2 Chronicles 14

1 And Abijah lies with his fathers, and they bury him in the City of David, and his son Asa reigns in his stead. In his days the land was quiet [for] ten years.

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.

2 And Asa does that which is good and that which is right in the eyes of his God YHWH,

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

3 and turns aside the altars of the stranger, and the high places, and breaks the standing-pillars, and cuts down the Asherim,

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

4 and commands to Judah to seek YHWH, God of their fathers, and to do the Law and the command;

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

5 and he turns aside the high places and the images out of all cities of Judah, and the kingdom is quiet before him.

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

6 And he builds cities of bulwarks in Judah, for the land has quiet; and there is no war with him in these years, because YHWH has given rest to him.

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.

7 And he says to Judah, “Let us build these cities, and surround [them] with wall, and towers, double gates, and bars, while the land [is] before us, because we have sought our God YHWH, we have sought, and He gives rest to us all around”; and they build and prosper.

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.

8 And Asa has a force of three hundred thousand from Judah carrying buckler and spear, and two hundred and eighty thousand from Benjamin carrying shield and treading bow; all these [are] mighty men of valor.

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.

9 And Zerah the Cushite comes out to them with a force of one million [men] and three hundred chariots, and he comes to Mareshah,

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.

10 and Asa goes out before him, and they set in array [for] battle in the Valley of Zephathah at Mareshah.

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

11 And Asa calls to his God YHWH and says, “YHWH, it is nothing for You to help, between the mighty and those who have no power; help us, O YHWH, our God, for we have leaned on You, and in Your Name we have come against this multitude; O YHWH, You [are] our God; do not let mortal man prevail against You!”

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.”

12 And YHWH strikes the Cushim before Asa and before Judah, and the Cushim flee,

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

13 and Asa and the people who [are] with him pursue them even to Gerar, and there falls [many] from the Cushim, for they have no preserving, because they have been broken before YHWH and before His camp; and [those of Judah] carry away very much spoil,

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

14 and strike all the cities around Gerar, for a fear of YHWH has been on them, and they spoil all the cities, for abundant spoil has been in them;

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.

15 and they have also struck tents of livestock, and they capture sheep in abundance, and camels, and return to Jerusalem.

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