20:20 Early the next morning they marched out to the Desert of Tekoa. When they were ready to march, Jehoshaphat stood up and said: “Listen to me, you people of Judah 1 and residents of Jerusalem! Trust in the Lord your God and you will be safe! 2 Trust in the message of his prophets and you will win.” 20:21 He met 3 with the people and appointed musicians to play before the Lord and praise his majestic splendor. As they marched ahead of the warriors they said: “Give thanks to the Lord, for his loyal love endures.” 4
20:22 When they began to shout and praise, the Lord suddenly attacked 5 the Ammonites, Moabites, and men from Mount Seir 6 who were invading Judah, and they were defeated. 20:23 The Ammonites and Moabites attacked the men from Mount Seir 7 and annihilated them. 8 When they had finished off the men 9 of Seir, they attacked and destroyed one another. 10 20:24 When the men of Judah 11 arrived at the observation post overlooking the desert and looked at 12 the huge army, they saw dead bodies on the ground; there were no survivors! 20:25 Jehoshaphat and his men 13 went to gather the plunder; they found a huge amount of supplies, clothing 14 and valuable items. They carried away everything they could. 15 There was so much plunder, it took them three days to haul it off. 16
20:26 On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Berachah, where 17 they praised the Lord. So that place is called the Valley of Berachah 18 to this very day. 20:27 Then all the men of Judah and Jerusalem returned joyfully to Jerusalem with Jehoshaphat leading them; the Lord had given them reason to rejoice over their enemies. 20:28 They entered Jerusalem to the sound of stringed instruments and trumpets and proceeded to the temple of the Lord. 20:29 All the kingdoms of the surrounding lands were afraid of God 19 when they heard how the Lord had fought against Israel’s enemies.
1 tn Heb “O Judah.” The words “you people of” are supplied in the translation for clarity. See the note on the word “Judah” in v. 15.
2 tn There is a wordplay in the Hebrew text. The Hiphil verb form הַאֲמִינוּ (ha’aminu, “trust”) and the Niphal form תֵאָמֵנוּ (te’amenu, “you will be safe”) come from the same verbal root (אָמַן, ’aman).
3 tn Or “consulted.”
4 tn Or “is eternal.”
5 tn Heb “set ambushers against.” This is probably idiomatic here for launching a surprise attack.
6 tn Heb “the sons of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir.”
7 tn Heb “the sons of Ammon and Moab stood against the residents of Mount Seir.”
8 tn Heb “to annihilate and to destroy.”
9 tn Heb “residents.”
10 tn Heb “they helped, each one his fellow, for destruction.” The verb עָזַר (’azar), traditionally understood as the well-attested verb meaning “to help,” is an odd fit in this context. It is possible that it is from a homonymic root, perhaps meaning to “attack.” This root is attested in Ugaritic in a nominal form meaning “young man, warrior, hero.” For a discussion of the proposed root, see HALOT 811 s.v. II עזר.
11 tn Heb “Judah.” The words “the men of” are supplied in the translation for clarity. The Hebrew text uses the name “Judah” by metonymy for the men of Judah.
12 tn Heb “turned toward.”
13 tn Or “army.”
14 tc The MT reads פְגָרִים (fÿgarim, “corpses”), but this seems odd among a list of plunder. A few medieval Hebrew
15 tn Heb “and they snatched away for themselves so that there was no carrying away.”
16 tn Heb “and they were three days looting the plunder for it was great.”
17 tn Heb “for there.”
18 sn The name Berachah, which means “blessing” in Hebrew, is derived from the verbal root “to praise [or “to bless”],” which appears earlier in the verse.
19 tn Heb “and the terror of God [or “a great terror”] was upon all the kingdoms of the lands.” It is uncertain if אֱלֹהִים (’elohim) should be understood as a proper name here (“God”), or taken in an idiomatic superlative sense.