| King James Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1So Abijah 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. | 1 When Abijah died, he was buried in the City of David. Then his son Asa became the next king. There was peace in the land for ten years. |
| 2And Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God: | 2 Asa did what was pleasing and good in the sight of the LORD his God. |
| 3For he took away the altars of the strange gods, and the high places, and brake down the images, and cut down the groves: | 3He removed the foreign altars and the pagan shrines. He smashed the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherah poles. |
| 4And commanded Judah to seek the LORD God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment. | 4He commanded the people of Judah to seek the LORD, the God of their ancestors, and to obey his law and his commands. |
| 5Also he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the images: and the kingdom was quiet before him. | 5Asa also removed the pagan shrines, as well as the incense altars from every one of Judah’s towns. So Asa’s kingdom enjoyed a period of peace. |
| 6And he built fenced cities in Judah: for the land had rest, and he had no war in those years; because the LORD had given him rest. | 6During those peaceful years, he was able to build up the fortified towns throughout Judah. No one tried to make war against him at this time, for the LORD was giving him rest from his enemies. |
| 7Therefore he said unto Judah, Let us build these cities, and make about them walls, 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 he hath given us rest on every side. So they built and prospered. | 7Asa told the people of Judah, “Let us build towns and fortify them with walls, towers, gates, and bars. The land is still ours because we sought the LORD our God, and he has given us peace on every side.” So they went ahead with these projects and brought them to completion. |
| 8And Asa had an army of men that bare targets and spears, out of Judah three hundred thousand; and out of Benjamin, that bare shields and drew bows, two hundred and fourscore thousand: all these were mighty men of valour. | 8King Asa had an army of 300,000 warriors from the tribe of Judah, armed with large shields and spears. He also had an army of 280,000 warriors from the tribe of Benjamin, armed with small shields and bows. Both armies were composed of well-trained fighting men. |
| 9And there came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian with an host of a thousand thousand, and three hundred chariots; and came unto Mareshah. | 9Once an Ethiopian named Zerah attacked Judah with an army of 1,000,000 men and 300 chariots. They advanced to the town of Mareshah, |
| 10Then Asa went out against him, and they set the battle in array in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. | 10so Asa deployed his armies for battle in the valley north of Mareshah. |
| 11And Asa cried unto the LORD his God, and said, LORD, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O LORD our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O LORD, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee. | 11Then Asa cried out to the LORD his God, “O LORD, no one but you can help the powerless against the mighty! Help us, O LORD our God, for we trust in you alone. It is in your name that we have come against this vast horde. O LORD, you are our God; do not let mere men prevail against you!” |
| 12So the LORD smote the Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah; and the Ethiopians fled. | 12So the LORD defeated the Ethiopians in the presence of Asa and the army of Judah, and the enemy fled. |
| 13And Asa and the people that were with him pursued them unto Gerar: and the Ethiopians were overthrown, that they could not recover themselves; for they were destroyed before the LORD, and before his host; and they carried away very much spoil. | 13Asa and his army pursued them as far as Gerar, and so many Ethiopians fell that they were unable to rally. They were destroyed by the LORD and his army, and the army of Judah carried off a vast amount of plunder. |
| 14And they smote all the cities round about Gerar; for the fear of the LORD came upon them: and they spoiled all the cities; for there was exceeding much spoil in them. | 14While they were at Gerar, they attacked all the towns in that area, and terror from the LORD came upon the people there. As a result, a vast amount of plunder was taken from these towns, too. |
| 15They smote also the tents of cattle, and carried away sheep and camels in abundance, and returned to Jerusalem. | 15They also attacked the camps of herdsmen and captured many sheep, goats, and camels before finally returning to Jerusalem. |
| King James Bible, text courtesy of BibleProtector.com. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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