Early Years of Asa’s Reign

14 ^[a]When Abijah died, he was buried in the City of David. Then his son Asa became the next king. There was peace in the land for ten years. ^2 [b]Asa did what was pleasing and good in the sight of the Lord his God. ³ He removed the foreign altars and the pagan shrines. He smashed the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherah poles. ⁴ He commanded the people of Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and to obey his law and his commands. ⁵ Asa also removed the pagan shrines, as well as the incense altars from every one of Judah’s towns. So Asa’s kingdom enjoyed a period of peace. ⁶ During those peaceful years, he was able to build up the fortified towns throughout Judah. No one tried to make war against him at this time, for the Lord was giving him rest from his enemies.

⁷ Asa told the people of Judah, “Let us build towns and fortify them with walls, towers, gates, and bars. The land is still ours because we sought the Lord our God, and he has given us peace on every side.” So they went ahead with these projects and brought them to completion.

⁸ King Asa had an army of 300,000 warriors from the tribe of Judah, armed with large shields and spears. He also had an army of 280,000 warriors from the tribe of Benjamin, armed with small shields and bows. Both armies were composed of well-trained fighting men.

⁹ Once an Ethiopian^[c] named Zerah attacked Judah with an army of 1,000,000 men^[d] and 300 chariots. They advanced to the town of Mareshah, ¹⁰ so Asa deployed his armies for battle in the valley north of Mareshah.^{[e] 11} Then Asa cried out to the Lord his God, “O Lord, no one but you can help the powerless against the mighty! Help us, O Lord our God, for we trust in you alone. It is in your name that we have come against this vast horde. O Lord, you are our God; do not let mere men prevail against you!”

¹² So the Lord defeated the Ethiopians^[f] in the presence of Asa and the army of Judah, and the enemy fled. ¹³ Asa and his army pursued them as far as Gerar, and so many Ethiopians fell that they were unable to rally. They were destroyed by the Lord and his army, and the army of Judah carried off a vast amount of plunder.

¹⁴ While they were at Gerar, they attacked all the towns in that area, and terror from the Lord came upon the people there. As a result, a vast amount of plunder was taken from these towns, too. ¹⁵ They also attacked the camps of herdsmen and captured many sheep, goats, and camels before finally returning to Jerusalem.

Greetings from Paul

1 This letter is from Paul, a slave of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ. I have been sent to proclaim faith to^[a] those God has chosen and to teach them to know the truth that shows them how to live godly lives. ² This truth gives them confidence that they have eternal life, which God—who does not lie—promised them before the world began. ³ And now at just the right time he has revealed this message, which we announce to everyone. It is by the command of God our Savior that I have been entrusted with this work for him.

⁴ I am writing to Titus, my true son in the faith that we share.

May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior give you grace and peace.

Titus’s Work in Crete

⁵ I left you on the island of Crete so you could complete our work there and appoint elders in each town as I instructed you. ⁶ An elder must live a blameless life. He must be faithful to his wife,^[b] and his children must be believers who don’t have a reputation for being wild or rebellious. ⁷ A church leader^[c] is a manager of God’s household, so he must live a blameless life. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered; he must not be a heavy drinker,^[d] violent, or dishonest with money.

⁸ Rather, he must enjoy having guests in his home, and he must love what is good. He must live wisely and be just. He must live a devout and disciplined life. ⁹ He must have a strong belief in the trustworthy message he was taught; then he will be able to encourage others with wholesome teaching and show those who oppose it where they are wrong.

¹⁰ For there are many rebellious people who engage in useless talk and deceive others. This is especially true of those who insist on circumcision for salvation. ¹¹ They must be silenced, because they are turning whole families away from the truth by their false teaching. And they do it only for money. ¹² Even one of their own men, a prophet from Crete, has said about them, “The people of Crete are all liars, cruel animals, and lazy gluttons.”^{[e] 13} This is true. So reprimand them sternly to make them strong in the faith. ¹⁴ They must stop listening to Jewish myths and the commands of people who have turned away from the truth.

¹⁵ Everything is pure to those whose hearts are pure. But nothing is pure to those who are corrupt and unbelieving, because their minds and consciences are corrupted. ¹⁶ Such people claim they know God, but they deny him by the way they live. They are detestable and disobedient, worthless for doing anything good.

Psalm 20

For the choir director: A psalm of David.