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2 Chronicles 20 :: New International Version (NIV)

Jehoshaphat Defeats Moab and Ammon

2Ch 20:1

2Ch 20:1After this, the Moabites and Ammonites with some of the Meunites[fn] came to wage war against Jehoshaphat.

2Ch 20:2

2Ch 20:2Some people came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast army is coming against you from Edom,[fn] from the other side of the Dead Sea. It is already in Hazezon Tamar” (that is, En Gedi).

2Ch 20:3

2Ch 20:3Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the LORD, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah.

2Ch 20:4

2Ch 20:4The people of Judah came together to seek help from the LORD; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him.

2Ch 20:5

2Ch 20:5Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of the LORD in the front of the new courtyard

2Ch 20:6

2Ch 20:6and said: “LORD, the God of our ancestors, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you.

2Ch 20:7

2Ch 20:7Our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend?

2Ch 20:8

2Ch 20:8They have lived in it and have built in it a sanctuary for your Name, saying,

2Ch 20:9

2Ch 20:9‘If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague or famine, 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.’

2Ch 20:10

2Ch 20:10“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; so they turned away from them and did not destroy them.

2Ch 20:11

2Ch 20:11See how they are repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession you gave us as an inheritance.

2Ch 20:12

2Ch 20:12Our God, will you not judge them? 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.”

2Ch 20:13

2Ch 20:13All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the LORD.

2Ch 20:14

2Ch 20:14Then the Spirit of the LORD came on Jahaziel son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite and descendant of Asaph, as he stood in the assembly.

2Ch 20:15

2Ch 20:15He 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 because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.

2Ch 20:16

2Ch 20:16Tomorrow 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.

2Ch 20:17

2Ch 20:17You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see 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.’ ”

2Ch 20:18

2Ch 20:18Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the LORD.

2Ch 20:19

2Ch 20:19Then some Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites stood up and praised the LORD, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.

2Ch 20:20

2Ch 20:20Early 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 in the LORD your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.”

2Ch 20:21

2Ch 20:21After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the LORD and to praise him for the splendor of his[fn] holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: “Give thanks to the LORD, for his love endures forever.”

2Ch 20:22

2Ch 20:22As they began to sing and praise, the LORD set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.

2Ch 20:23

2Ch 20:23The Ammonites and Moabites rose up against the men from Mount Seir to destroy and annihilate them. After they finished slaughtering the men from Seir, they helped to destroy one another.

2Ch 20:24

2Ch 20:24When 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.

2Ch 20:25

2Ch 20:25So Jehoshaphat and his men went to carry off their plunder, and they found among them a great amount of equipment and clothing[fn] and also articles of value—more than they could take away. There was so much plunder that it took three days to collect it.

2Ch 20:26

2Ch 20:26On 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[fn] to this day.

2Ch 20:27

2Ch 20:27Then, 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.

2Ch 20:28

2Ch 20:28They entered Jerusalem and went to the temple of the LORD with harps and lyres and trumpets.

2Ch 20:29

2Ch 20:29The fear of God came on all the surrounding kingdoms when they heard how the LORD had fought against the enemies of Israel.

2Ch 20:30

2Ch 20:30And the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, for his God had given him rest on every side.

The End of Jehoshaphat’s Reign

(1Ki 22:41–50 )

2Ch 20:31

2Ch 20:31So 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.

2Ch 20:32

2Ch 20:32He followed the ways of his father Asa and did not stray from them; he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD.

2Ch 20:33

2Ch 20:33The high places, however, were not removed, and the people still had not set their hearts on the God of their ancestors.

2Ch 20:34

2Ch 20:34The other events of Jehoshaphat’s reign, from beginning to end, are written in the annals of Jehu son of Hanani, which are recorded in the book of the kings of Israel.

2Ch 20:35

2Ch 20:35Later, Jehoshaphat king of Judah made an alliance with Ahaziah king of Israel, whose ways were wicked.

2Ch 20:36

2Ch 20:36He agreed with him to construct a fleet of trading ships.[fn] After these were built at Ezion Geber,

2Ch 20:37

2Ch 20:37Eliezer 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 were wrecked and were not able to set sail to trade.[fn]
See the NIV Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).
NIV Footnotes
Some Septuagint manuscripts; Hebrew Ammonites
One Hebrew manuscript; most Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint and Vulgate Aram
Or him with the splendor of
Some Hebrew manuscripts and Vulgate; most Hebrew manuscripts corpses
Berakah means praise.
Hebrew of ships that could go to Tarshish
Hebrew sail for Tarshish
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For more information on this translation, see the NIV Preface.

2 Chronicles Chapter 20 — Additional Translations:

King James Version New King James Version New Living Translation English Standard Version Christian Standard Bible New American Standard Bible 2020 New American Standard Bible 1995 Legacy Standard Bible Amplified Bible New English Translation Revised Standard Version American Standard Version Young's Literal Translation Darby Translation Webster's Bible Hebrew Names Version Latin Vulgate Westminster Leningrad Codex Septuagint Smith Van Dyck Arabic Bible Open New Arabic Version Brenton's English Septuagint Reina Valera 1909 Reina-Valera 1960 Bible in Basic English Chinese Traditional Union Espanol Moderno Korean Holy Bible Louis Segond German Luther Russian Synodal Translation Sagradas Escrituras

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