Jehoshaphat proclaimeth a fast -- His prayer -- The prophecy of Jahaziel Jehoshaphat's reign.

¹⁾It came to pass after this also, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them other besidebesides the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle.

²⁾Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea on this side Syria; and, behold, they beare in HazazontamarHazazon-tamar, which iswas Engedicalled En-gedi.

³⁾And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORDLord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.

⁴⁾And Judah gathered themselves together, to ask help of the LORD:Lord; even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORDLord.

⁵⁾And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORDLord, before the new court,

⁶⁾And said, O LORDLord God of our fathers, art not thou God who art in heaven?; and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen?; and in thinethy hand isthou there nothast power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee?;

⁷⁾Art not thouThou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever?forever.

⁸⁾And they dwelt therein, and have built thee a sanctuary therein for thy name, saying,

⁹⁾If, when evil cometh upon us, as the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house, and in thy presence, (for thy name is in this house,) and cry unto thee in our affliction, then thou wilt hear and help.

¹⁰⁾And now, behold, the children of Ammon, and Moab, and mount Seir, whom thou wouldest not let Israel invade, when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them, and destroyed them not;

¹¹⁾Behold, I say, how they reward us not, tobut have come to cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit.

¹²⁾O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do:; but our eyes are upon thee.

¹³⁾And all Judah stood before the LORDLord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.

¹⁴⁾Then 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, came the Spirit of the LORDLord in the midst of the congregation;

¹⁵⁾And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORDLord unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude;, for the battle is not yours, but God's.

¹⁶⁾To morrowTomorrow go ye down against them:; behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel.

¹⁷⁾Ye shall not needgo to fight in this battle:day; set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORDLord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem:; fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrowtomorrow go out against them:; for the LORDLord will be with you.

¹⁸⁾And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground:; and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the LORDLord, worshippingworshiping the LORDLord.

¹⁹⁾And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites, and of the children of the Korhites, stood up to praise the LORDLord God of Israel with a loud voice on high.

²⁰⁾And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa:; and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the LORDLord your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.

²¹⁾And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the LORDLord, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORDLord; for his mercy endureth for everforever.

²²⁾And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORDLord set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten.

²³⁾For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them:; and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every oneeveryone helped to destroy another.

²⁴⁾And when Judah came toward the watch towerwatchtower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped.

²⁵⁾And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both riches with the dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away:; and they were three days in gathering of the spoil, it was so much.

²⁶⁾And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Berachah; for there they blessed the LORD:Lord; therefore the name of the same place was called, The valley of Berachah, unto this day.

²⁷⁾Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat in the forefront of them, to go again to Jerusalem with joy; for the LORDLord had made them to rejoice over their enemies.

²⁸⁾And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries and harps and trumpets unto the house of the LORDLord.

²⁹⁾And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries, when they had heard that the LORDLord had fought against the enemies of Israel.

³⁰⁾So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet:; for his God gave him rest round about.

³¹⁾And Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah:; he was thirty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Azubah, the daughter of Shilhi.

³²⁾And he walked in the way of Asa his father, and departed not from it, doing that which was right in the sight of the LORDLord.

³³⁾Howbeit the high places were not taken away:; for as yet the people had not prepared their hearts unto the God of their fathers.

³⁴⁾Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Jehu the son of Hanani, who is mentioned in the book of the kings of Israel.

³⁵⁾And after this did Jehoshaphat king of Judah join himself with Ahaziah king of Israel, who did very wickedly:;

³⁶⁾And he joined himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish:; and they made the ships in EziongaberEzion-geber.

³⁷⁾Then Eliezer, the son of Dodavah of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, Because thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah, the LORDLord hath broken thy works. And the ships were broken, that they were not able to go to Tarshish.