2 Tawarikh 20:25-30

20:25 Jehoshaphat and his men ¹  went to gather the plunder; they found a huge amount of supplies, clothing ²  and valuable items. They carried away everything they could. ³  There was so much plunder, it took them three days to haul it off. ⁴ 

20:26 On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Berachah, where ⁵  they praised the Lord. So that place is called the Valley of Berachah ⁶  to this very day. 20:27 Then all the men of Judah and Jerusalem returned joyfully to Jerusalem with Jehoshaphat leading them; the Lord had given them reason to rejoice over their enemies. 20:28 They entered Jerusalem to the sound of stringed instruments and trumpets and proceeded to the temple of the Lord. 20:29 All the kingdoms of the surrounding lands were afraid of God ⁷  when they heard how the Lord had fought against Israel’s enemies. 20:30 Jehoshaphat’s kingdom enjoyed peace; his God made him secure on every side. ⁸ 

[20:25]  ¹ tn Or “army.”

[20:25]  ² tc The MT reads פְגָרִים (fÿgarim, “corpses”), but this seems odd among a list of plunder. A few medieval Hebrew mss and the Vulgate read בְגָדִים (vÿgadim, “clothing”), which fits the context much better.

[20:25]  ³ tn Heb “and they snatched away for themselves so that there was no carrying away.”

[20:25]  ⁴ tn Heb “and they were three days looting the plunder for it was great.”

[20:26]  ⁵ tn Heb “for there.”

[20:26]  ⁶ sn 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.

[20:29]  ⁷ tn Heb “and the terror of God [or “a great terror”] was upon all the kingdoms of the lands.” It is uncertain if אֱלֹהִים (’elohim) should be understood as a proper name here (“God”), or taken in an idiomatic superlative sense.

[20:30]  ⁸ tn Heb “and his God gave him rest all around.”