2 Chronicles 20

It came to pass after this also, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them other beside the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle.

1After this, three groups came to fight King Jehoshaphat. They were the Moabites, the Ammonites, and some Meunites.

2Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea on this side Syria; and, behold, they be in Hazazontamar, which is Engedi.

2Some men came and told Jehoshaphat the news. They said, "A huge army is coming against you from Edom. They have crossed the Sea. They are already at Hazazon-tamar, the place called En-gedi."

3And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.

3Jehoshaphat was afraid. He decided to ask the LORD for help. He told everyone in Judah to fast. That means going without food while praying.

4And Judah gathered themselves together, to ask help of the LORD: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD.

4So the people of Judah came together to ask the LORD for help. They came from every town in Judah to seek him.

5And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court,

5Jehoshaphat stood up in front of the crowd. They were in the LORD's house in Jerusalem, by the new courtyard.

6And said, O LORD God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee?

6He said, "LORD, God of our fathers, you are the God in heaven. You rule over every kingdom on earth. You hold all power and strength. No one can stand against you."

7Art not thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever?

7"You are our God. You pushed out the people who lived in this land. You gave the land to your people Israel. You gave it forever to the family of Abraham, your friend."

8And they dwelt therein, and have built thee a sanctuary therein for thy name, saying,

8"They have lived here ever since. They built a holy house here for your name. And they said this:"

9If, when evil cometh upon us, as the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house, and in thy presence, (for thy name is in this house,) and cry unto thee in our affliction, then thou wilt hear and help.

9"If trouble comes to us, we will stand at this house, right in front of you. The trouble might be war, or punishment, or sickness, or hunger. Your name is in this house. We will cry out to you, and you will hear us and save us."

10And now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and mount Seir, whom thou wouldest not let Israel invade, when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them, and destroyed them not;

10"Now look at the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir. Long ago you would not let Israel attack them. That was when Israel came out of Egypt. Israel turned away and did not destroy them."

11Behold, I say, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit.

11"See how they pay us back for that. They are coming to push us out of the land you gave us."

12O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee.

12"Our God, will you not judge them? We are not strong enough to fight this huge army. We do not know what to do. But our eyes are on you."

13And all Judah stood before the LORD, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.

13All the men of Judah stood there before the LORD. Their wives, their children, and their babies stood with them.

14Then upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of the LORD in the midst of the congregation;

14Then the Spirit of the LORD came on a man named Jahaziel. He was standing in the middle of the crowd. He was a Levite, one of the men who served in God's house. He came from Asaph's family. He was the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah.

15And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.

15He said, "Listen, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem. Listen, King Jehoshaphat. Here is what the LORD says. Do not be afraid. Do not lose heart because this army is so big. This battle is not yours. It is God's."

16To morrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel.

16"Tomorrow, march down to meet them. They will come up the road called the Pass of Ziz. You will find them at the end of the valley, near the empty land of Jeruel."

17Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you.

17"You will not need to fight this battle. Take your places and stand still. Watch the LORD save you, people of Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid. Do not lose heart. Go out to meet them tomorrow. The LORD will be with you."

18And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the LORD, worshipping the LORD.

18Jehoshaphat bowed low with his face to the ground. All the people of Judah and Jerusalem bowed down too. They worshiped the LORD.

19And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites, and of the children of the Korhites, stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with a loud voice on high.

19Then some of the Levites stood up. They were from the families of Kohath and Korah. They praised the LORD, the God of Israel, in a very loud voice.

20And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.

20Early the next morning they set out for the empty land of Tekoa. As they left, Jehoshaphat stood up and spoke. He said, "Listen to me, people of Judah and Jerusalem. Trust the LORD your God, and he will hold you up. Trust his prophets, the men who tell you what God says, and things will go well for you."

21And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever.

21Jehoshaphat talked it over with the people. Then he chose singers to sing to the LORD. They sang about how good and holy he is. They walked out in front of the army, singing, "Thank the LORD. His love lasts forever."

22And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten.

22The moment they began to sing and shout praise, the LORD set traps for the enemy. The men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir were beaten.

23For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another.

23The men of Ammon and Moab turned on the men of Mount Seir. They killed all of them. Then they turned on each other and killed one another too.

24And when Judah came toward the watch tower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped.

24The men of Judah came to a place that looked out over the empty land. They looked for the huge army. All they saw were dead bodies on the ground. No one had escaped.

25And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both riches with the dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away: and they were three days in gathering of the spoil, it was so much.

25Jehoshaphat and his people came to take what the army had left. Among the bodies they found lots of goods and fine jewels. There was more than they could carry. It took them three days to gather it all.

26And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Berachah; for there they blessed the LORD: therefore the name of the same place was called, The valley of Berachah, unto this day.

26On the fourth day they met in the valley of Beracah. There they thanked the LORD. That is why the place is still called the valley of Beracah today.

Note"Beracah" means "blessing" or "thanks." The people named the valley after what they did there.

27Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat in the forefront of them, to go again to Jerusalem with joy; for the LORD had made them to rejoice over their enemies.

27Then all the men of Judah and Jerusalem went back home. Jehoshaphat led the way. They returned to Jerusalem full of joy. The LORD had given them a reason to be glad about their enemies.

28And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries and harps and trumpets unto the house of the LORD.

28They came into Jerusalem and went to the LORD's house. They played harps, lyres, and trumpets.

NoteThe King James Bible says "psalteries and harps." These were stringed instruments, a little like small guitars.

29And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries, when they had heard that the LORD fought against the enemies of Israel.

29All the kingdoms nearby heard what had happened. They heard that the LORD had fought against Israel's enemies. And they were afraid of God.

30So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet: for his God gave him rest round about.

30So Jehoshaphat's kingdom was peaceful. His God gave him rest on every side.

31And Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah: he was thirty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi.

31Jehoshaphat was king over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for twenty-five years. His mother was Azubah, the daughter of Shilhi.

32And he walked in the way of Asa his father, and departed not from it, doing that which was right in the sight of the LORD.

32He lived the way his father Asa had lived. He did not turn away from it. He did what was right in the LORD's eyes.

33Howbeit the high places were not taken away: for as yet the people had not prepared their hearts unto the God of their fathers.

33But the high places were not taken away. The people had not yet given their whole hearts to the God of their fathers.

Note"High places" were altars on hilltops where people offered sacrifices. Kings were supposed to take them down.

34Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Jehu the son of Hanani, who is mentioned in the book of the kings of Israel.

34The other things Jehoshaphat did, from start to finish, are written down. They are in the records of Jehu son of Hanani. Those records are part of the Book of the Kings of Israel.

35And after this did Jehoshaphat king of Judah join himself with Ahaziah king of Israel, who did very wickedly:

35Later, King Jehoshaphat of Judah made a deal with King Ahaziah of Israel. Ahaziah did very wicked things.

36And he joined himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish: and they made the ships in Eziongaber.

36They agreed to build ships to sail to Tarshish. The ships were built at Ezion-geber.

37Then Eliezer the son of Dodavah of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, Because thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah, the LORD hath broken thy works. And the ships were broken, that they were not able to go to Tarshish.

37Then Eliezer son of Dodavah, from Mareshah, spoke against Jehoshaphat as a prophet. He said, "You joined yourself to Ahaziah, so the LORD has wrecked your work." The ships were broken up and never sailed to Tarshish.