2 Chronicles 20:4 (DBY)

Passage

And Judah gathered themselves together to ask [help] of Jehovah: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek Jehovah.

Nearby Context

2 Chronicles 20:2 And they came and told Jehoshaphat saying, A great multitude is come against thee from beyond the sea, from Syria; and behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar, which is Engedi.

2 Chronicles 20:3 And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek Jehovah, and proclaimed a fast throughout Judah.

2 Chronicles 20:4 And Judah gathered themselves together to ask [help] of Jehovah: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek Jehovah.

2 Chronicles 20:5 And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of Jehovah, before the new court;

2 Chronicles 20:6 and he said, Jehovah, God of our fathers, art not thou God in the heavens, and rulest thou not over all the kingdoms of the nations? And in thy hand there is power and might, and none can withstand thee.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "judah", "gathered", "themselves", "together", "help", "jehovah", "even", and "cities". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "judah" and "gathered", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "And Jehoshaphat feared and set himself to..." into verse 5's "And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of...", so "judah" and "gathered" belong inside that flow. In 2 Chronicles context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "judah" and "gathered" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.