and he said, “Listen, all Judah, and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, king Jehoshaphat. Yahweh says to you, ‘Don’t be afraid, and don’t be dismayed because of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.
Parallel Translations
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and he said, “Listen, all Judah, and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, king Jehoshaphat. Yahweh says to you, ‘Don’t be afraid, and don’t be dismayed because of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.
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And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.
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and he said: 'Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat: thus saith the LORD unto you: Fear not ye, neither be dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's.
Cross-references (13)
Passages linked to 2 Chronicles 20:15 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 2 Chronicles 32:7-8 “Be strong and courageous. Don’t be afraid or dismayed because of the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude who is with him; for there is a greater one with us than with him. An arm of flesh is with him, but Yahweh our God is with us to help us and to fight our battles.” The people rested themselves on the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.
- Deuteronomy 31:6 Be strong and courageous. Don’t be afraid or scared of them; for Yahweh your God himself is who goes with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you.”
- Exodus 14:13-14 Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of Yahweh, which he will work for you today; for you will never again see the Egyptians whom you have seen today. Yahweh will fight for you, and you shall be still.”
- 1 Samuel 17:47 and that all this assembly may know that Yahweh doesn’t save with sword and spear; for the battle is Yahweh’s, and he will give you into our hand.”
- Deuteronomy 31:8 Yahweh himself is who goes before you. He will be with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be discouraged.”
- Deuteronomy 1:29-30 Then I said to you, “Don’t be terrified. Don’t be afraid of them. Yahweh your God, who goes before you, he will fight for you, according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes,
- Isaiah 41:10-16 Don’t you be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. Yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness. Behold, all those who are incensed against you will be disappointed and confounded. Those who strive with you will be like nothing, and shall perish. You will seek them, and won’t find them, even those who contend with you. Those who war against you will be as nothing, as a non-existent thing. For I, Yahweh your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, ‘Don’t be afraid. I will help you.’ Don’t be afraid, you worm Jacob, and you men of Israel. I will help you,” says Yahweh. “Your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. Behold, I have made you into a new sharp threshing instrument with teeth. You will thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and will make the hills like chaff. You will winnow them, and the wind will carry them away, and the whirlwind will scatter them. You will rejoice in Yahweh. You will glory in the Holy One of Israel.
- Deuteronomy 20:4 for Yahweh your God is he who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.”
- Deuteronomy 20:1 When you go out to battle against your enemies, and see horses, chariots, and a people more numerous than you, you shall not be afraid of them; for Yahweh your God is with you, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
- Joshua 11:6 Yahweh said to Joshua, “Don’t be afraid because of them; for tomorrow at this time, I will deliver them up all slain before Israel. You shall hamstring their horses and burn their chariots with fire.”
- Isaiah 43:1-2 But now Yahweh who created you, Jacob, and he who formed you, Israel, says: “Don’t be afraid, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by your name. You are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned, and flame will not scorch you.
- Psalms 17:1-2 Hear, Yahweh, my righteous plea; Give ear to my prayer, that doesn’t go out of deceitful lips. Let my sentence come out of your presence. Let your eyes look on equity.
- Nehemiah 4:14 I looked, and rose up, and said to the nobles, to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, “Don’t be afraid of them! Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (12 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain They fight against God and not against you, therefore…
They fight against God and not against you, therefore he will fight for you.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 2Ch 20:15 And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah,…
2Ch 20:15 And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle [is] not yours, but God’s.
Ver. 15. And thou king Jehoshaphat.] Regem post plebem nominat, he nameth the king after the people; yet is not he displeased. The Pope of Rome taketh it for an affront to be named after the greatest kings and emperors. His flatterers tell him that he is the sun, and the emperor the moon, in the Church’s firmament.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain God will fight for you, and he alone will…
God will fight for you, and he alone will do the work; you need not strike a stroke.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And he said, hearken ye, all Judah, and ye…
And he said, hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou King Jehoshaphat,.... There is a climax or gradation in these words rising from the lowest to the highest; from the people of the cities in the country, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem the metropolis, and from thence to the king the supreme governor:
thus saith the Lord unto you, be not afraid, nor dismayed, by reason of this great multitude; whose numbers were discouraging to the king, and he had taken notice of them, which this respects:
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for the battle is not your's, but God's: the cause was his, and he would espouse and maintain it; not they, but he, would fight the battle, and therefore they had nothing to fear.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain But God's - God will fight for you, and…
But God's - God will fight for you, and he alone will do the work, you need not strike a stroke.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 15. For the battle is not yours, but…
Verse 15. For the battle is not yours, but God's.] God will not employ you in the discomfiture of this great host; he himself will take the matter in hand, deliver you, and destroy them.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain 2Ch 20:15-17. Thus saith the Lord, Be not afraid…
2Ch 20:15-17. Thus saith the Lord, Be not afraid — You have admitted fear enough to induce you to have recourse to God: now do not give way to that fear which would drive you from him. The battle is not yours — It is not in your own cause, nor in your own strength, that you engage; the battle is God’s — And he doth and will interest himself in your favour, as you have desired, and will fight for you. To-morrow go ye down — From Jerusalem, where he and his army now were, which stood upon high ground. Ye shall not need to fight in this battle — The work shall be done to your hands, and you will not need to strike a stroke, nor shall you be the instruments, but only the spectators of the defeat of the enemy. O Judah and Jerusalem, fear not — Thus does he encourage them to trust in God, though the danger was very threatening, and to expect certain victory and deliverance.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain The prophet uses words familiar to the people, and…
The prophet uses words familiar to the people, and connected with several great deliverances (see the marginal references).
2Ch 20:16
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By the “cliff (or, rather - as in the margin - ascent) of Ziz,” we must understand the mountain path which leads up from Engedi across the elevated tract still known as El-Husasah, in the direction of Tekoa 2Ch 20:20.
At the end of the brook - Rather, “at the end of the gulley,” or dry torrent-course. No name like Jeruel has been as yet found in this district.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 15. the battle is not yours, but God’s] Jahaziel…
15. the battle is not yours, but God’s] Jahaziel gives a special turn to the general troth, “The battle is the Lord’s” (David to Goliath, 1Sa_17:47).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (15) Hearken ye.—So Isa_49:1; Isa_51:4, &c.
(15) Hearken ye.—So Isa_49:1; Isa_51:4, &c.
Be not afraid nor dismayed.—Isa_51:7; Deu_1:21; Chron. 22:3; 2Ch_20:17, infr.
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Great multitude—i.e., “great company” (2Ch_20:12)
The battle is not your’s, but God’s.—Comp. David’s words to Goliath, “The battle is Jehovah’s” (1Sa_17:47); and the Divine title Jehovah Sabaoth, i.e., Jehovah, the leader of the hosts of Israel. “It was on the battle-field that Jehovah’s presence was most clearly realised.”—Prof. Robertson Smith. (Comp. also Psa_46:2; Psa_46:7; Psa_46:9.)
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain The battle is not yours, but God"s; i.e. God…
The battle is not yours, but God"s; i.e. God will do the fighting (see ver. 17, first and third clauses); so also 1Sa_17:47.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain For the battle is not yours, but Gods.
2Ch_20:15
For the battle is not yours, but Gods.
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Victory the gift of God
I. Let us remember the great truth enunciated here, and let us in all thankfulness address our tribute of praise to God for the success wherewith He has crowned our exertions.
II. Let us never forget that war must always be considered as a judgment, however it may, in answer to a nations prayers, be accompanied with victory. (J. Bainbridge Smith, M.A.)
God in battle
This battle was--
I. A committed thing to God. The course of events was committed by a specific act to God; and Jehoshaphat and Judah stood in expectation of what He would do. Solemn acts of committal are of great importance in our spiritual life. If we have a bad habit to fight with, or a temper or special temptation to overcome; or if we have to deal with some wayward spirit; or if we want to attain to some grace, or even to do something that is too hard for our own strength, but which lies before us in the path of duty, let each of these be committed things.
II. An accepted thing by Him. God espoused Jehoshaphats cause: The battle is not yours. When we commit matters to God and He accepts them, we may see them in new lights altogether. We often do so, and wonder that we were so blind before. But we need not wonder. The light came in with God. When matters seem very dark to us, let us be fully assured that they are capable of being lit up.
1. Not yours! Why not? Because another interest had come in. In one respect the battle is always ours, inasmuch as we are the persons to reap all the substantial benefits, but in another it is Gods; He has interests as well as we. In our trial time, we must view Him as an interested God.
2. How was it not to be theirs? Just by God acting in the matter in His own way. We seem at times more as though we wished God to follow our leadings than that we should follow His. God will lead us by ways which we know not. We have to learn the double lesson of the insufficiency of known ways and the all-sufficiency of unknown. God has continually to teach us the last through the first. By taking the battle out of their hands, God severed Jehoshaphat and Judah from the depressing thoughts of the results being affected by their weakness. Conclusion: Consider Christ, who committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously, and Paul, who said, I am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day. (P. B. Power, M. A.)
The Divine victory
I. These words imply that the cause is the cause of God. While the Christian life is undoubtedly a personal matter, it is well to look away from our interest and remember that Gods cause is chiefly concerned in the conflict of life.
1. Individually. The Divine ideal for each man is the perfection of each mans character, and therefore he makes the successful prosecution of the warfare for this end his own.
2. What is true of the individual is also true of the race. A redeemed and regenerated world is the idea of God. Our conflict, therefore, for these ends against the evil of sin and the corruption of the world is a battle of God.
II. These words imply that the method of victory is Divine. If the cause is Gods, the forces we employ and the mode of our warfare must also be His. The Koran might be accompanied with the sword, but not the gospel. Its weapon was a Cross, and in that sign it triumphed. So in all the battle of life he who would win the victory for God must use the Divine armour. Eloquence, learning, wealth, and even physical force, have contributed at times to the success of the Church, but quite as often they have been hindrances. The method of Jesus is meekness and truth, the Word ever spoken, the life quietly lived, and the testimony borne and the faith kept clear and strong in the darkest and most distressful hour. How often in the conflict of life we try to fight the battle in our own way! We seek to conquer indwelling sin, to overcome the attack of the enemy who would destroy us, by some methods of our own. We always fail.
III. If the battle be Gods, then we may be confident that the end will be the Divine end.
1. How many good people are greatly distressed about their final salvation. But salvation is a condition of mind and heart--a present trust and submission to God, each moment assured, and therefore assurance for the next moment. Leave the end with God. It will be Gods triumph.
2. In respect of the final outcome of the conflict between good and evil, in the Church and the world, let us believe that God will take care of the issues, and that all will be well. Let us leave our doubts, and our forebodings, and our mistrustings with Him. (Llewelyn D. Bevan, D.D.)
Jehoshaphat helped of God
I. Jehoshaphats prayer teaches us when we may expect help of God.
1. In matters which we know God has at heart.
2. In matters for which Christs atonement stands pledged.
3. In matters for which we have not ourselves to blame.
4. In matters wherein we are powerless to help ourselves.
II. How we may secure Gods help.
1. We must come into communion with Him.
2. We must pray for Gods help.
3. We must implicitly follow Gods guidance.
4. Faith is an especial prerequisite to Gods aid.
III. How gods help is given.
1. Not always or necessarily in the shape we desire it. God makes spiritual growth His first aim in all His dealings with His people.
2. But when compatible with higher advantages, God aids us in temporal things.
3. God gives us blessings beyond His promise or our asking.
Conclusion:
1. In Gods people the Divine help awakens gratitude.
2. Those who are not Christians are never unaffected when they see God help His children: the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries when they heard that the Lord fought against the enemies of Israel. (Monday Club Sermons.)
The battle is not yours, but Gods
The text addresses a word--
1. To all who are bearing Christian protest against evil.
2. To all who are undergoing severe temptation.
3. To all who are labouring for the good of the world.
4. To all who are engaged in controversy on behalf of Christian doctrine. (J. Parker, D.D.)
The Lords battle
Luthers strength lay in the way in which he laid the burden of the Reformation upon the Lord. Continually in prayer he pleaded, Lord, this is Thy cause, not mine. Therefore do Thine own work; for if this gospel do not prosper, it will not be Luther alone who will be a loser, but Thine own name will be dishonoured. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.