2Ch 14 | NASB1995 | STEP | So Abijah slept with his fathers , and they buried him in the city of David , and his son Asa became king in his place . The land was undisturbed for ten years during his days .

2 Chronicles 14

Asa Succeeds Abijah in Judah

1 ^{▼▼ Ch 13:23 in Heb
,} ^bSo Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David, and his son Asa became king in his place. The land was undisturbed for ten years during his days.

2 ^{▼▼ Ch 14:1 in Heb}Asa did good and right in the sight of the Lord his God, 3 for he removed ^dthe foreign altars and ^ehigh places, tore down the sacred pillars, cut down the ^{▼▼ I.e. wooden symbols of a female deity
,} ^gAsherim, 4 and commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers and to observe the law and the commandment. 5 He also removed the high places and the ^hincense altars from all the cities of Judah. And the kingdom was undisturbed under him. 6 ⁱHe built fortified cities in Judah, since the land was undisturbed, and ^{▼▼ Lit there was not with him war}there was no one at war with him during those years, ^kbecause the Lord had given him rest. 7 For he said to Judah, ^l“Let us build these cities and surround them with walls and towers, gates and bars. The land is still ^{▼▼ Lit before us}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 Now Asa had an army of ⁿ300,000 from Judah, bearing large shields and spears, and 280,000 from Benjamin, bearing shields and wielding bows; all of them were valiant warriors.

9 Now Zerah the Ethiopian ^ocame out against them with an army of a million men and 300 chariots, and he came to ^pMareshah. 10 So Asa went out ^{▼▼ Lit before him}to meet him, and they drew up in battle formation in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. 11 Then Asa ^rcalled to the Lord his God and said, “Lord, there is no one besides You to help in the battle between the powerful and those who have no strength; so help us, O Lord our God, ^sfor we trust in You, and in Your name have come against this multitude. O Lord, You are our God; let not man prevail against You.” 12 So ^tthe Lord ^{▼▼ Lit struck}routed the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled. 13 Asa and the people who were with him pursued them as far as ^vGerar; and so many Ethiopians fell that ^{▼▼ Or there was none left alive}they could not recover, for they were shattered before the Lord and before His army. And they carried away very much plunder. 14 They ^{▼▼ Lit smote}destroyed all the cities around Gerar, ^yfor the dread of the Lord had fallen on them; and they despoiled all the cities, for there was much plunder in them. 15 They also struck down ^{▼▼ Lit tents of livestock}those who owned livestock, and they carried away large numbers of sheep and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.