2 Chronicles 20

2 Chronicles · Chapter 20

2 Chronicles 20:37

1It 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.2Then 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.3And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.4And Judah gathered themselves together, to ask help of the LORD: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD.5And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court,6And 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?7Art 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?8And they dwelt therein, and have built thee a sanctuary therein for thy name, saying,9If, 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.10And 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;11Behold, I say, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit.12O 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.13And all Judah stood before the LORD, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.14Then 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;15And 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.16To 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.17Ye 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.18And 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.19And 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.20And 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.21And 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.22And 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.23For 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.24And 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.25And 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.26And 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.27Then 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.28And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries and harps and trumpets unto the house of the LORD.29And 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.30So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet: for his God gave him rest round about.31And 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.32And 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.33Howbeit the high places were not taken away: for as yet the people had not prepared their hearts unto the God of their fathers.34Now 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.35And after this did Jehoshaphat king of Judah join himself with Ahaziah king of Israel, who did very wickedly:36And he joined himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish: and they made the ships in Eziongaber.37Then 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.

King James Version (1769)

Other translations

VerseKJVBSBASV
37Then 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.Then Eliezer son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you have allied yourself with Ahaziah, the LORD has destroyed your works.” So the ships were wrecked and were unable to sail to Tarshish.Then Eliezer the son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, Because thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah, Jehovah hath destroyed thy works. And the ships were broken, so that they were not able to go to Tarshish.

In context

Who is speaking and to whom, what is happening, when and where, and why it matters, each with its sources. Coming with the context cards.

Where

Locations from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Some ancient sites are uncertain.

Original Hebrew words

EnglishHebrewSay itStrong'sMeaning
and he prophesiedוַיִּתְנַבֵּ֞אvai-yit-na-BE'H5012
to prophesy

נָבָא (na.va) 1) to prophesy 1a) (Niphal) 1a1) to prophesy 1a1a) under influence of divine spirit 1a1b) of false prophets 1b)(Hithpael) 1b1) to prophesy 1b1a) under influence of divine spirit 1b1b) of false prophets Aramaic equivalent: ne.va (נבא "to prophesy" H5013)

Eliezerאֱלִיעֶ֤זֶר'e-li-'E-zerH0461L
Eliezer

אֱלִיעֶ֫זֶר (e.li.e.zer) A man living at the time of Divided Monarchy, only mentioned at 2Ch.20.37; son of: Dodavahu (H1735) § Eliezer = "God is help" 1) Abraham's Damascene servant 2) a son of Moses 3) a Benjamite 4) a priest who helped move the ark 5) a Reubenite 6) a prophet who spoke to Jehoshaphat 7) a Levite chief 8) son of Harim 9) priest with foreign wife

[the] son ofבֶּן־ben-H1121A
son: child

בֵּן (ben) : child/son

Dodavahuדֹּדָוָ֙הוּ֙do-da-VA-huH1735
Dodavahu

דּוֹדָוָהוּ (do.da.va.hu) A man living at the time of Divided Monarchy, only mentioned at 2Ch.20.37; father of: Eliezer (H0461L); also called in KJV: Dodavah; § Dodavah = "beloved of Jehovah" a man of Mareshah in Judah, the father of Eliezer, who denounced Jehoshaphat's alliance with Ahaziah

from Mareshahמִמָּ֣רֵשָׁ֔הmi-MA-re-SHAHH4762G
Mareshah

מָרֵשָׁה (mar.e.shah) § Mareshah = "crest of a hill" one of the cities in the lowlands of Judah

onעַל־'al-H5921A
upon

עַל (al) prep 1) upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against 1a) upon, on the ground of, on the basis of, on account of, because of, therefore, on behalf of, for the sake of, for, with, in spite of, notwithstanding, concerning, in the matter of, as regards 1b) above, beyond, over (of excess) 1c) above, over (of elevation or pre-eminence) 1d) upon, to, over to, unto, in addition to, together with, with (of addition) 1e) over (of suspension or extension) …

Jehoshaphatיְהוֹשָׁפָ֖טye-ho-sha-FATH3092I
Jehoshaphat

יְהוֹשָׁפָט (ye.ho.sha.phat) A king of the tribe of Judah living at the time of Divided Monarchy, first mentioned at 1Ki.15.24; son of: Asa (H0609) and Azubah (H5806); father of: Jehoram (H3088), Azariah (H5838Q), Jehiel (H3171J), Zechariah (H2148J), Azariahu (H5838R), Michael (H4317O) and Shephatiah (H8203K) Also named: Iōsaphat (Ἰωσαφάτ "Jehoshaphat" G2498) § Jehoshaphat = "Jehovah has judged" 1) son of king Asa and himself king of Judah for 25 years; one of the best, most pious, and prosperous kings of Judah 2) son of Nimshi and father of king Jehu of the northern kingdom of Israel …

to sayingלֵאמֹ֑רle-MORH0559
to say

אָמַר (a.mar) 1) to say, speak, utter 1a) (Qal) to say, to answer, to say in one's heart, to think, to command, to promise, to intend 1b) (Niphal) to be told, to be said, to be called 1c) (Hithpael) to boast, to act proudly 1d) (Hiphil) to avow, to avouch Aramaic equivalent: a.mar (אֲמַר "to say" H0560)

as making alliance youכְּהִֽתְחַבֶּרְךָ֣ke-hit-cha-ber-KHAH2266
to unite

חָבַר (cha.var) 1) to unite, join, bind together, be joined, be coupled, be in league, heap up, have fellowship with, be compact, be a charmer 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to unite, be joined 1a2) to tie magic charms, charm 1b) (Piel) 1b1) to unite with, make an ally of 1b2) to unite, join, ally 1c) (Pual) 1c1) to be allied with, be united 1c2) to be joined together 1d) (Hiphil) to join together, pile up (words) 1e) (Hithpael) to join oneself to, make an alliance, league together

withעִם־'im-H5973A
with

עִם (im) 1) with 1a) with 1b) against 1c) toward 1d) as long as

Ahaziahאֲחַזְיָ֗הוּ'a-chaz-YA-huH0274G
Ahaziah

אֲחַזְיָ֫הוּ (a.chaz.yah) A king of the Kingdom of Israel, living at the time of Divided Monarchy, first mentioned at 1Ki.22.40; son of: Ahab (H0256) and Jezebel (H0348); brother of: Joash (H3101H), Joram (H3141H) and Athaliah (H6271) § Ahaziah = "Jehovah (Yahu) holds (possesses)" 1) ruler of Israel, son of Ahab 2) ruler of Judah, son of Jehoram (Joram)

he will breakפָּרַ֤ץpa-RATZH6555
to break through

פָּרַץ (pa.rats) 1) to break through or down or over, burst, breach 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to break or burst out (from womb or enclosure) 1a2) to break through or down, make a breach in 1a3) to break into 1a4) to break open 1a5) to break up, break in pieces 1a6) to break out (violently) upon 1a7) to break over (limits), increase 1a8) to use violence 1a9) to burst open 1a10) to spread, distribute 1b) (Niphal) to be broken through 1c) (Pual) to be broken down 1d) (Hithpael) to break away

Yahwehיְהוָה֙YAH-wehH3068G
Lord

אֲדֹנָי (a.do.nai) Lord - a title, spoken in place of Yahweh in Jewish display of reverence Another name of ye.ho.vah (יהוה "LORD" H3068G)

works yourמַעֲשֶׂ֔יךָma-'a-SEI-khaH4639G
deed: work

מַעֲשֶׂה (ma.a.seh) : work/product 1) deed, work 1a) deed, thing done, act 1b) work, labour 1c) business, pursuit 1d) undertaking, enterprise 1e) achievement 1f) deeds, works (of deliverance and judgment) 1g) work, thing made 1h) work (of God) 1i) product

and they were brokenוַיִּשָּׁבְר֣וּvai-yi-sha-ve-RUH7665
to break

שָׁבַר (sha.var) 1) to break, break in pieces 1a) (Qal) 1a1) break, break in or down, rend violently, wreck, crush, quench 1a2) to break, rupture (fig) 1b) (Niphal) 1b1) to be broken, be maimed, be crippled, be wrecked 1b2) to be broken, be crushed (fig) 1c) (Piel) to shatter, break 1d) (Hiphil) to cause to break out, bring to the birth 1e) (Hophal) to be broken, be shattered Aramaic equivalent: te.var (תְּבַר "to break" H8406)

shipsאֳנִיּ֔וֹת'o-ni-YOTH0591
fleet

אֳנִיָּה (o.niy.yah) 1) ship 1a) men of ships, seamen

and notוְלֹ֥אve-LO'H3808
not

לֹא (lo) 1) not, no 1a) not (with verb-absolute prohibition) 1b) not (with modifier-negation) 1c) nothing (subst) 1d) without (with particle) 1e) before (of time) Aramaic equivalent: la (לָא "not" H3809)

they retainedעָצְר֖וּ'a-tze-RUH6113
to restrain

עָצַר (a.tsar) 1) to restrain, retain, close up, shut, withhold, refrain, stay, detain 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to restrain, halt, stop 1a2) to retain 1b) (Niphal) to be restrained, be stayed, be under restraint

to goלָלֶ֥כֶתla-LE-khetH1980G
to go: went

הָלַךְ (ha.lakh) : went/go[away] 1) to go, walk, come 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to go, walk, come, depart, proceed, move, go away 1a2) to die, live, manner of life (fig.) 1b) (Piel) 1b1) to walk 1b2) to walk (fig.) 1c) (Hithpael) 1c1) to traverse 1c2) to walk about 1d) (Niphal) to lead, bring, lead away, carry, cause to walk

toאֶל־'el-H0413
to(wards)

אֶל (el) 1) to, toward, unto (of motion) 2) into (limit is actually entered) 2a) in among 3) toward (of direction, not necessarily physical motion) 4) against (motion or direction of a hostile character) 5) in addition to, to 6) concerning, in regard to, in reference to, on account of 7) according to (rule or standard) 8) at, by, against (of one's presence) 9) in between, in within, to within, unto (idea of motion to)

Tarshishתַּרְשִֽׁישׁ׃tar-SHISHH8659H
Tarshish

תַּרְשִׁישׁ (tar.shish) § Tarshish or Tharshish = "yellow jasper" 1) a city of the Phoenicians in a distant part of the Mediterranean Sea to which the prophet Jonah was trying to flee perhaps in Cyprus or Spain 2) a city somewhere near and accessible to the Red Sea to which ships constructed at Ezion-geber on the Elanitic Gulf on the Red Sea were to sail

Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.