2 Chronicles — Chapter 14

1Then Abijah rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David. And his son Asa reigned in his place, and in his days the land was at peace for ten years.

2And Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God.

3He removed the foreign altars and high places, shattered the sacred pillars, and chopped down the Asherah poles.

4He commanded the people of Judah to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, and to observe the law and the commandments.

5He also removed the high places and incense altars from all the cities of Judah, and under him the kingdom was at peace.

6Because the land was at peace, Asa built fortified cities in Judah. In those days no one made war with him, because the LORD had given him rest.

7So he said to the people of Judah, “Let us build these cities and surround them with walls and towers, with doors and bars. The land is still ours because we have sought the LORD our God. We have sought Him, and He has given us rest on every side.” So they built and prospered.

8Asa had an army of 300,000 men from Judah bearing large shields and spears, and 280,000 men from Benjamin bearing small shields and drawing the bow. All these were mighty men of valor.

9Then Zerah the Cushite came against them with an army of 1,000,000 men and 300 chariots, and they advanced as far as Mareshah.

10So Asa marched out against him and lined up in battle formation in the Valley of Zephathah near Mareshah.

11Then Asa cried out to the LORD his God: “O LORD, there is no one besides You to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on You, and in Your name we have come against this multitude. O LORD, You are our God. Do not let a mere mortal prevail against You.”

12So the LORD struck down the Cushites before Asa and Judah, and the Cushites fled.

13Then Asa and his army pursued them as far as Gerar. The Cushites fell and could not recover, for they were crushed before the LORD and His army. So the people of Judah carried off a great amount of plunder

14and attacked all the cities around Gerar, because the terror of the LORD had fallen upon them. They plundered all the cities, since there was much plunder there.

15They also attacked the tents of the herdsmen and carried off many sheep and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.

1So Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David: and Asa his son reigned in his stead. In his days the land was quiet ten years.

2And Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God:

3For he took away the altars of the strange gods, and the high places, and brake down the images, and cut down the groves:

4And commanded Judah to seek the LORD God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment.

5Also he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the images: and the kingdom was quiet before him.

6And he built fenced cities in Judah: for the land had rest, and he had no war in those years; because the LORD had given him rest.

7Therefore he said unto Judah, Let us build these cities, and make about them walls, and towers, gates, and bars, while the land is yet before us; because we have sought the LORD our God, we have sought him, and he hath given us rest on every side. So they built and prospered.

8And Asa had an army of men that bare targets and spears, out of Judah three hundred thousand; and out of Benjamin, that bare shields and drew bows, two hundred and fourscore thousand: all these were mighty men of valour.

9And there came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian with an host of a thousand thousand, and three hundred chariots; and came unto Mareshah.

10Then Asa went out against him, and they set the battle in array in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah.

11And Asa cried unto the LORD his God, and said, LORD, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O LORD our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O LORD, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee.

12So the LORD smote the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah; and the Ethiopians fled.

13And Asa and the people that were with him pursued them unto Gerar: and the Ethiopians were overthrown, that they could not recover themselves; for they were destroyed before the LORD, and before his host; and they carried away very much spoil.

14And they smote all the cities round about Gerar; for the fear of the LORD came upon them: and they spoiled all the cities; for there was exceeding much spoil in them.

15They smote also the tents of cattle, and carried away sheep and camels in abundance, and returned to Jerusalem.

1So Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David; and Asa his son reigned in his stead. In his days the land was quiet ten years.

2And Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of Jehovah his God:

3for he took away the foreign altars, and the high places, and brake down the pillars, and hewed down the Asherim,

4and commanded Judah to seek Jehovah, the God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment.

5Also he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the sun-images: and the kingdom was quiet before him.

6And he built fortified cities in Judah; for the land was quiet, and he had no war in those years, because Jehovah had given him rest.

7For he said unto Judah, Let us build these cities, and make about them walls, and towers, gates, and bars; the land is yet before us, because we have sought Jehovah our God; we have sought him, and he hath given us rest on every side. So they built and prospered.

8And Asa had an army that bare bucklers and spears, out of Judah three hundred thousand; and out of Benjamin, that bare shields and drew bows, two hundred and fourscore thousand: all these were mighty men of valor.

9And there came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian with an army of a thousand thousand, and three hundred chariots; and he came unto Mareshah.

10Then Asa went out to meet him, and they set the battle in array in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah.

11And Asa cried unto Jehovah his God, and said, Jehovah, there is none besides thee to help, between the mighty and him that hath no strength: help us, O Jehovah our God; for we rely on thee, and in thy name are we come against this multitude. O Jehovah, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee.

12So Jehovah smote the Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah; and the Ethiopians fled.

13And Asa and the people that were with him pursued them unto Gerar: and there fell of the Ethiopians so many that they could not recover themselves; for they were destroyed before Jehovah, and before his host; and they carried away very much booty.

14And they smote all the cities round about Gerar; for the fear of Jehovah came upon them: and they despoiled all the cities; for there was much spoil in them.

15They smote also the tents of cattle, and carried away sheep in abundance, and camels, and returned to Jerusalem.

1(13:23) Abijah passed away and was buried in the City of David. His son Asa replaced him as king. During his reign the land had rest for ten years.

2(14:1) Asa did what the Lord his God desired and approved.

3He removed the pagan altars and the high places, smashed the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles.

4He ordered Judah to seek the Lord God of their ancestors and to observe his law and commands.

5He removed the high places and the incense altars from all the towns of Judah. The kingdom had rest under his rule.

6He built fortified cities throughout Judah, for the land was at rest and there was no war during those years; the Lord gave him peace.

7He said to the people of Judah: “Let’s build these cities and fortify them with walls, towers, and barred gates. The land remains ours because we have followed the Lord our God; we have followed him, and he has made us secure on all sides.” So they built the cities and prospered.

8Asa had an army of 300,000 men from Judah, equipped with large shields and spears. He also had 280,000 men from Benjamin who carried small shields and were adept archers; they were all skilled warriors.

9Zerah the Cushite marched against them with an army of a million men and 300 chariots . He arrived at Mareshah,

10and Asa went out to oppose him. They deployed for battle in the Valley of Zephathah near Mareshah.

11Asa prayed to the Lord his God: “O Lord, there is no one but you who can help the weak when they are vastly outnumbered. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you and have marched on your behalf against this huge army. O Lord, you are our God; don’t let men prevail against you!”

12The Lord struck down the Cushites before Asa and Judah. The Cushites fled,

13and Asa and his army chased them as far as Gerar. The Cushites were wiped out; they were shattered before the Lord and his army. The men of Judah carried off a huge amount of plunder.

14They defeated all the towns surrounding Gerar, for the Lord caused them to panic. The men of Judah looted all the towns, for they contained a huge amount of goods.

15They also attacked the tents of the herdsmen in charge of the livestock. They carried off many sheep and camels and then returned to Jerusalem.

1So Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in David’s city; and Asa his son reigned in his place. In his days, the land was quiet ten years.

2Asa did that which was good and right in Yahweh his God’s eyes;

3for he took away the foreign altars and the high places, broke down the pillars, cut down the Asherah poles,

4and commanded Judah to seek Yahweh, the God of their fathers, and to obey his law and command.

5Also he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the sun images; and the kingdom was quiet before him.

6He built fortified cities in Judah; for the land was quiet, and he had no war in those years, because Yahweh had given him rest.

7For he said to Judah, “Let us build these cities, and make walls around them, with towers, gates, and bars. The land is yet before us, because we have sought Yahweh our God. We have sought him, and he has given us rest on every side.” So they built and prospered.

8Asa had an army of three hundred thousand out of Judah who bore bucklers and spears, and two hundred eighty thousand out of Benjamin who bore shields and drew bows. All these were mighty men of valor.

9Zerah the Ethiopian came out against them with an army of a million troops and three hundred chariots, and he came to Mareshah.

10Then Asa went out to meet him, and they set the battle in array in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah.

11Asa cried to Yahweh his God, and said, “Yahweh, there is no one besides you to help, between the mighty and him who has no strength. Help us, Yahweh our God; for we rely on you, and in your name are we come against this multitude. Yahweh, you are our God. Don’t let man prevail against you.”

12So Yahweh struck the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah; and the Ethiopians fled.

13Asa and the people who were with him pursued them to Gerar: and so many of the Ethiopians fell that they could not recover themselves; for they were destroyed before Yahweh and before his army; and they carried away very much booty.

14They struck all the cities around Gerar; for the fear of Yahweh came on them, and they plundered all the cities; for there was much plunder in them.

15They also struck the tents of livestock, and carried away sheep in abundance, and camels, and returned to Jerusalem.