2 Chronicles 20:22 (YLT)

Passage

And at the time they have begun with singing and praise, Jehovah hath put ambushments against the sons of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, who are coming in to Judah, and they are smitten,

Nearby Context

2 Chronicles 20:20 And they rise early in the morning, and go out to the wilderness of Tekoa, and in their going out Jehoshaphat hath stood and saith, `Hear me, O Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusalem, remain stedfast in Jehovah your God, and be stedfast; remain stedfast in His prophets, and prosper.'

2 Chronicles 20:21 And he taketh counsel with the people, and appointeth singers to Jehovah, and those giving praise to the honour of holiness, in the going out before the armed <FI>men<Fi> , and saying, `Give ye thanks to Jehovah, for to the age <FI>is<Fi> His kindness.'

2 Chronicles 20:22 And at the time they have begun with singing and praise, Jehovah hath put ambushments against the sons of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, who are coming in to Judah, and they are smitten,

2 Chronicles 20:23 and the sons of Ammon stand up, and Moab, against the inhabitants of mount Seir, to devote and to destroy, and at their finishing with the inhabitants of Seir, they helped, a man against his neighbour, to destroy.

2 Chronicles 20:24 And Judah hath come in unto the watch-tower, to the wilderness, and they look unto the multitude, and lo, they <FI>are<Fi> carcases fallen to the earth, and there is none escaped,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "time", "begun", "singing", "praise", "jehovah", "hath", "ambushments", and "against". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "time" and "begun", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 21's "And he taketh counsel with the people..." into verse 23's "and the sons of Ammon stand up...", so "time" and "begun" 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 "time" and "begun" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.