The Biblical Text

It happened after this that the people of Moab with the people of Ammon, and others with
them besides the Ammonites, came to battle against Jehoshaphat.
2 Then some came and told Jehoshaphat, saying, “A great multitude is coming against you
from beyond the sea, from Syria; and they are in Hazazon Tamar” (which is En Gedi).
3 And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast
throughout all Judah.
4 So Judah gathered together to ask help from the Lord; and from all the cities of Judah
they came to seek the Lord.
5 Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the
Lord, before the new court,
6 and said: “O 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?
7 “Are You not our God, who drove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people
Israel, and gave it to the descendants of Abraham Your friend forever?
8 “And they dwell in it, and have built You a sanctuary in it for Your name, saying,
9 `If disaster comes upon us-- sword, judgment, pestilence, or famine-- we will stand before
this temple and in Your presence (for Your name is in this temple), and cry out to You in
our affliction, and You will hear and save.’
10 “And now, here are the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir-- whom You would not
let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them and
did not destroy them--
11 “here they are, rewarding us by coming to throw us out of Your possession which You
have given us to inherit.
12 “O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude
that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.”
13 Now all Judah, with their little ones, their wives, and their children, stood before the
Lord.
14 Then 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.
15 And he said, “Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King
Jehoshaphat! 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.
16 `Tomorrow go down against them. They will surely come up by the Ascent of Ziz, and you
will find them at the end of the brook before the Wilderness of Jeruel.
17 `You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the
salvation of the Lord, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be
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dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you.”
18 And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the
inhabitants of Jerusalem bowed before the Lord, worshiping the Lord.
19 Then 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 voices loud and high.
20 So they rose early in the morning and went out into the Wilderness of Tekoa; and as they
went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of
Jerusalem: Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His
prophets, and you shall prosper.”
21 And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the
Lord, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and
were saying: “Praise the Lord, for His mercy endures forever.”
22 Now when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against the people of
Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated.
23 For the people of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to
utterly kill and destroy them. And when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir,
they helped to destroy one another.
24 So when Judah came to a place overlooking the wilderness, they looked toward the
multitude; and there were their dead bodies, fallen on the earth. No one had escaped.
25 When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away their spoil, they found among them
an abundance of valuables on the dead bodies, and precious jewelry, which they stripped
off for themselves, more than they could carry away; and they were three days gathering
the spoil because there was so much.
26 And on the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Berachah, for there they blessed
the Lord; therefore the name of that place was called The Valley of Berachah until this
day.
27 Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat in front of
them, to go back to Jerusalem with joy, for the Lord had made them rejoice over their
enemies.
28 So they came to Jerusalem, with stringed instruments and harps and trumpets, to the
house of the Lord.
29 And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries when they heard that the
Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel.
30 Then the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his God gave him rest all around.