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2 Chronicles 20
1599 Geneva Bible
2 Chronicles 20
1599 Geneva Bible
20 3 Jehoshaphat and the people pray unto the Lord. 22 The marvelous victory that the Lord gave him against his enemies. 30 His reign and acts.
1 After this also came the children of Moab and the children of Ammon, and with them of the [a]Ammonites against Jehoshaphat to battle.
2 Then there came that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the [b]Sea, out of Aram: and behold, they be in Hazazon Tamar, which is En Gedi.
3 And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself [c]to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
4 And Judah gathered themselves together to ask counsel of the Lord: they came even out of all the cities of Judah to inquire of the Lord.
5 And Jehoshaphat stood in the Congregation of Judah and Jerusalem in the house of the Lord before the new court,
6 And said, O Lord God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and reignest not thou on all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is power and might, and none is able to withstand thee.
7 Didst not thou our God cast out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and [d]gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend forever?
8 And they dwelt therein, and have built thee a Sanctuary therein for thy Name, saying,
9 (A)If evil come upon us, as the [e]sword of judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and in thy presence (for thy name [f]is in this house) and will cry unto thee in our tribulation, and thou wilt hear and help.
10 And now, behold, the children of (B)Ammon and Moab, and mount Seir, by whom thou wouldest not let Israel go, when they came out of the land of Egypt: but they turned aside from them, and destroyed them not:
11 Behold, I say, they reward us, in coming to cast us out of thine inheritance, which thou hast caused us to inherit:
12 O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for there is no strength in us to stand before this great multitude that cometh against us, neither do we know what to do: but our eyes [g]are toward thee.
13 And all Judah stood [h]before the Lord with their young ones, their wives, and their children.
14 And Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, was there, upon whom came [i]the Spirit of the Lord, in the midst of the Congregation.
15 And he said, Hearken ye all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou, King Jehoshaphat: thus saith the Lord unto you, Fear you not, neither be afraid for this great multitude: for the [j]battle is not yours, but God’s.
16 Tomorrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the cleft of Ziz, and ye shall find them at the end of the brook before the wilderness of Jeruel.
17 Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: (C)stand still, move not, and behold the [k]salvation of the Lord towards you: O Judah, and Jerusalem, fear ye not, neither be afraid: tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you.
18 ¶ Then Jehoshaphat [l]bowed down with his face to the earth, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshipping the Lord.
19 ¶ And the Levites of the children of the Kohathites, and of the children of the Korahites stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with a loud voice on high.
20 And when they arose early in the morning, they went forth to the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they departed, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear ye me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem: put your trust in the Lord your God, and ye shall be assured: believe his [m]Prophets, and ye shall prosper.
21 And when he had consulted with the people, and appointed singers unto the Lord, and them that should praise him that is in the beautiful Sanctuary, in going forth before the men of arms, and saying, [n]Praise ye the Lord, for his mercy lasteth forever.
22 And when they began to shout, and to praise, the Lord laid ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and [o]mount Seir, which were come against Judah, and they slew one another.
23 For the children of Ammon and Moab rose against the inhabitants of mount Seir, to slay and to destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to [p]destroy another.
24 And when Judah came toward Mizpah in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude: and behold, the carcasses were fallen to the earth, and none escaped.
25 And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both of substance and also of bodies laden with precious jewels, which they took for themselves, till they could carry no more: they were three days in gathering of the spoil: for it was much.
26 And in the fourth day they [q]assembled themselves in the valley of Berachah: for there they blessed the Lord: therefore they called the name of that place, The valley of Berachah unto this day.
27 Then every man of Judah and Jerusalem returned with Jehoshaphat their head to go again to Jerusalem with joy: for the Lord had made them to rejoice over their enemies.
28 And they came to Jerusalem with viols, and with harps, and with trumpets, even unto the house of the Lord.
29 And the [r]fear of God was upon all the kingdoms of the earth, when they had heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel.
30 So the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was quiet, and his God gave him rest on every side.
31 ¶ And (D)Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah, and was five and thirty years old, when he began to reign: and reigned five and twenty years in Jerusalem, and his mother’s name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi.
32 And he walked in the way of [s]Asa his father, and departed not there from, doing that which was right in the sight of the Lord.
33 Howbeit the high places were [t]not taken away: for the people had not yet prepared their hearts unto the God of their fathers.
34 Concerning the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Jehu the son of Hanani, which (E)is mentioned in the book of the kings of Israel.
35 ¶ Yet after this did Jehoshaphat king of Judah join himself with Ahaziah king of Israel, who was given to do evil.
36 And he joined with him, to (F)make ships to go to Tarshish: and they made the ships in Ezion Geber.
37 Then Eliezer the son of Dodavah of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, Because thou hast [u]joined thyself with Ahaziah, the Lord hath broken thy works: and the ships were broken, that they were not able to go to Tarshish.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 20:1 That is, which counterfeited the Ammonites in language and apparel. The Hebrews think that they were the Amalekites, but as may appear by the tenth verse they were the Idumeans of mount Seir.
- 2 Chronicles 20:2 Called the dead Sea, where God destroyed the five cities for sin.
- 2 Chronicles 20:3 This declareth what the fear of the godly is, which is as the prick to stir them to prayer, and to depend on the Lord, whereas it moveth the wicked either to seek after worldly means and policies, or else to fall into despair.
- 2 Chronicles 20:7 He groundeth his prayer upon God’s power, whereby he is able to help, and also on his mercy, which he will continue toward his, forasmuch as he hath once chosen them and began to show his graces toward them.
- 2 Chronicles 20:9 Meaning war which cometh by God’s just judgments for our sins.
- 2 Chronicles 20:9 That is, it is here called upon, and thou declarest thy presence and favor.
- 2 Chronicles 20:12 We only put our trust in thee, and wait for our deliverance from heaven.
- 2 Chronicles 20:13 That is, before the Ark of the Covenant.
- 2 Chronicles 20:14 Which was moved by the Spirit of God to prophesy.
- 2 Chronicles 20:15 They fight against God and not against you, therefore he will fight for you.
- 2 Chronicles 20:17 Or, deliverance.
- 2 Chronicles 20:18 Declaring his faith and obedience to the word of the Lord, and giving thanks for the deliverance promised.
- 2 Chronicles 20:20 Give credit to their words and doctrine.
- 2 Chronicles 20:21 This was a Psalm of thanksgiving which they used commonly to sing when they praised the Lord for his benefits, and was made by David, Ps. 136.
- 2 Chronicles 20:22 Meaning, the Idumeans which dwelt in mount Seir.
- 2 Chronicles 20:23 Thus the Lord according to Jehoshaphat’s prayer declared his power, when he delivered his by causing their enemies to kill one another.
- 2 Chronicles 20:26 To give thanks to the Lord for the victory: and therefore the valley was called Berachah, that is, blessing or thanksgiving, which was also called the Valley of Jehoshaphat, Joel 3:2,12, because the Lord judged the enemies according to Jehoshaphat’s prayer.
- 2 Chronicles 20:29 He declareth hereby, that the works of God bring ever comfort or deliverance to his, and fear or destruction to his enemies.
- 2 Chronicles 20:32 Meaning, in his virtues, and those ways wherein he followed God.
- 2 Chronicles 20:33 If the great care and diligence of this good king was not able utterly to abolish all superstition of this people, but that they would still retain theirs, how much less are they able to reform evil, which either have little zeal, or not such as he had: though here he was not to be excused?
- 2 Chronicles 20:37 Thus God would not have his to join in society with idolaters and wicked men.
2 Chronicles 20
New International Version
2 Chronicles 20
New International Version
Jehoshaphat Defeats Moab and Ammon
20 After this, the Moabites(A) and Ammonites with some of the Meunites[a](B) came to wage war against Jehoshaphat.
2 Some 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. 4 The people of Judah(G) came together to seek help from the Lord; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him.
5 Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of the Lord in the front of the new courtyard 6 and 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 sanctuary(N) 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. 11 See how they are repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession(Q) you gave us as an inheritance. 12 Our 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)”
13 All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the Lord.
14 Then 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.
15 He 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. 16 Tomorrow 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. 17 You 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.’”
18 Jehoshaphat bowed down(Y) with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the Lord. 19 Then some Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites stood up and praised the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.
20 Early 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.(AA)” 21 After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his[c] holiness(AB) as they went out at the head of the army, saying:
“Give thanks to the Lord,
for his love endures forever.”(AC)
22 As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes(AD) against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated. 23 The Ammonites(AE) and Moabites rose up against the men from Mount Seir(AF) to destroy and annihilate them. After they finished slaughtering the men from Seir, they helped to destroy one another.(AG)
24 When 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. 25 So 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. 26 On 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.
27 Then, 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. 28 They entered Jerusalem and went to the temple of the Lord with harps and lyres and trumpets.
29 The fear(AH) of God came on all the surrounding kingdoms when they heard how the Lord had fought(AI) against the enemies of Israel. 30 And the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, for his God had given him rest(AJ) on every side.
The End of Jehoshaphat’s Reign(AK)
31 So 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. 32 He followed the ways of his father Asa and did not stray from them; he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. 33 The high places,(AL) however, were not removed, and the people still had not set their hearts on the God of their ancestors.
34 The other events of Jehoshaphat’s reign, from beginning to end, are written in the annals of Jehu(AM) son of Hanani, which are recorded in the book of the kings of Israel.
35 Later, Jehoshaphat king of Judah made an alliance(AN) with Ahaziah king of Israel, whose ways were wicked.(AO) 36 He agreed with him to construct a fleet of trading ships.[f] After these were built at Ezion Geber, 37 Eliezer 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(AP) were wrecked and were not able to set sail to trade.[g]
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 20:1 Some Septuagint manuscripts; Hebrew Ammonites
- 2 Chronicles 20:2 One Hebrew manuscript; most Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint and Vulgate Aram
- 2 Chronicles 20:21 Or him with the splendor of
- 2 Chronicles 20:25 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Vulgate; most Hebrew manuscripts corpses
- 2 Chronicles 20:26 Berakah means praise.
- 2 Chronicles 20:36 Hebrew of ships that could go to Tarshish
- 2 Chronicles 20:37 Hebrew sail for Tarshish
1599 Geneva Bible (GNV) 
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