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CHAPTER 20
1 After these things the sons of Moab, and the sons of Ammon, and with them Idumeans, were gathered together, and they came to Jehosh-aphat, for to fight against him.
2 And messengers came, and showed this to Jehoshaphat, saying, A great multitude of those places that be beyond the sea, and of Syria, is come against thee; and lo! they stand together in Hazazontamar, which is Engedi.
3 Forsooth Jehoshaphat was afeared by dread, and gave himself all for to pray the Lord, and preached fasting to all Judah.
4 And Judah was gathered together for to pray the Lord, and also all men came from their cities for to beseech him.
5 And when Jehoshaphat had stood in the midst of the company of Judah and of Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new large place of the temple,
6 he said, Lord God of our fathers, thou art God in heaven, and thou art Lord of all realms of folks; strength and power be in thine hand, and none may against-stand thee.
7 Whether not thou, our God, hast slain all the dwellers of this land before thy people Israel, and hast given it to the seed of Abraham, thy friend, with-out end?
8 And they dwelled therein, and builded therein a saintuary to thy name, and said,
9 If evils come [up] on us, the sword of doom, pestilence, or hunger, we shall stand before this house without end in thy sight, in which house thy name is called, and we shall cry to thee in our tribulations; and thou shalt hear us, and shalt make us safe.
10 Now therefore lo! the sons of Ammon, and of Moab, and the hill of Seir, by whom thou grantedest not to the sons of Israel for to pass through their lands, when they went out of Egypt, but they bowed away from them, and killed not them,
11 but they do on the contrary, and endeavour to cast us out of the possession, which thou, our God, hast given to us;
12 therefore whether thou, Lord, shalt not deem them? Truly in us is not so great strength, that we may against-stand this multitude, that falleth in upon us; but since we know not what we owe to do, we, the residue, have this only, that we dress our eyes to thee.
13 And all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little children, and their wives, and with their free children.
14 And Jahaziel, the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, was a deacon [or Levite], and of the sons of Asaph, upon whom the Spirit of the Lord was made in the midst of the company,
15 and he said, All Judah, and ye that dwell in Jerusalem, and thou, king Jehoshaphat, perceive ye, or taketh heed, The Lord saith these things to you, Do not ye dread, neither be ye afeared of this multitude, for it is not your battle, but God’s battle.
16 Tomorrow ye shall go up against them; for they shall go up by the side of the hill, called Ziz by name, and ye shall find them in the height of the strand [or stream], that is against the wilderness of Jeruel.
17 For it shall not be ye, that shall fight; but only stand ye trustily, and ye shall see the help of the Lord upon you. O! Judah and Jerusalem, do not ye dread, neither be ye afeared; tomorrow ye shall go out against them, and the Lord shall be with you.
18 Therefore Jehoshaphat, and Judah, and all the dwellers of Jerusalem, fell lowly upon the earth before the Lord, and worshipped him.
19 And the deacons [or Levites] of the sons of Kohath, and of the sons of Korah, praised the Lord God of Israel with [a] great voice on high.
20 And when upon the morrow they had risen early, they went out by the desert of Tekoa; and when they had gone forth, Jehoshaphat stood in the midst of them, and said, Judah, and all the dwellers of Jerusalem, hear ye me; believe ye in the Lord your God, and ye shall be secure; believe ye to his prophets, and all prosperities shall come to you.
21 And he gave counsel to the people, and he ordained the singers of the Lord, that they should praise him in their companies, and that they should go before the host, and say with according voice, Acknowledge ye to the Lord, for he is good; for his mercy is without end.
22 And when they began to sing praisings, the Lord turned the ambush-ments of them against themselves, that is, of the sons of Ammon, and of Moab, and of the hill of Seir, which went out to fight against Judah; and they were slain.
23 For why the sons of Ammon and of Moab rose together against the dwellers of the hill of Seir, to slay, and to do away them; and when they had done this thing in work, they were then also turned against them-selves, and they fell down together by wounds, each slaying other.
24 Certainly when Judah was come to the den, that beholdeth, or is over against, the wilderness, he saw afar all the large country full of dead bodies, and that none was left, that might escape death.
25 Therefore Jehoshaphat came, and all the people with him, to draw away the spoils of [the] dead men, and they found among the dead bodies diverse appurtenance of household, and clothes, and full precious vessels; and they ravished, or took those things away, in diverse manners, so that they might not bear all things, neither they might take away the spoils by three days, for the greatness of [the] prey.
26 Soothly in the fourth day they were gathered together in the valley of Blessing; for-thy that they blessed the Lord there, they called that place the valley of Blessing, unto this present day.
27 And each man of Judah turned again, and the dwellers of Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat went before them, into Jerusalem with great gladness; for the Lord God had given to them joy of their enemies.
28 And they entered into Jerusalem with psalteries, and harps, and trumps, into the house of the Lord.
29 Forsooth the dread of the Lord felled [or fell] on all the realms of lands, when they had heard, that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel.
30 And the realm of Jehoshaphat rested from war; and the Lord gave peace to him all about.
31 And Jehoshaphat reigned upon Judah; and he was of five and thirty years, when he began to reign; and he reigned five and twenty years in Jerusalem; and the name of his mother was Azubah, the daughter of Shilhi.
32 And he went in the way of Asa his father, and bowed not from it, and he did whatever things were pleasant before the Lord.
33 Nevertheless he did not away the high places; and yet the people had not dressed their heart to the Lord God of their fathers.
34 Forsooth the residue of the former and the last deeds of Jehoshaphat be written in the book of Jehu, the son of Hanani, which he ordained in the book of [the] kings of Israel.
35 After these things Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, made friendships with Ahaziah, king of Israel, whose works were full evil or most evil;
36 and he was partner to him, and they made ships, which should go into Tarshish; and they made one ship to go into Eziongaber.
37 And Eliezer, the son of Dodavah, of Mareshah, prophesied to Jehosh-aphat, and said, For thou hast had bond of peace with Ahaziah, the Lord hath destroyed thy works; and the ships be broken, and [they] might not go into Tarshish.

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© 2001,2010,2011,2012,2013,2015 Terry Noble