Synopsis of the Chapter
Jehoshaphat overcomes and despoils the Moabites, Ammonites and Syrians not so much by arms as by prayer and fasting. Finally, in verse 35, the prophet Eliezer rebukes Jehoshaphat for his alliance with the impious King Ahaziah of Israel, and declares that on that account the ships of both kings bound for Tarshish were wrecked.
Verse 1: The Sons of Ammon ¶
1. THE SONS OF AMMON AND WITH THEM SOME OF THE AMMONITES — that is, of the Edomites; for these, lest they seem to be fighting against the Jews their brothers, called themselves Ammonites. So the Author of the Traditions in St. Jerome's name here: "By Ammonites, he says, Edomites are to be understood, who out of reverence for their paternal name (Esau, who was the brother of Jacob, father of the Edomites) did not want to bear arms against Israel in their own appearance, but disguised themselves in the attire of the Ammonites."
Verse 2: From Beyond the Sea ¶
2. FROM THOSE PLACES WHICH ARE BEYOND THE SEA (namely the Dead Sea, or Lake Asphaltites, and having crossed it they encamped at) EN-GEDI — that is, on the borders of the kingdom of Judah; for Syria was separated from Judah by the Dead Sea, says Vatablus.
Verse 5: The New Court ¶
5. THE NEW COURT — namely renewed, or newly added to the temple: for Solomon had made very spacious courts for the temple, to hold the whole people of the twelve tribes; but afterward, when the ten tribes had made a schism from Rehoboam and the temple, many parts of the court, being vacant, were closed off or assigned to other uses. But under Jehoshaphat, with the multitude of the faithful growing, and of the people both of Judah and of those who from the ten tribes had defected to Judah, it was necessary for some of them to be opened again and renewed, to hold so great a people; and this is 'the new court,' that is, renewed and newly adapted to the uses of the temple and the people.
Verse 12: We Do Not Know What to Do ¶
12. BUT SINCE WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO, THIS ALONE REMAINS TO US: TO DIRECT OUR EYES TO YOU. — Note this most pious and useful counsel of Jehoshaphat: "When therefore you are deprived of all human help, divine help is near," as Philo said in his Embassy to Gaius, if you invoke it; for it is proper to God to come to aid in difficulties and to restore desperate situations: for there above all He shows His clemency and power. This work, therefore, as it is fitting for divinity, so also it is proper to God.
Verse 13: All Judah Stood Before the Lord ¶
13. ALL JUDAH STOOD BEFORE THE LORD WITH THEIR LITTLE ONES, THEIR WIVES, AND THEIR CHILDREN. — Behold, here is evident the antiquity of the Litany, or public and common prayer, by which in a public calamity all of every sex and age publicly assemble, so that with one voice and, as it were, with the united lamentation of all, they may implore God's mercy and aid, and as it were do violence to God: "For this violence is pleasing to God," says Tertullian in the Apologeticum. The Ninevites did the same, Jonah 3:5, and the Maccabees, 2 Maccabees 3:18 and following, and the Jews in the time of Judith, chapter 4, verse 9. And this is what Joel, chapter 2, urges should be done: "Gather the elders, assemble the little ones and those who suck the breast." St. Gregory did the same during the plague that was devastating Rome and Italy. For he ordered public Litanies of all orders, and distributed them into various classes, and as all cried out for God's help, God stopped the plague, as his Life records.
Verse 33: He Did Not Remove the High Places ¶
33. NEVERTHELESS HE DID NOT REMOVE THE HIGH PLACES. — Understand "the high places" dedicated to the true God; for the high places of idols he did remove, as was said. He adds the reason: And the people had not yet directed their heart to the Lord — namely perfectly and totally; for they still sacrificed to God on the high places, although God had commanded that sacrifice be offered to Him only in the temple of Jerusalem.
Verse 34: The Chronicles of Jehu ¶
34. THEY ARE WRITTEN IN THE CHRONICLES OF JEHU THE SON OF HANANI, WHICH HE COMPILED INTO THE BOOKS OF THE KINGS OF ISRAEL — that is, into the books of Chronicles or Diaries in which he recorded the deeds of the kings of Israel. From this it is clear that Jehu was the author, at least in part, of the book so often cited, namely the chronicles of the kings of Israel, and that it is distinct from this Book of Paralipomenon (Chronicles), since it is cited here in it.
Verse 36: Ships to Go to Tarshish ¶
36. SHIPS TO GO TO TARSHISH. — See what was said on chapter 9, verse 21. Note from this passage that God often frustrates the endeavors of pious princes because they make use of the help of impious kings or soldiers. For He destroyed the ships of the pious Jehoshaphat because they were joined with the ships of the impious Ahaziah king of Israel. Similarly God through the prophet commanded Amaziah to send home the impious Israelites, though already hired for a hundred talents of silver, from the army, chapter 25, verse 6.