2 Chronicles 20

20 ¹Later, Moabites and Ammonites, with some Meunites, came to make war on Jehoshaphat. ²Messengers came and reported to Jehoshaphat, "A vast army comes against you from beyond the Dead Sea, from Edom, already at Hazazon-tamar" (En-gedi). ³Jehoshaphat was afraid, so he set himself to seek our Father, and proclaimed a fast throughout Judah. ⁴Judah gathered to seek our Father; from every town of Judah they came to seek him.

⁵Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in our Father's house, before the new courtyard. ⁶He said: "O our Father, God of our ancestors, are you not our Father in heaven? You rule all kingdoms of nations. Power and might are in your hand; none can stand against you. ⁷Our Father, didn't you drive out this land's people before your people Israel, giving it forever to Abraham your friend's descendants?" ⁸They have lived in it and have built you a sanctuary in it for your name, saying, ⁹if disaster comes on us — sword of judgment, plague, or famine — we'll stand before this house and before you, for your name is in this house, and cry out to you in our distress, and you'll hear and save. ¹⁰Now: Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir — you would not let Israel invade them when they came from Egypt; Israel turned away from them and did not destroy them. ¹¹See how they repay us, coming to drive us from the possession you gave us to inherit. ¹²Our Father, won't you judge them? We're powerless against this vast army coming against us; we don't know what to do, but our eyes are on you.

¹³All Judah stood there before our Father, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.

¹⁴Then our Father's Spirit came on Jahaziel son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite of Asaph's line, amid the assembly.

¹⁵He said: "Listen, all Judah, Jerusalem's residents, and King Jehoshaphat. This is what our Father says to you: Do not fear or be terrified by this vast army—the battle isn't yours but our Father's. ¹⁶Tomorrow go down against them: they're climbing the Ziz ascent; you'll find them at the valley's end, facing the Jeruel wilderness. ¹⁷You won't need to fight this battle. Take your places, stand firm, and watch our Father rescue you, Judah and Jerusalem. Don't fear or lose heart. March out against them tomorrow, for our Father is with you.'"

¹⁸Jehoshaphat bowed face-down, and all Judah and Jerusalem's people fell in worship before our Father. ¹⁹Then the Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites stood to praise our Father, Israel's God, with a loud voice raised high.

²⁰At dawn they went out to Tekoa's wilderness. As they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Hear me, Judah and people of Jerusalem. Trust your Father and you'll stand firm; trust his prophets and you'll succeed."

²¹After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed singers to our Father to praise his holy splendor, marching ahead of the army: "Give thanks to our Father, for his faithful love endures forever." ²²As they began to sing and praise, our Father set ambushes against the Ammonites, Moabites, and the people of Mount Seir who were attacking Judah, and they were struck down. ²³Ammon and Moab turned against Mount Seir's people to destroy and annihilate them; once Seir's people were finished, Ammon and Moab turned and slaughtered each other.

²⁴When Judah reached the wilderness lookout and looked toward the vast army, they saw only corpses fallen on the ground—no one had escaped. ²⁵Jehoshaphat and his people came to plunder the dead, finding abundant goods, clothing, and valuables — too much to carry, so gathering it took three days.

²⁶On day four, they gathered at the Valley of Beracah and praised our Father there—so it's named Valley of Beracah to this day. ^a a v26 The name Beracah means "blessing" — the valley was named for the praise Judah lifted to our Father there. ²⁷All the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Jehoshaphat leading, returned there with joy, for our Father gave them joy over their enemies. ²⁸They entered Jerusalem with harps, lyres, and trumpets, and went to the house of our Father. ²⁹Fear of our Father fell on all the surrounding kingdoms when they heard our Father fought Israel's enemies. ³⁰So Jehoshaphat's kingdom was at peace, for his Father gave him rest on every side.

A King Who Followed Our Father's Ways

³¹Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah, crowned at thirty-five, twenty-five years in Jerusalem; his mother, Azubah daughter of Shilhi. ³²He walked in his father Asa's ways, never turning aside, doing right in our Father's eyes. ³³Yet the high places stayed; the people still had not set their hearts on their ancestors' God.

³⁴Jehoshaphat's other acts, first to last, are in Jehu son of Hanani's records, found in the Book of Kings of Israel.

³⁵Later Jehoshaphat king of Judah allied with Ahaziah king of Israel, who did evil. ³⁶He joined with him to build a fleet of trading ships to go to Tarshish, built at Ezion-geber. ³⁷Eliezer son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat: "For allying with Ahaziah, our Father broke your work apart." The ships wrecked and couldn't sail to Tarshish.