1It came to pass after this also, that the children of Moab , and the children of Ammon , and with them other beside 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 on this side Syria ; and, behold, they be in Hazazon-tamar , which is En-gedi . 3And Jehoshaphat feared , and set himself to seek the LORD , and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah . 4And Judah gathered themselves together , to ask help of the LORD : even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD . 5And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem , in the house of the LORD , before the new court , 6And said , O LORD God of our fathers , art not thou God in heaven ? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen ? and in thine hand is there not power and might , so that none is able to withstand thee? 7Art not thou 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 ? 8And they dwelt therein, and have built thee a sanctuary therein for thy name , saying , 9If, 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 . 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 from them, and destroyed them not; 11Behold, I say, 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 the LORD , 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 , a Levite of the sons of Asaph , came the Spirit of the LORD in the midst of the congregation ; 15And he said , Hearken ye, all Judah , and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem , and thou king Jehoshaphat , Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor 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 cliff of Ziz ; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook , before the wilderness of Jeruel . 17Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still , and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem : fear not, nor be dismayed ; to morrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you. 18And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground : and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the LORD , worshipping the LORD . 19And the Levites , of the children of the Kohathites , and of the children of the Korhites , stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with a loud voice on high .
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 the LORD your God , so shall ye be established ; believe his prophets , so shall ye prosper . 21And when he had consulted with the people , he appointed singers unto the LORD , and that should praise the beauty of holiness , as they went out before the army , and to say , Praise the LORD ; for his mercy endureth for ever . 22And when they began to sing and to praise , the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon , Moab , and mount Seir , which 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 toward the watch tower in the wilderness , they looked unto the multitude , and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth , and none escaped . 25And 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 . 26And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Berachah ; for there they blessed the LORD : therefore the name of the same place was called , The valley of Berachah , 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 the LORD had made them to rejoice over their enemies . 28And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries and harps and trumpets unto the house of the LORD . 29And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries , when they had heard that the LORD 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 departed not from it, doing that which was right in the sight of the LORD . 33Howbeit the high places were not taken away : for as yet the people had not prepared 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 book of Jehu the son of Hanani , who is mentioned in the book of the kings of Israel . 35And after this did Jehoshaphat king of Judah join himself with Ahaziah king of Israel , who 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 Dodavah of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat , saying , Because thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah , the LORD hath broken thy works . And the ships were broken , that they were not able to go to Tarshish .