⁸ And Asa had an army of three hundred thousand from Judah, armed with bucklers and spears, and two hundred and eighty thousand men from Benjamin, that carried shields and drew bows; all these were mighty men of valor.

Ethiopian Invasion Repulsed

⁹ Zerah the Ethiopian came out against them with an army of a million men and three hundred chariots, and came as far as Mare′shah. ¹⁰ And Asa went out to meet him, and they drew up their lines of battle in the valley of Zeph′athah at Mare′shah. ¹¹ And Asa cried to the Lord his God, “O Lord, there is none like thee to help, between the mighty and the weak. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on thee, and in thy name we have come against this multitude. O Lord, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee.” ¹² So the Lord defeated the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled. ¹³ Asa and the people that were with him pursued them as far as Gerar, and the Ethiopians fell until none remained alive; for they were broken before the Lord and his army. The men of Judah^[a] carried away very much booty. ¹⁴ And they smote all the cities round about Gerar, for the fear of the Lord was upon them. They plundered all the cities, for there was much plunder in them. ¹⁵ And they smote the tents of those who had cattle,^[b] and carried away sheep in abundance and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.