New Century Version NCV
The Complete Jewish Bible CJB
1 Abijah died and was buried in Jerusalem. His son Asa became king in his place, and there was peace in the country for ten years during Asa's time.
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Aviyah slept with his ancestors, and they buried him in the City of David. Then Asa his son became king in his place; during his time the land was quiet for ten years.
2 Asa did what the Lord his God said was good and right.
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Asa did what was good and right from the perspective of ADONAI his God;
3 He removed the foreign altars and the places where gods were worshiped. He smashed the stone pillars that honored other gods, and he tore down the Asherah idols.
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for he removed the foreign altars and the high places, smashing the standing-stones and chopping down the sacred poles.
4 Asa commanded the people of Judah to follow the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and to obey his teachings and commandments.
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He ordered Y'hudah to seek ADONAI, the God of their ancestors, and to obey the Torah and the mitzvah.
5 He also removed the places where gods were worshiped and the incense altars from every town in Judah. So the kingdom had peace while Asa was king.
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He removed the high places and pillars for sun-worship from all the cities of Y'hudah, and under him the kingdom was quiet.
6 Asa built strong, walled cities in Judah during the time of peace. He had no war in these years, because the Lord gave him peace.
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Because the land was quiet, and he had no war during those years, since ADONAI had given him rest, he built fortified cities in Y'hudah.
7 Asa said to the people of Judah, "Let's build up these towns and put walls around them. Let's make towers, gates, and bars in the gates. This country is ours, because we have obeyed the Lord our God. We have followed him, and he has given us peace all around." So they built and had success.
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"Let's build these cities," he said to Y'hudah; "we'll surround them with walls, towers, gates and bars. The land is there for us to use, because we have sought ADONAI our God; we have sought him, and he has given us peace on every side." So they built and prospered.
8 Asa had an army of three hundred thousand men from Judah and two hundred eighty thousand men from Benjamin. The men from Judah carried large shields and spears. The men from Benjamin carried small shields and bows and arrows. All of them were brave fighting men.
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Asa had an army of 300,000 men from Y'hudah, equipped with shields and spears, and another 280,000 from Binyamin, with shields and bows; all were brave, strong men.
9 Then Zerah from Cush came out to fight them with an enormous army and three hundred chariots. They came as far as the town of Mareshah.
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Zerach the Ethiopian came out to attack them with an army of one million and three hundred chariots. When he arrived at Mareshah,
10 So Asa went out to fight Zerah and prepared for battle in the Valley of Zephathah at Mareshah.
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Asa went out to fight him, and the forces were arranged for battle in the Tz'fat Valley at Mareshah.
11 Asa called out to the Lord his God, saying, "Lord, only you can help weak people against the strong. Help us, Lord our God, because we depend on you. We fight against this enormous army in your name. Lord, you are our God. Don't let anyone win against you."
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Asa cried out to ADONAI his God, "ADONAI, there is no one besides yourself, strong or weak, who can help. Help us, ADONAI our God, because we are relying on you, and we are coming against this vast throng in your name. You are ADONAI our God; don't let human beings stop you!"
12 So the Lord defeated the Cushites when Asa's army from Judah attacked them, and the Cushites ran away.
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So ADONAI struck the Ethiopians before Asa and Y'hudah, and the Ethiopians fled.
13 Asa's army chased them as far as the town of Gerar. So many Cushites were killed that the army could not fight again; they were crushed by the Lord and his army. Asa and his army carried many valuable things away from the enemy.
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Asa and the army with him pursued them to G'rar, and the Ethiopians were defeated beyond recovery; they were shattered before ADONAI and his army, who carried off much spoil.
14 They destroyed all the towns near Gerar, because the people living in these towns were afraid of the Lord. Since these towns had many valuable things, Asa's army took them away.
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Then they attacked all the cities in the vicinity of G'rar, for a panic from ADONAI had overcome them. They plundered all the cities, for they were full of spoil.
15 Asa's army also attacked the camps where the shepherds lived and took many sheep and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.
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They also attacked the tents of those tending the livestock and carried off sheep and camels in abundance. Then they returned to Yerushalayim.
Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.