⁸ Now Asa had an army of ^(A)three hundred thousand from Judah, carrying large shields and spears, and 280,000 from Benjamin, carrying shields and wielding bows; all of them were valiant warriors.

⁹ Now Zerah the Ethiopian ^(B)went out against them with an army of a million men and three hundred chariots, and he came to ^(C)Mareshah. ¹⁰ So Asa went out ^[a]to meet him, and they drew up in battle formation in the Valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. ¹¹ Then Asa ^(D)called to the Lord his God and said, “Lord, there is no one besides You to help in the battle between the powerful and those who have no strength; help us, Lord our God, ^(E)for we trust in You, and in Your name have come against this multitude. Lord, You are our God; do not let man prevail against You.” ¹² So ^(F)the Lord ^[b]routed 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 ^(G)Gerar; and so many Ethiopians fell that ^[c]they could not recover, for they were shattered before the Lord and before His army. And they carried away a very large amount of plunder. ¹⁴ They ^[d]destroyed all the cities around Gerar, ^(H)for the dread of the Lord had fallen on them; and they pillaged all the cities, for there was much plunder in them. ¹⁵ They also fatally struck ^[e]those who owned livestock, and they led away large numbers of sheep and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.