2 Chronicles 20:5-9

20:5 Jehoshaphat stood before the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem ¹  at the Lord’s temple, in front of the new courtyard. 20:6 He prayed: “O Lord God of our ancestors, ²  you are the God who lives in heaven ³  and rules over all the kingdoms of the nations. You possess strength and power; no one can stand against you. 20:7 Our God, you drove out ⁴  the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and gave it as a permanent possession ⁵  to the descendants of your friend ⁶  Abraham. 20:8 They settled down in it and built in it a temple ⁷  to honor you, ⁸  saying, 20:9 ‘If disaster comes on us in the form of military attack, ⁹  judgment, plague, or famine, we will stand in front of this temple before you, for you are present in this temple. ¹⁰  We will cry out to you for help in our distress, so that you will ¹¹  hear and deliver us.’

[20:5]  ¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[20:6]  ² tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 33).

[20:6]  ³ tn Heb “are you not God in heaven?” The rhetorical question expects the answer “yes,” resulting in the positive statement “you are the God who lives in heaven” employed in the translation.

[20:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “did you not drive out?” This is another rhetorical question which expects a positive response; see the note on the word “heaven” in the previous verse.

[20:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “permanently.”

[20:7]  ⁶ tn Or perhaps “your covenantal partner.” See Isa 41:8.

[20:8]  ⁷ tn Or “sanctuary.”

[20:8]  ⁸ tn Heb “for your name.” The word “name” sometimes refers to one’s reputation or honor (thus the translation here, “to honor you”).

[20:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “sword.”

[20:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “for your name is in this house.” The “name” of the Lord sometimes designates the Lord himself, being indistinguishable from the proper name. In this case the temple is referred to as a “house” where the Lord himself can reside.

[20:9]  ¹¹ tn Or “so that you may.”