2 Chronicles

14 And Abijah went to rest with his fathers, and was buried in David’s City; and his son Asa succeeded him.

In his time the country was quiet ten years, 2 and Asa did what his God Jehovah liked and approved, 3 and cleared out the foreign altars and the heights, and broke up the obelisks and cut down the asherahs, 4 and told Judah to devote themselves to their fathers’ God Jehovah and to live up to his code and commandment; 5 and he cleared out from all the cities of Judah the heights and the hammans; and the kingdom was quiet before him. 6 And he built guard-cities in Judah because the country was quiet and he was involved in no war in those years, because Jehovah had given him rest; 7* and he said to Judah “Let us fortify these cities and enclose them with wall and towers and gates and bars; we still have the country before us, because we have devoted ourselves to our God Jehovah; we devoted ourselves, and he gave us rest on all sides”; and they built and prospered. 8 And Asa had troops carrying shield and pike, three hundred thousand out of Judah, and out of Benjamin two hundred and eighty thousand carrying buckler and bending bow; stalwart champions all these.

9* And Zerah the Nubian came out against them with a million troops and three hundred chariots, and came up to Mareshah; 10 and Asa went out to face them, and they joined battle in the valley north of Mareshah. 11** And Asa called out to his God Jehovah “Jehovah, with you there is no difference for helping between many and the powerless; help us, Jehovah, our God, because we lean on you and in your name we have come against this host. Jehovah, you are our God; let not a man be a match for you!” 12* And Jehovah let the Nubians be beaten by Asa and Judah; and the Nubians were routed, 13* and Asa and the people he had with him pursued them to Gerar, and so many Nubians fell that they were beyond any rallying, for they were broken up before Jehovah and his army; and they took up a very great quantity of booty, 14 and conquered all the cities around Gerar, because the dread of Jehovah had come upon them, and plundered all the cities, for there was much plunder in them. 15* And they also struck at the stockmen’s tents, and drove off sheep and goats in great numbers, and camels; and they came back to Jerusalem.