II Kronik 14
1 A gdy Abiasz zasnął ze swoimi ojcami, pogrzebano go w mieście Dawida. Wtedy jego syn Asa królował w jego miejsce. Za jego dni w ziemi panował pokój przez dziesięć lat.
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 Asa czynił to, co [było] dobre i prawe w oczach PANA, jego Boga.
Asa did things that Yahweh his God considers to be right and good.
3 Usunął bowiem ołtarze obcych bogów i wyżyny, pokruszył posągi i wyrąbał gaje.
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 Nakazał Judzie szukać PANA, Boga swoich ojców, i przestrzegać prawa i przykazań.
Asa commanded the people of Judah to worship [only] Yahweh, the God whom their ancestors worshiped, and to obey his laws and commands.
5 Zniósł też ze wszystkich miast Judy wyżyny i posągi, a królestwo za jego czasów zaznało pokoju.
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 Ponadto zbudował miasta warowne w Judzie, ponieważ w ziemi panował pokój i nie było wojny przeciwko niemu w tych latach. PAN bowiem dał mu odpoczynek.
His workers built cities and constructed walls around them. No army attacked Judah during that time, because Yahweh enabled them to have peace.
7 I powiedział do Judy: Zbudujmy te miasta i otoczmy [je] murami, wieżami, bramami i ryglami, póki ziemia jest w naszej mocy. Szukaliśmy bowiem PANA, naszego Boga, szukaliśmy go i dał nam zewsząd odpoczynek. Budowali więc i powodziło się im.
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 I Asa miał wojsko z Judy – trzysta tysięcy noszących tarcze i włócznie, i z Beniamina – dwieście osiemdziesiąt tysięcy noszących puklerz i napinających łuk. Wszyscy oni [byli] bardzo dzielni.
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 Wtedy przeciwko nim nadciągnął Zerach Etiopczyk z wojskiem [liczącym] tysiąc tysięcy oraz trzystu rydwanami i dotarł aż do Mareszy.
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 Nadciągnął też i Asa przeciw niemu i stanęli w szyku bojowym w Dolinie Sefaty w Mareszy.
Asa went [with his army] to fight against them, and both armies took their positions in the Zephathah Valley.
11 Wtedy Asa zawołał do PANA, swego Boga, i powiedział: PANIE, ty nie potrzebujesz wielu, aby uratować tego, który nie ma siły. Ratuj nas, PANIE, nasz Boże, gdyż na tobie polegamy i w twoje imię idziemy przeciwko temu mnóstwu. Ty jesteś PANEM, naszym Bogiem. Niech człowiek nie zyska przewagi nad tobą.
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 A PAN poraził Etiopczyków przed Asą i Judą tak, że Etiopczycy uciekli.
Then Yahweh enabled Asa and the army of Judah to defeat the army from Ethiopia. They fled,
13 I Asa wraz z ludem, który był z nim, ścigał ich aż do Gerary. I polegli Etiopczycy tak, że nikt się nie uratował, bo zostali starci przed PANEM i jego wojskiem. I nabrano bardzo dużo łupów.
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 Ponadto pobili wszystkie miasta dokoła Gerary, bo padł na nie strach PANA i złupili wszystkie miasta. Była bowiem w nich wielka zdobycz.
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 Napadli także na namioty trzód, uprowadzając wiele owiec i wielbłądów i wrócili do Jerozolimy.
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.
