Passage
And there came messengers, and told Josaphat, saying: There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea, and out of Syria, and behold they are in Asasonthamar, which is Engaddi.
2 Chronicles 20:2 (DRB)
Nearby Context
2 Chronicles 20:1 After this the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them of the Ammonites, were gathered together to fight against Josaphat.
2 Chronicles 20:2 And there came messengers, and told Josaphat, saying: There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea, and out of Syria, and behold they are in Asasonthamar, which is Engaddi.
2 Chronicles 20:3 And Josaphat being seized with fear betook himself wholly to pray to the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Juda.
2 Chronicles 20:4 And Juda gathered themselves together to pray to the Lord: and all came out of their cities to make supplication to him.
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "came", "messengers", "told", "josaphat", "saying", "cometh", "great", and "multitude". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "came" and "messengers", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 1's "After this the children of Moab and..." into verse 3's "And Josaphat being seized with fear betook...", so "came" and "messengers" 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 "came" and "messengers" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.