1 Now it came about afterthis that the sons of Moab and the sons of Ammon, together with some of the 1Meunites, came to make waragainstJehoshaphat.
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Then some came and reported to Jehoshaphat, saying, "A greatmultitude is comingagainst you from beyond the sea, out of Aram and behold, they are in 2Hazazon-tamar (that is Engedi )."
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Jehoshaphat was afraid and 3turned his attention to seek the LORD, and 4proclaimed a fastthroughoutallJudah.
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So Judahgathered together to 5seek help from the LORD; they evencame from all the cities of Judah to seek the LORD.
Jehoshaphat's Prayer
5 Then Jehoshaphatstood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORDbefore the newcourt,
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and he said, "O LORD, the God of our fathers, 6are You not God in the heavens? And 7are You not ruleroverall the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in Your hand so that noone can standagainst You.
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"Did You not, O our God, drive out the inhabitants of thislandbefore* Your peopleIsrael and 8give it to the descendants of 9Abraham Your friendforever?
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"They have lived in it, and have built You a sanctuary there for Your name, saying,
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'10Shouldevilcome upon us, the sword, or judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will standbeforethishouse and before You (for 11Your name is in thishouse ) and cry to You in our distress, and You will hear and deliver us.'
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"Nowbehold, 12the sons of Ammon and Moab and MountSeir, 13whom You did not letIsraelinvade when they came out of the land of Egypt (they turnedaside from them and did not destroy them),
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see how they are rewarding us by 14coming to drive us out from Your possessionwhich You have given us as an inheritance.
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"O our God, 15will You not judge them? For we are powerlessbeforethisgreatmultitude who are comingagainst us; nor do we knowwhat to do, but 16our eyes are on You."
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AllJudah was standingbefore the LORD, with their infants, their wives and their children.
Jahaziel Answers the Prayer
14 Then in the midst of the assembly17the Spirit of the LORDcame upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, the Levite of the sons of Asaph;
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and he said, "Listen, allJudah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and KingJehoshaphat: thussays the LORD to you, '18Do not fear or be dismayedbecause* of thisgreatmultitude, for 19the battle is not yours but God's.
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'Tomorrowgodownagainst them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the valley in front of the wilderness of Jeruel.
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'You need not fight in this battle; station yourselves, 20stand and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.' Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrowgo out to face them, 21for the LORD is with you."
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Jehoshaphat22bowed his head with his face to the ground, and allJudah and the inhabitants of Jerusalemfelldownbefore the LORD, worshiping the LORD.
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The Levites, from the sons of the Kohathites and of the sons of the Korahites, stood up to praise the LORDGod of Israel, with a veryloudvoice.
Enemies Destroy Themselves
20 They roseearly in the morning and went out to the wilderness of Tekoa; and when they went out, Jehoshaphatstood and said, "Listen to me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, 23put your trust in the LORD your God and you will be established. Put your trust in His prophets and succeed."
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When he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who sang to the LORD and those who 24praised Him in holyattire, as they went out before the army and said, "25Givethanks to the LORD, for His lovingkindness is everlasting."
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When they begansinging and praising, the LORD26setambushesagainst the sons of 27Ammon, Moab and MountSeir, who had come against Judah; so they were routed.
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For the sons of Ammon and Moabrose up against the inhabitants of MountSeirdestroying them completely; and when they had finished with the inhabitants of Seir, 28they helped to destroyoneanother.
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When Judahcame to the lookout of the wilderness, they lookedtoward the multitude, and behold, they were corpseslying on the ground, and noone had escaped.
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When Jehoshaphat and his peoplecame to take their spoil, they foundmuch among them, including goods, garments and valuablethings which they took for themselves, more than they could carry. And they were threedaystaking the spoilbecause there was so much.
Triumphant Return to Jerusalem
26 Then on the fourthday they assembled in the valley of Beracah, for there they blessed the LORD. Therefore* they have named* that place "The Valley of Beracah " until today.
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Everyman of Judah and Jerusalemreturned with Jehoshaphat at their head, returning to Jerusalem with joy, 29for the LORD had made them to rejoiceover their enemies.
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They came to Jerusalem with harps, lyres and trumpets to the house of the LORD.
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And 30the dread of God was on all the kingdoms of the lands when they heard that the LORD had foughtagainst the enemies of Israel.
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So the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, 31for his Godgave him rest on allsides.
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32Now JehoshaphatreignedoverJudah. He was thirty-five*yearsold when he becameking, and he reigned in Jerusalemtwenty-five*years. And his mother'sname was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi.
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He walked in the way of his fatherAsa and did not depart from it, doingright in the sight of the LORD.
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33The highplaces, however, were not removed; 34the people had not yetdirected their hearts to the God of their fathers.
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Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first to last, behold, they are written in the annals of 35Jehu the son of Hanani, which is recorded in the Book of the Kings of Israel.
Alliance Displeases God
3536AfterthisJehoshaphatking of Judahallied himself with Ahaziahking of Israel. He actedwickedly in so doing.
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So he allied himself with him to makeships to go37to Tarshish, and they made the ships in Ezion-geber.
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Then Eliezer the son of Dodavahu of MareshahprophesiedagainstJehoshaphatsaying, "Because you have allied yourself with Ahaziah, the LORD has destroyed your works." So the ships were broken and could not go to Tarshish.