10. “But now, here are men from Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir. You would not let the Israelites enter their lands when they came out of Egypt. So the Israelites turned away and didn’t destroy them.
11. But see the kind of reward those people give us for not destroying them. They have come to force us out of your land that you gave to us.
12. Our God, punish those people. We don’t have the strength to stop this large army that is coming against us. We don’t know what to do! We are looking to you for help.”
13. All the men of Judah stood before the Lord with their wives, babies, and children.
14. Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Jahaziel son of Zechariah. (Zechariah was the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah.) Jahaziel was a Levite from the family of Asaph. In the middle of the meeting,
15. Jahaziel said, “Listen to me King Jehoshaphat and everyone living in Judah and Jerusalem! The Lord says this to you: ‘Don’t be afraid or worry about this large army, because the battle is not your battle. It is God’s battle!
16. Tomorrow, they will come up through the Ziz Pass. You must go down to them. You will find them at the end of the valley on the other side of the desert of Jeruel.
17. You will not have to fight this battle. Just stand there and watch the Lord save you. Judah and Jerusalem, don’t be afraid. Don’t worry, because the Lord is with you. So go out to stand against those people tomorrow.’”
18. Jehoshaphat bowed with his face to the ground. And all the people of Judah and Jerusalem bowed down before the Lord and worshiped him.
19. The Levites from the Kohath family groups and the Korah family stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel. They sang very loudly.
20. Early the next morning, Jehoshaphat’s army went out into the desert of Tekoa. As they marched out, Jehoshaphat stood there saying, “Listen to me, men of Judah and Jerusalem. Have faith in the Lord your God, and you will stand strong! Have faith in his prophets, and you will succeed!”
21. Jehoshaphat encouraged the men and gave them instructions. Then he had the Temple singers stand up in their special clothes to praise the Lord. They marched in front of the army and sang, “Give thanks to the Lord! His faithful love will last forever.”