2 Chronicles 14:2–15

²¹Asa did good and right in the sight of the Lord his God,

³for he removed ^athe foreign altars and ^bhigh places, tore down the sacred pillars, cut down the ^1cAsherim,

⁴and commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers and to observe the law and the commandment.

⁵He also removed the high places and the ^aincense altars from all the cities of Judah. And the kingdom was undisturbed under him.

^6aHe built fortified cities in Judah, since the land was undisturbed, and ¹there was no one at war with him during those years, ^bbecause the Lord had given him rest.

⁷For he said to Judah, “^aLet us build these cities and surround them with walls and towers, gates and bars. The land is still ¹ours because we have sought the Lord our God; we have sought Him, and He has given us rest on every side.” So they built and prospered.

⁸Now Asa had an army of ^a300,000 from Judah, bearing large shields and spears, and 280,000 from Benjamin, bearing shields and wielding bows; all of them were valiant warriors.

⁹Now Zerah the Ethiopian ^acame out against them with an army of a million men and 300 chariots, and he came to ^bMareshah.

¹⁰So Asa went out ¹to meet him, and they drew up in battle formation in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah.

¹¹Then Asa ^acalled to the Lord his God and said, “Lord, there is no one besides You to help in the battle between the powerful and those who have no strength; so help us, O Lord our God, ^bfor we trust in You, and in Your name have come against this multitude. O Lord, You are our God; let not man prevail against You.”

¹²So ^athe Lord ¹routed the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled.

¹³Asa and the people who were with him pursued them as far as ^aGerar; and so many Ethiopians fell that ¹they could not recover, for they were shattered before the Lord and before His army. And they carried away very much plunder.

¹⁴They ¹destroyed all the cities around Gerar, ^afor the dread of the Lord had fallen on them; and they despoiled all the cities, for there was much plunder in them.

¹⁵They also struck down ¹those who owned livestock, and they carried away large numbers of sheep and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.