Tuesday, 17 December

1.   It happened after this that the people of Moab with the people of Ammon, and others with them besides the Ammonites, came to battle against Jehoshaphat. 2.   Then some came and told Jehoshaphat, saying, "A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, from Syria; and they are in Hazazon Tamar" (which is En Gedi). 3.   And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. 4.   So Judah gathered together to ask help from the LORD; and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD. 5.   Then Jehoshaphat stood 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 God in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand You? 7.   " Are You not our God, who drove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel, and gave it to the descendants of Abraham Your friend forever? 8.   "And they dwell in it, and have built You a sanctuary in it for Your name, saying, 9.   ‘If disaster comes upon us––sword, judgment, pestilence, or famine––we will stand before this temple and in Your presence (for Your name is in this temple), and cry out to You in our affliction, and You will hear and save.’ 10.   "And now, here are the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir––whom You would not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them and did not destroy them–– 11.   "here they are, rewarding us by coming to throw us out of Your possession which You have given us to inherit. 12.   "O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You." 13.   Now all Judah, with their little ones, their wives, and their children, stood before the LORD. 14.   Then the Spirit of the LORD came 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, in the midst of the assembly. 15.   And he said, "Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the LORD to you: ‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. 16.   ‘Tomorrow go down against them. They will surely come up by the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the brook before the Wilderness of Jeruel. 17.   ‘You will not need to fight in this battle . Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the LORD, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the LORD is with you." 18.   And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem bowed before the LORD, worshiping the LORD. 19.   Then the Levites of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with voices loud and high. 20.   So they rose early in the morning and went out into the Wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the LORD your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper." 21.   And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the LORD, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying: "Praise the LORD, For His mercy endures forever." 22.   Now when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated. 23.   For the people of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to utterly kill and destroy them . And when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another. 24.   So when Judah came to a place overlooking the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude; and there were their dead bodies, fallen on the earth. No one had escaped. 25.   When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away their spoil, they found among them an abundance of valuables on the dead bodies, and precious jewelry, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away; and they were three days gathering the spoil because there was so much. 26.   And on the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Berachah, for there they blessed the LORD; therefore the name of that place was called The Valley of Berachah until this day. 27.   Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat in front of them, to go back to Jerusalem with joy, for the LORD had made them rejoice over their enemies. 28.   So they came to Jerusalem, with stringed instruments and harps and trumpets, to the house of the LORD. 29.   And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries when they heard that the LORD had fought against the enemies of Israel. 30.   Then the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his God gave him rest all around. 31.   So Jehoshaphat was king over Judah. He was thirty–five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty–five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. 32.   And he walked in the way of his father Asa, and did not turn aside from it, doing what was right in the sight of the LORD. 33.   Nevertheless the high places were not taken away, for as yet the people had not directed their hearts to the God of their fathers. 34.   Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last, indeed they are written in the book of Jehu the son of Hanani, which is mentioned in the book of the kings of Israel. 35.   After this Jehoshaphat king of Judah allied himself with Ahaziah king of Israel, who acted very wickedly. 36.   And he allied himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish, and they made the ships in Ezion Geber. 37.   But Eliezer the son of Dodavah of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, "Because you have allied yourself with Ahaziah, the LORD has destroyed your works." Then the ships were wrecked, so that they were not able to go to Tarshish.

1.   And Jehoshaphat rested with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David. Then Jehoram his son reigned in his place.

1.   A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, on Shigionoth. 2.   O LORD, I have heard your speech and was afraid; O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years! In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy. 3.   God came from Teman, The Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah His glory covered the heavens, And the earth was full of His praise. 4.   His brightness was like the light; He had rays flashing from His hand, And there His power was hidden. 5.   Before Him went pestilence, And fever followed at His feet. 6.   He stood and measured the earth; He looked and startled the nations. And the everlasting mountains were scattered, The perpetual hills bowed. His ways are everlasting. 7.   I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction; The curtains of the land of Midian trembled. 8.   O LORD, were You displeased with the rivers, Was Your anger against the rivers, Was Your wrath against the sea, That You rode on Your horses, Your chariots of salvation? 9.   Your bow was made quite ready; Oaths were sworn over Your arrows. Selah You divided the earth with rivers. 10.   The mountains saw You and trembled; The overflowing of the water passed by. The deep uttered its voice, And lifted its hands on high. 11.   The sun and moon stood still in their habitation; At the light of Your arrows they went, At the shining of Your glittering spear. 12.   You marched through the land in indignation; You trampled the nations in anger. 13.   You went forth for the salvation of Your people, For salvation with Your Anointed. You struck the head from the house of the wicked, By laying bare from foundation to neck. Selah 14.   You thrust through with his own arrows The head of his villages. They came out like a whirlwind to scatter me; Their rejoicing was like feasting on the poor in secret. 15.   You walked through the sea with Your horses, Through the heap of great waters. 16.   When I heard, my body trembled; My lips quivered at the voice; Rottenness entered my bones; And I trembled in myself, That I might rest in the day of trouble. When he comes up to the people, He will invade them with his troops. 17.   Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls–– 18.   Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. 19.   The LORD God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer’s feet , And He will make me walk on my high hills. To the Chief Musician. With my stringed instruments.

1.   When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. 2.   And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets. 3.   Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. 4.   And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand. 5.   Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth. And there were noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake. 6.   So the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. 7.   The first angel sounded: And hail and fire followed, mingled with blood, and they were thrown to the earth. And a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up. 8.   Then the second angel sounded: And something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood. 9.   And a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed. 10.   Then the third angel sounded: And a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. 11.   The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many men died from the water, because it was made bitter. 12.   Then the fourth angel sounded: And a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened. A third of the day did not shine, and likewise the night. 13.   And I looked, and I heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, "Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!"