2 Chronicles 20:18 (GNV)

Passage

Then Iehoshaphat bowed downe with his face to the earth, and all Iudah and the inhabitants of Ierusalem fell downe before the Lord, worshipping the Lord.

Nearby Context

2 Chronicles 20:16 To morowe goe yee downe against them: beholde, they come vp by the cleft of Ziz, and ye shall finde them at the ende of the brooke before the wildernesse of Ieruel.

2 Chronicles 20:17 Ye shall not neede to fight in this battell: stand still, moue not, and behold the saluation of the Lord towardes you: O Iudah, and Ierusalem, feare ye not, neither be afraid: to morow goe out against them, and the Lord wilbe with you.

2 Chronicles 20:18 Then Iehoshaphat bowed downe with his face to the earth, and all Iudah and the inhabitants of Ierusalem fell downe before the Lord, worshipping the Lord.

2 Chronicles 20:19 And the Leuites of the children of the Kohathites and of the childre of the Corhites stood vp to prayse the Lord God of Israel with a loude voyce on hie.

2 Chronicles 20:20 And when they arose early in the morning, they went forth to the wildernesse of Tekoa: and as they departed, Iehoshaphat stoode and sayde, Heare ye me, O Iudah, and ye inhabitants of Ierusalem: put your trust in the Lord your God, and ye shalbe assured: beleeue his Prophets, and ye shall prosper.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "iehoshaphat", "bowed", "downe", "face", "earth", "iudah", "inhabitants", and "ierusalem". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "iehoshaphat" and "bowed", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 17's "Ye shall not neede to fight in..." into verse 19's "And the Leuites of the children of...", so "iehoshaphat" and "bowed" 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 "iehoshaphat" and "bowed" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.