2nd Chronicles 历代志下20

20After this, the Moabites and Ammonites with some of the Meunites came to make war on Jehoshaphat.
2Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, "A vast army is coming against you from Edom, from the other side of the Sea. It is already in Hazazon Tamar" (that is, En Gedi).
3Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord , and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah.
4The people of Judah came together to seek help from the Lord ; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him.
5Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of the Lord in the front of the new courtyard
6and said: "O Lord , God of our fathers, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you.
7O our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend?
8They have lived in it and have built in it a sanctuary¹ for your Name, saying,
9'If calamity² comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment³, or plague or famine, we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress⁴, and you will hear us and save us.'
10"But now here are men from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, whose territory you would not allow Israel to invade when they came from Egypt; so they turned away from them and did not destroy them.
11See how they are repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession you gave us as an inheritance.
12O our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you."
13All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the Lord .
14Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite and descendant of Asaph, as he stood in the assembly.
15He said: "Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: 'Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's.
16Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge⁵ in the Desert of Jeruel.
17You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.' "
18Jehoshaphat bowed with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the Lord .
19Then some Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites stood up and praised the Lord , the God of Israel, with very loud voice.
20Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful."
21After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor⁶ of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: "Give thanks to the Lord , for his love endures forever."
22As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes⁷ against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.
23The men of Ammon and Moab rose up against the men from Mount Seir to destroy and annihilate⁸ them. After they finished slaughtering⁹ the men from Seir, they helped to destroy one another.
24When the men of Judah came to the place that overlooks the desert and looked toward the vast army, they saw only dead bodies lying on the ground; no one had escaped.
25So Jehoshaphat and his men went to carry off their plunder¹⁰, and they found among them a great amount of equipment and clothing and also articles of value-more than they could take away. There was so much plunder that it took three days to collect it.
26On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Beracah, where they praised the Lord . This is why it is called the Valley of Beracah to this day.
27Then, led by Jehoshaphat, all the men of Judah and Jerusalem returned joyfully¹¹ to Jerusalem, for the Lord had given them cause to rejoice over their enemies.
28They entered Jerusalem and went to the temple of the Lord with harps¹² and lutes and trumpets¹³.
29The fear of God came upon all the kingdoms of the countries when they heard how the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel.
30And the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, for his God had given him rest on every side.
31So Jehoshaphat reigned¹⁵ over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he became king of Judah, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-five years. His mother's name was Azubah daughter of Shilhi.
32He walked in the ways of his father Asa and did not stray from them; he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord .
33The high places, however, were not removed, and the people still had not set their hearts on the God of their fathers.
34The other events of Jehoshaphat's reign¹⁴, from beginning to end, are written in the annals of Jehu son of Hanani, which are recorded in the book of the kings of Israel.
35Later, Jehoshaphat king of Judah made an alliance with Ahaziah king of Israel, who was guilty of wickedness.
36He agreed with him to construct a fleet of trading ships. After these were built at Ezion Geber,
37Eliezer son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied¹⁶ against Jehoshaphat, saying, "Because you have made an alliance with Ahaziah, the Lord will destroy what you have made." The ships were wrecked¹⁷ and were not able to set sail to trade.

1 sanctuary   

n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区

参考例句：

• There was a sanctuary of political refugees behind the hospital.医院后面有一个政治难民的避难所。
• Most countries refuse to give sanctuary to people who hijack aeroplanes.大多数国家拒绝对劫机者提供庇护。

2 calamity   

n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件

参考例句：

• Even a greater natural calamity cannot daunt us. 再大的自然灾害也压不垮我们。
• The attack on Pearl Harbor was a crushing calamity.偷袭珍珠港(对美军来说)是一场毁灭性的灾难。

3 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

4 distress   

n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛

参考例句：

• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
• Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

5 gorge   

n.咽喉，胃，暴食，山峡；v.塞饱，狼吞虎咽地吃

参考例句：

• East of the gorge leveled out.峡谷东面地势变得平坦起来。
• It made my gorge rise to hear the news.这消息令我作呕。

6 splendor   

n.光彩；壮丽，华丽；显赫，辉煌

参考例句：

• Never in his life had he gazed on such splendor.他生平从没有见过如此辉煌壮丽的场面。
• All the splendor in the world is not worth a good friend.人世间所有的荣华富贵不如一个好朋友。

7 ambushes   

n.埋伏( ambush的名词复数 )；伏击；埋伏着的人；设埋伏点v.埋伏( ambush的第三人称单数 )；埋伏着

参考例句：

• He was a specialist in ambushes, he said, and explained his tactics. 他说自己是埋伏战斗方面的专家，并讲述了他的战术。 来自互联网
• It makes ambushes rather fun. 它使得埋伏战术非常有趣。 来自互联网

8 annihilate   

v.使无效；毁灭；取消

参考例句：

• Archer crumpled up the yellow sheet as if the gesture could annihilate the news it contained.阿切尔把这张黄纸揉皱，好象用这个动作就会抹掉里面的消息似的。
• We should bear in mind that we have to annihilate the enemy.我们要把歼敌的重任时刻记在心上。

9 slaughtering   

v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The Revolutionary Tribunal went to work, and a steady slaughtering began. 革命法庭投入工作，持续不断的大屠杀开始了。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史
• \"Isn't it terrific slaughtering pigs? “宰猪的！ 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

10 plunder   

vt.劫掠财物，掠夺；n.劫掠物，赃物；劫掠

参考例句：

• The thieves hid their plunder in the cave.贼把赃物藏在山洞里。
• Trade should not serve as a means of economic plunder.贸易不应当成为经济掠夺的手段。

11 joyfully   

adv. 喜悦地, 高兴地

参考例句：

• She tripped along joyfully as if treading on air. 她高兴地走着，脚底下轻飘飘的。
• During these first weeks she slaved joyfully. 在最初的几周里，她干得很高兴。

12 harps   

abbr.harpsichord 拨弦古钢琴n.竖琴( harp的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She continually harps on lack of money. 她总唠叨说缺钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He could turn on the harps of the blessed. 他能召来天使的竖琴为他奏乐。 来自辞典例句

13 trumpets   

喇叭( trumpet的名词复数 )； 小号； 喇叭形物； （尤指）绽开的水仙花

参考例句：

• A wreath was laid on the monument to a fanfare of trumpets. 在响亮的号角声中花圈被献在纪念碑前。
• A fanfare of trumpets heralded the arrival of the King. 嘹亮的小号声宣告了国王驾到。

14 reign   

n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势

参考例句：

• The reign of Queen Elizabeth lapped over into the seventeenth century.伊丽莎白王朝延至17世纪。
• The reign of Zhu Yuanzhang lasted about 31 years.朱元璋统治了大约三十一年。

15 reigned   

vi.当政，统治（reign的过去式形式）

参考例句：

• Silence reigned in the hall. 全场肃静。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Night was deep and dead silence reigned everywhere. 夜深人静，一片死寂。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

16 prophesied   

v.预告，预言( prophesy的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She prophesied that she would win a gold medal. 她预言自己将赢得金牌。
• She prophesied the tragic outcome. 她预言有悲惨的结果。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 wrecked   

adj.失事的，遇难的

参考例句：

• the hulk of a wrecked ship 遇难轮船的残骸
• the salvage of the wrecked tanker 对失事油轮的打捞