War against Jehoshaphat 1 Brenton And after this came the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them some of the Minæans, against Josaphat to battle. BSB BSB: After this, the Moabites and Ammonites, together with some of the Meunites, came to make war against Jehoshaphat.
2 Brenton And they came and told Josaphat, saying, There is come against thee a great multitude from Syria, from beyond the sea; and, behold, they are in Asasan Thamar, this is Engadi. BSB BSB: Then some men came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast army is coming against you from Edom, from beyond the Sea; they are already in Hazazon-tamar” (that is, En-gedi).
3 Brenton And Josaphat was alarmed, and set his face to seek the Lord earnestly, and he proclaimed a fast in all Juda. BSB BSB: Jehoshaphat was alarmed and set his face to seek the LORD. And he proclaimed a fast throughout Judah.
4 Brenton And Juda gathered themselves together to seek after the Lord: even from all the cities of Juda they came to seek the Lord. BSB BSB: So the people of Judah gathered to seek the LORD, and indeed, they came from all the cities of Judah to seek Him.
Jehoshaphat’s Prayer 5 Brenton And Josaphat stood up in the assembly of Juda in Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, in front of the new court. BSB BSB: Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem in the house of the LORD in front of the new courtyard
6 Brenton And he said, O Lord God of my fathers, art not thou God in heaven above, and art not thou Lord of all the kingdoms of the nations? and is there not in thy hand the might of dominion, and there is no one who can resist thee? BSB BSB: and said, “O LORD, God of our fathers, are You not the God who is in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in Your hand, and no one can stand against You.
7 Brenton Art not thou the Lord that didst destroy the inhabitants of this land before the face of thy people Israel, and didst give it to thy beloved seed of Abraham for ever? BSB BSB: Our God, did You not drive out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham Your friend?
8 Brenton And they dwelt in it, and built in it a sanctuary to thy name, saying, BSB BSB: They have lived in the land and have built in it a sanctuary for Your Name, saying,
9 Brenton If there should come upon us evils, sword, judgment, pestilence, famine, we will stand before this house, and before thee, (for thy name is upon this house,) and we will cry to thee because of the affliction, and thou shalt hear, and deliver. BSB BSB: ‘If disaster comes upon us—whether sword or judgment, plague or famine—we will stand before this temple and before You, for Your Name is in this temple. We will cry out to You in our distress, and You will hear us and save us.’
10 Brenton And now, behold, the children of Ammon, and Moab, and mount Seir, with regard to whom thou didst not permit Israel to pass through their border, when they had come out of the land of Egypt, (for they turned away from them, and did not destroy them;)— BSB BSB: And now, here are the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, whom You did not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt. So Israel turned away from them and did not destroy them.
11 Brenton yet now, behold, they make attempts against us, to come forth to cast us out from our inheritance which thou gavest us. BSB BSB: See how they are repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession that You gave us as an inheritance.
12 Brenton O Lord our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no strength to resist this great multitude that is come against us; and we know not what we shall do to them: but our eyes are toward thee. BSB BSB: Our God, will You not judge them? For we are powerless before this vast army that comes against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.”
13 Brenton And all Juda was standing before the Lord, and their children, and their wives. BSB BSB: Meanwhile all the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, were standing before the LORD.
The Prophecy of Jahaziel 14 Brenton And Oziel the son of Zacharias, of the children of Banaias, of the sons of Eleïel the sons of Matthanias the Levite, of the sons of Asaph,—upon him came the Spirit of the Lord in the assembly: BSB BSB: Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite from Asaph’s descendants, as he stood in the midst of the assembly.
15 Brenton and he said, Hear ye, all Juda, and the dwellers in Jerusalem, and king Josaphat: Thus saith the Lord to you, even you, Fear not, neither be alarmed, before all this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's. BSB BSB: And he said, “Listen, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Listen, King Jehoshaphat! This is what the LORD says: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army, for the battle does not belong to you, but to God.
16 Brenton To-morrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the ascent of Assis, and ye shall find them at the extremity of the river of the wilderness of Jeriel. BSB BSB: Tomorrow you are to march down against them. You will see them coming up the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the valley facing the Wilderness of Jeruel.
17 Brenton It is not for you to fight: understand these things, and see the deliverance of the Lord with you, Juda and Jerusalem: fear not, neither be afraid to go forth to-morrow to meet them; and the Lord shall be with you. BSB BSB: You need not fight this battle. Take up your positions, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid or discouraged. Go out and face them tomorrow, for the LORD is with you.’”
18 Brenton And Josaphat bowed with his face to the ground with all Juda and the dwellers in Jerusalem, and they fell before the Lord to worship the Lord. BSB BSB: Then Jehoshaphat bowed facedown, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down before the LORD to worship Him.
19 Brenton And the Levites of the children of Caath, and they of the sons of Core, rose up to praise the Lord God of Israel with a loud voice on high. BSB BSB: And the Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites stood up to praise the LORD, the God of Israel, shouting in a very loud voice.
The Enemies Destroy Themselves 20 Brenton And they rose early in the morning and went out to the wilderness of Thecoe: and as they went out, Josaphat stood and cried, and said, Hear me, Juda, and the dwellers in Jerusalem; put your trust in the Lord God, and your trust shall be honoured; trust in his prophet, and ye shall prosper. BSB BSB: Early in the morning they got up and left for the Wilderness of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood up and said, “Hear me, O people of Judah and Jerusalem. Believe in the LORD your God, and you will be upheld; believe in His prophets, and you will succeed.”
21 Brenton And he took counsel with the people, and set appointed men to sing psalms and praises, to give thanks, and sing the holy songs of praise in going forth before the host: and they said, Give thanks to the Lord, for his mercy endures for ever. BSB BSB: Then Jehoshaphat consulted with the people and appointed those who would sing to the LORD and praise the splendor of His holiness. As they went out before the army, they were singing: “Give thanks to the LORD, for His loving devotion endures forever.”
22 Brenton And when they began the praise and thanksgiving, the Lord caused the children of Ammon to fight against Moab, and the inhabitants of mount Seir that came out against Juda; and they were routed. BSB BSB: The moment they began their shouts and praises, the LORD set ambushes against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir who had come against Judah, and they were defeated.
23 Brenton Then the children of Ammon and Moab rose up against the dwellers in mount Seir, to destroy and consume them; and when they had made an end of destroying the inhabitants of Seir, they rose up against one another so that they were utterly destroyed. BSB BSB: The Ammonites and Moabites rose up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, devoting them to destruction. And when they had finished off the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another.
24 Brenton And Juda came to the watch-tower of the wilderness, and looked, and saw the multitude, and, behold, they were all fallen dead upon the earth, not one escaped. BSB BSB: When the men of Judah came to a place overlooking the wilderness, they looked for the vast army, but there were only corpses lying on the ground; no one had escaped.
25 Brenton And Josaphat and his people went out to spoil them, and they found much cattle, and furniture, and spoils, and precious things: and they spoiled them, and they were three days gathering the spoil, for it was abundant. BSB BSB: Then Jehoshaphat and his people went to carry off the plunder, and they found on the bodies an abundance of goods and valuables—more than they could carry away. They were gathering the plunder for three days because there was so much.
The Joyful Return 26 Brenton And it came to pass on the fourth day they were gathered to the Valley of Blessing; for there they blessed the Lord: therefore they called the name of that place the Valley of Blessing, until this day. BSB BSB: On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Beracah, where they blessed the LORD. Therefore that place is called the Valley of Beracah to this day.
27 Brenton And all the men of Juda returned to Jerusalem, and Josaphat led them with great joy; for the Lord gave them joy over their enemies. BSB BSB: Then all the men of Judah and Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat at their head, returned joyfully to Jerusalem, for the LORD had made them rejoice over their enemies.
28 Brenton And they entered into Jerusalem with lutes and harps and trumpets, going into the house of the Lord. BSB BSB: So they entered Jerusalem and went into the house of the LORD with harps, lyres, and trumpets.
29 Brenton And there was a terror of the Lord upon all the kingdoms of the land, when they heard that the Lord fought against the enemies of Israel. BSB BSB: And the fear of God came upon all the kingdoms of the lands when they heard that the LORD had fought against the enemies of Israel.
30 Brenton And the kingdom of Josaphat was at peace; and his God gave him rest round about. BSB BSB: Then Jehoshaphat’s kingdom was at peace, for his God had given him rest on every side.
Summary of Jehoshaphat’s Reign (1 Kings 22:41–50)
31 Brenton And Josaphat reigned over Juda, being thirty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Azuba, daughter of Sali. BSB BSB: So Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-five years. His mother’s name was Azubah daughter of Shilhi.
32 Brenton And he walked in the ways of his father Asa, and turned not aside from doing that which was right in the sight of the Lord. BSB BSB: And Jehoshaphat walked in the way of his father Asa and did not turn away from it; he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD.
33 Brenton Nevertheless the high places yet remained; and as yet the people did not direct their heart to the Lord God of their fathers. BSB BSB: The high places, however, were not removed; the people had not yet set their hearts on the God of their fathers.
34 Brenton And the rest of the acts of Josaphat, the first and the last, behold, they are written in the history of Jeu the son of Anani, who wrote the book of the kings of Israel. BSB BSB: As for the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, from beginning to end, they are indeed written in the Chronicles of Jehu son of Hanani, which are recorded in the Book of the Kings of Israel.
Jehoshaphat’s Fleet Is Wrecked 35 Brenton And afterwards Josaphat king of Juda entered into an alliance with Ochozias king of Israel, (now this was an unrighteous man,) BSB BSB: Later, Jehoshaphat king of Judah made an alliance with Ahaziah king of Israel, who acted wickedly.
36 Brenton by acting with and going to him, to build ships to go to Tharsis: and he built ships in Gasion Gaber. BSB BSB: They agreed to make ships to go to Tarshish, and these were built in Ezion-geber.
37 Brenton And Eliezer the son of Dodia of Marisa prophesied against Josaphat, saying, Forasmuch as thou hast allied thyself with Ochozias, the Lord has broken thy work, and thy vessels have been wrecked. And they could not go to Tharsis. BSB BSB: Then Eliezer son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you have allied yourself with Ahaziah, the LORD has destroyed your works.” So the ships were wrecked and were unable to sail to Tarshish.
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.