God Delivers Judah and Jerusalem

20 And they rose up early in the morning and went out to the desert of Tekoa. And when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in Yahweh your God, and you shall be established! Believe in his prophets, and you shall succeed!” 21 And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed singers to Yahweh who were giving praise to the splendor of his holiness when they went out before the army. And they said, “Give thanks to Yahweh, for his loyal love is everlasting!”

22 And ⌊when⌋[fn] they began with singing and praise, Yahweh set ambushes against the people[fn] of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir who were coming against Judah. And they were defeated 23 when the people[fn] of Ammon and Moab rose up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to destroy and demolish them. And when the inhabitants of Seir had made an end of them, each helped to destroy his comrade.

24 And Judah came against the watchtower of the wilderness. And they looked at the crowd, and behold, corpses were lying on the ground. There was none who had escaped. 25 When Jehoshaphat came with his people to plunder their booty, they found among them in abundance possessions, corpses, and precious items. And they took plunder for themselves ⌊until they could carry no more⌋.[fn] And they were three days in plundering the booty, for it was abundant. 26 And on the fourth day, they assembled in the Valley of Berakah, for there they blessed Yahweh. Therefore the name of that place is called the Valley of Berakah up to this day. 27 And all the men of Judah and Jerusalem returned, and Jehoshaphat was at their head in returning to Jerusalem with joy, for Yahweh caused them to rejoice over their enemies. 28 And they came to Jerusalem with harps, stringed instruments, and trumpets to the house of Yahweh. 29 And the fear of God came upon all the kingdoms of the earth when they heard that Yahweh had fought against the enemies of Israel. 30 So the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at rest, since his God gave rest to him all around.