2 Chronicles 20:21-37 ▼

21 After he had consulted with the people, Jehoshaphat appointed some choir members to sing to the LORD and to praise him in sacred splendor as they marched out in front of the armed forces. They kept saying |Give thanks to the LORD, because his gracious love is eternal!|

22 Right on time, as they began to sing and praise, the LORD ambushed the Ammonites, Moabites, and the inhabitants of Mount Seir who had attacked Judah, and they were defeated.

23 The Ammonites and Moabites attacked the inhabitants of Mount Seir, destroying them, and after they had finished with the inhabitants of Mount Seir, they worked on destroying one another!

24 When the army of Judah arrived at the remotest watchtower in the wilderness, they looked around at the invasion force, and to their surprise, there were dead bodies lying all around on the ground—not one had escaped!

25 Later on, when Jehoshaphat and his army arrived to collect the spoils of war, they discovered there were far more goods, garments, and other valuable items to collect than they could carry off in a single day. There was so much material that it took three days to finish their collection efforts.

26 Three days later, they assembled together in the Beracah Valley, where they blessed the LORD, which is why the name of that place is called Beracah Valley to this day.

27 Then they all returned with joy to Jerusalem, every soldier from Judah and Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat at the head of the procession, because the LORD had made them rejoice over their enemies.

28 They proceeded directly to the LORD's Temple, carrying lyres, harps, and trumpets.

29 Fear of God seized all of the kingdoms in the surrounding territories when they heard that the LORD had battled Israel's enemies.

30 As a result, Jehoshaphat's kingdom enjoyed peace, because his God had provided rest for him all around.

31 Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah, having become king at the age of 35. He reigned in Jerusalem for 25 years. His mother's name was Azubah, the daughter of Shilhi.

32 He followed the example of his father Asa and never departed from it, practicing what the LORD considered to be right.

33 However, the high places were not removed, since the people had not yet directed their hearts to the God of their ancestors.

34 The rest of Jehoshaphat's accomplishments, from first to last, are recorded in the annals of Hanani's son Jehu, which appears in the Book of the Kings of Israel.

35 Sometime later, King Jehoshaphat of Judah entered into a military alliance with King Ahaziah of Israel, acting wickedly by doing so.

36 He also agreed with King Ahaziah to build ships to sail toward Tarshish, which they built in Ezion-geber.

37 But Dodavahu's son Eliezer from Mareshah prophesied in opposition to Jehoshaphat, |Because you have entered into an alliance with Ahaziah, the LORD has destroyed your efforts.| So the ships were destroyed and were never able to sail for Tarshish.