2 Chronicles 13–16

Chapter 13

In the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam, Abia reigned over Juda.

²Three years he reigned in Jerusalem, and his mother’s name was Michaia, the daughter of Uriel of Gabaa: and there was war between Abia and Jeroboam.

³And when Abia had begun battle, and had with him four hundred thousand most valiant and chosen men, Jeroboam put his army in array against him, eight hundred thousand men, who were also chosen and most valiant for war.

⁴And Abia stood upon mount Semeron, which was in Ephraim, and said: Hear me, O Jeroboam, and all Israel:

⁵Do you not know that the Lord God of Israel gave to David the kingdom over Israel for ever, to him and to his sons by a covenant of salt?

⁶And Jeroboam the son of Nabat, the servant of Solomon the son of David, rose up: and rebelled against his lord.

⁷And there were gathered to him vain men, and children of Belial: and they prevailed against Roboam the son of Solomon: for Roboam was unexperienced, and of a fearful heart, and could not resist them.

⁸And now you say that you are able to withstand the kingdom of the Lord, which he possesseth by the sons of David, and you have a great multitude of people, and golden calves, which Jeroboam hath made you for gods.

⁹And you have cast out the priests of the Lord, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites: and you have made you priests, like all the nations of the earth: whosoever cometh and consecrateth his hand with a bullock of the herd, and with seven rams, is made a priest of those who are no gods.

¹⁰But the Lord is our God, whom we forsake not, and the priests who minister to the Lord are the sons of Aaron, and the Levites are in their order.

¹¹And they offer holocausts to the Lord, every day, morning and evening, and incense made according to the ordinance of the law, and the loaves are set forth on a most clean table, and there is with us the golden candlestick, and the lamps thereof, to be lighted always in the evening: for we keep the precepts of the Lord our God, whom you have forsaken.

¹²Therefore God is the leader in our army, and his priests who sound with trumpets, and resound against you: O children of Israel, fight not against the Lord the God of your fathers, for it is not good for you.

¹³While he spoke these things, Jeroboam caused an ambushment to come about behind him. And while he stood facing the enemies, he encompassed Juda, who perceived it not, with his army.

¹⁴And when Juda looked back, they saw the battle coming upon them both before and behind, and they cried to the Lord: and the priests began to sound with the trumpets.

¹⁵And all the men of Juda shouted: and behold when they shouted, God terrified Jeroboam, and all Israel that stood against Abia and Juda.

¹⁶And the children of Israel fled before Juda, and the Lord delivered them into their hand.

¹⁷And Abia and his people slew them with a great slaughter, and there fell wounded of Israel five hundred thousand valiant men.

¹⁸And the children of Israel were brought down, at that time, and the children of Juda were exceedingly strengthened, because they had trusted in the Lord the God of their fathers.

¹⁹And Abia pursued after Jeroboam, and took cities from him, Bethel and her daughters, and Jesana with her daughters, Ephron also and her daughters.

²⁰And Jeroboam was not able to resist any more, in the days of Abia: and the Lord struck him, and he died.

²¹But Abia, being strengthened in his kingdom, took fourteen wives: and begot two and twenty sons, and sixteen daughters.

²²And the rest of the acts of Abia, and of his ways and works, are written diligently in the book of Addo the prophet.

Chapter 14

And Abia 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.

²And Asa did that which was good and pleasing in the sight of his God, and he destroyed the altars of foreign worship, and the high places.

³And broke the statues, and cut down the groves.

⁴And he commanded Juda to seek the Lord the God of their fathers, and to do the law, and all the commandments.

⁵And he took away out of all the cities of Juda the altars, and temples, and reigned in peace.

⁶He built also strong cities in Juda, for he was quiet, and there had no wars risen in his time, the Lord giving peace.

⁷And he said to Juda: Let us build these cities, and compass them with walls, and fortify them with towers, and gates, and bars, while all is quiet from wars, because we have sought the Lord the God of our fathers, and he hath given us peace round about. So they built, and there was no hinderance in building.

⁸And Asa had in his army of men that bore shields and spears of Juda three hundred thousand, and of Benjamin that bore shields and drew bows, two hundred and eighty thousand, all these were most valiant men.

⁹And Zara the Ethiopian came out against them with his army of ten hundred thousand men, and with three hundred chariots: and he came as far as Maresa.

¹⁰And Asa went out to meet him, and set his army in array for battle in the vale of Sephata, which is near Maresa:

¹¹And he called upon the Lord God, and said: Lord, there is no difference with thee, whether thou help with few, or with many: help us, O Lord our God: for with confidence in thee, and in thy name we are come against this multitude. O Lord thou art our God, let not man prevail against thee.

¹²And the Lord terrified the Ethiopians before Asa and Juda: and the Ethiopians fled.

¹³And Asa and the people that were with him pursued them to Gerara: and the Ethiopians fell even to utter destruction, for the Lord slew them, and his army fought against them, and they were destroyed. And they took abundance of spoils,

¹⁴And they took all the cities round about Gerara: for a great fear was come upon all men: and they pillaged the cities, and carried off much booty.

¹⁵And they destroyed the sheepcotes, and took an infinite number of cattle, and of camels: and returned to Jerusalem.

Chapter 15

And the spirit of God came upon Azarias the son of Oded,

²And he went out to meet Asa, and said to him: Hear ye me, Asa, and all Juda and Benjamin: The Lord is with you, because you have been with him. If you seek him, you shall find: but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.

³And many days shall pass in Israel, without the true God, and without a priest a teacher, and without the law.

⁴And when in their distress they shall return to the Lord the God of Israel, and shall seek him, they shall find him.

⁵At that time there shall be no peace to him that goeth out and cometh in, but terrors on every side among all the inhabitants of the earth.

⁶For nation shall fight against nation, and city against city, for the Lord will trouble them with all distress.

⁷Do you therefore take courage, and let not your hands be weakened: for there shall be a reward for your work.

⁸And when Asa had heard the words, and the prophecy of Azarias the son of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and took away the idols out of all the land of Juda, and out of Benjamin, and out of the cities of mount Ephraim, which he had taken, and he dedicated the altar of the Lord, which was before the porch of the Lord.

⁹And he gathered together all Juda and Benjamin, and the strangers with them of Ephraim, and Manasses, and Simeon: for many were come over to him out of Israel, seeing that the Lord his God was with him.

¹⁰And when they were come to Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa,

¹¹They sacrificed to the Lord in that day of the spoils, and of the prey, that they had brought, seven hundred oxen, and seven thousand rams.

¹²And he went in to confirm as usual the covenant, that they should seek the Lord the God of their fathers with all their heart, and with all their soul.

¹³And if any one, said he, seek not the Lord the God of Israel, let him die, whether little or great, man or woman.

¹⁴And they swore to the Lord with a loud voice with joyful shouting, and with sound of trumpet, and sound of cornets,

¹⁵All that were in Juda with a curse: for with all their heart they swore, and with all their will they sought him, and they found him, and the Lord gave them rest round about.

¹⁶Moreover Maacha the mother of king Asa he deposed from the royal authority, because she had made in a grove an idol of Priapus: and he entirely destroyed it, and breaking it into pieces, burnt it at the torrent Cedron.

¹⁷But high places were left in Israel: nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days.

¹⁸And the things which his father had vowed, and he himself had vowed, he brought into the house of the Lord, gold and silver, and vessels of divers uses.

¹⁹And there was no war unto the five and thirtieth year of the kingdom of Asa.

Chapter 16

And in the six and thirtieth year of his kingdom, Baasa the king of Israel came up against Juda, and built a wall about Rama, that no one might safely go out or come in of the kingdom of Asa.

²Then Asa brought out silver and gold out of the treasures of the house of the Lord, and of the king’s treasures, and sent to Benadad king of Syria, who dwelt in Damascus, saying:

³There is a league between me and thee, as there was between my father and thy father, wherefore I have sent thee silver and gold, that thou mayst break thy league with Baasa king of Israel, and make him depart from me.

⁴And when Benadad heard this, he sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel: and they took Ahion, and Dan, and Abelmaim, and all the walled cities of Nephtali.

⁵And when Baasa heard of it, he left off the building of Rama, and interrupted his work.

⁶Then king Asa took all Juda, and they carried away from Rama the stones, and the timber that Baasa had prepared for the building: and he built with them Gabaa, and Maspha.

⁷At that time Hanani the prophet came to Asa king of Juda, and said to him: Because thou hast had confidence in the king of Syria, and not in the Lord thy God, therefore hath…