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
2 Chronicles 14
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 14
Asa the Reformer. 1 Asa did what was good and righteous in the eyes of the Lord, his God. 2 He destroyed the foreign altars and the high places, smashed to pieces the sacred pillars, and cut down the sacred poles. 3 He further commanded Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and to obey his laws and his commandments.
4 Throughout all the cities of Judah he removed the high places and the incense altars, and under him the kingdom was at peace. 5 He also built fortified cities in Judah during those years of peace which the Lord had granted. 6 Asa then said to Judah: “Let us build up these cities and surround them with walls, towers, gates, and bars. The land is still ours because we have sought the guidance of the Lord, our God, and he has given us peace on every side.” Therefore, they built and prospered.
Zerah’s Invasion. 7 Asa had an army of three hundred thousand warriors from Judah armed with shields and spears, and two hundred and eighty thousand from Benjamin armed with shields and bows. All of them were mighty warriors. 8 [a]Zerah the Ethiopian marched out against them with an army of one million men and three hundred chariots, and they advanced as far as Mareshah. 9 Asa went forth, to confront him, and the opposing armies drew up their battle lines in the Valley of Zephathah near Mareshah.
10 Asa then cried out to the Lord, his God, saying: “Lord, there is no one else like you to help the powerless against a mighty foe. Come to our aid, O Lord, our God, for we are relying upon you, and in your name we are prepared to confront this horde. O Lord, you are our God. Do not allow these mere mortals to prevail against you.” 11 Then the Lord enabled Asa and Judah to strike down the Ethiopians, and they fled. 12 Asa and his army followed in pursuit as far as Gerar. The Ethiopians fell mortally wounded until there were no survivors. Then the army of Judah carried off a tremendous amount of booty.
13 Following that victory, the Judahites destroyed all the cities around Gerar, for the fear of the Lord had filled the people with terror. Then they plundered all these villages and carried off all the treasures that were of great value. 14 They also attacked the tents of those who had livestock and carried away great numbers of sheep and goats and camels. After that they returned to Jerusalem.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 14:8 This incident is not documented in extrabiblical sources; since Zerah is not called a pharaoh or a king, he was probably a commander of hordes who came from Africa or Arabia, across the Sinai peninsula.
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
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
