2 Chronicles 14

So Abijah died like his ancestors before him, and they buried him in the City of David. His son Asa became king in his place. While Asa ruled, the land was peaceful for ten years.

1So Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David: and Asa his son reigned in his stead. In his days the land was quiet ten years.

Note"Slept with his fathers" is the standard Hebrew idiom for a king's death: it says nothing about how he died, only that he joined the ancestors in death and burial. The City of David is the oldest fortified part of Jerusalem, the ridge David captured and settled; the kings of Judah were buried there.

2Asa did what was good and right in the sight of the LORD his God.

2And Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God:

3He took away the altars of the foreign gods and the worship sites on the hills. He smashed the sacred stone pillars and cut down the wooden poles set up for the goddess Asherah.

3For he took away the altars of the strange gods, and the high places, and brake down the images, and cut down the groves:

Note"High places" were open-air worship sites, usually on a hill or raised platform, with an altar and often a pillar or sacred tree. The "images" of the King James are standing stones, upright slabs set at a shrine to mark a god's presence. The "groves" are Asherah poles: carved wooden posts representing Asherah, a Canaanite mother goddess. King James translators rendered the Hebrew name as "grove" because the objects were wooden and sometimes stood among trees.

4He ordered the people of Judah to seek the LORD, the God of their ancestors, and to obey his law and his commands.

4And commanded Judah to seek the LORD God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment.

Note"Seek the LORD" is a fixed Hebrew expression for regular worship and for consulting God about decisions, rather than an inner search for him. Its opposite is seeking guidance from other gods.

5He also removed the hilltop worship sites and the incense altars from every city in Judah. Under his rule the kingdom was at peace.

5Also he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the images: and the kingdom was quiet before him.

NoteThe word the King James gives as "images" here is a different Hebrew word from the one in verse 3, and probably means small stands or altars for burning incense.

6He built cities with walls around them in Judah. The land was quiet, and no one made war on him during those years, because the LORD had given him rest.

6And he built fenced cities in Judah: for the land had rest, and he had no war in those years; because the LORD had given him rest.

7So he said to the people of Judah, "Let us build these cities and put walls around them, with towers, gates, and bars. The land is still ours, because we have sought the LORD our God. We sought him, and he has given us rest on every side." So they built, and things went well for them.

7Therefore he said unto Judah, Let us build these cities, and make about them walls, and towers, gates, and bars, while the land is yet before us; because we have sought the LORD our God, we have sought him, and he hath given us rest on every side. So they built and prospered.

Note"Bars" are the heavy beams dropped across the inside of a city gate to hold it shut. "The land is still ours" translates an idiom meaning the territory is still open and under our control, build now, while we can.

8Asa had an army of 300,000 men from Judah who carried large shields and spears, and 280,000 men from Benjamin who carried small shields and used bows. All of them were strong, brave fighters.

8And Asa had an army of men that bare targets and spears, out of Judah three hundred thousand; and out of Benjamin, that bare shields and drew bows, two hundred and fourscore thousand: all these were mighty men of valour.

NoteJudah and Benjamin were the two tribes that made up the southern kingdom after Israel split in two; a writer naming both is naming the whole of Asa's realm. The two kinds of shield are different pieces of equipment: the large one covered most of the body and was carried alongside a spear, the small round one was for troops who needed both hands free, like archers.

9Zerah the Cushite came out to fight them with an army of a million men and three hundred chariots, and he came as far as Mareshah.

9And there came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian with an host of a thousand thousand, and three hundred chariots; and came unto Mareshah.

NoteCush was the region south of Egypt, along the Nile in what is now northern Sudan, not the modern country of Ethiopia, which the King James name suggests. The Hebrew reads "a thousand thousand," that is a million; the word for "thousand" can also mean a military unit of unspecified size, so the actual figure intended is uncertain.

10Then Asa marched out to meet him, and they lined up for battle in the Valley of Zephathah near Mareshah.

10Then Asa went out against him, and they set the battle in array in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah.

NoteMareshah was a fortified town in the low hills southwest of Jerusalem, guarding one of the routes up from the coastal plain. The Valley of Zephathah is not otherwise known.

11Asa called out to the LORD his God and said, "LORD, it is nothing for you to help, whether you help many or those who have no strength at all. Help us, LORD our God, because we depend on you, and in your name we have come out against this huge army. LORD, you are our God. Do not let any man win against you."

11And Asa cried unto the LORD his God, and said, LORD, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O LORD our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O LORD, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee.

NoteThe first sentence is difficult in Hebrew and has been read two ways: either "it is nothing to you to help, whether the side you help is strong or weak," or "there is no one but you to help the powerless against the mighty." "In your name" means on your authority, as your representatives. The last word for "man" is one that stresses human frailty, a mere mortal.

12So the LORD struck down the Cushites in front of Asa and Judah, and the Cushites ran away.

12So the LORD smote the Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah; and the Ethiopians fled.

13Asa and the men with him chased them as far as Gerar. So many Cushites fell that they could not fight again, for they were broken before the LORD and before his army. Judah carried off a great deal of plunder.

13And Asa and the people that were with him pursued them unto Gerar: and the Ethiopians were overthrown, that they could not recover themselves; for they were destroyed before the LORD, and before his host; and they carried away very much spoil.

NoteGerar was a town in the far south, toward the coast in Philistine country, well outside Judah's territory, the pursuit ran a long way. "Before his army" is ambiguous in Hebrew: it may mean the LORD's own forces or Asa's troops.

14They attacked all the towns around Gerar, because terror from the LORD had come over the people there. They stripped all these towns, since there was a great deal to take in them.

14And they smote all the cities round about Gerar; for the fear of the LORD came upon them: and they spoiled all the cities; for there was exceeding much spoil in them.

Note"Terror from the LORD" is a set phrase in these narratives for a panic that falls on an enemy population and leaves them unable to resist. "Spoiled" in the King James means plundered, not ruined.

15They also attacked the camps of the herders and carried off large numbers of sheep and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.

15They smote also the tents of cattle, and carried away sheep and camels in abundance, and returned to Jerusalem.

NoteThese are the camps of herders who moved with their flocks and lived in tents rather than towns. Sheep and camels were the movable wealth of such groups, which is why they are counted as plunder.