Daily Bread

¹⁴ Then the Spirit^(A) of the Lord came on Jahaziel son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah,^(B) a Levite and descendant of Asaph, as he stood in the assembly.

¹⁵ He said: “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged^(C) because of this vast army. For the battle^(D) is not yours, but God’s. ¹⁶ Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel. ¹⁷ You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see^(E) the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.’”

¹⁸ Jehoshaphat bowed down^(F) with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the Lord. ¹⁹ Then some Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites stood up and praised the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.

²⁰ Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith^(G) in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.^(H)” ²¹ After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his^[a] holiness^(I) as they went out at the head of the army, saying:

²² As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes^(K) against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated. ²³ The Ammonites^(L) and Moabites rose up against the men from Mount Seir^(M) to destroy and annihilate them. After they finished slaughtering the men from Seir, they helped to destroy one another.^(N)

²⁴ When the men of Judah came to the place that overlooks the desert and looked toward the vast army, they saw only dead bodies lying on the ground; no one had escaped. ²⁵ So Jehoshaphat and his men went to carry off their plunder, and they found among them a great amount of equipment and clothing^[b] and also articles of value—more than they could take away. There was so much plunder that it took three days to collect it. ²⁶ On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Berakah, where they praised the Lord. This is why it is called the Valley of Berakah^[c] to this day.

²⁷ Then, led by Jehoshaphat, all the men of Judah and Jerusalem returned joyfully to Jerusalem, for the Lord had given them cause to rejoice over their enemies. ²⁸ They entered Jerusalem and went to the temple of the Lord with harps and lyres and trumpets.

²⁹ The fear^(O) of God came on all the surrounding kingdoms when they heard how the Lord had fought^(P) against the enemies of Israel. ³⁰ And the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, for his God had given him rest^(Q) on every side.

The End of Jehoshaphat’s Reign^(R)

³¹ So Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he became king of Judah, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-five years. His mother’s name was Azubah daughter of Shilhi. ³² He followed the ways of his father Asa and did not stray from them; he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. ³³ The high places,^(S) however, were not removed, and the people still had not set their hearts on the God of their ancestors.

³⁴ The other events of Jehoshaphat’s reign, from beginning to end, are written in the annals of Jehu^(T) son of Hanani, which are recorded in the book of the kings of Israel.

³⁵ Later, Jehoshaphat king of Judah made an alliance^(U) with Ahaziah king of Israel, whose ways were wicked.^{(V) 36} He agreed with him to construct a fleet of trading ships.^[d] After these were built at Ezion Geber, ³⁷ Eliezer son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you have made an alliance with Ahaziah, the Lord will destroy what you have made.” The ships^(W) were wrecked and were not able to set sail to trade.^[e]