1 It 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. 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 be in Hazazon-tamar, which is En-gedi. 3 And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. 4 And Judah gathered themselves together, to ask help of the LORD: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD.
5 ¶ And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court, 6 And 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? 7 Art 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? 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, to 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 LORD, 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 LORD 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 LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s. 16 To 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. 17 Ye 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. 18 And 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. 19 And 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.
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 LORD 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 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.
22 ¶ And 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. 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 one helped to destroy another. 24 And 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. 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: 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 LORD 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 LORD. 29 And 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. 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 LORD. 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 Ezion-geber. 37 Then 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.
1 post haec congregati sunt filii Moab
et filii Ammon et cum eis de Ammanitis
ad Iosaphat ut pugnarent contra eum
2 veneruntque nuntii et indicaverunt Iosaphat dicentes
venit contra te multitudo magna
de his locis quae trans mare sunt et de Syria
et ecce consistunt in Asasonthamar quae est Engaddi
3 Iosaphat autem timore perterritus
totum se contulit ad rogandum Dominum
et praedicavit ieiunium universo Iuda
4 congregatusque Iudas ad precandum
Dominum
sed et omnes de urbibus suis venerunt ad obsecrandum eum
5 cumque stetisset Iosaphat in medio coetu Iudae et
Hierusalem
in domo Domini ante atrium novum
6 ait
Domine Deus patrum nostrorum tu es Deus in caelo
et dominaris cunctis regnis gentium
in manu tua est fortitudo et potentia
nec quisquam tibi potest resistere
7 nonne tu Deus noster
interfecisti omnes habitatores terrae huius coram populo tuo Israhel
et dedisti eam semini Abraham amici tui in sempiternum
8 habitaveruntque in ea et extruxerunt in illa sanctuarium nomini tuo
dicentes
9 si inruerint super nos mala
gladius iudicii pestilentia et fames
stabimus coram domo hac in conspectu tuo
in qua invocatum est nomen tuum
et clamabimus ad te in tribulationibus nostris
et exaudies salvosque facies
10 nunc igitur ecce filii Ammon et Moab et mons Seir
per quos non concessisti Israheli
ut transirent quando egrediebantur de
Aegypto
sed declinaverunt ab eis et non interfecerunt illos
11 e contrario agunt et nituntur eicere nos de possessione
quam tradidisti nobis
12 Deus noster
ergo non iudicabis eos
in nobis quidem non tanta est fortitudo
ut possimus huic multitudini resistere quae inruit super nos
sed cum ignoremus quid agere debeamus
hoc solum habemus residui ut oculos nostros dirigamus ad te
13 omnis vero Iuda stabat coram Domino
cum parvulis et uxoribus et liberis suis
14 erat autem Hiazihel filius Zacchariae filii Banaiae filii Hiehihel
filii Mathaniae Levites de filiis Asaph
super quem factus est spiritus Domini in medio turbae
15 et ait
adtendite omnis Iuda et qui habitatis Hierusalem
et tu rex Iosaphat
haec dicit Dominus vobis
nolite timere nec paveatis hanc multitudinem
non est enim vestra pugna sed Dei
16 cras descendetis contra eos
ascensuri enim sunt per clivum nomine Sis
et invenietis illos in summitate torrentis
qui est contra solitudinem Hieruhel
17 non eritis vos qui dimicabitis
sed tantummodo confidenter state
et videbitis auxilium Domini super vos
o Iuda et Hierusalem nolite timere nec paveatis
cras egredimini contra eos et Dominus erit vobiscum
18 Iosaphat ergo et Iuda et omnes habitatores Hierusalem
ceciderunt proni in terram coram Domino et adoraverunt eum
19 porro Levitae de filiis Caath et de filiis Core
laudabant Dominum Deum Israhel voce magna in excelsum
20 cumque mane surrexissent egressi sunt per desertum Thecuae
profectisque eis stans Iosaphat in medio eorum dixit
audite me Iuda et omnes habitatores Hierusalem
credite in Domino Deo vestro et securi eritis
credite prophetis eius et cuncta evenient prospera
21 deditque consilium populo
et statuit cantores Domini ut laudarent eum in turmis suis
et antecederent exercitum ac voce consona dicerent
confitemini Domino quoniam in aeternum misericordia
eius
22 cumque coepissent laudes canere
vertit Dominus insidias eorum in semet ipsos
filiorum scilicet Ammon et Moab et montis Seir
qui egressi fuerant ut pugnarent contra Iudam
et percussi sunt
23 namque filii Ammon et Moab
consurrexerunt adversum habitatores montis Seir
ut interficerent et delerent eos
cumque hoc opere perpetrassent
etiam in semet ipsos versi mutuis concidere vulneribus
24 porro Iudas cum venisset ad speculam quae
respicit solitudinem
vidit procul omnem late regionem plenam cadaveribus
nec superesse quemquam qui necem potuisset evadere
25 venit ergo Iosaphat et omnis populus cum eo
ad detrahenda spolia mortuorum
inveneruntque inter cadavera variam supellectilem
vestes quoque et vasa pretiosissima et diripuerunt
ita ut omnia portare non possent
nec per tres dies spolia auferre pro praedae magnitudine
26 die autem quarto congregati sunt in valle Benedictionis
etenim quoniam ibi benedixerant Domino
vocaverunt locum illum vallis Benedictionis
usque in praesentem diem
27 reversusque est omnis vir Iuda et habitatores Hierusalem
et Iosaphat ante eos in Hierusalem cum laetitia magna
eo quod dedisset eis Dominus gaudium de inimicis suis
28 ingressique sunt Hierusalem
cum psalteriis et citharis et tubis in domum Domini
29 inruit autem pavor Domini super universa regna terrarum
cum audissent quod pugnasset Dominus contra inimicos Israhel
30 quievitque regnum Iosaphat
et praebuit ei Deus pacem per circuitum
31 regnavit igitur Iosaphat super Iudam
et erat triginta quinque annorum cum regnare coepisset
viginti autem et quinque annis regnavit in Hierusalem
nomen matris eius Azuba filia Selachi
32 et ambulavit in via patris sui Asa nec declinavit ab ea
faciens quae placita erant coram Domino
33 verumtamen excelsa non abstulit
et adhuc populus non direxerat cor suum ad Dominum Deum patrum suorum
34 reliqua autem gestorum Iosaphat priorum et novissimorum
scripta sunt in verbis Hieu filii Anani
quae digessit in libro regum Israhel
35 post haec iniit amicitias Iosaphat rex Iuda
cum Ochozia rege Israhel cuius opera fuerunt impiissima
36 et particeps fuit ut facerent naves quae irent in
Tharsis
feceruntque classem in Asiongaber
37 prophetavit autem Eliezer filius Dodoau de Maresa ad Iosaphat dicens
quia habuisti foedus cum Ochozia percussit Dominus opera tua
contritaeque sunt naves nec potuerunt ire in Tharsis