Passage
Now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom you would not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned away from them, and didn’t destroy them;
2 Chronicles 20:10 (WEB)
Nearby Context
2 Chronicles 20:8 They lived in it, and have built you a sanctuary in it for your name, saying,
2 Chronicles 20:9 ‘If evil comes on us—the sword, judgment, pestilence, or famine—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 save.’
2 Chronicles 20:10 Now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom you would not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned away from them, and didn’t destroy them;
2 Chronicles 20:11 behold, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of your possession, which you have given us to inherit.
2 Chronicles 20:12 Our God, 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.”
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "behold", "children", "ammon", "moab", "mount", "seir", "israel", and "invade". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "behold" and "children", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 9's "If evil comes on us the sword..." into verse 11's "behold how they reward us to come...", so "behold" and "children" 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 "behold" and "children" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.