King James Version

1 And it came to pass after that, the sons of Moab and the sons of Ammon, and with them some of the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat for battle. 2 And they came and told Jehoshaphat, saying, "A great multitude has come against you from beyond the sea, from Aram, and behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar, which is En-Gedi." 3 And Jehoshaphat was afraid, and he set his face to seek the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. 4 And Judah gathered to seek the Lord; also from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord. 5 And Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem in the house of the Lord before the new courtyard. 6 And the Lord said, "Are You not the God of our ancestors? Are You not in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations? In Your hand is power and might, and there is no one able to stand against 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 beloved, forever?" 8 And they dwelt there and built for you there a sanctuary for your name, saying. 9 If evil, sword, judgment, plague, and famine come upon us, we will stand before this house and before You, for Your name is in this house, and we will cry out to You from our distress, and You will hear and save. 10 And now, behold, the sons of Ammon and Moab and the mountain of Seir, which you did not allow Israel to come into when they came from the land of Egypt, for they turned away from them and did not destroy them. 11 And behold, they are rewarding us to come to drive us out from your inheritance that you have given us. 12 Our God, will you not judge them? For there is no strength in us before this great multitude that has come against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you. 13 And all Judah stood before the Lord, even their little ones, their wives, and their children. 14 And Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, the Levite of the sons of Asaph, came upon me with the Spirit of the LORD in the midst of the assembly. 15 And the king Jehoshaphat said, "Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you, 'Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God's.'" 16 Tomorrow, go up against them; behold, they are ascending by the way of the cedar, and you will find them at the end of the valley in front of the wilderness of Jeruel. 17 Do not fight against this; stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid, and do not be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, and the LORD will be with you. 18 And Jehoshaphat bowed his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the Lord to worship the Lord. 19 And the Levites from the descendants of the Kohathites and from the descendants of the Korahites stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with a loud voice on high. 20 And they rose early in the morning and went out to the wilderness of Tekoa, and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Listen to me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be established; believe in His prophets, and you will succeed." 21 And he advised the people, and he appointed singers for the Lord and those praising for the splendor of holiness, as they went out before the army, and they were saying, "Give thanks to the Lord, for His mercy endures forever." 22 And at the time they began with joy and praise, the Lord gave ambushes against the children of Ammon, Moab, and the mountain of Seir, who came against Judah, and they were defeated. 23 And the children of Ammon and Moab stood against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to destroy and to annihilate them; and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they helped each other to destroy. 24 And Judah came to the watchtower in the wilderness, and they turned to the multitude, and behold, there were the bodies falling to the ground, and there was no escape. 25 And Jehoshaphat and his people came to seize the spoil, and they found in it abundance and goods and dead bodies and precious things; and they stripped it for three days because it was so much. 26 And on the fourth day, they were gathered to the Valley of Blessing, for there they blessed the Lord; therefore, they called the name of that place the Valley of Blessing to this day. 27 And all the men of Judah and Jerusalem returned, and Jehoshaphat at their head, to return to Jerusalem with joy, for the joy of the Lord was over their enemies. 28 And they came to Jerusalem with harps and with lyres and with trumpets to the house of the Lord. 29 And there was fear of God upon all the kingdoms of the lands when they heard that the Lord fought against the enemies of Israel. 30 And the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was quiet, and his God gave him rest all around. 31 And Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah for thirty-five years, and he reigned in Jerusalem for twenty-five years, and the name of his mother was Azubah, the daughter of Shilhi. 32 And he walked in the way of his father Asa and did not turn aside from it to do what was right in the eyes of the Lord. 33 But the high places were not removed, and the people had not yet prepared their hearts to the God of their fathers. 34 And the rest of the words of Jehoshaphat, the first and the last, they are written in the words of Jehu son of Hanani, which he raised up concerning the book of the kings of Israel. 35 And afterward, Jehoshaphat king of Judah allied himself with Ahaziah king of Israel; he acted wickedly to do. 36 And he joined with him to make ships to go to Tarshish, and they made ships in Ezion-geber. 37 And Eleazar the son of Dodavahu prophesied from Maresha concerning Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you have allied yourself with Ahaziah, the LORD has destroyed your works, and your ships were broken and could not go to Tarshish.”