New Revised Standard NRS
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 So Abijah slept with his ancestors, and they buried him in the city of David. His son Asa succeeded him. In his days the land had rest for ten years.
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So Abijah went to rest with his fathers, and they put him into the earth in the town of David, and Asa his son became king in his place; in his time the land was quiet for ten years.
2 Asa did what was good and right in the sight of the Lord his God.
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And Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God;
3 He took away the foreign altars and the high places, broke down the pillars, hewed down the sacred poles,
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For he took away the altars of strange gods and the high places, and had the upright stones broken and the wood pillars cut down;
4 and commanded Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and to keep the law and the commandment.
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And he made Judah go after the Lord, the God of their fathers, and keep his laws and his orders.
5 He also removed from all the cities of Judah the high places and the incense altars. And the kingdom had rest under him.
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And he took away the high places and the sun-images from all the towns of Judah; and the kingdom was quiet under his rule.
6 He built fortified cities in Judah while the land had rest. He had no war in those years, for the Lord gave him peace.
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He made walled towns in Judah, for the land was quiet and there were no wars in those years, because the Lord had given him rest.
7 He said to Judah, "Let us build these cities, and surround them with walls and towers, gates and bars; the land is still ours because we have sought the Lord our God; we have sought him, and he has given us peace on every side." So they built and prospered.
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He said to Judah, Let us make these towns, building walls round them with towers and doors and locks. The land is still ours, because we have been true to the Lord our God; we have been true to him and he has given us rest on every side. So they went on building and all went well for them.
8 Asa had an army of three hundred thousand from Judah, armed with large shields and spears, and two hundred eighty thousand troops from Benjamin who carried shields and drew bows; all these were mighty warriors.
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And Asa had an army of three hundred thousand men of Judah armed with body-covers and spears, and two hundred and eighty thousand of Benjamin armed with body-covers and bows; all these were men of war.
9 Zerah the Ethiopian came out against them with an army of a million men and three hundred chariots, and came as far as Mareshah.
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And Zerah the Ethiopian, with an army of a million, and three hundred war-carriages, came out against them to Mareshah.
10 Asa went out to meet him, and they drew up their lines of battle in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah.
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And Asa went out against him, and they put their forces in position in the valley north of Mareshah.
11 Asa cried to the Lord his God, "O Lord, there is no difference for you between helping the mighty and the weak. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this multitude. O Lord, you are our God; let no mortal prevail against you."
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And Asa made prayer to the Lord his God and said, Lord, you only are able to give help against the strong to him who has no strength; come to our help, O Lord our God, for our hope is in you, and in your name we have come out against this great army. O Lord, you are our God; let not man's power be greater than yours.
12 So the Lord defeated the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled.
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So the Lord sent fear on the Ethiopians before Asa and Judah; and the Ethiopians went in flight.
13 Asa and the army with him pursued them as far as Gerar, and the Ethiopians fell until no one remained alive; for they were broken before the Lord and his army. The people of Judah carried away a great quantity of booty.
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And Asa and the people who were with him went after them as far as Gerar; and so great was the destruction among the Ethiopians that they were not able to get their army together again, for they were broken before the Lord and before his army; and they took away a great amount of their goods.
14 They defeated all the cities around Gerar, for the fear of the Lord was on them. They plundered all the cities; for there was much plunder in them.
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And they overcame all the towns round Gerar, because the Lord sent fear on them; and they took away their goods from the towns, for there were stores of wealth in them.
15 They also attacked the tents of those who had livestock, and carried away sheep and goats in abundance, and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.
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And they made an attack on the tents of the owners of the cattle, and took away great numbers of sheep and camels and went back to Jerusalem.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.