2 Chroniques 14
Nouvelle Edition de Genève – NEG1979
Asa, roi de Juda; victoire sur Zérach, l’Ethiopien
14 Asa fit ce qui est bien et droit aux yeux de l’Eternel, son Dieu. 2 Il fit disparaître les autels de l’étranger et les hauts lieux, il brisa les statues et abattit les idoles. 3 Il ordonna à Juda de rechercher l’Eternel, le Dieu de ses pères, et de pratiquer la loi et les commandements. 4 Il fit disparaître de toutes les villes de Juda les hauts lieux et les statues consacrées au soleil. Et le royaume fut en repos devant lui.
5 Il bâtit des villes fortes en Juda; car le pays fut tranquille et il n’y eut pas de guerre contre lui pendant ces années-là, parce que l’Eternel lui donna du repos. 6 Il dit à Juda: Bâtissons ces villes, et entourons-les de murs, de tours, de portes et de barres; le pays est encore devant nous, car nous avons recherché l’Eternel, notre Dieu, nous l’avons recherché, et il nous a donné du repos de tous côtés. Ils bâtirent donc, et réussirent.
7 Asa avait une armée de trois cent mille hommes de Juda, portant le bouclier et la lance, et de deux cent quatre-vingt mille de Benjamin, portant le bouclier et tirant de l’arc, tous vaillants hommes.
8 Zérach, l’Ethiopien, sortit contre eux avec une armée d’un million d’hommes et trois cents chars, et il s’avança jusqu’à Maréscha. 9 Asa marcha au-devant de lui, et ils se rangèrent en bataille dans la vallée de Tsephata, près de Maréscha. 10 Asa invoqua l’Eternel, son Dieu, et dit: Eternel, toi seul peux venir en aide au faible comme au fort: viens à notre aide, Eternel, notre Dieu! car c’est sur toi que nous nous appuyons, et nous sommes venus en ton nom contre cette multitude. Eternel, tu es notre Dieu: que ce ne soit pas l’homme qui l’emporte sur toi! 11 L’Eternel frappa les Ethiopiens devant Asa et devant Juda, et les Ethiopiens prirent la fuite. 12 Asa et le peuple qui était avec lui les poursuivirent jusqu’à Guérar, et les Ethiopiens tombèrent sans pouvoir sauver leur vie, car ils furent détruits par l’Eternel et par son armée. Asa et son peuple firent un très grand butin; 13 ils frappèrent toutes les villes des environs de Guérar, car la terreur de l’Eternel s’était emparée d’elles, et ils pillèrent toutes les villes, dont le butin fut considérable. 14 Ils frappèrent aussi les tentes des troupeaux, et ils emmenèrent une grande quantité de brebis et de chameaux. Puis ils retournèrent à Jérusalem.
2 Chronicles 14
GOD’S WORD Translation
14 [a]Abijah lay down in death with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. His son Asa succeeded him as king. In Asa’s time the land had peace for ten years.
King Asa of Judah(A)
2 Asa did what the Lord his God considered good and right.
3 He got rid of the altars of foreign gods, broke down the sacred stones, and cut down the poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah. 4 He told the people of Judah to dedicate their lives to serving the Lord God of their ancestors and follow his teachings and commands. 5 He got rid of the illegal places of worship and the altars for incense in all the cities of Judah. The kingdom was at peace during his reign.
6 He built fortified cities in Judah because the land had peace. There was no war during those years because the Lord gave him a time of peace. 7 So Asa told Judah, “Let’s build these cities and make walls around them with towers and doors that can be barred. The country is still ours because we have dedicated our lives to serving the Lord our God. We have dedicated our lives to him, and he has surrounded us with peace.” So they built the cities, and everything went well.
8 Asa had an army of 300,000 Judeans who were armed with large shields and spears and 280,000 Benjaminites who were armed with small shields and bows. All of these men were good fighting men.
9 Then Zerah from Sudan came with 1,000,000 men and 300 chariots to attack Asa. Zerah got as far as Mareshah. 10 Asa went to confront him, and the two armies set up their battle lines in the Zephathah Valley at Mareshah.
11 Asa called on the Lord his God. He said, “Lord, there is no one except you who can help those who are not strong so that they can fight against a large ⌞army⌟. Help us, Lord our God, because we are depending on you. In your name we go against this large crowd. You are the Lord our God. Don’t let anyone successfully oppose you.”
12 The Lord attacked the Sudanese army in front of Asa and Judah. The Sudanese army fled. 13 Asa and his troops pursued them as far as Gerar. Many of the Sudanese died in battle. As a result, the Sudanese army couldn’t fight again. It was crushed in front of the Lord and his army. The Lord’s army captured a lot of goods. 14 It attacked all the cities around Gerar because the cities were afraid of the Lord. The army looted all the cities because there were many things to take. 15 It also attacked those who were letting their cattle graze and captured many sheep and camels. Then it returned to Jerusalem.
Footnotes
- 14:1 2 Chronicles 14:1–15 in English Bibles is 2 Chronicles 13:23–14:14 in the Hebrew Bible.
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