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Chapter 20
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1
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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
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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 Hazazontamar,
which is Engedi. |
3
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And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the
LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. |
4
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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
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And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah
and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new
court, |
6
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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
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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
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And they dwelt therein, and have built thee a sanctuary
therein for thy name, saying, |
9
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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
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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
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Behold, I say, how they reward us, to come to cast
us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to
inherit. |
12
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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
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And all Judah stood before the LORD, with their little
ones, their wives, and their children. |
14
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries and harps
and trumpets unto the house of the LORD. |
29
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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
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So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet: for his God
gave him rest round about. |
31
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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
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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
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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
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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
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And after this did Jehoshaphat king of Judah join himself
with Ahaziah king of Israel, who did very wickedly: |
36
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And he joined himself with him to make ships to go
to Tarshish: and they made the ships in Eziongaber. |
37
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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. |
