¹(13:23) Abijah 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. ²(14:1) Asa did what the Lord his God desired and approved. ³He removed the pagan altars and the high places, smashed the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles. ⁴He ordered Judah to seek the Lord God of their ancestors and to observe his law and commands. ⁵He removed the high places and the incense altars from all the towns of Judah. The kingdom had rest under his rule.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. 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; we have followed him, and he has made us secure on all sides.” So they built the cities and prospered. 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 against them with an army of a million men and 300 chariots . He arrived at Mareshah, ¹⁰and Asa went out to oppose him. They deployed for battle in the Valley of Zephathah near Mareshah. 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, you are our God; don’t let men prevail against you!” ¹²The Lord struck down the Cushites before Asa and Judah. The Cushites fled, 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 defeated all the towns surrounding Gerar, for the Lord caused them to panic. The men of Judah looted all the towns, for they contained a huge amount of goods. 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.