Passage Resources Hebrew/Greek Your Content
Previous Next
Add parallel Print Page Options
Close NET

2 Chronicles 14-15
New English Translation

14 (13:23)[a] Abijah passed away[b] and was buried in the City of David.[c] His son Asa replaced him as king. During his reign[d] the land had rest for ten years.

Asa’s Religious and Military Accomplishments

2 (14:1) Asa did what the Lord his God desired and approved.[e] 3 He removed the pagan altars[f] and the high places, smashed the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles.[g] 4 He ordered Judah to seek the Lord God of their ancestors[h] and to observe his law and commands.[i] 5 He removed the high places and the incense altars from all the towns of Judah. The kingdom had rest under his rule.[j]

6 He 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 He said to the people of Judah:[k] “Let’s build these cities and fortify them with walls, towers, and barred gates.[l] The land remains ours because we have followed[m] the Lord our God; we have followed him, and he has made us secure on all sides.”[n] So they built the cities[o] and prospered.

8 Asa 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. 9 Zerah the Cushite marched against them with an army of 1,000,000 men[p] and 300 chariots . He arrived at Mareshah, 10 and Asa went out to oppose him. They deployed for battle in the Valley of Zephathah near Mareshah.

11 Asa prayed[q] to the Lord his God: “O Lord, there is no one but you who can help the weak when they are vastly outnumbered.[r] Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you and have marched on your behalf against this huge army.[s] O Lord, you are our God; don’t let men prevail against you!”[t] 12 The Lord struck down the Cushites before Asa and Judah. The Cushites fled, 13 and Asa and his army chased them as far as Gerar. The Cushites were wiped out;[u] they were shattered before the Lord and his army. The men of Judah[v] carried off a huge amount of plunder. 14 They defeated all the towns surrounding Gerar, for the Lord caused them to panic.[w] The men of Judah[x] looted all the towns, for they contained a huge amount of goods.[y] 15 They also attacked the tents of the herdsmen in charge of the livestock.[z] They carried off many sheep and camels and then returned to Jerusalem.

15 God’s Spirit came upon Azariah son of Oded. 2 He met[aa] Asa and told him, “Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin! The Lord is with you when you are loyal to him.[ab] If you seek him, he will respond to you,[ac] but if you reject him, he will reject you. 3 For a long time[ad] Israel had not sought the one true God, or a priest to instruct them, or the law. 4 Because of their distress, they turned back to the Lord God of Israel. They sought him and he responded to them.[ae] 5 In those days[af] no one could travel safely,[ag] for total chaos had overtaken all the people of the surrounding lands.[ah] 6 One nation was crushed by another, and one city by another, for God caused them to be in great turmoil.[ai] 7 But as for you, be strong and don’t get discouraged,[aj] for your work will be rewarded.”[ak]

8 When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he was encouraged.[al] He removed the detestable idols from the entire land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities he had seized in the Ephraimite hill country. He repaired the altar of the Lord in front of the porch of the Lord’s temple.[am]

9 He assembled all Judah and Benjamin, as well as the settlers[an] from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who had come to live with them. Many people from Israel had come there to live[ao] when they saw that the Lord his God was with him. 10 They assembled in Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign. 11 At that time[ap] they sacrificed to the Lord some of the plunder they had brought back, including 700 head of cattle and 7,000 sheep.[aq] 12 They solemnly agreed[ar] to seek the Lord God of their ancestors[as] with their whole heart and being. 13 Anyone who would not seek the Lord God of Israel would be executed, whether they were young or old,[at] male or female. 14 They swore their allegiance to the Lord, shouting their approval loudly and sounding trumpets and horns.[au] 15 All Judah was happy about the oath, because they made the vow with their whole heart. They willingly sought the Lord and he responded to them.[av] He made them secure on every side.[aw]

16 King Asa also removed Maacah his grandmother[ax] from her position as queen mother[ay] because she had made a loathsome Asherah pole. Asa cut down her loathsome pole and crushed and burned it in the Kidron Valley. 17 The high places were not eliminated from Israel, yet Asa was wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord throughout his lifetime.[az] 18 He brought the holy items that his father and he had made into God’s temple, including the silver, gold, and other articles.[ba]

Asa’s Failures

19 There was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 14:1 sn Beginning with 14:1, the verse numbers through 14:15 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 14:1 ET = 13:23 HT, 14:2 ET = 14:1 HT, 14:3 ET = 14:2 HT, etc., through 14:15 ET = 14:14 HT. Beginning with 15:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.
  2. 2 Chronicles 14:1 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
  3. 2 Chronicles 14:1 sn The phrase the City of David refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7.
  4. 2 Chronicles 14:1 tn Heb “in his days.”
  5. 2 Chronicles 14:2 tn Heb “and Asa did the good and the right in the eyes of the Lord his God.”
  6. 2 Chronicles 14:3 tn Heb “the altars of the foreigner.”
  7. 2 Chronicles 14:3 sn Asherah poles. A leading deity of the Canaanite pantheon was Asherah, wife/sister of El and goddess of fertility. She was commonly worshiped at shrines in or near groves of evergreen trees, or, failing that, at places marked by wooden poles (Hebrew אֲשֵׁרִים [ʾasherim], as here). They were to be burned or cut down (Deut 7:5; 12:3; 16:21; Judg 6:25, 28, 30; 2 Kgs 18:4).
  8. 2 Chronicles 14:4 tn Heb “fathers.”
  9. 2 Chronicles 14:4 tn Heb “the law and the command.”
  10. 2 Chronicles 14:5 tn Heb “before him.”
  11. 2 Chronicles 14:7 tn The words “the people of” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The Hebrew text uses the name “Judah” by metonymy for the people of Judah.
  12. 2 Chronicles 14:7 tn Heb “and we will surround [them] with wall[s] and towers, doors, and bars.”
  13. 2 Chronicles 14:7 tn Heb “sought.”
  14. 2 Chronicles 14:7 tn Heb “we sought him, and he has given us rest all around.”
  15. 2 Chronicles 14:7 tn The words “the cities” are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
  16. 2 Chronicles 14:9 tn Heb “a thousand thousands.”
  17. 2 Chronicles 14:11 tn Heb “called out.”
  18. 2 Chronicles 14:11 tn Heb “there is not except you to help between many with regard to [the one] without strength.”
  19. 2 Chronicles 14:11 tn Heb “and in your name we have come against this multitude.”
  20. 2 Chronicles 14:11 tn Heb “let not man retain [strength] with you.”
  21. 2 Chronicles 14:13 tn Heb “and there fell from the Cushites so that there was not to them preservation of life.”
  22. 2 Chronicles 14:13 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the men of Judah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  23. 2 Chronicles 14:14 tn Heb “for the terror of the Lord was upon them.”
  24. 2 Chronicles 14:14 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the men of Judah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  25. 2 Chronicles 14:14 tn Heb “for great plunder was in them.”
  26. 2 Chronicles 14:15 tn Heb “and also they struck down the tents of the livestock.”
  27. 2 Chronicles 15:2 tn Heb “went out before.”
  28. 2 Chronicles 15:2 tn Heb “when you are with him.”
  29. 2 Chronicles 15:2 tn Heb “he will allow himself to be found by you.”
  30. 2 Chronicles 15:3 tn Heb “Many days.”
  31. 2 Chronicles 15:4 tn Heb “and he allowed himself to be found by them.”
  32. 2 Chronicles 15:5 tn Heb “times.”
  33. 2 Chronicles 15:5 tn Heb “there was no peace for the one going out or the one coming in.”
  34. 2 Chronicles 15:5 tn Heb “for great confusion was upon all the inhabitants of the lands.”
  35. 2 Chronicles 15:6 tn Heb “threw them into confusion with all distress.”
  36. 2 Chronicles 15:7 tn Heb “and let not your hands drop.”
  37. 2 Chronicles 15:7 tn Heb “for there is payment for your work.”
  38. 2 Chronicles 15:8 tn Heb “strengthened himself.”
  39. 2 Chronicles 15:8 tn Heb “the porch of the Lord.”
  40. 2 Chronicles 15:9 tn Or “foreign residents.”
  41. 2 Chronicles 15:9 tn Heb “had fallen upon him.”
  42. 2 Chronicles 15:11 tn Or “In that day.”
  43. 2 Chronicles 15:11 tn The Hebrew term צֹאן (tsoʾn) denotes smaller livestock in general; depending on context it can refer to sheep only or goats only, but their is nothing in the immediate context here to specify one or the other.
  44. 2 Chronicles 15:12 tn Heb “entered into a covenant.”
  45. 2 Chronicles 15:12 tn Heb “fathers.”
  46. 2 Chronicles 15:13 tn Heb “whether small or great.”
  47. 2 Chronicles 15:14 tn Heb “with a loud voice and with a shout of joy and with trumpets and with horns.”
  48. 2 Chronicles 15:15 tn Heb “and with all their desire they sought him and he allowed himself to be found by them.”
  49. 2 Chronicles 15:15 tn Heb “and the Lord gave them rest all around.”
  50. 2 Chronicles 15:16 tn Heb “mother,” but Hebrew often uses “father” and “mother” for grandparents and even more remote ancestors.
  51. 2 Chronicles 15:16 tn The Hebrew term גְּבִירָה (gevirah) can denote “queen” or “queen mother” depending on the context. Here the latter is indicated, since Maacah was the wife of Rehoboam and mother of Abijah.
  52. 2 Chronicles 15:17 tn Heb “yet the heart of Asa was complete all his days.”
  53. 2 Chronicles 15:18 tn Heb “and he brought the holy things of his father and his holy things [into] the house of God, silver, gold, and items.”
Listen to 2 Chronicles 14-15
Close NIV

2 Chronicles 14-15
New International Version

14 [a]And 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.

Asa King of Judah(A)

2 Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God.(B) 3 He removed the foreign altars(C) and the high places, smashed the sacred stones(D) and cut down the Asherah poles.[b](E) 4 He commanded Judah to seek the Lord,(F) the God of their ancestors, and to obey his laws and commands. 5 He removed the high places(G) and incense altars(H) in every town in Judah, and the kingdom was at peace under him. 6 He 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.(I)

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(J) on every side.” So they built and prospered.

8 Asa had an army of three hundred thousand(K) 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.

9 Zerah the Cushite(L) marched out against them with an army of thousands upon thousands and three hundred chariots, and came as far as Mareshah.(M) 10 Asa went out to meet him, and they took up battle positions in the Valley of Zephathah near Mareshah.

11 Then Asa called(N) to the Lord his God and said, “Lord, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us,(O) Lord our God, for we rely(P) on you, and in your name(Q) we have come against this vast army. Lord, you are our God; do not let mere mortals prevail(R) against you.”

12 The Lord struck down(S) the Cushites before Asa and Judah. The Cushites fled, 13 and Asa and his army pursued them as far as Gerar.(T) Such a great number of Cushites fell that they could not recover; they were crushed(U) before the Lord and his forces. The men of Judah carried off a large amount of plunder.(V) 14 They destroyed all the villages around Gerar, for the terror(W) of the Lord had fallen on them. They looted all these villages, since there was much plunder there. 15 They also attacked the camps of the herders and carried off droves of sheep and goats and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.

Asa’s Reform(X)

15 The Spirit of God came on(Y) Azariah son of Oded. 2 He went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you(Z) when you are with him.(AA) If you seek(AB) him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.(AC) 3 For a long time Israel was without the true God, without a priest to teach(AD) and without the law.(AE) 4 But in their distress they turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought him,(AF) and he was found by them. 5 In those days it was not safe to travel about,(AG) for all the inhabitants of the lands were in great turmoil. 6 One nation was being crushed by another and one city by another,(AH) because God was troubling them with every kind of distress. 7 But as for you, be strong(AI) and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.”(AJ)

8 When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Azariah son of[c] Oded the prophet, he took courage. He removed the detestable idols(AK) from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin and from the towns he had captured(AL) in the hills of Ephraim. He repaired the altar(AM) of the Lord that was in front of the portico of the Lord’s temple.

9 Then he assembled all Judah and Benjamin and the people from Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon who had settled among them, for large numbers(AN) had come over to him from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him.

10 They assembled at Jerusalem in the third month(AO) of the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign. 11 At that time they sacrificed to the Lord seven hundred head of cattle and seven thousand sheep and goats from the plunder(AP) they had brought back. 12 They entered into a covenant(AQ) to seek the Lord,(AR) the God of their ancestors, with all their heart and soul. 13 All who would not seek the Lord, the God of Israel, were to be put to death,(AS) whether small or great, man or woman. 14 They took an oath to the Lord with loud acclamation, with shouting and with trumpets and horns. 15 All Judah rejoiced about the oath because they had sworn it wholeheartedly. They sought God(AT) eagerly, and he was found by them. So the Lord gave them rest(AU) on every side.

16 King Asa also deposed his grandmother Maakah(AV) from her position as queen mother,(AW) because she had made a repulsive image for the worship of Asherah.(AX) Asa cut it down, broke it up and burned it in the Kidron Valley.(AY) 17 Although he did not remove the high places from Israel, Asa’s heart was fully committed to the Lord all his life. 18 He brought into the temple of God the silver and gold and the articles that he and his father had dedicated.(AZ)

19 There was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 14:1 In Hebrew texts 14:1 is numbered 13:23, and 14:2-15 is numbered 14:1-14.
  2. 2 Chronicles 14:3 That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah; here and elsewhere in 2 Chronicles
  3. 2 Chronicles 15:8 Vulgate and Syriac (see also Septuagint and verse 1); Hebrew does not have Azariah son of.
Next
2 Chronicles 13
2 Chronicles 16
Next
dropdown
New English Translation (NET)

NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.

New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.

July Summer Surge

More on the NIV