2 Chronicles, Chapter 20:

Verses from 2 Chronicles, Chapter 20 of the book of the Bible.

Jehoshaphat defeats Moab and Ammon

• 1. After this, the Moabites, Ammonites, and some of the Meunites came to war against Jehoshaphat.
• 2. They informed Jehoshaphat: “A large crowd is coming against you from Edom, on the other side of the Dead Sea. They are already in Hazazom-Tamar, which is En-Gedi.”
• 3. Then Jehoshaphat was alarmed and decided to seek the Lord, proclaiming a fast throughout the kingdom of Judah.
• 4. The people of Judah gathered together to seek help from the Lord, coming from all the cities of Judah.
• 5. Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the temple of the Lord, in front of the new courtyard,
• 6. and prayed: “O Lord, God of our ancestors, are you not the God of heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hands are power and strength, and there is no one who can resist you.
• 7. O our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it to the descendants of Abraham your friend forever?
• 8. They dwelt there and built you a sanctuary in honor of your name, saying:
• 9. 'If any evil comes upon us, sword, judgment, pestilence or famine, we will come before this house and before you, for your name is in this house, and we will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and you will save'.
• 10. Now, behold, the children of Ammon, of Moab, and of the mountains of Seir, whom you did not allow Israel to invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, for they turned away from it and did not destroy them,
• 11. they come to reward us, coming to expel us from the land you gave us as an inheritance.
• 12. O our God, will you not judge them? For in us there is no strength to resist this great army that comes against us. We don’t know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”
• 13. All Judah stood before the Lord, with their children, their wives, and their children.
• 14. Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel, son of Zechariah, grandson of Benaiah, great-grandson of Jeiel, and great-great-grandson of Mattaniah, a Levite and descendant of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly.
• 15. And he said, “Give ear, all Judah, and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, O King Jehoshaphat! This is what the Lord says to you: 'Do not be afraid or dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God's.
• 16. Tomorrow they will descend against them; behold, they will go up the slope of Ziz, and you will meet them at the end of the valley, before the wilderness of Jeruel.
• 17. You will not have to fight in this battle; Take your stand, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed; Go out tomorrow against them, for the Lord is with you' “.
• 18. Then Jehoshaphat fell on his face, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem also fell down before the Lord and worshiped him.
• 19. And the Levites, descendants of the Kohathites and the Korahites, rose up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a loud voice.
• 20. Early in the morning, they left for the Tekoa desert. As they left, Jehoshaphat exhorted them: “Listen to me, O Judah and residents of Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be safe; believe in his prophets and you will prosper.”
• 21. After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed some to sing to the Lord and praise him for his holiness, as they went at the head of the army, singing: “Give thanks to the Lord, for his mercy endures forever.”
• 22. When they began to sing praises, the Lord laid ambushes against the children of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who came against Judah, and were defeated.
• 23. The Ammonites and Moabites rose up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, to destroy and exterminate them; and when they had finished destroying them, they helped to destroy each other.
• 24. When Judah arrived at the observation point of the desert and looked at the crowd, behold, they were just dead bodies lying on the ground; not a single one escaped.
• 25. Then Jehoshaphat and his people went to plunder the spoils among the corpses, and found among them goods, precious clothes and valuable objects, so much so that they could not carry everything; there was more than they could take. They spent three days plundering the spoils, because there was a lot.
• 26. On the fourth day, they gathered together in the valley of Beracah, where they praised the Lord. That's why they called that place Vale de Beraca, to this day.
• 27. Then all the men of Judah and Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat at their head, returned to Jerusalem joyfully, because the Lord had given them joy by delivering them from their enemies.
• 28. They entered Jerusalem, into the house of the Lord, with the sound of harps, lyres and trumpets.
• 29. And the fear of God came upon all the kingdoms of the earth, when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel.
• 30. So the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, because his God gave him rest on every side.

The end of Jehoshaphat's kingdom

• 31. Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah, and was thirty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Azuba, daughter of Sili.
• 32. He walked in the way of Asa his father, and did not depart from it, doing what was right in the eyes of the Lord.
• 33. However, the high places were not taken away; the people had not yet prepared their hearts for the God of their fathers.
• 34. The rest of Jehoshaphat's acts, from the beginning to the end, are written in the Book of Jehu, son of Hanani, which was included in the Book of the Kings of Israel.
• 35. After this, Jehoshaphat king of Judah made a covenant with Ahaziah king of Israel, who was acting wickedly.
• 36. They united to build merchant ships in Ezion-geber.
• 37. Then Eliezer son of Dodavah, from Mareshah, prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you have made a covenant with Ahaziah, the Lord will destroy the works you have done.” And the ships were wrecked and could not continue their journey for trade.

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