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.

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

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

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

He took down the foreign altars and high places, smashed their sacred pillars, and cut 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 ordered Judah to worship the Lord, the God of their forefathers, 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 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 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 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 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.

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 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 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 Cushite comes out to them with a force of one million [men] and three hundred chariots, and he comes 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 goes out before him, and they set in array [for] battle in the Valley of Zephathah at Mareshah.

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

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

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

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,

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 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;

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

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