| New International Version | NET Bible |
| 1And Abijah rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. Asa his son succeeded him as king, and in his days the country was at peace for ten years. | 1Abijah passed away and was buried in the City of David. His son Asa replaced him as king. During his reign the land had rest for ten years. |
| 2Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God. | 2Asa did what the LORD his God desired and approved. |
| 3He removed the foreign altars and the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. | 3He removed the pagan altars and the high places, smashed the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles. |
| 4He commanded Judah to seek the LORD, the God of their ancestors, and to obey his laws and commands. | 4He ordered Judah to seek the LORD God of their ancestors and to observe his law and commands. |
| 5He removed the high places and incense altars in every town in Judah, and the kingdom was at peace under him. | 5He removed the high places and the incense altars from all the cities of Judah. The kingdom had rest under his rule. |
| 6He built up the fortified cities of Judah, since the land was at peace. No one was at war with him during those years, for the LORD gave him rest. | 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. |
| 7"Let us build up these towns," he said to Judah, "and put walls around them, with towers, gates and bars. The land is still ours, because we have sought the LORD our God; we sought him and he has given us rest on every side." So they built and prospered. | 7He said to the people of Judah: "Let's build these cities and fortify them with walls, towers, and barred gates. The land remains ours because we have followed the LORD our God and he has made us secure on all sides." So they built the cities and prospered. |
| 8Asa had an army of three hundred thousand men from Judah, equipped with large shields and with spears, and two hundred and eighty thousand from Benjamin, armed with small shields and with bows. All these were brave fighting men. | 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. |
| 9Zerah the Cushite marched out against them with an army of thousands upon thousands and three hundred chariots, and came as far as Mareshah. | 9Zerah the Cushite marched against them with an army of 1,000,000 men and 300 chariots. He arrived at Mareshah, |
| 10Asa went out to meet him, and they took up battle positions in the Valley of Zephathah near Mareshah. | 10and Asa went out to oppose him. They deployed for battle in the Valley of Zephathah near Mareshah. |
| 11Then Asa called to the LORD his God and said, "LORD, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, LORD our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast army. LORD, you are our God; do not let mere mortals prevail against you." | 11Asa prayed to the LORD his God: "O LORD, there is no one but you who can help the weak when they are vastly outnumbered. Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on you and have marched on your behalf against this huge army. O LORD our God, don't let men prevail against you!" |
| 12The LORD struck down the Cushites before Asa and Judah. The Cushites fled, | 12The LORD struck down the Cushites before Asa and Judah. The Cushites fled, |
| 13and Asa and his army pursued them as far as Gerar. Such a great number of Cushites fell that they could not recover; they were crushed before the LORD and his forces. The men of Judah carried off a large amount of plunder. | 13and Asa and his army chased them as far as Gerar. The Cushites were wiped out; they were shattered before the LORD and his army. The men of Judah carried off a huge amount of plunder. |
| 14They destroyed all the villages around Gerar, for the terror of the LORD had fallen on them. They looted all these villages, since there was much plunder there. | 14They defeated all the cities surrounding Gerar, for the LORD caused them to panic. The men of Judah looted all the cities, for they contained a huge amount of goods. |
| 15They also attacked the camps of the herders and carried off droves of sheep and goats and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem. | 15They also attacked the tents of the herdsmen in charge of the livestock. They carried off many sheep and camels and then returned to Jerusalem. |
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