16. March out against them tomorrow. Since they will be coming through the Ziz pass, meet them at the end of the valley that opens into the Jeruel wilderness.
17. You don’t need to fight this battle. Just take your places, stand ready, and watch how the Lord, who is with you, will deliver you, Judah and Jerusalem. Don’t be afraid or discouraged! Go out tomorrow and face them. The Lord will be with you."
18. Then Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the Lord in worship.
19. Levites from the lines of Kohath and Korah stood up to loudly praise the Lord, the God of Israel.
20. Early the next morning they went into the Tekoa wilderness. When they were about to go out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Listen to me, Judah and every inhabitant of Jerusalem! Trust the Lord your God, and you will stand firm; trust his prophets and succeed!"
21. After consulting with the people, Jehoshaphat appointed musicians to play for the Lord, praising his majestic holiness. They were to march out before the warriors, saying, "Give thanks to the Lord because his faithful love lasts forever!"
22. As they broke into joyful song and praise, the Lord launched a surprise attack against the Ammonites, the Moabites, and those from Mount Seir who were invading Judah, so that they were defeated.
23. The Ammonites and the Moabites turned on those from Mount Seir, completely destroying them. Once they had finished off the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy each other!
24. When Judah arrived at the point overlooking the wilderness, all they could see were corpses lying all over the ground. There were no survivors.
25. When Jehoshaphat and his army came to take the loot, they found a great amount of cattle, goods, clothing, and other valuables—much more than they could carry. In fact, there was so much it took three days to haul it away.
26. On the fourth day they assembled in Blessing Valley, where they blessed the Lord. That’s why it is called Blessing Valley to this day.
27. Then everyone from Judah and Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat at their head, joyfully returned home to Jerusalem because the Lord had given them reason to rejoice over their enemies.
28. They entered Jerusalem accompanied by harps, lutes, and trumpets, and they went to the Lord’s temple.
29. The fear of God came on all the surrounding kingdoms when they heard how the Lord had fought against Israel’s enemies.
30. As a result, Jehoshaphat’s rule was peaceful because his God gave him rest on all sides.
31. Jehoshaphat ruled over Judah. He was 35 years old when he became king, and he ruled for twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Azubah; she was Shilhi’s daughter.
32. Jehoshaphat walked in the way of his father Asa and didn’t turn aside from it, doing what was right in the Lord’s eyes,