¹tc The Hebrew text has “Ammonites,” but they are mentioned just before this. Most translations, following some mss of the LXX, read “Meunites” (see 1 Chr 26:7; so NASB, NIV, NRSV).
²tn Heb “they”; the implied referent (messengers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
³tn Heb “the Sea”; in context (“from the direction of Edom”) this must refer to the Dead Sea, which has been specified in the translation for clarity (cf. NEB, NLT).
⁴tc Most Hebrew mss read “from Aram” (i.e., Syria), but this must be a corruption of “Edom,” which is the reading of the LXX and Vulgate.
⁵tn Heb “and he set his face to seek the Lord.”
⁶tn The words “the people of” are supplied in the translation for clarity. The Hebrew text uses the name “Judah” by metonymy for the people of Judah.
⁷tn Heb “to seek from the Lord.” The verb here (vqb) is different from the one translated “seek” in v. 3 (vrd).
⁸tn Heb “to seek the Lord.” The verb here (vqb) is different from the one translated “seek” in v. 3 (vrd).
⁹map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
¹⁰tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 33).
¹¹tn 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.
¹²tn 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.
¹³tn Heb “permanently.”
¹⁴tn Or perhaps “your covenantal partner.” See Isa 41:8.
¹⁵tn Or “sanctuary.”
¹⁶tn Heb “for your name.” The word “name” sometimes refers to one’s reputation or honor (thus the translation here, “to honor you”).
¹⁷tn Heb “sword.”
¹⁸tn 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.
¹⁹tn Or “so that you may.”
²⁰tn Heb “now, look, the sons of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir.”
²¹tn Heb “whom you did not allow Israel to enter when they came from the land of Egypt.”
²²tn Heb “for [or “indeed”] upon you are our eyes.”
²³tn 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.
²⁴tn Heb “all Judah.” The words “you people of” are supplied in the translation for clarity. The Hebrew text uses the name “Judah” by metonymy for the people of Judah. Unlike the previous instance in v. 13 where infants, wives, and children are mentioned separately, this reference appears to include them all.
²⁵tn Or perhaps “don’t get discouraged.”
²⁶tn Heb “look.”
²⁷tn Heb “the deliverance of the Lord with you.”
²⁸tn Or perhaps “don’t get discouraged.”
²⁹tn Heb “all Judah.” The words “you people of” are supplied in the translation for clarity. See the note on the word “Judah” in v. 15.
³⁰tn Heb “to worship the Lord.”
³¹tn Heb “arose to praise the Lord God of Israel with a very loud voice.”
³²tn 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.
³³tn There is a wordplay in the Hebrew text. The Hiphil verb form wnymah, “trust,” and the Niphal form wnmat, “you will be safe,” come from the same verbal root (/ma).
³⁴tn Or “consulted.”
³⁵tn Or “is eternal.”
³⁶tn Heb “set ambushers against.” This is probably idiomatic here for launching a surprise attack.
³⁷tn Heb “the sons of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir.”
³⁸tn Heb “the sons of Ammon and Moab stood against the residents of Mount Seir.”
³⁹tn Heb “to annihilate and to destroy.”
⁴⁰tn Heb “residents.”
⁴¹tn Heb “they helped, each one his fellow, for destruction.” The verb rzu, 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.
⁴²tn 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.
⁴³tn Heb “turned toward.”
⁴⁴tn Or “army.”
⁴⁵tc The MT reads <yrgp, “corpses,” but this seems odd among a list of plunder. A few medieval Hebrew mss and the Vg read <ydgb, “clothing,” which fits the context much better.
⁴⁶tn Heb “and they snatched away for themselves so that there was no carrying away.”
⁴⁷tn Heb “and they were three days looting the plunder for it was great.”
⁴⁸tn Heb “for there.”
⁴⁹sn The name Berachah, which means “blessing” in Hebrew, is derived from the verbal root “to praise [or “to bless”],” which appears earlier in the verse.
⁵⁰tn Heb “and the terror of God [or “a great terror”] was upon all the kingdoms of the lands.” It is uncertain if <yhla should be understood as a proper name here (“God”), or taken in an idiomatic superlative sense.
⁵¹tn Heb “and his God gave him rest all around.”
⁵²map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
⁵³tn Heb “he walked in the way of his father Asa and did not turn from it, doing what is right in the eyes of the Lord.”
⁵⁴tn Heb “and still the people did not set their heart[s] on the God of their fathers.”
⁵⁵tn Heb “the rest of the events of Jehoshaphat, the former and the latter, look, they are written in the records of Jehu son of Hanani, which are taken up in the scroll of the kings of Israel.”
⁵⁶tn Heb “he.” The pronoun has been translated as a relative pronoun for stylistic reasons.
⁵⁷tn Heb “he made an alliance with him.”
⁵⁸tn Heb “when.”