Ii Paralipomenon 14
1 dormivit autem Abia cum patribus suis et sepelierunt eum in civitate David regnavitque Asa filius eius pro eo in cuius diebus quievit terra annis decem
When Abijah died, he was buried in [the part of Jerusalem called] ‘The City of David’. His son Asa became the king. While Asa was ruling, there was peace in Judah for ten years.
2 fecit autem Asa quod bonum et placitum erat in conspectu Dei sui et subvertit altaria peregrini cultus et excelsa
Asa did things that Yahweh his God considers to be right and good.
3 et confregit statuas lucosque succidit
His workers got rid of the altars to worship foreign gods that were on the high hills. They smashed the sacred stone pillars and cut down the poles for worshiping [the goddess] Asherah.
4 ac praecepit Iudae ut quaereret Dominum Deum patrum suorum et faceret legem et universa mandata
Asa commanded the people of Judah to worship [only] Yahweh, the God whom their ancestors worshiped, and to obey his laws and commands.
5 et abstulit e cunctis urbibus Iuda aras et fana et regnavit in pace
His workers destroyed all the shrines on the hilltops and the altars for burning incense [to idols] in every town in Judah. As a result, there was peace while Asa ruled the kingdom [of Judah].
6 aedificavit quoque urbes munitas in Iuda quia quietus erat et nulla temporibus eius bella surrexerant pacem Domino largiente
His workers built cities and constructed walls around them. No army attacked Judah during that time, because Yahweh enabled them to have peace.
7 dixit autem Iudae aedificemus civitates istas et vallemus muris et roboremus turribus et portis et seris donec a bellis quieta sunt omnia eo quod quaesierimus Dominum Deum patrum nostrorum et dederit nobis pacem per gyrum aedificaverunt igitur et nullum in extruendo inpedimentum fuit
Asa said to the people of Judah, “We should protect these towns by building walls around them, with watchtowers and gates that have bars. This country still belongs to us because we have requested Yahweh our God to help us. We requested him for his help, and he has given us peace in our entire country.” So they built buildings and prospered.
8 habuit autem Asa in exercitu suo portantium scuta et hastas de Iuda trecenta milia de Beniamin vero scutariorum et sagittariorum ducenta octoginta milia omnes isti viri fortissimi
Asa had an army of 300,000 men from Judah. They all carried large shields and spears. He also had 280,000 men from the tribe of Benjamin [in his army]. They carried [smaller] shields, and bows [and arrows]. They were all brave soldiers.
9 egressus est autem contra eos Zara Aethiops cum exercitu decies centena milia et curribus trecentis et venit usque Maresa
Zerah, a man from Ethiopia/Sudan, marched with a huge army and 300 chariots to attack [the army of Judah and Benjamin]. They went as far as [the town of] Mareshah [about 25 miles/southwest of Jerusalem].
10 porro Asa perrexit obviam et instruxit aciem ad bellum in valle Sephata quae est iuxta Maresa
Asa went [with his army] to fight against them, and both armies took their positions in the Zephathah Valley.
11 et invocavit Dominum Deum et ait Domine non est apud te ulla distantia utrum in paucis auxilieris an in pluribus adiuva nos Domine Deus noster in te enim et in tuo nomine habentes fiduciam venimus contra hanc multitudinem Domine Deus noster tu es non praevaleat contra te homo
Then Asa cried out to Yahweh his God, saying, “Yahweh, there is no one like you who can help those who have very little power to resist a mighty army. Yahweh our God, help us, because we are relying on you; and trusting in you we have come [to fight] against this huge army. Yahweh, you are our God; do not allow anyone to defeat you.”
12 exterruit itaque Dominus Aethiopas coram Asa et Iuda fugeruntque Aethiopes
Then Yahweh enabled Asa and the army of Judah to defeat the army from Ethiopia. They fled,
13 et persecutus est eos Asa et populus qui cum eo erat usque Gerar et ruerunt Aethiopes usque ad internicionem quia Domino caedente contriti sunt et exercitu illius proeliante tulerunt ergo spolia multa
and Asa and his army pursued them [to the southwest] as far as Gerar. A huge number of the soldiers from Ethiopia were killed, with the result that those [who were not killed] were unable to fight any more. They were greatly defeated by Yahweh and his army, and the men of Judah carried away a great amount of their possessions.
14 et percusserunt omnes civitates per circuitum Gerare grandis quippe cunctos terror invaserat et diripuerunt urbes et multam praedam asportaverunt
The men of Judah were able to destroy the people in villages near Gerar because Yahweh had caused the people there to become terrified [and unable to fight]. The army of Judah took away all the valuable things from those villages.
15 sed et caulas ovium destruentes tulerunt pecorum infinitam multitudinem et camelorum reversique sunt Hierusalem
They also attacked the places where the local people who took care of domestic animals had set up their tents, and they took away big herds of sheep and goats and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.
