2 Chronicles 14

1 And Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David. And Asa his son reigned in his stead. In his days the land was quiet ten years.

Abijah died and was buried in the City of David. His son Asa took over as king. For ten years of his reign the country was at peace.

2 And Asa did what was good and right in the sight of Jehovah his God;

Asa did what was good and right in the Lord's sight.

3 and he took away the altars of the strange [gods] and the high places, and broke the columns, and cut down the Asherahs;

He took down the foreign altars and high places, smashed their sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles.

4 and commanded Judah to seek Jehovah the God of their fathers, and to practise the law and the commandment.

He ordered Judah to worship the Lord, the God of their forefathers, and to observe the law and the commandments.

5 And he removed out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the sun-images; and the kingdom was quiet before him.

He also took down the high places and the incense altars from all the towns of Judah. Under his rule the kingdom was at peace.

6 And he built fortified cities in Judah, for the land had rest, and he had no war in those years; because Jehovah had given him rest.

Because the country was at peace he was able to rebuild the fortified towns of Judah. There were no wars during these years because the Lord had granted him peace.

7 And he said to Judah, Let us build these cities, and surround them with walls and towers, gates and bars, while the land is yet before us; for we have sought Jehovah our God; we have sought him, and he has given us rest on every side. And they built and prospered.

Asa told the people of Judah, “Let us build up these towns and surround them with walls and towers and barred gates. The land is still ours, because we continue to worship the Lord our God. We worship him, and he has given us peace from all our enemies.” So they began the building projects, and completed them successfully.

8 And Asa had an army that bore targets and spears: out of Judah three hundred thousand; and out of Benjamin, that bore shields and drew the bow, two hundred and eighty thousand: all these, mighty men of valour.

Asa had an army made up of three hundred thousand men from Judah who carried large shields and spears, and two hundred eighty thousand men from Benjamin who carried regular shields and bows. All of them were brave warriors.

9 And Zerah the Ethiopian came out against him with a host of a thousand thousand, and three hundred chariots, and he came to Mareshah.

Zerah the Ethiopian attacked them with an army of a thousand times a thousand men and three hundred chariots, advancing as far as Mareshah.

10 And Asa went out against him, and they set the battle in array in the valley of Zephathah near Mareshah.

Asa went out to confront him, lining up for battle in the Valley of Zephathah at Mareshah.

11 And Asa cried unto Jehovah his God, and said, Jehovah, it maketh no difference to thee to help, whether there be much or no power: help us, O Jehovah our God, for we rely on thee, and in thy name have we come against this multitude. Jehovah, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee.

Asa called out for help to the Lord his God: “Lord, there is no one apart from you who can help the powerless against the powerful. Please help us, Lord our God, for we trust in you. We have come against this horde because we stand for you, Lord. You are our God. Do not let a mere human being beat you.”

12 And Jehovah smote the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah; and the Ethiopians fled.

The Lord struck the Ethiopians in front of Asa and Judah, and the Ethiopians ran away.

13 And Asa and the people that were with him pursued them to Gerar; and the Ethiopians were overthrown, that none of them was left alive; for they were crushed before Jehovah and before his army. And they carried away very much spoil.

Asa and his army chased them as far as Gerar. The Ethiopians were killed—there were none who survived, for they were caught between the Lord and his army. The men of Judah carried off a large amount of plunder.

14 And they smote all the cities round about Gerar, for the terror of Jehovah came upon them; and they spoiled all the cities, for there was very much spoil in them.

They also attacked all the towns around Gerar, because the inhabitants were terrified of the Lord. The men of Judah took a large amount of plunder from all the towns.

15 They smote also the tents of cattle, and carried away sheep and camels in abundance, and returned to Jerusalem.

Then they attacked the camps of the herdsmen and took many sheep and camels. Then they went back to Jerusalem.