2 Chronicles 14
Evangelical Heritage Version
14 Abijah rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David. His son Asa became king in his place. In his days the land was quiet for ten years.[a]
Asa King of Judah
2 Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God. 3 He removed the foreign altars and the high places. He demolished the sacred memorial stones and chopped down the Asherah poles. 4 He told Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, and to obey his law and command. 5 He removed the high places and the sun pillars[b] from all the cities of Judah. The kingdom enjoyed peace and quiet under him.
6 He built fortified cities in Judah because the land was quiet. He had no wars in those years because the Lord gave him rest.
7 Asa said to Judah, “We will build these cities and surround them with walls, towers, and barred gates. The land before us is still ours, because we have sought the Lord our God. We sought him, and he has given us peace all around.”
So they built and prospered.
8 Asa had an army of three hundred thousand men from Judah, who carried large shields and spears, and two hundred eighty thousand men from Benjamin, who carried shields and were armed with bows. These were all strong, powerful warriors.
9 Zerah the Cushite[c] came out against them with an army of a million[d] men and three hundred chariots and advanced as far as Mareshah. 10 Asa went out to confront him, and they formed battle lines in the Valley of Zephathah at Mareshah.
11 Asa cried to the Lord his God, “Lord, there is no one except you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, O Lord our God, because we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this horde.[e] Lord, you are our God. Men will not prevail against you.”
12 The Lord defeated the Cushites before Asa and Judah, and the Cushites fled. 13 Asa and the people who were with him pursued them as far as Gerar. The Cushites fell until none of them were left alive, because they were broken before the Lord and before his army, who carried away a large amount of plunder. 14 They struck all the cities around Gerar, because the dread of the Lord was upon them. They looted all the cities because there was a great deal of plunder in them. 15 Also they struck the tents of the herdsmen and carried off very many sheep and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 14:1 In the English Bible, chapter 14 starts at Hebrew 13:23. In chapter 14, the rest of the English verse numbers are all one number higher than the Hebrew verse numbers.
- 2 Chronicles 14:5 Or incense altars
- 2 Chronicles 14:9 Cush is the area south of Egypt, that is, today’s Sudan. This area was also called Nubia.
- 2 Chronicles 14:9 Literally a thousand thousands, which may mean too many to count rather than providing a precise tally
- 2 Chronicles 14:11 The biblical accounts regularly use the Hebrew term hamon to refer to hostile, heathen armies. The term refers to a noisy, disorderly crowd. When describing an army, horde is an appropriate rendering, for example, see the barbarian hordes of Gog and Magog in Ezekiel 39.
2 Chronicles 14
King James Version
14 So 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.
2 And Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God:
3 For he took away the altars of the strange gods, and the high places, and brake down the images, and cut down the groves:
4 And commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment.
5 Also he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the images: and the kingdom was quiet before him.
6 And 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.
7 Therefore 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.
8 And 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.
9 And there came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian with an host of a thousand thousand, and three hundred chariots; and came unto Mareshah.
10 Then Asa went out against him, and they set the battle in array in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah.
11 And 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 no man prevail against thee.
12 So the Lord smote the Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah; and the Ethiopians fled.
13 And 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.
14 And 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.
15 They smote also the tents of cattle, and carried away sheep and camels in abundance, and returned to Jerusalem.
2 Chronicles 14
New King James Version
Asa Reigns over Judah
14 So Abijah rested with his fathers, and they buried him in the City of David. Then (A)Asa his son reigned in his place. In his days the land was quiet for ten years.
Asa Reigns in Judah(B)
2 Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God, 3 for he removed the altars of the foreign gods and (C)the [a]high places, and (D)broke down the sacred pillars (E)and cut down the wooden images. 4 He commanded Judah to (F)seek the Lord God of their fathers, and to observe the law and the commandment. 5 He also removed the [b]high places and the incense altars from all the cities of Judah, and the kingdom was quiet under him. 6 And he built fortified cities in Judah, for the land had rest; he had no war in those years, because the Lord had given him (G)rest. 7 Therefore he said to Judah, “Let us build these cities and make walls around them, 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 has given us rest on every side.” So they built and prospered. 8 And Asa had an army of three hundred thousand from Judah who carried [c]shields and spears, and from Benjamin two hundred and eighty thousand men who carried shields and drew (H)bows; all these were mighty men of (I)valor.
9 (J)Then Zerah the Ethiopian came 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 against him, and they set the troops in battle array in the Valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. 11 And Asa (L)cried out to the Lord his God, and said, “Lord, it is (M)nothing for You to help, whether with many or with those who have no power; help us, O Lord our God, for we rest on You, and (N)in Your name we go against this multitude. O Lord, You are our God; do not let man prevail against You!”
12 So the Lord (O)struck the Ethiopians before Asa and Judah, and the Ethiopians fled. 13 And Asa and the people who were with him pursued them to (P)Gerar. So the Ethiopians were overthrown, and they could not recover, for they were broken before the Lord and His army. And they carried away very much [d]spoil. 14 Then they defeated all the cities around Gerar, for (Q)the fear of the Lord came upon them; and they plundered all the cities, for there was exceedingly much [e]spoil in them. 15 They also [f]attacked the livestock enclosures, and carried off sheep and camels in abundance, and returned to Jerusalem.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 14:3 Places for pagan worship
- 2 Chronicles 14:5 Places for pagan worship
- 2 Chronicles 14:8 large shields
- 2 Chronicles 14:13 plunder
- 2 Chronicles 14:14 plunder
- 2 Chronicles 14:15 Lit. struck
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
