2 Chronicles 19:1–20:37

When Jehoshaphat king of Judah returned safely to his palace in Jerusalem, ²Jehu^j the seer, the son of Hanani, went out to meet him and said to the king, “Should you help the wicked^k and love^a those who hate the Lord?^l Because of this, the wrath^m of the Lord is on you. ³There is, however, some goodⁿ in you, for you have rid the land of the Asherah poles^o and have set your heart on seeking God.^p”

Jehoshaphat Appoints Judges

⁴Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem, and he went out again among the people from Beersheba to the hill country of Ephraim and turned them back to the Lord, the God of their ancestors. ⁵He appointed judges^q in the land, in each of the fortified cities of Judah. ⁶He told them, “Consider carefully what you do,^r because you are not judging for mere mortals^s but for the Lord, who is with you whenever you give a verdict. ⁷Now let the fear of the Lord be on you. Judge carefully, for with the Lord our God there is no injustice^t or partiality^u or bribery.”

⁸In Jerusalem also, Jehoshaphat appointed some of the Levites,^v priests^w and heads of Israelite families to administer^x the law of the Lord and to settle disputes. And they lived in Jerusalem. ⁹He gave them these orders: “You must serve faithfully and wholeheartedly in the fear of the Lord. ¹⁰In every case that comes before you from your people who live in the cities—whether bloodshed or other concerns of the law, commands, decrees or regulations—you are to warn them not to sin against the Lord;^y otherwise his wrath will come on you and your people. Do this, and you will not sin.

¹¹“Amariah the chief priest will be over you in any matter concerning the Lord, and Zebadiah son of Ishmael, the leader of the tribe of Judah, will be over you in any matter concerning the king, and the Levites will serve as officials before you. Act with courage,^z and may the Lord be with those who do well.”

Jehoshaphat Defeats Moab and Ammon

20After this, the Moabites^a and Ammonites with some of the Meunites^ab came to wage war against Jehoshaphat.

²Some people came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast army^c is coming against you from Edom,^b from the other side of the Dead Sea. It is already in Hazezon Tamar^d” (that is, En Gedi).^{e 3}Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast^f for all Judah. ⁴The people of Judah^g came together to seek help from the Lord; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him.

⁵Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of the Lord in the front of the new courtyard ⁶and said:

“Lord, the God of our ancestors,^h are you not the God who is in heaven?ⁱ You rule over all the kingdoms^j of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you.^{k 7}Our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land^l before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend?^{m 8}They have lived in it and have built in it a sanctuaryⁿ for your Name, saying, ⁹‘If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague or famine,^o we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.’

¹⁰“But now here are men from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, whose territory you would not allow Israel to invade when they came from Egypt;^p so they turned away from them and did not destroy them. ¹¹See how they are repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession^q you gave us as an inheritance. ¹²Our God, will you not judge them?^r For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.^s”

¹³All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the Lord.

¹⁴Then the Spirit^t of the Lord came on Jahaziel son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah,^u a Levite and descendant of Asaph, as he stood in the assembly.

¹⁵He said: “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged^v because of this vast army. For the battle^w is not yours, but God’s. ¹⁶Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel. ¹⁷You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see^x the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.’ ”

¹⁸Jehoshaphat bowed down^y with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the Lord. ¹⁹Then some Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites stood up and praised the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.

²⁰Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith^z in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.^a” ²¹After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his^c holiness^b as they went out at the head of the army, saying:

“Give thanks to the Lord,

for his love endures forever.”^c

²²As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes^d against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated. ²³The Ammonites^e and Moabites rose up against the men from Mount Seir^f to destroy and annihilate them. After they finished slaughtering the men from Seir, they helped to destroy one another.^g

²⁴When the men of Judah came to the place that overlooks the desert and looked toward the vast army, they saw only dead bodies lying on the ground; no one had escaped. ²⁵So Jehoshaphat and his men went to carry off their plunder, and they found among them a great amount of equipment and clothing^d and also articles of value—more than they could take away. There was so much plunder that it took three days to collect it. ²⁶On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Berakah, where they praised the Lord. This is why it is called the Valley of Berakah^e to this day.

²⁷Then, led by Jehoshaphat, all the men of Judah and Jerusalem returned joyfully to Jerusalem, for the Lord had given them cause to rejoice over their enemies. ²⁸They entered Jerusalem and went to the temple of the Lord with harps and lyres and trumpets.

²⁹The fear^h of God came on all the surrounding kingdoms when they heard how the Lord had foughtⁱ against the enemies of Israel. ³⁰And the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, for his God had given him rest^j on every side.

The End of Jehoshaphat’s Reign

20:31–21:1pp—1Ki 22:41–50

³¹So Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he became king of Judah, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-five years. His mother’s name was Azubah daughter of Shilhi. ³²He followed the ways of his father Asa and did not stray from them; he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. ³³The high places,^k however, were not removed, and the people still had not set their hearts on the God of their ancestors.

³⁴The other events of Jehoshaphat’s reign, from beginning to end, are written in the annals of Jehu^l son of Hanani, which are recorded in the book of the kings of Israel.

³⁵Later, Jehoshaphat king of Judah made an alliance^m with Ahaziah king of Israel, whose ways were wicked.^{n 36}He agreed with him to construct a fleet of trading ships.^f After these were built at Ezion Geber, ³⁷Eliezer son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you have made an alliance with Ahaziah, the Lord will destroy what you have made.” The ships^o were wrecked and were not able to set sail to trade.^g