2 Chronicles 20

1 After this also, it fortuned that the children of Moab and the children Ammon, & with them other of the Ammonites came against Iehosaphat to battell.

2 And there came some that told Iehosaphat, saying: There commeth a great multitude against thee from the other side of the sea, and out of Syria, and behold they be in Hasason Thamar, which is Engadi.

3 And Iehosaphat feared, & set him selfe to seke the Lorde: and proclaymed fasting throughout all Iuda.

4 And they that were in Iuda gathered the selues together to aske counsel of the Lord: And they came out of al the cities of Iuda, to make intercession to ye lord.

5 And Iehosaphat stoode betweene the congregation of Iuda & Hierusalem in the house of ye Lord before the new court,

6 And sayd: O Lord God of our fathers, art not thou God in heauen, and raignest not thou on all the kingdomes of the Heathen, and in thyne hande is power and might, and there is no man that is able to withstande thee?

7 Art not thou our God, whiche diddest cast out the inhabiters of this lande before thy people Israel, & gauest it to the seede of Abraham thy louer for euer?

8 And they dwelt therin, and haue buylt thee a teple therin for thy name, saying:

9 If euyll come vpon vs, as the sword of iudgement, pestilence or hunger: then, if we stande before this house in thy presence (for thy name is in this house) and crye vnto thee in our tribulation, heare thou, and helpe.

10 And nowe beholde the children of Ammon and Moab, and mount Seir, by whom thou wouldest not let them of Israel go when they came out of the lande of Egypt, but they departed from them, and destroyed them not:

11 See howe they rewarde vs, to come for to cast vs out of thy possession whiche thou hast geuen vs to inherite.

12 O our God, wilt thou not iudge them? for we haue no might against this great companie that commeth against vs: neither wote we what to do, but our eyes be vnto thee.

13 And all Iuda stoode before the Lorde, with their young ones, their wiues, and their children.

14 And there was Iahaziel the sonne of Zacharia, the sonne of Banaia, the sonne of Iehiel, the sonne of Matthania, a Leuite, of the sonnes of Asaph, & vpon hym came the spirite of the Lorde euen in the middes of the congregation:

15 And he sayd, Hearken all Iuda, and ye inhabiters of Hierusalem, and thou king Iehosaphat, thus sayth the Lorde vnto you: Be not afrayd nor faynt hearted by reason of this great multitude: for the battell is not yours, but Gods.

16 To morow go ye downe against them: behold they come vp by the clift of Ziz, and ye shall finde them at the ende of the brooke before the wildernesse of Ieruel

17 Ye shall not neede to fight in this battell: but steppe foorth and stand, and beholde the helpe of the Lorde whiche is with you: feare not, nor let your heartes fayle you O ye of Iuda and of Hierusalem: To morowe go out against them for, the Lord wilbe with you.

18 And Iehosaphat bowed his face to the earth, and all Iuda and the inhabiters of Hierusalem fel before the Lord, worshipping the Lorde.

19 And the Leuites of the children of the Caathites, & of the children of the Corahites, stoode vp to prayse the Lorde God of Israel with a loud voyce on hie.

20 And when they arose early in the morning, they gat them out vnto the wildernesse of Thekoa, and as they went out, Iehosaphat stoode and sayd, Heare me O Iuda, and ye inhabiters of Hierusalem: Put your trust in the Lorde your God, that ye may be founde faythfull: Geue credence to his prophetes, and so shall ye prosper.

21 When he had consulted with the people, and set some to sing vnto the Lorde, and to prayse him in the beautie of holinesse, and to go out before the armie, and to say, Prayse the Lorde, for his mercie lasteth euer.

22 And when they began to shout and to prayse, the Lord layde ambushementes against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, whiche were come against Iuda: And they were ouerthrowen with strokes among theselues.

23 For the children of Ammon and Moab, rose against the inhabiters of mount Seir, and they slue and destroyed them: And when they had made an end of the inhabiters of Seir, euery one helped to destroy another among them selues.

24 And when Iuda came towarde Mispah in the wildernesse, they loked vnto the multitude: and beholde, they were dead carcasses fallen to the earth, and none escaped.

25 And when Iehosaphat and his people came to take away the spoyle of them, they founde among them aboundaunce of goods, rayment, & pleasaunt iewels, which they toke for them selues, more then they could cary away: so that they were three dayes in gathering of the spoyle, it was so much.

26 And the fourth day they assembled in the valley of blessing, for there they blessed the Lord: And therfore they called the name of the same place the valley of blessing, vnto this day.

27 And so all the men of Iuda and Hierusale returned with Iehosaphat their head, for to go againe to Hierusalem with gladnesse: for the Lord had made them to reioyce ouer their enemies.

28 And they came to Hierusalem with psalters and harpes, & shawmes, euen vnto the house of the Lorde.

29 And the feare of God fell on the kingdomes of all landes, when they had heard that the Lorde fought against the enemies of Israel.

30 And so the realme of Iehosaphat was in tranquillitie, and his God gaue him rest on euery side.

31 And Iehosaphat raigned vpon Iuda, and was thirtie & fiue yeres olde when he began to raigne, & he raigned twentie and fiue yeres in Hierusalem: And his mothers name was Azuba the daughter of Silhi.

32 And he walked in the way of Asa his father, and bowed not therfrom, doyng that which was right in the sight of the Lorde.

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

34 The rest of the actes of Iehosaphat first and last, behold they are written among the sayinges of Iehu the sonne of Hanani, which noted them in the booke of the kinges of Israel.

35 After this did Iehosaphat king of Iuda ioyne himselfe with Ahaziahu king of Israel, whose mind was to do wickedly.

36 He coupled him selfe with him, to make shippes to go to Tharsis: And they made the shippes in Ezion Gaber.

37 And Eliezer the sonne of Dodauah of Maresa prophesied against Iehosaphat, saying: Because thou hast ioyned thy selfe with Ahaziahu, ye lord hath broken thy workes. And the shippes were broke that they were not able to go to Tharsis.