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

2 *And Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God: 3 For he took away the altars of the strange gods, and bthe high places, and brake down the †images, and ccut down the groves: 4 And commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment. 5 Also he took away out of all the cities of Judah bthe high places and the †images: and the kingdom was quiet before him. 6 And he built dfenced cities in Judah: for the land had rest, and he had no war in ethose years; because the Lord had given him rest. 7 Therefore he said unto Judah, Let us build these cities, and make about them fwalls, 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 ghe hath given us rest on every side. So they built and prospered. 8 And Asa had an army of men that bare targets and spears, out of Judah hthree hundred thousand; and out of Benjamin, that bare shields and idrew bows, two hundred and fourscore thousand: all these were mighty men of valour.

9 And there came out against them Zerah jthe Ethiopian with an host of a thousand thousand, and three hundred chariots; and came unto kMareshah. 10 Then Asa went out against him, and they set the battle in array in the valley of lZephathah at kMareshah. 11 And Asa mcried unto the Lord his God, and said, Lord, it is nnothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O Lord our God; for we orest on thee, and pin thy name we go against this multitude. O Lord, thou art our God; let not ||man qprevail against thee. 12 So the Lord rsmote the Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah; and the Ethiopians fled. 13 And Asa and the people that were with him pursued them unto sGerar: and the Ethiopians were overthrown, that they could not trecover themselves; for they were †destroyed before the Lord, and before his host; and they carried away very much spoil. 14 And they smote all the cities round about sGerar; for uthe fear of the Lord came upon them: and they spoiled all the cities; for there was exceeding much spoil in them. 15 They smote also the tents of cattle, and carried away sheep and camels in abundance, and returned to Jerusalem.

15 And athe Spirit of God came upon bAzariah the son of Oded: 2 And he went out †to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The Lord is with you, while ye be with him; and cif ye seek him, he will be found of you; but dif ye forsake him, he will forsake you. 3 Now efor a long season Israel hath been without the true God, and without fa teaching priest, and without law. 4 But gwhen they in their trouble did turn unto the Lord God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them. 5 And hin those times there was no peace to him that went out, nor to him that came in, but great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the countries. 6 And nation was †destroyed of nation, and city of city: for God did vex them with all adversity. 7 Be iye strong therefore, and let not kyour hands be weak: for lyour work shall be rewarded.

8 And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of bOded the prophet, he took courage, and mput away the †abominable idols out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities nwhich he had taken from mount Ephraim, and renewed the altar of the Lord, that was obefore the porch of the Lord. 9 And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and pthe strangers with them out of Ephraim and Manasseh, and out of Simeon: for they fell to him out of Israel in abundance, when they saw that the Lord his God was with him. 10 So they gathered themselves together at Jerusalem in the qthird month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa. 11 And they offered unto the Lord †the same time, of rthe spoil which they had brought, seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep. 12 And they sentered into a covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul; 13 That whosoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel tshould be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman. 14 And they sware unto the Lord with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with ucornets. 15 And all Judah rejoiced at the oath: for they had sworn with all their heart, and csought him with their whole desire; and he was cfound of them: and the Lord vgave them rest round about.

16 wAnd also concerning Maachah the ||mother of Asa the king, he removed her from being queen, because she had made an †idol in a grove: and Asa cut down her idol, and xstamped it, and burnt it at the brook Kidron. 17 But ythe high places were not taken away out of Israel: nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days. 18 And he brought into the house of God the things that his father had dedicated, and that he himself had dedicated, silver, and gold, and vessels. 19 And there was no more war unto the five and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa.

16 *In the asix and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa bBaasha king of Israel came up against Judah, and built Ramah, to the intent that he might let none go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. 2 Then Asa brought out silver and gold out of the treasures of the house of the Lord and of the king’s house, and sent to Ben-hadad king of Syria, that dwelt at †Damascus, saying, 3 There is a league between me and thee, as there was between my father and thy father: behold, I have sent thee silver and gold; go, break thy league with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me. 4 And Ben-hadad hearkened unto king Asa, and sent the captains of †his armies against the cities of Israel; and they smote Ijon, and Dan, and cAbel-maim, and all dthe store cities of Naphtali. 5 And it came to pass, when Baasha heard it, that he left off building of Ramah, and let his work cease. 6 Then Asa the king took all Judah; and they carried away the stones of Ramah, and the timber thereof, wherewith Baasha was building; and he built therewith Geba and Mizpah.

7 And at that time eHanani fthe seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said unto him, gBecause thou hast hrelied on the king of Syria, and not relied on the Lord thy God, therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of thine hand. 8 Were not ijthe Ethiopians and jthe Lubims †a huge host, with very many chariots and horsemen? yet, because thou didst rely on the Lord, khe delivered them into thine hand. 9 For lthe eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, ||to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose mheart is perfect toward him. Herein nthou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth othou shalt have wars. 10 Then Asa was wroth with fthe seer, and put him in pa prison house; for he was in a rage with him because of this thing. And Asa †oppressed some of the people the same time.

11 And, behold, qthe acts of Asa, rfirst and last, lo, they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. 12 *And Asa in the thirty and ninth year of his reign qwas diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great: yet in his disease he sought not to the Lord, but to the physicians. 13 sAnd Asa slept with his fathers, and died in the one and fortieth year of his reign. 14 And sthey buried him in his own sepulchres, which he had †made for himself in the city of David, and laid him in the bed which was filled twith sweet odours and udivers kinds of spices prepared by xthe apothecaries’ art: and they made ya very great burning for him.