14 [a]And Abijah rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. Asa his son succeeded him as king, and in his days the country was at peace for ten years.

Asa King of Judah(A)

Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God.(B) He removed the foreign altars(C) and the high places, smashed the sacred stones(D) and cut down the Asherah poles.[b](E) He commanded Judah to seek the Lord,(F) the God of their ancestors, and to obey his laws and commands. He removed the high places(G) and incense altars(H) in every town in Judah, and the kingdom was at peace under him. He built up the fortified cities of Judah, since the land was at peace. No one was at war with him during those years, for the Lord gave him rest.(I)

“Let us build up these towns,” he said to Judah, “and put walls around them, with towers, gates and bars. The land is still ours, because we have sought the Lord our God; we sought him and he has given us rest(J) on every side.” So they built and prospered.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 14:1 In Hebrew texts 14:1 is numbered 13:23, and 14:2-15 is numbered 14:1-14.
  2. 2 Chronicles 14:3 That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah; here and elsewhere in 2 Chronicles

14 Abijah rested with his ancestors and was buried in the city of David. His son Asa became king in his place.(A) During his reign the land experienced peace for ten years.

Judah’s King Asa

Asa did what was good and right(B) in the sight of the Lord his God. He removed the pagan altars and the high places. He shattered their sacred pillars and chopped down their Asherah poles.(C) He told the people of Judah to seek the Lord God of their ancestors and to carry out the instruction and the commands. He also removed the high places and the shrines[a] from all the cities of Judah,(D) and the kingdom experienced peace under him.

Because the land experienced peace, Asa built fortified cities in Judah.(E) No one made war with him in those days because the Lord gave him rest.(F) So he said to the people of Judah, “Let’s build these cities and surround them with walls and towers, with doors and bars.(G) The land is still ours because we sought the Lord our God. We sought him and he gave us rest on every side.” So they built and succeeded.

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Footnotes

  1. 14:5 Or incense altars