“ Inquire now of the Lord for us because Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is attacking us. Perhaps the Lord will perform wonders for us as in times past so that he will withdraw from us.”

“请你为我们求问耶和华；因为巴比伦王尼布甲尼撒来攻击我们，或者耶和华照他一切奇妙的作为待我们，使巴比伦王离开我们上去。”

“请你为我们求问耶和华，因为巴比伦王尼布甲尼撒前来攻击我们；或者耶和华照他一切奇妙的作为待我们，使巴比伦王离开我们而去。”

“请你为我们求问耶和华，因为巴比伦王尼布甲尼撒前来攻击我们；或者耶和华照他一切奇妙的作为待我们，使巴比伦王离开我们而去。”

“请你为我们求问耶和华，因为巴比伦王尼布甲尼撒来攻打我们，或许耶和华会像以往一样行神迹，使敌人撤军。”

“请你替我们求问耶和华，因为巴比伦王尼布甲尼撒来攻击我们；也许耶和华会为我们行奇事，使尼布甲尼撒离开我们回去。”

「請你為我們求問耶和華；因為巴比倫王尼布甲尼撒來攻擊我們，或者耶和華照他一切奇妙的作為待我們，使巴比倫王離開我們上去。」

「請你為我們求問耶和華，因為巴比倫王尼布甲尼撒前來攻擊我們；或者耶和華照他一切奇妙的作為待我們，使巴比倫王離開我們而去。」

「請你為我們求問耶和華，因為巴比倫王尼布甲尼撒前來攻擊我們；或者耶和華照他一切奇妙的作為待我們，使巴比倫王離開我們而去。」

「請你為我們求問耶和華，因為巴比倫王尼布甲尼撒來攻打我們，或許耶和華會像以往一樣行神蹟，使敵人撤軍。」

“請你替我們求問耶和華，因為巴比倫王尼布甲尼撒來攻擊我們；也許耶和華會為我們行奇事，使尼布甲尼撒離開我們回去。”

『請為我們求問永恆主，因為巴比倫王尼布甲尼撒來攻擊我們；或者永恆主照他一切奇妙的作為來待我們，使巴比倫王撤圍離開我們而上去、也不一定。』那時有話語出於永恆主，而傳與耶利米。

巴比倫王尼布甲尼撒將與我戰、求爾為我詢於耶和華、或耶和華依其奇行待我、使彼離我而去、

巴比倫王尼布甲尼撒攻我、爾為我禱耶和華、庶幾耶和華仍顯異跡、俾不攻予、時耶利米奉耶和華命、

“ Ask the Lord to help us. Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is attacking us. In the past the Lord did wonderful things for us. Maybe he’ll do them again. Then Nebuchadnezzar will pull his armies back from us.”

“ Inquire of the Lord for us, for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is making war against us. Perhaps the Lord will deal with us according to all his wonderful deeds and will make him withdraw from us.”

“ Please speak to the Lord for us and ask him to help us. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon is attacking Judah. Perhaps the Lord will be gracious and do a mighty miracle as he has done in the past. Perhaps he will force Nebuchadnezzar to withdraw his armies.”

“ Inquire of the LORD on our behalf, since King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon is making war against us. Perhaps the LORD will perform for us something like all his past wondrous works so that Nebuchadnezzar will withdraw from us.”

“ Please inquire of the Lord in our behalf, because Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is making war against us; perhaps the Lord will deal with us in accordance with all His wonderful acts, so that the enemy will withdraw from us.”

“ Please inquire of the Lord for us, for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon makes war against us. Perhaps the Lord will deal with us according to all His wonderful works, that the king may go away from us.”

Inquire, I pray thee, of Jehovah for us; for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon maketh war against us: peradventure Jehovah will deal with us according to all his wondrous works, that he may go up from us.

“ Ask the Lord on our behalf, since Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is making war against us. Perhaps the Lord will perform for us something like all His past wonderful works so that Nebuchadnezzar will withdraw from us.”

Enquire, I pray thee, of the LORD for us; for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon maketh war against us; if so be that the LORD will deal with us according to all his wondrous works, that he may go up from us.

“ Please ask the LORD to come and help us, because King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon is attacking us. Maybe the LORD will perform one of his miracles as in times past and make him stop attacking us and leave.”

“ Please inquire of Yahweh for us; for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon makes war against us. Perhaps Yahweh will deal with us according to all his wondrous works, that he may withdraw from us.”

King Zedekiah, however, sent Jehukal son of Shelemiah with the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah to Jeremiah the prophet with this message:“ Please pray to the Lord our God for us.”

In the seventh year, in the fifth month on the tenth day, some of the elders of Israel came to inquire of the Lord, and they sat down in front of me.Then the word of the Lord came to me:“ Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel and say to them,‘ This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Have you come to inquire of me? As surely as I live, I will not let you inquire of me, declares the Sovereign Lord.’

“ This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of me,‘ Pharaoh’s army, which has marched out to support you, will go back to its own land, to Egypt.

“ I have heard you,” replied Jeremiah the prophet.“ I will certainly pray to the Lord your God as you have requested; I will tell you everything the Lord says and will keep nothing back from you.”Then they said to Jeremiah,“ May the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act in accordance with everything the Lord your God sends you to tell us.Whether it is favorable or unfavorable, we will obey the Lord our God, to whom we are sending you, so that it will go well with us, for we will obey the Lord our God.”

Samuel said to Saul,“ Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?”“ I am in great distress,” Saul said.“ The Philistines are fighting against me, and God has departed from me. He no longer answers me, either by prophets or by dreams. So I have called on you to tell me what to do.”

He inquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets.

And the Israelites inquired of the Lord.( In those days the ark of the covenant of God was there,

We have heard it with our ears, O God; our ancestors have told us what you did in their days, in days long ago.With your hand you drove out the nations and planted our ancestors; you crushed the peoples and made our ancestors flourish.It was not by their sword that they won the land, nor did their arm bring them victory; it was your right hand, your arm, and the light of your face, for you loved them.You are my King and my God, who decrees victories for Jacob.

and Jeroboam said to his wife,“ Go, disguise yourself, so you won’t be recognized as the wife of Jeroboam. Then go to Shiloh. Ahijah the prophet is there— the one who told me I would be king over this people.Take ten loaves of bread with you, some cakes and a jar of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what will happen to the boy.”

Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, now that Ehud was dead.So the Lord sold them into the hands of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. Sisera, the commander of his army, was based in Harosheth Haggoyim.Because he had nine hundred chariots fitted with iron and had cruelly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years, they cried to the Lord for help.Now Deborah, a prophet, the wife of Lappidoth, was leading Israel at that time.She held court under the Palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went up to her to have their disputes decided.

So they inquired further of the Lord,“ Has the man come here yet?” And the Lord said,“ Yes, he has hidden himself among the supplies.”

When the kings joined forces, when they advanced together,they saw her and were astounded; they fled in terror.Trembling seized them there, pain like that of a woman in labor.You destroyed them like ships of Tarshish shattered by an east wind.As we have heard, so we have seen in the city of the Lord Almighty, in the city of our God: God makes her secure forever.

But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite,“ Go up and meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and ask them,‘ Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going off to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?’

Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear.But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.

In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his whole army and laid siege to it.And on the ninth day of the fourth month of Zedekiah’s eleventh year, the city wall was broken through.

Then King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the prophet and had him brought to the third entrance to the temple of the Lord.“ I am going to ask you something,” the king said to Jeremiah.“ Do not hide anything from me.”Jeremiah said to Zedekiah,“ If I give you an answer, will you not kill me? Even if I did give you counsel, you would not listen to me.”But King Zedekiah swore this oath secretly to Jeremiah:“ As surely as the Lord lives, who has given us breath, I will neither kill you nor hand you over to those who want to kill you.”Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah,“ This is what the Lord God Almighty, the God of Israel, says:‘ If you surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, your life will be spared and this city will not be burned down; you and your family will live.But if you will not surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, this city will be given into the hands of the Babylonians and they will burn it down; you yourself will not escape from them.’”King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah,“ I am afraid of the Jews who have gone over to the Babylonians, for the Babylonians may hand me over to them and they will mistreat me.”“ They will not hand you over,” Jeremiah replied.“ Obey the Lord by doing what I tell you. Then it will go well with you, and your life will be spared.But if you refuse to surrender, this is what the Lord has revealed to me:All the women left in the palace of the king of Judah will be brought out to the officials of the king of Babylon. Those women will say to you:“‘ They misled you and overcame you— those trusted friends of yours. Your feet are sunk in the mud; your friends have deserted you.’“ All your wives and children will be brought out to the Babylonians. You yourself will not escape from their hands but will be captured by the king of Babylon; and this city will be burned down.”Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah,“ Do not let anyone know about this conversation, or you may die.If the officials hear that I talked with you, and they come to you and say,‘ Tell us what you said to the king and what the king said to you; do not hide it from us or we will kill you,’then tell them,‘ I was pleading with the king not to send me back to Jonathan’s house to die there.’”All the officials did come to Jeremiah and question him, and he told them everything the king had ordered him to say. So they said no more to him, for no one had heard his conversation with the king.

“ Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces. Should I let them inquire of me at all?Therefore speak to them and tell them,‘ This is what the Sovereign Lord says: When any of the Israelites set up idols in their hearts and put a wicked stumbling block before their faces and then go to a prophet, I the Lord will answer them myself in keeping with their great idolatry.I will do this to recapture the hearts of the people of Israel, who have all deserted me for their idols.’“ Therefore say to the people of Israel,‘ This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Repent! Turn from your idols and renounce all your detestable practices!“‘ When any of the Israelites or any foreigner residing in Israel separate themselves from me and set up idols in their hearts and put a wicked stumbling block before their faces and then go to a prophet to inquire of me, I the Lord will answer them myself.

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever.Give thanks to the God of gods. His love endures forever.Give thanks to the Lord of lords: His love endures forever.to him who alone does great wonders, His love endures forever.who by his understanding made the heavens, His love endures forever.who spread out the earth upon the waters, His love endures forever.who made the great lights— His love endures forever.the sun to govern the day, His love endures forever.the moon and stars to govern the night; His love endures forever.to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt His love endures forever.and brought Israel out from among them His love endures forever.with a mighty hand and outstretched arm; His love endures forever.to him who divided the Red Sea asunder His love endures forever.and brought Israel through the midst of it, His love endures forever.but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea; His love endures forever.to him who led his people through the wilderness; His love endures forever.to him who struck down great kings, His love endures forever.and killed mighty kings— His love endures forever.Sihon king of the Amorites His love endures forever.and Og king of Bashan— His love endures forever.and gave their land as an inheritance, His love endures forever.an inheritance to his servant Israel. His love endures forever.He remembered us in our low estate His love endures forever.and freed us from our enemies. His love endures forever.He gives food to every creature. His love endures forever.Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever.

Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,you his servants, the descendants of Abraham, his chosen ones, the children of Jacob.He is the Lord our God; his judgments are in all the earth.He remembers his covenant forever, the promise he made, for a thousand generations,the covenant he made with Abraham, the oath he swore to Isaac.He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to Israel as an everlasting covenant:“ To you I will give the land of Canaan as the portion you will inherit.”When they were but few in number, few indeed, and strangers in it,they wandered from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another.He allowed no one to oppress them; for their sake he rebuked kings:“ Do not touch my anointed ones; do my prophets no harm.”He called down famine on the land and destroyed all their supplies of food;and he sent a man before them— Joseph, sold as a slave.They bruised his feet with shackles, his neck was put in irons,till what he foretold came to pass, till the word of the Lord proved him true.The king sent and released him, the ruler of peoples set him free.He made him master of his household, ruler over all he possessed,to instruct his princes as he pleased and teach his elders wisdom.Then Israel entered Egypt; Jacob resided as a foreigner in the land of Ham.The Lord made his people very fruitful; he made them too numerous for their foes,whose hearts he turned to hate his people, to conspire against his servants.He sent Moses his servant, and Aaron, whom he had chosen.They performed his signs among them, his wonders in the land of Ham.He sent darkness and made the land dark— for had they not rebelled against his words?He turned their waters into blood, causing their fish to die.Their land teemed with frogs, which went up into the bedrooms of their rulers.He spoke, and there came swarms of flies, and gnats throughout their country.He turned their rain into hail, with lightning throughout their land;he struck down their vines and fig trees and shattered the trees of their country.He spoke, and the locusts came, grasshoppers without number;they ate up every green thing in their land, ate up the produce of their soil.Then he struck down all the firstborn in their land, the firstfruits of all their manhood.He brought out Israel, laden with silver and gold, and from among their tribes no one faltered.Egypt was glad when they left, because dread of Israel had fallen on them.He spread out a cloud as a covering, and a fire to give light at night.They asked, and he brought them quail; he fed them well with the bread of heaven.He opened the rock, and water gushed out; it flowed like a river in the desert.For he remembered his holy promise given to his servant Abraham.He brought out his people with rejoicing, his chosen ones with shouts of joy;he gave them the lands of the nations, and they fell heir to what others had toiled for—that they might keep his precepts and observe his laws. Praise the Lord.

Come and see what the Lord has done, the desolations he has brought on the earth.He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire.He says,“ Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

So in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his whole army. He encamped outside the city and built siege works all around it.The city was kept under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.

David said to the Philistine,“ You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him.Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground.So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.

“ Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.

Jonathan said to his young armor-bearer,“ Come, let’s go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised men. Perhaps the Lord will act in our behalf. Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few.”“ Do all that you have in mind,” his armor-bearer said.“ Go ahead; I am with you heart and soul.”Jonathan said,“ Come on, then; we will cross over toward them and let them see us.If they say to us,‘ Wait there until we come to you,’ we will stay where we are and not go up to them.But if they say,‘ Come up to us,’ we will climb up, because that will be our sign that the Lord has given them into our hands.”So both of them showed themselves to the Philistine outpost.“ Look!” said the Philistines.“ The Hebrews are crawling out of the holes they were hiding in.”The men of the outpost shouted to Jonathan and his armor-bearer,“ Come up to us and we’ll teach you a lesson.” So Jonathan said to his armor-bearer,“ Climb up after me; the Lord has given them into the hand of Israel.”Jonathan climbed up, using his hands and feet, with his armor-bearer right behind him. The Philistines fell before Jonathan, and his armor-bearer followed and killed behind him.In that first attack Jonathan and his armor-bearer killed some twenty men in an area of about half an acre.

“ Go and inquire of the Lord for me and for the people and for all Judah about what is written in this book that has been found. Great is the Lord’s anger that burns against us because those who have gone before us have not obeyed the words of this book; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written there concerning us.”Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Akbor, Shaphan and Asaiah went to speak to the prophet Huldah, who was the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem, in the New Quarter.

After this, the Moabites and Ammonites with some of the Meunites came to wage war against Jehoshaphat.Some people came and told Jehoshaphat,“ A vast army is coming against you from Edom, from the other side of the Dead Sea. It is already in Hazezon Tamar”( that is, En Gedi).Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah.The people of Judah came together to seek help from the Lord; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him.Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of the Lord in the front of the new courtyardand said:“ Lord, the God of our ancestors, 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.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?They have lived in it and have built in it a sanctuary for your Name, saying,‘ If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, 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 distress, and you will hear us and save us.’“ 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.See how they are repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession you gave us as an inheritance.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 on you.”All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the Lord.Then the Spirit of the Lord came on 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.He 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.Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel.You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.’”Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the Lord.Then some Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites stood up and praised the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.Early 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.”After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying:“ Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever.”As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.The Ammonites and Moabites rose up against the men from Mount Seir to destroy and annihilate them. After they finished slaughtering the men from Seir, they helped to destroy one another.When 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.So Jehoshaphat and his men went to carry off their plunder, 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.On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Berakah, where they praised the Lord. This is why it is called the Valley of Berakah to this day.Then, led by Jehoshaphat, all the men of Judah and Jerusalem returned joyfully to Jerusalem, for the Lord had given them cause to rejoice over their enemies.They entered Jerusalem and went to the temple of the Lord with harps and lyres and trumpets.The fear of God came on all the surrounding kingdoms when they heard how the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel.And the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, for his God had given him rest on every side.

Now Adoni- Zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had taken Ai and totally destroyed it, doing to Ai and its king as he had done to Jericho and its king, and that the people of Gibeon had made a treaty of peace with Israel and had become their allies.He and his people were very much alarmed at this, because Gibeon was an important city, like one of the royal cities; it was larger than Ai, and all its men were good fighters.So Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem appealed to Hoham king of Hebron, Piram king of Jarmuth, Japhia king of Lachish and Debir king of Eglon.“ Come up and help me attack Gibeon,” he said,“ because it has made peace with Joshua and the Israelites.”Then the five kings of the Amorites— the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon— joined forces. They moved up with all their troops and took up positions against Gibeon and attacked it.The Gibeonites then sent word to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal:“ Do not abandon your servants. Come up to us quickly and save us! Help us, because all the Amorite kings from the hill country have joined forces against us.”So Joshua marched up from Gilgal with his entire army, including all the best fighting men.The Lord said to Joshua,“ Do not be afraid of them; I have given them into your hand. Not one of them will be able to withstand you.”After an all-night march from Gilgal, Joshua took them by surprise.The Lord threw them into confusion before Israel, so Joshua and the Israelites defeated them completely at Gibeon. Israel pursued them along the road going up to Beth Horon and cut them down all the way to Azekah and Makkedah.As they fled before Israel on the road down from Beth Horon to Azekah, the Lord hurled large hailstones down on them, and more of them died from the hail than were killed by the swords of the Israelites.

Zerah the Cushite marched out against them with an army of thousands upon thousands and three hundred chariots, and came as far as Mareshah.Asa went out to meet him, and they took up battle positions in the Valley of Zephathah near Mareshah.Then Asa called to the Lord his God and said,“ Lord, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast army. Lord, you are our God; do not let mere mortals prevail against you.”The Lord struck down the Cushites before Asa and Judah. The Cushites fled,and Asa and his army pursued them as far as Gerar. Such a great number of Cushites fell that they could not recover; they were crushed before the Lord and his forces. The men of Judah carried off a large amount of plunder.

While Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to engage Israel in battle. But that day the Lord thundered with loud thunder against the Philistines and threw them into such a panic that they were routed before the Israelites.The men of Israel rushed out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, slaughtering them along the way to a point below Beth Kar.Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying,“ Thus far the Lord has helped us.”

Then the Lord said to Moses,“ Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. They are to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal Zephon.Pharaoh will think,‘ The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.’And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” So the Israelites did this.When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said,“ What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!”So he had his chariot made ready and took his army with him.He took six hundred of the best chariots, along with all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them.The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out boldly.The Egyptians— all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, horsemen and troops— pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi Hahiroth, opposite Baal Zephon.As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord.They said to Moses,“ Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?Didn’t we say to you in Egypt,‘ Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!Moses answered the people,“ Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again.The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”Then the Lord said to Moses,“ Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.

“ See how the siege ramps are built up to take the city. Because of the sword, famine and plague, the city will be given into the hands of the Babylonians who are attacking it. What you said has happened, as you now see.

The king of Israel had said to his officials,“ Don’t you know that Ramoth Gilead belongs to us and yet we are doing nothing to retake it from the king of Aram?”So he asked Jehoshaphat,“ Will you go with me to fight against Ramoth Gilead?” Jehoshaphat replied to the king of Israel,“ I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.”But Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel,“ First seek the counsel of the Lord.”So the king of Israel brought together the prophets— about four hundred men— and asked them,“ Shall I go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain?”“ Go,” they answered,“ for the Lord will give it into the king’s hand.”But Jehoshaphat asked,“ Is there no longer a prophet of the Lord here whom we can inquire of?”The king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat,“ There is still one prophet through whom we can inquire of the Lord, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, but always bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.”“ The king should not say such a thing,” Jehoshaphat replied.

It was because of the Lord’s anger that all this happened to Jerusalem and Judah, and in the end he thrust them from his presence. Now Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.So in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his whole army. They encamped outside the city and built siege works all around it.The city was kept under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine in the city had become so severe that there was no food for the people to eat.

But Jehoshaphat asked,“ Is there no prophet of the Lord here, through whom we may inquire of the Lord?” An officer of the king of Israel answered,“ Elisha son of Shaphat is here. He used to pour water on the hands of Elijah.”Jehoshaphat said,“ The word of the Lord is with him.” So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.Elisha said to the king of Israel,“ Why do you want to involve me? Go to the prophets of your father and the prophets of your mother.”“ No,” the king of Israel answered,“ because it was the Lord who called us three kings together to deliver us into the hands of Moab.”Elisha said,“ As surely as the Lord Almighty lives, whom I serve, if I did not have respect for the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not pay any attention to you.

And the Lord sent an angel, who annihilated all the fighting men and the commanders and officers in the camp of the Assyrian king. So he withdrew to his own land in disgrace. And when he went into the temple of his god, some of his sons, his own flesh and blood, cut him down with the sword.