2 Chronicles 14

1 Then Abijah rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David. And his son Asa reigned in his place, and in his days the land was at peace for ten years.

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.

2 And Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God.

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

3 He removed the foreign altars and high places, shattered the sacred pillars, and chopped down the Asherah poles.

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;

4 He commanded the people of Judah to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, and to observe the law and the commandments.

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

5 He also removed the high places and incense altars from all the cities of Judah, and under him the kingdom was at peace.

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.

6 Because the land was at peace, Asa built fortified cities in Judah. In those days no one made war with him, because the LORD had given him rest.

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.

7 So he said to the people of Judah, “Let us build these cities and surround them with walls and towers, with doors and bars. The land is still ours 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.

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.

8 Asa had an army of 300,000 men from Judah bearing large shields and spears, and 280,000 men from Benjamin bearing small shields and drawing the bow. All these were mighty men of valor.

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.

9 Then Zerah the Cushite came against them with an army of 1,000,000 men and 300 chariots, and they advanced as far as Mareshah.

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

10 So Asa marched out against him and lined up in battle formation in the Valley of Zephathah near Mareshah.

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

11 Then Asa cried out to the LORD his God: “O LORD, there is no one besides You to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on You, and in Your name we have come against this multitude. O LORD, You are our God. Do not let a mere mortal prevail against You.”

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.

12 So the LORD struck down the Cushites before Asa and Judah, and the Cushites fled.

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

13 Then Asa and his army pursued them as far as Gerar. The Cushites fell and could not recover, for they were crushed before the LORD and His army. So the people of Judah carried off a great amount of plunder

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.

14 and attacked all the cities around Gerar, because the terror of the LORD had fallen upon them. They plundered all the cities, since there was much plunder there.

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.

15 They also attacked the tents of the herdsmen and carried off many sheep and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.

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.