1So Abijah passed away and was buried in the city of David. His son Asa became king in his place. During Asa’s reign, the land was peaceful for ten years.
2Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of Yahweh his God.
3He removed the foreign altars and the high places, broke down the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles.
4He also commanded Judah to seek Yahweh, the God of their ancestors, and to obey his law and commands.
5He also removed all the high places and sun idols from all the cities of Judah. And the kingdom was peaceful under him.
6He built fortified cities in Judah because the land was peaceful, and he had no war during those years, for Yahweh had given him rest.
7He told Judah, “Let's build these cities and put walls around them, with towers, gates, and bars. The land is still ours because we have sought Yahweh our God. We sought him, and he has given us rest on every side.” So they built and prospered.
8Asa had an army of 300,000 men from Judah who carried shields and spears, and 280,000 men from Benjamin who carried shields and bows. All of them were brave warriors.
9Then Zerah the Ethiopian came out against them with an army of a million troops and three hundred chariots, and he came to Mareshah.
10Asa went out to meet him, and they lined up for battle in the Valley of Zephathah at Mareshah.
11Asa cried out to Yahweh his God, saying, “Yahweh, there is no one besides you who can help, whether someone is mighty or has no strength. Help us, Yahweh our God, for we rely on you, and in your name, we have come against this huge army. Yahweh, you are our God. Don't let mere mortals defeat you.”
12So Yahweh defeated the Ethiopians before Asa and Judah, and the Ethiopians fled.
13Asa and his people chased them as far as Gerar. So many Ethiopians were killed that they could not recover; they were destroyed before Yahweh and his army. A large amount of valuable goods was taken as spoils.
14They attacked all the cities around Gerar because the fear of Yahweh had come upon them. They plundered all the cities, for there was much plunder in them.
15They also attacked the camps where the livestock were kept, and took many sheep and camels, then returned to Jerusalem.