2 Chronicles 14
New American Standard Bible
Asa Succeeds Abijah in Judah
14 [a](A)So Abijah [b]lay down with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David, and his son Asa became king in his place. The land was undisturbed for ten years during his days.
2 [c]And Asa did what was good and right in the sight of the Lord his God, 3 for he removed (B)the foreign altars and (C)high places, tore down the memorial stones, cut down the [d](D)Asherim, 4 and commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers and to [e]comply with the Law and the commandment. 5 He also removed the high places and the (E)incense altars from all the cities of Judah. And the kingdom was undisturbed under him. 6 (F)He built fortified cities in Judah, since the land was undisturbed, and [f]there was no one at war with him during those years, (G)because the Lord had given him rest. 7 For he said to Judah, “(H)Let’s build these cities and surround them with walls and towers, gates and bars. The land is still [g]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. 8 Now Asa had an army of (I)three hundred thousand from Judah, carrying large shields and spears, and 280,000 from Benjamin, carrying shields and wielding bows; all of them were valiant warriors.
9 Now Zerah the Ethiopian (J)went out against them with an army of a million men and three hundred chariots, and he came to (K)Mareshah. 10 So Asa went out [h]to meet him, and they drew up in battle formation in the Valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. 11 Then Asa (L)called to the Lord his God and said, “Lord, there is no one besides You to help in the battle between the powerful and those who have no strength; help us, Lord our God, (M)for we trust in You, and in Your name have come against this multitude. Lord, You are our God; do not let man prevail against You.” 12 So (N)the Lord [i]routed the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled. 13 Asa and the people who were with him pursued them as far as (O)Gerar; and so many Ethiopians fell that [j]they could not recover, for they were shattered before the Lord and before His army. And they carried away a very large amount of plunder. 14 They [k]destroyed all the cities around Gerar, (P)for the dread of the Lord had fallen on them; and they pillaged all the cities, for there was much plunder in them. 15 They also fatally struck [l]those who owned livestock, and they led away large numbers of sheep and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 14:1 Ch 13:23 in Heb
- 2 Chronicles 14:1 I.e., died
- 2 Chronicles 14:2 Ch 14:1 in Heb
- 2 Chronicles 14:3 I.e., wooden symbols of a female deity (Asherah)
- 2 Chronicles 14:4 Lit do the
- 2 Chronicles 14:6 Lit no war was with him
- 2 Chronicles 14:7 Lit before us
- 2 Chronicles 14:10 Lit before him
- 2 Chronicles 14:12 Lit struck
- 2 Chronicles 14:13 Or there was none left alive
- 2 Chronicles 14:14 Lit struck
- 2 Chronicles 14:15 Lit tents of livestock
2 Chronicles 14
Tree of Life Version
Asa’s Reforms Bring Adonai’s Rest
14 Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of Adonai his God. 2 He removed the foreign altars and the high places, smashed the pillars and cut down the Asherah poles. 3 He commanded Judah to seek Adonai, the God of their fathers, and to obey the Torah and the mitzvah. 4 He also removed the high places and the incense stands out of all the cities of Judah. So the kingdom remained untroubled under him. 5 He built up fortified cities in Judah, for the land was untroubled and he was not engaged in warfare during those years because Adonai had given him rest.
6 Then he said to Judah, “Let us build these cities and surround them with walls and towers, gates and bars, while the land is still ours because we have sought Adonai Eloheinu. We sought Him and He has given us rest all around.” So they built and were successful.
Appeal to Defeat the Cushites
7 Now Asa had an army of 300,000 men from Judah who bore shields and spears and 280,000 from Benjamin who bore shields and drew bows. All of these were valiant warriors.
8 Then Zerah the Cushite marched against them with an army of a million men and 300 chariots. When he arrived at Mareshah, 9 Asa went out to meet him and they arrayed for battle in the valley of Zephath at Mareshah.
10 Then Asa cried to Adonai his God and said, “Adonai, there is no one like You to help in battle between the mighty and the powerless. Help us, Adonai Eloheinu, for we rely on You and in Your Name we have come against this multitude. You are Adonai Eloheinu! Let no man prevail against You.”
11 So Adonai struck down the Cushites before Asa and before Judah. The Cushites fled 12 and Asa and the people who were with him pursued them to Gerar. So many of the Cushites fell that they could not recover because they were shattered before Adonai and before His army. They carried away very much spoil. 13 They destroyed all the cities around Gerar, for the terror from Adonai came on them. They plundered all the cities, for there was much spoil in them. 14 They also attacked the tents of herdsmen and carried off many sheep and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.