2 Chronicles 14
Common English Bible
14 Abijah lay down with his ancestors and was buried in David’s City. His son Asa succeeded him as king.
Asa rules Judah
[a] In Asa’s time, the land had peace for ten years. 2 [b] Asa did what was right and good in the Lord his God’s eyes. 3 He removed the foreign altars and shrines, smashed the sacred pillars, cut down the sacred poles,[c] 4 and urged Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their ancestors, by doing what the Instruction and the commandments required. 5 He also removed the shrines and incense altars from all the cities of Judah so that the kingdom was at peace under him. 6 When the land was at peace, he built fortified cities in Judah; there was no war in those years because the Lord had given him rest.
7 “Let’s build up these cities,” Asa told Judah. “We’ll surround them with walls, towers, gates, and crossbars while the land is still ours, because we sought the Lord our God and he sought us[d] and surrounded us with rest.” As a result, the people successfully completed their building projects.
Judah defeats Cush
8 Asa had an army of three hundred thousand Judeans armed with body-sized shields and spears and another two hundred eighty thousand from Benjamin armed with small shields and bows. All were brave warriors. 9 Zerah the Cushite marched against him with an army of one million men and three hundred chariots. When he got as far as Mareshah, 10 Asa marched against him, setting up for battle in a valley north[e] of Mareshah.
11 Then Asa cried out to the Lord his God, “Lord, only you can help the weak against the powerful.[f] Help us, Lord our God, because we rely on you and we have marched against this multitude in your name. You are the Lord our God. Don’t let a mere human stand against you!”
12 So the Lord struck the Cushites before Asa and Judah, and the Cushites fled. 13 Asa and his troops chased them as far as Gerar. The Cushites fell until there were no survivors. They were completely crushed by the Lord and his army, who carried off a huge amount of loot, 14 and attacked all the cities surrounding Gerar who were terrified of the Lord. They plundered all these cities as well because there was a great amount of loot in them. 15 They also attacked the herdsmen’s camps, taking many sheep and camels before returning to Jerusalem.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 14:1 13:23 in Heb
- 2 Chronicles 14:2 14:1 in Heb
- 2 Chronicles 14:3 Heb asherim, perhaps objects devoted to the goddess Asherah; cf 1 Kgs 15:13
- 2 Chronicles 14:7 LXX; MT lacks and and repeats we sought.
- 2 Chronicles 14:10 LXX; MT an otherwise unknown Zephathah Valley
- 2 Chronicles 14:11 Heb uncertain; or it is not with you to help between the many and the powerless.
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 Krönikeboken 14
Svenska Folkbibeln
14 Abia gick till vila hos sina fäder, och man begravde honom i Davids stad. Hans son Asa blev kung efter honom. Under hans tid hade landet ro i tio år.
Asa blir kung i Juda
2 Asa gjorde det som var gott och rätt i Herrens, sin Guds, ögon. 3 Han avlägsnade de främmande altarna och offerhöjderna, slog sönder stoderna och högg ner aserorna. 4 Han uppmanade Juda att söka Herren, sina fäders Gud, och att hålla lagen och budorden. 5 Ur alla Juda städer tog han bort offerhöjderna och solstoderna. Och riket hade lugn under hans tid. 6 Han byggde befästa städer i Juda eftersom landet hade ro. Och han förde under dessa år inte något krig, ty Herren hade givit honom ro. 7 Han sade därför till Juda: "Låt oss bygga dessa städer och runt omkring förse dem med murar och torn, med portar och bommar. Landet är ännu vårt, därför att vi har sökt Herren, vår Gud. Vi har sökt honom, och han har gett oss ro på alla sidor." Så byggde de och hade framgång. 8 Asa hade en här som utgjordes av 300 000 man från Juda och som bar stora sköldar och spjut. Utöver dessa kom från Benjamin 280 000 man som bar små sköldar och som spände båge. Alla dessa var tappra stridsmän.
9 Men Sera från Etiopien drog ut mot dem med en här på tusen gånger tusen man och trehundra vagnar, och han kom ända till Maresa. 10 Asa drog ut mot honom, och de ställde upp sig till strid i Sefatas dal vid Maresa. 11 Då ropade Asa till Herren, sin Gud: " Herre, utom dig finns ingen som kan hjälpa i striden mellan den starke och den svage. Så hjälp oss, Herre, vår Gud, för på dig stöder vi oss, och i ditt namn har vi kommit hit mot denna skara. Herre, du är vår Gud. Låt ingen människa stå dig emot."
12 Och Herren lät nubierna bli slagna av Asa och Juda, så att de flydde. 13 Asa och folket som var med honom förföljde dem ända till Gerar. Av nubierna föll så många att ingen av dem kom undan med livet, ty de blev nergjorda av Herren och hans här. Och folket tog ett stort byte. 14 Sedan intog de alla städer runt omkring Gerar, ty fruktan för Herren hade kommit över dem. Och de plundrade alla städerna, eftersom det fanns mycket att plundra i dem. 15 Till och med boskapsskjulen bröt de ner, och de förde bort kameler och småboskap i mängd. De vände sedan tillbaka till Jerusalem.
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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