Defeat of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir
2 Chronicles 20, verse 1. After this, the sons of Moab and the sons of Ammon and others from the Meunites came to battle against Jehoshaphat. 2 Chronicles 20, verse 2. And some came and told Jehoshaphat, saying, “A great multitude has come against you from beyond the sea, from Syria. They are in Hazazon Tamar” (which is En Gedi). 2 Chronicles 20, verse 3. Jehoshaphat was afraid and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. 2 Chronicles 20, verse 4. So Judah gathered to seek the Lord, and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord. 2 Chronicles 20, verse 5. Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah in Jerusalem, before the new court in the house of the Lord, 2 Chronicles 20, verse 6. and said, “Lord God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might so that no one is able to withstand You? 2 Chronicles 20, verse 7. Are You not the Lord who drove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel and gave it to the seed of Abraham Your friend forever? 2 Chronicles 20, verse 8. And in it they settled and built You a sanctuary in it to Your name, saying, 2 Chronicles 20, verse 9. ‘If disaster comes upon us, whether sword, judgment, death, or famine, we will stand before this house and before You, for Your name is in this house. It cries out to You in our affliction, and You will hear and save.’ 2 Chronicles 20, verse 10. “Here are the sons of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, whom You would not let Israel capture when they came out of the land of Egypt; they turned from them and did not destroy them. 2 Chronicles 20, verse 11. Now they are here, attempting to throw us out of the inheritance You gave us. 2 Chronicles 20, verse 12. Lord our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude coming against us. We do not know what to do to them, but our eyes are upon You.” 2 Chronicles 20, verse 13. Now all Judah stood before the Lord, with their wives and their children. 2 Chronicles 20, verse 14. And the Spirit of the Lord came 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, in the midst of the assembly. 2 Chronicles 20, verse 15. And he said, “Listen, King Jehoshaphat, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Thus says the Lord to you: ‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God's. 2 Chronicles 20, verse 16. Go down against them tomorrow. They will surely come up by the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the river before the Desert of Jeruel. 2 Chronicles 20, verse 17. You will not need to fight in this battle. Understand that the salvation of the Lord is with you, Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed. Go out against them tomorrow, for the Lord is with you.” 2 Chronicles 20, verse 18. And Jehoshaphat bowed with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the Lord and worshiped Him. 2 Chronicles 20, verse 19. And the Levites of the sons of Kohath and the sons of Korah stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with voices loud and high. 2 Chronicles 20, verse 20. So they rose early in the morning and went to the Desert of Tekoa. And as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and cried out and said, “Hear me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: trust in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; trust His prophet and you shall prosper.” 2 Chronicles 20, verse 21. And he consulted with the people, and appointed singers and those who should confess and praise the beauty of holiness. And they went out before the army and said, “Give thanks to the Lord, for His mercy endures forever.” 2 Chronicles 20, verse 22. Now when they began to sing and to give praise, the Lord allowed the sons of Ammon to fight against Moab and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated. 2 Chronicles 20, verse 23. For the sons of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir and utterly killed and destroyed them. And when they had killed the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another. 2 Chronicles 20, verse 24. So when Judah came to a place overlooking the desert, they saw the multitude, and there were all the dead bodies fallen on the earth. No one had escaped. 2 Chronicles 20, verse 25. When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away their spoil, they found a great deal of cattle and baggage and spoils and precious articles, which they stripped off for themselves, and they spent three days gathering the spoil because there was so much. 2 Chronicles 20, verse 26. And on the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Blessing, for there they blessed the Lord. That is why that place has been called the Valley of Blessing until this day. 2 Chronicles 20, verse 27. Then every man of Judah returned to Jerusalem with Jehoshaphat in front of them with great joy, for the Lord had made them rejoice over their enemies. 2 Chronicles 20, verse 28. So they came to Jerusalem to the house of the Lord with stringed instruments and harps and trumpets. 2 Chronicles 20, verse 29. And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of the land when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. 2 Chronicles 20, verse 30. Then the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his God gave him rest all around.
King Jehoshaphat's Reign Is Over
2 Chronicles 20, verse 31. So Jehoshaphat was king over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned for twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. 2 Chronicles 20, verse 32. And he walked in the ways of his father Asa and did not turn aside from them, doing right in the sight of the Lord. 2 Chronicles 20, verse 33. But the high places were not taken away, for the people did not direct their hearts to the God of their fathers. 2 Chronicles 20, verse 34. Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, from beginning to end, are written in the book of Jehu the son of Hanani, who wrote them down in the Book of the Kings of Israel. 2 Chronicles 20, verse 35. After this Jehoshaphat king of Judah allied himself with Ahaziah the king of Israel, who acted most wickedly. 2 Chronicles 20, verse 36. He allied himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish, and they made the ships in Ezion Geber. 2 Chronicles 20, verse 37. But Eliezer the son of Dodavah of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you allied yourself with Ahaziah, the Lord will destroy your work, wreck your ships, and Ahaziah will be unable to go to Tarshish.”