World English Bible · The divided kingdom
2 Chronicles 20
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After this, the children of , , and with them some of , came against to battle. Then some came who told , saying, "A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea from . Behold, they are in Hazazon " (that is, ). was alarmed, and set himself to seek . He proclaimed a throughout all Judah. Judah gathered themselves together to seek help from . They came out of all the cities of Judah to seek . stood in of Judah and , in house, before the new court; and he said, ", the of our fathers, aren't you in ? Aren't you ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? and might are in your hand, so that no one is able to withstand you. Didn't you, our , drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it to the of your friend ? They lived in it, and have built you a sanctuary in it for your name, saying, 'If evil comes on us—, , pestilence, or —we will stand before this house, and before you (for your name is in this house), and cry to you in our affliction, and you will hear and .' Now, behold, and and Mount , whom you would not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of , but they turned away from them, and didn't destroy them; behold, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of your possession, which you have given us to . Our , will you not judge them? For we have no might against this great company that comes against us. We don't know what to do, but our eyes are on you." All Judah stood before , with their little ones, their wives, and their children. Then came on the son of , the son of , the son of Jeiel, the son of , the , of the sons of , in the middle of ; and he said, "Listen, all Judah, and you inhabitants of , and you, King . says to you, 'Don't be afraid, and don't be dismayed because of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but . 16Tomorrow, go down against them. Behold, they are coming up by the ascent of Ziz. You will find them at the end of the valley, before of Jeruel. You will not need to fight this battle. Set yourselves, stand still, and see the of with you, O Judah and . Don't be afraid, nor be dismayed. Go out against them tomorrow, for is with you.'" bowed his head with to the ground; and all Judah and the inhabitants of fell down before , worshiping . The , of the children of the and of the children of the , stood up to , the of Israel, with an exceedingly loud voice. They rose early in the morning and went out into of Tekoa. As they went out, stood and said, "Listen to me, Judah and you inhabitants of ! in your , so you will be established! his , so you will prosper." When he had taken with the people, he appointed those who were to and give in array as they go out before the army, and say, "Give thanks to , for his endures ." When they began to sing and to , set ambushers against , , and Mount , who had come against Judah; and they were struck. For and stood up against the inhabitants of Mount to utterly kill and destroy them. When they had finished the inhabitants of , everyone helped to destroy each other. When Judah came to the place overlooking , they looked at ; and behold, they were bodies fallen to the earth, and there were none who escaped. When and his people came to take their plunder, they found among them in abundance both riches and bodies with precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away. They took plunder for three days, it was so much. On the fourth day, they assembled themselves in Beracah Valley, for there they . Therefore the name of that place was called "Beracah Valley" to this day. Then they returned, every man of Judah and , with in front of them, to go again to with joy; for had made them to rejoice over their . They came to with stringed instruments, harps, and to house. was on all the kingdoms of the countries when they heard that fought against the of Israel. So the realm of was quiet, for his gave him rest all around. So reigned over Judah. He was thirty-five years old when he began to reign. He reigned twenty-five years in . His mother's name was the daughter of Shilhi. He walked in of his , and didn't turn away from it, doing that which was right in eyes. However the were not taken away, and the people had still not set their on the of their fathers. Now the rest of the acts of , first and last, behold, they are written in the history of the son of , which is included in the book of the kings of Israel. After this, king of Judah joined himself with king of Israel. The same did very wickedly. He joined himself with him to make ships to go to . They made the ships in . Then the son of Dodavahu of prophesied against , saying, "Because you have joined yourself with , has destroyed your works." The ships were wrecked, so that they were not able to go to .
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The world at this moment · The divided kingdom, 931 BC to 745 BC ›
Israel in the north and Judah in the south, often at odds, with Aram of Damascus as the immediate threat and Assyria growing in the distance.
- Aram of Damascus
- The immediate enemy for most of two centuries, close enough to raid every campaigning season and strong enough to take territory. Most of the wars in Kings that read like national emergencies are border wars with Damascus.
- Assyria
- Growing steadily in the distance. Shalmaneser III fights a coalition at Qarqar in 853 BC and his own inscription lists King Ahab of Israel among his opponents with two thousand chariots, the earliest Assyrian mention of an Israelite king. A later monument shows Jehu bowing and paying tribute. Assyria is not yet the destroyer, but it is already taking notes.
- Egypt
- Divided and unreliable, capable of the occasional raid, such as Shishak stripping the temple in Rehoboam's fifth year, but no longer an empire that governs the Levant.
- Further afield
- The Greeks adopt the alphabet, hold the first Olympiad by tradition in 776 BC, and begin to compose the Homeric poems. Rome is founded by tradition in 753 BC, a village of huts at this point. This is the century in which the classical world begins.