2 Chronicles 14

1 And Abiyah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David: and Assa his son became king in his stead. In his days the land had repose ten years.

2 And Assa did what is good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God.

3 And he removed the altars of the strange [gods], and the high-places, and broke up the statues, and cut down the groves;

4 And he ordered Judah to seek the Lord the God of their fathers, and to execute the law and the commandment.

5 Also he removed out of all the cities of Judah the high-places and the sun-images: and the kingdom had repose before him.

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

7 Therefore he said unto Judah, Let us build these cities, and surround them with walls, and towers, gates, and bars: the land is yet before us; because we have sought the Lord our God, —we have sought him, and he hath given us rest on every side. So they built and prospered.

8 And Assa 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 were mighty men of valor.

9 And there came out against them Zerach the Ethiopian with an army of a thousand times thousand, and three hundred chariots; and he came as far as Mareshah.

10 Then went Assa out against him, and they set themselves in battle-array in the valley of Zephathah near Mareshah.

11 And Assa called unto the Lord his God, and said, Lord, nothing can hinder thee to help, whether it be the mighty, or those that have no power: help us, O Lord our God; for on thee do we rely, and in thy name are we come against this multitude. O Lord, thou art our God! no mortal can place a restraint against thee.

12 Thereupon did the Lord strike down the Ethiopians before Assa, and before Judah: and the Ethiopians fled.

13 And Assa and the people that were with him pursued them as far as Gerar: and there fell of the Ethiopians [so many], that they could not recover themselves; for they were broken down before the Lord, and before his camp; and they carried away exceedingly much booty.

14 And they smote all the cities round about Gerar; for the dread of the Lord was upon them: and they plundered all the cities; for abundant spoil was in them.

15 And also the tents of [the owners of] cattle did they smite, and they carried away sheep in abundance, and camels, and returned to Jerusalem.