2 Chronicles 20:23 (WEB)

Passage

For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to utterly kill and destroy them: and when they had finished the inhabitants of Seir, everyone helped to destroy another.

Nearby Context

2 Chronicles 20:21 When he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to Yahweh, and give praise in holy array, as they go out before the army, and say, “Give thanks to Yahweh; for his loving kindness endures forever.”

2 Chronicles 20:22 When they began to sing and to praise, Yahweh set ambushers against the children of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were struck.

2 Chronicles 20:23 For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to utterly kill and destroy them: and when they had finished the inhabitants of Seir, everyone helped to destroy another.

2 Chronicles 20:24 When Judah came to the place overlooking the wilderness, they looked at the multitude; and behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and there were none who escaped.

2 Chronicles 20:25 When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take their plunder, they found among them in abundance both riches and dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away. They took plunder for three days, it was so much.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "children", "ammon", "moab", "stood", "against", "inhabitants", "mount", and "seir". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "children" and "ammon", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 22's "When they began to sing and to..." into verse 24's "When Judah came to the place overlooking...", so "children" and "ammon" 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 "children" and "ammon" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.