came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned aside from them, and destroyed them not; 11behold, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit. 12O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee. 13And all Judah stood before the LORD, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. 14Then upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, the Levite, of the sons of Asaph, came the spirit of the LORD in the midst of the congregation; 15and 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. 16To-morrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the ascent of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the valley, before the wilderness of Jeruel. 17Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not,
11. thy possession] A "possession" means that which one takes
possession of by the sword. Canaan is God's "possession" because it
was conquered by His arm (Ps. xliv. 3).
12. our eyes are upon thee] Cp. xiv. 11.
13. their little ones . . . and their children] Cp. xxxi. 18, "their little ones . . . and their sons and their daughters." "Little ones" (Heb. ṭaph) seems always to mean quite small children.
14—19 (no parallel in Kings). The Prophecy of Jahaziel.
14. Jahaziel] Nothing is known of him beyond what is recorded in this chapter. His name is significant ("God giveth visions").
15. the battle is not yours, but God's] Jahaziel gives a special turn to the general truth, "The battle is the Lord's" (David to Goliath, 1 Sam. xvii. 47).
16. the ascent of Ziz] The exact positions of this and of the "valley" and of the "wilderness" mentioned in this ver. are uncertain, but probably the invaders followed not the direct road from En-gedi to Beth-lehem, but one a little to the left of this.
the valley] (Heb. naḥal), strictly "ravine" or "water-course."
17. stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD] This saying magnificently expresses the very essence of this story of deliverance won
