And now, behold, the men 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 aside from them, and destroyed them not; behold, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit. 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."
And all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. Then upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah came the spirit of the Lord in the midst of the congregation; and he said, "Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou King Jehoshaphat: thus saith the Lord unto you, 'Fear not ye, neither be dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's. To-morrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the ascent of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the valley, before the wilderness of Jeruel. 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 is with you.'"
And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord.
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, [{262}] so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper."
And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed them that should sing unto the Lord, and praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and say, "Give thanks unto the Lord; for his mercy endureth for ever."
And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set liers in wait against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who were come against Judah; and they were smitten. For the men 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, everyone helped to destroy another. And when Judah came to the watch-tower of the wilderness, they looked upon the multitude; and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and there were none that escaped.
And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both riches, and garments, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away: and they were three days in taking of the spoil, it was so much. And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Beracah; for there they blessed the Lord: therefore the name of that place was called The valley of Beracah, unto this day.
THE VALLEY OF JEHOSHAPHAT FROM THE NORTH.
Road to Bethany over the Mount of Olives in the center.