2 Chronicles 14
14
Early Years of Asa’s Reign
1 # 14:1 Verse 14:1 is numbered 13:23 in Hebrew text. When Abijah died, he was buried in the City of David. Then his son Asa became the next king. There was peace in the land for ten years. 2#14:2 Verses 14:2-15 are numbered 14:1-14 in Hebrew text.Asa did what was pleasing and good in the sight of the Lord his God. 3He removed the foreign altars and the pagan shrines. He smashed the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherah poles. 4He commanded the people of Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and to obey his law and his commands. 5Asa also removed the pagan shrines, as well as the incense altars from every one of Judah’s towns. So Asa’s kingdom enjoyed a period of peace. 6During those peaceful years, he was able to build up the fortified towns throughout Judah. No one tried to make war against him at this time, for the Lord was giving him rest from his enemies.
7Asa told the people of Judah, “Let us build towns and fortify them with walls, towers, gates, and bars. The land is still ours because we sought the Lord our God, and he has given us peace on every side.” So they went ahead with these projects and brought them to completion.
8King Asa had an army of 300,000 warriors from the tribe of Judah, armed with large shields and spears. He also had an army of 280,000 warriors from the tribe of Benjamin, armed with small shields and bows. Both armies were composed of well-trained fighting men.
9Once an Ethiopian#14:9a Hebrew a Cushite. named Zerah attacked Judah with an army of 1,000,000 men#14:9b Or an army of thousands and thousands; Hebrew reads an army of a thousand thousands. and 300 chariots. They advanced to the town of Mareshah, 10so Asa deployed his armies for battle in the valley north of Mareshah.#14:10 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads valley of Zephathah near Mareshah. 11Then Asa cried out to the Lord his God, “O Lord, no one but you can help the powerless against the mighty! Help us, O Lord our God, for we trust in you alone. It is in your name that we have come against this vast horde. O Lord, you are our God; do not let mere men prevail against you!”
12So the Lord defeated the Ethiopians#14:12 Hebrew Cushites; also in 14:13. in the presence of Asa and the army of Judah, and the enemy fled. 13Asa and his army pursued them as far as Gerar, and so many Ethiopians fell that they were unable to rally. They were destroyed by the Lord and his army, and the army of Judah carried off a vast amount of plunder.
14While they were at Gerar, they attacked all the towns in that area, and terror from the Lord came upon the people there. As a result, a vast amount of plunder was taken from these towns, too. 15They also attacked the camps of herdsmen and captured many sheep, goats, and camels before finally returning to Jerusalem.
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2 Chronicles 14: NLT
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2 Chronicles 14
14
1 (13:23)#sn Beginning with 14:1, the verse numbers through 14:15 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 14:1 ET = 13:23 HT, 14:2 ET = 14:1 HT, 14:3 ET = 14:2 HT, etc., through 14:15 ET = 14:14 HT. Beginning with 15:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same. Abijah passed away#tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.” and was buried in the City of David.#sn The phrase the City of David refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7. His son Asa replaced him as king. During his reign#tn Heb “in his days.” the land had rest for ten years.
Asa’s Religious and Military Accomplishments
2 (14:1) Asa did what the Lord his God desired and approved.#tn Heb “and Asa did the good and the right in the eyes of the Lord his God.” 3 He removed the pagan altars#tn Heb “the altars of the foreigner.” and the high places, smashed the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles.#sn Asherah poles. A leading deity of the Canaanite pantheon was Asherah, wife/sister of El and goddess of fertility. She was commonly worshiped at shrines in or near groves of evergreen trees, or, failing that, at places marked by wooden poles (Hebrew אֲשֵׁרִים [’asherim], as here). They were to be burned or cut down (Deut 7:5; 12:3; 16:21; Judg 6:25, 28, 30; 2 Kgs 18:4). 4 He ordered Judah to seek the Lord God of their ancestors#tn Heb “fathers.” and to observe his law and commands.#tn Heb “the law and the command.” 5 He removed the high places and the incense altars from all the cities of Judah. The kingdom had rest under his rule.#tn Heb “before him.”
6 He built fortified cities throughout Judah, for the land was at rest and there was no war during those years; the Lord gave him peace. 7 He said to the people of Judah:#tn The words “the people of” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The Hebrew text uses the name “Judah” by metonymy for the people of Judah. “Let’s build these cities and fortify them with walls, towers, and barred gates.#tn Heb “and we will surround [them] with wall[s] and towers, doors, and bars.” The land remains ours because we have followed#tn Heb “sought.” the Lord our God and he has made us secure on all sides.”#tn Heb “and he has given us rest all around.” So they built the cities#tn The words “the cities” are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons. and prospered.
8 Asa had an army of 300,000 men from Judah, equipped with large shields and spears. He also had 280,000 men from Benjamin who carried small shields and were adept archers; they were all skilled warriors. 9 Zerah the Cushite marched against them with an army of 1,000,000#tn Heb “a thousand thousands.” men and 300 chariots. He arrived at Mareshah, 10 and Asa went out to oppose him. They deployed for battle in the Valley of Zephathah near Mareshah.
11 Asa prayed#tn Heb “called out.” to the Lord his God: “O Lord, there is no one but you who can help the weak when they are vastly outnumbered.#tn Heb “there is not with you to help between many with regard to [the one] without strength.” Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you and have marched on your behalf against this huge army.#tn Heb “and in your name we have come against this multitude.” O Lord our God, don’t let men prevail against you!”#tn Heb “let not man retain [strength] with you.” 12 The Lord struck down the Cushites before Asa and Judah. The Cushites fled, 13 and Asa and his army chased them as far as Gerar. The Cushites were wiped out;#tn Heb “and there fell from the Cushites so that there was not to them preservation of life.” they were shattered before the Lord and his army. The men of Judah#tn Heb “they”; the referent (the men of Judah) has been specified in the translation for clarity. carried off a huge amount of plunder. 14 They defeated all the cities surrounding Gerar, for the Lord caused them to panic.#tn Heb “for the terror of the Lord was upon them.” The men of Judah#tn Heb “they”; the referent (the men of Judah) has been specified in the translation for clarity. looted all the cities, for they contained a huge amount of goods.#tn Heb “for great plunder was in them.” 15 They also attacked the tents of the herdsmen in charge of the livestock.#tn Heb “and also they struck down the tents of the livestock.” They carried off many sheep and camels and then returned to Jerusalem.#map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
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