t panic!²⁸ Tomorrow march out toward them; the Lord is with you!’ ”

^20:18Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face toward the ground, and all the people of Judah²⁹ and the residents of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord and worshiped him.³⁰^20:19Then some Levites, from the Kohathites and Korahites, got up and loudly praised the Lord God of Israel.³¹

^20:20Early the next morning they marched out to the Desert of Tekoa. When they were ready to march, Jehoshaphat stood up and said: “Listen to me, you people of Judah³² and residents of Jerusalem! Trust in the Lord your God and you will be safe!³³ Trust in the message of his prophets and you will win.” ^20:21He met³⁴ with the people and appointed musicians to play before the Lord and praise his majestic splendor. As they marched ahead of the warriors they said: “Give thanks to the Lord, for his loyal love endures.”³⁵

^20:22When they began to shout and praise, the Lord suddenly attacked³⁶ the Ammonites, Moabites, and men from Mount Seir³⁷ who were invading Judah, and they were defeated. ^20:23The Ammonites and Moabites attacked the men from Mount Seir³⁸ and annihilated them.³⁹ When they had finished off the men⁴⁰ of Seir, they attacked and destroyed one another.⁴¹^20:24When the men of Judah⁴² arrived at the observation post overlooking the desert and looked at⁴³ the huge army, they saw dead bodies on the ground; there were no survivors! ^20:25Jehoshaphat and his men⁴⁴ went to gather the plunder; they found a huge amount of supplies, clothing⁴⁵ and valuable items. They carried away everything they could.⁴⁶ There was so much plunder, it took them three days to haul it off.⁴⁷

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

1 The Hebrew text has “Ammonites,” but they are mentioned just before this. Most translations, following some of the , read “Meunites” (see 1 Chr 26:7; so , , ).
2 Heb “they”; the implied referent (messengers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 Heb “the Sea”; in context (“from the direction of Edom”) this must refer to the Dead Sea, which has been specified in the translation for clarity (cf. , ).
4 Most Hebrew read “from Aram” (i.e., Syria), but this must be a corruption of “Edom,” which is the reading of the and .
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.”
23 Heb “Judah.” The words “the men of” are supplied in the translation for clarity. The Hebrew text uses the name “Judah” by metonymy for the men of Judah.
24 Heb “all Judah.” The words “you people of” are supplied in the translation for clarity. The Hebrew text uses the name “Judah” by metonymy for the people of Judah. Unlike the previous instance in v. 13 where infants, wives, and children are mentioned separately, this reference appears to include them all.
25 Or perhaps “don’t get discouraged.”
26 Heb “look.”
27 Heb “the deliverance of the Lord with you.”
28 Or perhaps “don’t get discouraged.”
29 Heb “all Judah.” The words “you people of” are supplied in the translation for clarity. See the note on the word “Judah” in v. .
30 Heb “to worship the Lord.”
31 Heb “arose to praise the Lord God of Israel with a very loud voice.”
32 Heb “O Judah.” The words “you people of” are supplied in the translation for clarity. See the note on the word “Judah” in v. .
33 There is a wordplay in the Hebrew text. The Hiphil verb form הַאֲמִינוּ (ha’aminu, “trust”) and the Niphal form תֵאָמֵנוּ (te’amenu, “you will be safe”) come from the same verbal root (אָמַן, ’aman).
34 Or “consulted.”
35 Or “is eternal.”
36 Heb “set ambushers against.” This is probably idiomatic here for launching a surprise attack.
37 Heb “the sons of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir.”
38 Heb “the sons of Ammon and Moab stood against the residents of Mount Seir.”
39 Heb “to annihilate and to destroy.”
40 Heb “residents.”
41 Heb “they helped, each one his fellow, for destruction.” The verb עָזַר (’azar), traditionally understood as the well-attested verb meaning “to help,” is an odd fit in this context. It is possible that it is from a homonymic root, perhaps meaning to “attack.” This root is attested in Ugaritic in a nominal form meaning “young man, warrior, hero.” For a discussion of the proposed root, see II עזר.
42 Heb “Judah.” The words “the men of” are supplied in the translation for clarity. The Hebrew text uses the name “Judah” by metonymy for the men of Judah.
43 Heb “turned toward.”
44 Or “army.”
45 The reads פְגָרִים (fégarim, “corpses”), but this seems odd among a list of plunder. A few medieval Hebrew and the read בְגָדִים (végadim, “clothing”), which fits the context much better.
46 Heb “and they snatched away for themselves so that there was no carrying away.”
47 Heb “and they were three days looting the plunder for it was great.”