^14:2Asa did what the Lord his God desired and approved.⁵^14:3He removed the pagan altars⁶ and the high places, smashed the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles.⁷^14:4He ordered Judah to seek the Lord God of their ancestors⁸ and to observe his law and commands.⁹^14:5He removed the high places and the incense altars from all the cities of Judah. The kingdom had rest under his rule.¹⁰

^14:6He built fortified cities throughout Judah, for the land was at rest and there was no war during those years; the Lord gave him peace. ^14:7He said to the people of Judah:¹¹ “Let’s build these cities and fortify them with walls, towers, and barred gates.¹² The land remains ours because we have followed¹³ the Lord our God and he has made us secure on all sides.”¹⁴ So they built the cities¹⁵ and prospered.

^14:8Asa 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. ^14:9Zerah the Cushite marched against them with an army of 1,000,000¹⁶ men and 300 chariots. He arrived at Mareshah, ^14:10and Asa went out to oppose him. They deployed for battle in the Valley of Zephathah near Mareshah.

^14:11Asa prayed¹⁷ to the Lord his God: “O Lord, there is no one but you who can help the weak when they are vastly outnumbered.¹⁸ Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you and have marched on your behalf against this huge army.¹⁹ O Lord our God, don’t let men prevail against you!”²⁰^14:12The Lord struck down the Cushites before Asa and Judah. The Cushites fled, ^14:13and Asa and his army chased them as far as Gerar. The Cushites were wiped out;²¹ they were shattered before the Lord and his army. The men of Judah²² carried off a huge amount of plunder. ^14:14They defeated all the cities surrounding Gerar, for the Lord caused them to panic.²³ The men of Judah²⁴ looted all the cities, for they contained a huge amount of goods.²⁵^14:15They also attacked the tents of the herdsmen in charge of the livestock.²⁶ They carried off many sheep and camels and then returned to Jerusalem.²⁷

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Footnotes

5 Heb “and Asa did the good and the right in the eyes of the Lord his God.”
6 Heb “the altars of the foreigner.”
7 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).
8 Heb “fathers.”
9 Heb “the law and the command.”
10 Heb “before him.”
11 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.
12 Heb “and we will surround [them] with wall[s] and towers, doors, and bars.”
13 Heb “sought.”
14 Heb “and he has given us rest all around.”
15 The words “the cities” are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
16 Heb “a thousand thousands.”
17 Heb “called out.”
18 Heb “there is not with you to help between many with regard to [the one] without strength.”
19 Heb “and in your name we have come against this multitude.”
20 Heb “let not man retain [strength] with you.”
21 Heb “and there fell from the Cushites so that there was not to them preservation of life.”
22 Heb “they”; the referent (the men of Judah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
23 Heb “for the terror of the Lord was upon them.”
24 Heb “they”; the referent (the men of Judah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
25 Heb “for great plunder was in them.”
26 Heb “and also they struck down the tents of the livestock.”
27 For location see ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .