1And it came to pass after this , that the children of Moab , and the children of Ammon , and with them some of the Ammonites , came against Jehoshaphat to battle . 2Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat , saying, There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea from Syria; and , behold , they are in Hazazon-tamar ( the same is En-gedi ). 3And Jehoshaphat feared , and set himself to seek unto Jehovah ; and he proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah . 4And Judah gathered themselves together , to seek help of Jehovah : even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek Jehovah . 5And Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem , in the house of Jehovah , before the new court ; 6and he said, O Jehovah , the God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven ? and art not thou ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations ? and in thy hand is power and might , so that none is able to withstand thee . 7Didst not thou , O our God , drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel , and give it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever ? 8And they dwelt therein , and have built thee a sanctuary therein for thy name , saying, 9If evil come upon us , the sword , judgment , or pestilence , or famine , we will stand before this house , and before thee ( for thy name is in this house ), and cry unto thee in our affliction , and thou wilt hear and save . 10And 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 aside from them , and destroyed them not ; 11behold , how they reward us , to come to cast us out of thy possession , which thou hast given us to inherit . 12O 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 . 13And all Judah stood before Jehovah , with their little ones , their wives, and their children .
God's Response through the Prophet Jahaziel
14Then 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, came the Spirit of Jehovah in the midst of the assembly ; 15and he said, Hearken ye , all Judah , and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem , and thou king Jehoshaphat : Thus saith Jehovah unto you , Fear not ye , neither be dismayed by reason of this great multitude ; for the battle is not yours, but God ’s. 16To-morrow go ye down against them : behold , they come up by the ascent of Ziz ; and ye shall find them at the end of the valley , before the wilderness of Jeruel . 17Ye shall not need to fight in this battle : set yourselves , stand ye still , and see the salvation of Jehovah with you , O Judah and Jerusalem ; fear not , nor be dismayed : to-morrow go out against them ; for Jehovah is with you . 18And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground ; and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before Jehovah , worshipping Jehovah . 19And the Levites , of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites , stood up to praise Jehovah , the God of Israel , with an exceeding loud voice .
The Worship and Victory of Judah
20And 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 Jehovah your God , so shall ye be established ; believe his prophets , so shall ye prosper . 21And when he had taken counsel with the people , he appointed them that should sing unto Jehovah , and give praise in holy array , as they went out before the army , and say, Give thanks unto Jehovah ; for his lovingkindness endureth for ever . 22And when they began to sing and to praise , Jehovah set liers-in-wait against the children of Ammon , Moab , and mount Seir , that were come against Judah ; and they were smitten . 23For 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 one helped to destroy another . 24And when Judah came to the watch-tower of the wilderness , they looked upon the multitude ; and , behold , they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and there were none that escaped . 25And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take the spoil of them , they found among them in abundance both riches and dead bodies , and precious jewels , which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away : and they were three days in taking the spoil , it was so much . 26And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Beracah ; for there they blessed Jehovah : therefore the name of that place was called The valley of Beracah unto this day . 27Then they returned , every man of Judah and Jerusalem , and Jehoshaphat in the forefront of them , to go again to Jerusalem with joy ; for Jehovah had made them to rejoice over their enemies . 28And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries and harps and trumpets unto the house of Jehovah . 29And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of the countries, when they heard that Jehovah fought against the enemies of Israel . 30So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet ; for his God gave him rest round about .
The Aftermath and God's Blessing
31And 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 . 32And he walked in the way of Asa his father, and turned not aside from it , doing that which was right in the eyes of Jehovah . 33Howbeit the high places were not taken away ; neither as yet had the people set their hearts unto the God of their fathers. 34Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat , first and last, behold , they are written in the history of Jehu the son of Hanani , which is inserted in the book of the kings of Israel . 35And after this did Jehoshaphat king of Judah join himself with Ahaziah king of Israel ; the same did very wickedly : 36and he joined himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish ; and they made the ships in Ezion-geber . 37Then Eliezer the son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat , saying, Because thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah, Jehovah hath destroyed thy works . And the ships were broken , so that they were not able to go to Tarshish .