2 Chronicles 14:2-15:9

New American Standard Bible

^2 [a]And Asa did what was good and right in the sight of the Lord his God, ³ for he removed ^(A)the foreign altars and ^(B)high places, tore down the memorial stones, cut down the ^[b](C)Asherim, ⁴ and commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers and to ^[c]comply with the Law and the commandment. ⁵ He also removed the high places and the ^(D)incense altars from all the cities of Judah. And the kingdom was undisturbed under him. ^6 (E)He built fortified cities in Judah, since the land was undisturbed, and ^[d]there was no one at war with him during those years, ^(F)because the Lord had given him rest. ⁷ For he said to Judah, “^(G)Let’s build these cities and surround them with walls and towers, gates and bars. The land is still ^[e]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 ^(H)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 ^(I)went out against them with an army of a million men and three hundred chariots, and he came to ^(J)Mareshah. ¹⁰ So Asa went out ^[f]to meet him, and they drew up in battle formation in the Valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. ¹¹ Then Asa ^(K)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, ^(L)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 ^(M)the Lord ^[g]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 ^(N)Gerar; and so many Ethiopians fell that ^[h]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 ^[i]destroyed all the cities around Gerar, ^(O)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 ^[j]those who owned livestock, and they led away large numbers of sheep and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.

Azariah the Prophet Warns Asa

15 Now ^(P)the Spirit of God came on Azariah the son of Oded, ² and he went out ^[k]to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: ^(Q)the Lord is with you when you are with Him. And ^(R)if you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you abandon Him, He will abandon you. ^3 (S)For many days Israel was without the true God and without ^(T)a teaching priest and without the Law. ⁴ But ^(U)in their distress they turned to the Lord God of Israel, and they sought Him, and He let them find Him. ^5 (V)In those times there was no peace for him who went out or him who came in, because many disturbances ^[l]afflicted all the inhabitants of the lands. ^6 (W)Nation was crushed by nation, and city by city, for God troubled them with every kind of distress. ⁷ But you, ^(X)be strong and do not ^[m]lose courage, for there is a ^(Y)reward for your work.”

Asa’s Reforms

⁸ Now when Asa heard these words and the ^[n]prophecy which Azariah the son of Oded the prophet spoke, he took courage and removed the abominable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and from ^(Z)the cities which he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. ^(AA)He then restored the altar of the Lord which was in front of the porch of the Lord. ⁹ And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and those from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon ^(AB)who resided with them, for many defected to him from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him.