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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 Jehoshaphat to battle.

2 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 And Jehoshaphat 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 Jehoshaphat 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 Jehoshaphat was quiet: for his God gave him rest round about.

31 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 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 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 And after this did Jehoshaphat king of Judah join himself with Ahaziah king of Israel, who did very wickedly:

36 And he joined himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish: and they made the ships in Eziongaber.

37 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.

<html><b>and with them, some of the Ammonites</b> This is Amalek. Why were they called Ammonites? Because they changed their dress and their language to resemble that of the Ammonites and mingled with them, and came to wage war against Israel. This can be proven below in the chapter (verse 22): “And at the time they commenced, etc. the Lord placed liers-in-wait against the children of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir.” We find that the Ammonites mentioned here are Amalekites who changed their tongue and their dress. This is what the Kallir set down in the section of Zachor: Remember the tyrant who hid among the Ammonites; he breached the vineyards of Ein-Gedi when he was brought, i.e., remember what Amalekite the tyrant did - he hid among the Ammonites and came to breach the vineyards of Israel at that time, as it is written: “and behold they are in Hazazon-Tamar which is Ein-Gedi,” and Ein-Gedi is close to the territory of Amalek, as is stated in (Gen. 14:7): “and they struck down the whole field of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who dwell in Hazazon- Tamar.”</html>

<html><b>the same is Ein-Gedi</b> i.e., They said to him, “They have already come so close to us.”</html>

<html><b>also from all the cities of Judah</b> That you should not say, when it is stated initially, “And the Judeans gathered to seek,” that these were the inhabitants of Jerusalem only, but they came from all the cities of Judah.</html>

<html><b>and that You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations and in Your hand is strength and might</b> to conduct Your rule over them; therefore, we beseech You to save us from them. <b>and in Your hand is strength and might</b> in wars and might, <i>hardiess</i> in French, boldness. <b>and no one can stand with You</b> No creature can stand against You of all the kingdoms of the nations, and an example of this is (Josh. 1:5): “No man shall stand before You.” (Rabbi Menahem the son of Helbo explained it in this manner.)</html>

<html><b>and given it to the seed of Abraham</b> Therefore, it is incumbent upon You to preserve it in their hands and to drive these peoples out. Even a flesh and blood king, and even an ordinary man, when he gives a present to his friend and someone comes to rob him of it, he exerts himself to preserve it in his hand. How much more so [should] You [do so]! Perhaps You will say, “I gave it to them only temporarily.” Therefore, it says, “forever.” You gave it to us for an eternal inheritance.</html>

<html><b>and therein they built You a Sanctuary for Your name, saying</b> that “should evil come upon us, etc.” <b>judgment</b> or any judgment, whether sword, pestilence, or famine.</html>

<html><b>and we shall cry out to You from our distress</b> in the Temple. <b>and You will hear and save</b> as Solomon prayed before You, and You promised him to do so, as is written (above 6:24): “And if Your people is struck down,” continuing with the entire chapter until (verse 30): “and forgive and give to each man according to his ways.” And the Lord accepted his prayer, as it is written (ibid. 7:12): “And the Lord appeared to Solomon, and said to him: I have heard your prayer,” continuing with the entire chapter until (ibid. verse 14) “and forgive their sin and heal their land.” Now I pray that You remember the promise which You promised him, and hear and save us from our enemies who are coming upon us.</html>

<html><b>And now</b> about all that You promised us to save us from our enemies who are coming upon us. <b>behold the children of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, against whom You did not permit Israel to come</b> to wage war. <b>when they came out of the land of Egypt</b> and they should have remembered the kindness [we performed] and come to our aid, but they - not only did they not remember our kindness, to be with us in all our troubles, but they repayed us with evil and attacked us.</html>

<html><b>to drive us out of Your inheritance, which You caused us to inherit</b> You Yourself. Therefore, on what basis can they contest our inheritance?</html>

<html><b>but our eyes are upon You</b> to save us.</html>

<html><b>also their infants</b> It is customary that when troops attack a country, the infants, wives, and children flee the villages to the fortified cities.</html>

<html><b>You shall not fear, neither shall you be dismayed</b> This refers back to what they said, (verse 12) “we have no strength before this multitude.” The prophet said to them, “Although they outnumber you, do not fear them.” <b>for the war is not yours but God’s</b> This refers back to (verse 12) “and we do not know,” and the prophet replied, “It is surely as you have said, that your eyes and your trust are upon the Holy One, blessed be He, to save you.” So will He do, for the war is not yours but God’s.</html>

<html><b>on the ascent to Haziz</b> the name of a place.</html>

<html><b>set yourself</b> This refers back to (verse 15) “for the war is not yours.” <b>and see the salvation of the Lord</b> This refers back to the above: “Have You, our God, not caused us to inherit (sic)?” And the Holy One, blessed be He, said to them, “You are right. It is up to Me to preserve it in your hands.” <b>Tomorrow go forth before them</b> and I shall wage war on your behalf. And they believed, and hurried, and arose early in the morning.</html>

<html><b>and you will be believed</b> Heb. וְתֵאָמֵנוּ. You will be trustworthy and prosper. An example is (Isa. 7: 9) “for you cannot be believed (לֹא תֵאָמֵנוּ).”</html>

<html><b>the Lord placed liers-in-wait</b> He placed liers-in-wait to annihilate them and destroy them. An example is found in the case of Abijah the son of Rehoboam (13:13): “And Jeroboam turned the ambush.” Similarly, the Holy One, blessed be He, turned them one against another, and later, Moab returned and aided the children of Ammon, and they both rose up against the children of Seir.</html>

<html><b>when they finished with the inhabitants of Seir, each one helped his friend to destroy</b> The Holy One, blessed be He, turned one against the other until they were completely destroyed; until the corpses fell to the ground with no survivors.</html>

<html><b>to the extent that they could not carry them away</b> because of the quantity.</html>

<html><b>they congregated to the valley of Berachah</b> To the valley which was later called the valley of Berachah, because of the incident [that took place there], as is explained immediately following, as Scripture states <b>for there they blessed the Lord</b> and gave thanks for all the good that He had done for them, that He saved them from their enemies.</html>

<html><b>And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries, with harps, and with trumpets</b> These three musical instruments correspond to “all the men of Judah and Jerusalem and Jehoshaphat.”</html>

<html><b>And he went in the way of his father Asa and did not turn away</b> From what did he not turn away? <b>to do what was right</b> From the good and upright way of his father he did not turn away, but from the bad ways of Asa he did turn away, as is written (above 16:2): “And Asa brought forth silver and gold,” and the entire incident, but Jehoshaphat did not do so, but trusted in the Holy One, blessed be He, all his life.</html>

<html><b>in the words of Jehu the son of Hanani</b> who said to King Jehoshaphat, (19:2) “[Did you go] to aid the wicked?”</html>

<html><b>and could not go</b> - Heb. וְלֹא עָצְרוּ, lit., they did not hold in. The meaning is: The ships could not muster the strength to go, and they were broken.</html>