2 Chronicles 14

1 So Abijah went to rest with his fathers, and they put him into the earth in the town of David, and Asa his son became king in his place; in his time the land was quiet for ten years.

So Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in David’s city; and Asa his son reigned in his place. In his days, the land was quiet ten years.

2 And Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God;

Asa did that which was good and right in the LORD his God’s eyes,

3 For he took away the altars of strange gods and the high places, and had the upright stones broken and the wood pillars cut down;

for he took away the foreign altars and the high places, broke down the pillars, cut down the Asherah poles,

4 And he made Judah go after the Lord, the God of their fathers, and keep his laws and his orders.

and commanded Judah to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, and to obey his law and command.

5 And he took away the high places and the sun-images from all the towns of Judah; and the kingdom was quiet under his rule.

Also he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the sun images; and the kingdom was quiet before him.

6 He made walled towns in Judah, for the land was quiet and there were no wars in those years, because the Lord had given him rest.

He built fortified cities in Judah; for the land was quiet, and he had no war in those years, because the LORD had given him rest.

7 He said to Judah, Let us make these towns, building walls round them with towers and doors and locks. The land is still ours, because we have been true to the Lord our God; we have been true to him and he has given us rest on every side. So they went on building and all went well for them.

For he said to Judah, “Let’s build these cities and make walls around them, with towers, gates, and bars. 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 men of Judah armed with body-covers and spears, and two hundred and eighty thousand of Benjamin armed with body-covers and bows; all these were men of war.

Asa had an army of three hundred thousand out of Judah who bore bucklers and spears, and two hundred and eighty thousand out of Benjamin who bore shields and drew bows. All these were mighty men of valour.

9 And Zerah the Ethiopian, with an army of a million, and three hundred war-carriages, came out against them to Mareshah.

Zerah the Ethiopian came out against them with an army of a million troops and three hundred chariots, and he came to Mareshah.

10 And Asa went out against him, and they put their forces in position in the valley north of Mareshah.

Then Asa went out to meet him, and they set the battle in array in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah.

11 And Asa made prayer to the Lord his God and said, Lord, you only are able to give help against the strong to him who has no strength; come to our help, O Lord our God, for our hope is in you, and in your name we have come out against this great army. O Lord, you are our God; let not man's power be greater than yours.

Asa cried to the LORD his God, and said, “LORD, there is no one besides you to help, between the mighty and him who has no strength. Help us, LORD our God; for we rely on you, and in your name are we come against this multitude. LORD, you are our God. Don’t let man prevail against you.”

12 So the Lord sent fear on the Ethiopians before Asa and Judah; and the Ethiopians went in flight.

So the LORD struck the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah; and the Ethiopians fled.

13 And Asa and the people who were with him went after them as far as Gerar; and so great was the destruction among the Ethiopians that they were not able to get their army together again, for they were broken before the Lord and before his army; and they took away a great amount of their goods.

Asa and the people who were with him pursued them to Gerar. So many of the Ethiopians fell that they could not recover themselves, for they were destroyed before the LORD and before his army. Judah’s army carried away very much booty.

14 And they overcame all the towns round Gerar, because the Lord sent fear on them; and they took away their goods from the towns, for there were stores of wealth in them.

They struck all the cities around Gerar, for the fear of the LORD came on them. They plundered all the cities, for there was much plunder in them.

15 And they made an attack on the tents of the owners of the cattle, and took away great numbers of sheep and camels and went back to Jerusalem.

They also struck the tents of those who had livestock, and carried away sheep and camels in abundance, then returned to Jerusalem.