2 Chronicles 20:2-12

New Catholic Bible

² The following communiqué was sent to Jehoshaphat: “A great multitude is coming forth against you from Edom, from beyond the sea.^[a] They are already at Hazazon-tamar, that is, En-gedi.” ³ Jehoshaphat was alarmed, and he hastened to seek the guidance of the Lord, while proclaiming a fast throughout all Judah. ⁴ The people of Judah assembled, to seek help from the Lord, as they came from all the towns of Judah to consult the Lord.

Prayer of Jehoshaphat. ⁵ Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem in the house of the Lord before the new court ⁶ and said: “O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not the God in heaven, and do you not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations? In your hands are power and might, and there is no one who can withstand you. ⁷ Was it not you, our God, who drove out the inhabitants of this land for your people Israel and gave it forever to the descendants of Abraham? ⁸ They have lived in it and have built you a sanctuary there to honor your name, saying: ⁹ ‘Should any disaster befall us, whether the sword of judgment or war or blood or pestilence or famine, we shall stand before this temple that bears your name and call out to you in our distress, and you will hear our cries and save us.’

¹⁰ “But now, behold the Ammonites, the Moabites, and the people of Mount Seir, whom you would not permit the Israelites to invade when they came from the land of Egypt and whom they avoided and made no attempt to destroy them. ¹¹ See how these people repay us by coming forth to drive us out of the possession you gave us as an inheritance. ¹² O God will you not pass judgment against them? For we are powerless against this vast horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are turned toward you.”