Holy Bible
(King James Version)
Second
Chronicles: Chapter 20
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 Je-hosh-a-phat to battle.
2. Then there came some that told Je-hosh-a-phat, saying, There cometh a
great multitude against thee from beyond the sea on this side Syria:
and, behold, they be in Haz-a-zon-ta-mar, which is En-ge-di.
3. And Je-hosh-a-phat 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 Je-hosh-a-phat 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 Ja-ha-zi-el the son of Zech-a-ri-ah, the son of Be-nai-ah,
the son of Je-i-el, the son of Mat-ta-ni-ah, a Levite of the sons of A-saph,
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 of Je-hosh-a-phat, 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 Je-ru-el.
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 Je-hosh-a-phat 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 Te-ko-a: and as they went forth, Je-hosh-a-phat 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 Je-hosh-a-phat 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 Be-ra-chah;
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
Je-hosh-a-phat 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 Je-hosh-a-phat was quiet: for his God gave him rest
round about.
31. And Je-hosh-a-phat 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 A-zu-bah the daughter of Shil-hi.
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 Je-hosh-a-phat, first and last, behold,
they are written in the book of Jehu the son of Ha-na-ni, who is
mentioned in the book of the kings of Israel.
35. And after this did Je-hosh-a-phat king of Judah join himself with
A-ha-zi-ah king of Israel, who did very wickedly:
36. And he joined himself with him to make ships to go to Tar-shish: and
they made the ships in E-zi-on-ge-ber.
37. Then E-li-e-zer the son of Do-da-vah of Ma-re-shah prophesied
against Je-hosh-a-phat, saying, Because thou hast joined thyself with
A-ha-zi-ah, the LORD hath broken thy works. And the ships were
broken, that they were not able to go to Tar-shish.
June 3
Daily reading schedule.. No NT reading today.
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Art by: Penny Parker. Visit her site HERE
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