2 Tawarikh 20:20-24

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!

[20:20]  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.

[20:20]  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).

[20:21]  ³ tn Or “consulted.”

[20:21]  ⁴ tn Or “is eternal.”

[20:22]  ⁵ tn Heb “set ambushers against.” This is probably idiomatic here for launching a surprise attack.

[20:22]  ⁶ tn Heb “the sons of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir.”

[20:23]  ⁷ tn Heb “the sons of Ammon and Moab stood against the residents of Mount Seir.”

[20:23]  ⁸ tn Heb “to annihilate and to destroy.”

[20:23]  ⁹ tn Heb “residents.”

[20:23]  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.

[20:24]  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.

[20:24]  ¹² tn Heb “turned toward.”