2 Chronicles 14
Lexham English Bible
The Reign of Asa in Judah
14 [a] And Abijah slept with his ancestors,[b] and they buried him in the city of David. And Asa his son became king in his place. In his days the land was at rest ten years. 2 Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of Yahweh his God. 3 He removed the foreign altars and high places, broke down the stone pillars, and cut down the Asherahs. 4 And he commanded Judah to seek Yahweh, the God of their ancestors,[c] and to keep the law and the commandment. 5 And he removed the high places and the incense stands from all the cities of Judah, and the kingdom had rest under[d] him. 6 And he built fortified cities in Judah, for the land was at rest. Under[e] him there was no war in those years, for Yahweh had given rest to him. 7 And he said to Judah, “Let us build these cities and surround them with walls, towers, gates, and bars while the land is before us, because we have sought Yahweh our God. We have sought and he has given rest to us on every side.” So they built and had success. 8 And Asa had an army of three hundred thousand from Judah, bearing shields and spears, and two hundred and eighty thousand from Benjamin who carried shields and drew bows. All of these were mighty warriors of strength.
9 Zerah the Cushite came out against them with an army of a thousand thousands and three hundred chariots. And he came to Mareshah. 10 And Asa went out before him, and a battle was put in order in the valley of Zepah at Mareshah.
11 Then Asa cried out to Yahweh his God. And he said, “O Yahweh, there is none with you to help between the great and the powerless. Help us, O Yahweh our God, for we rely upon you, and in your name we have come against this multitude. O Yahweh, you are our God! Let no man prevail against you!”
12 So Yahweh defeated the Cushites before Asa and before Judah, and the Cushites fled. 13 Then Asa and the army[f] with him pursued them to Gerar. And many from the Cushites fell, for they had no deliverance, for they were shattered before Yahweh and before his army. And they carried away much war booty. 14 And they struck all the cities around Gerar, for the fear of Yahweh was upon them. And they plundered all the cities, for there was much plunder in them. 15 And they also struck the tents of the herdsmen and carried away many sheep and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 14:1 2 Chronicles 14:1–15 in the English Bible is 13:23–14:14 in the Hebrew Bible
- 2 Chronicles 14:1 Or “fathers”
- 2 Chronicles 14:4 Or “fathers”
- 2 Chronicles 14:5 Or “before”
- 2 Chronicles 14:6 Or “With”
- 2 Chronicles 14:13 Or “people”
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
English Standard Version
Asa Reigns in Judah
14 [a] (A)Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David. And Asa his son reigned in his place. In his days the land had rest for ten years. 2 [b] And Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God. 3 He took away the foreign altars (B)and the high places and broke down (C)the pillars and cut down the (D)Asherim 4 and commanded Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, and to keep the law and the commandment. 5 He also took out of all the cities of Judah (E)the high places and the (F)incense altars. And the kingdom had rest under him. 6 He built (G)fortified cities in Judah, for the land had rest. He had no war in those years, (H)for the Lord gave him peace. 7 And he said to Judah, “Let us build these cities and surround them with (I)walls and towers, gates and bars. The land is still ours, because we have sought the Lord our God. We have sought him, (J)and he has given us peace on every side.” So they built and prospered. 8 And Asa had an army of (K)300,000 from Judah, armed with large shields and spears, and 280,000 men from Benjamin that carried shields and drew bows. All these were mighty men of valor.
9 Zerah (L)the Ethiopian came out against them with an army of a million men and 300 chariots, and came as far as (M)Mareshah. 10 And Asa went out to meet him, and (N)they drew up their lines of battle in the Valley of Zephathah at (O)Mareshah. 11 And Asa (P)cried to the Lord his God, “O Lord, there is none like you to help, between the mighty and the weak. Help us, O Lord our God, (Q)for we rely on you, (R)and in your name we have come against this multitude. O Lord, you are our God; let not man prevail against you.” 12 (S)So the Lord defeated 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 (T)Gerar, and the Ethiopians fell until none remained alive, for they were broken before the Lord and his army. The men of Judah[c] carried away very much spoil. 14 And they attacked all the cities around (U)Gerar, (V)for the fear of the Lord was upon them. They plundered all the cities, for there was much plunder in them. 15 And they struck down the tents of those who had livestock and carried away sheep in abundance and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 14:1 Ch 13:23 in Hebrew
- 2 Chronicles 14:2 Ch 14:1 in Hebrew
- 2 Chronicles 14:13 Hebrew They
2 Chronicles 14
Easy-to-Read Version
14 When Abijah died, they buried him in the City of David. Abijah’s son Asa became the new king after him. There was peace in the country for ten years in Asa’s time.
Asa, King of Judah
2 Asa did what the Lord his God said was good and right. 3 He took away the altars of the foreigners and the high places. He also smashed the memorial stones and cut down the Asherah poles. 4 He commanded the people of Judah to follow the Lord, the God their ancestors had worshiped, and to obey his laws and commands. 5 He also removed all the high places and incense altars from all the towns in Judah. So the kingdom had peace when Asa was king. 6 Asa built strong cities in Judah while there was peace in Judah. He had no war in these years because the Lord gave him peace.
7 Asa said to the people of Judah, “Let’s build these towns and make walls around them. Let’s make towers, gates, and bars in the gates. Let’s do this while we still live in this country. This country is ours because we have followed the Lord our God. He has given us peace all around us.” So they built and had success.
8 Asa had an army of 300,000 men from the tribe of Judah and 280,000 men from the tribe of Benjamin. The men from Judah carried large shields and spears. The men from Benjamin carried small shields and shot arrows from bows. All of them were strong and brave soldiers.
9 Then Zerah from Ethiopia[a] came out against Asa’s army. He had 1,000,000 men and 300 chariots in his army. His army went as far as the town of Mareshah. 10 Asa went out to fight against Zerah. Asa’s army got ready for battle in the Valley of Zephathah at Mareshah.
11 Asa called out to the Lord his God and said, “Lord, only you can help weak people against those who are strong! Help us, Lord our God! We depend on you. We fight against this large army in your name. Lord, you are our God! Don’t let anyone defeat you!”
12 Then the Lord used Asa’s army from Judah to defeat the Ethiopian army. And the army ran away. 13 Asa’s army chased the Ethiopian army all the way to the town of Gerar. So many Ethiopians were killed that they could not get together as an army to fight again. They were crushed by the Lord and his army. Asa and his army carried many valuable things away from the enemy. 14 Asa and his army defeated all the towns near Gerar. The people living in those towns were afraid of the Lord. Those towns had very many valuable things. Asa’s army took those valuable things away from those towns. 15 His army also attacked the camps where the shepherds lived and took many sheep and camels. Then they went back to Jerusalem.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 14:9 Ethiopia Or “Cush.”
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