14:1And Abijah lieth with his fathers, and they bury him in the city of David, and reign doth Asa his son in his stead: in his days was the land quiet ten years.
14:2And Asa doth that which is good, and that which is right, in the eyes of Jehovah his God,
14:3and turneth aside the altars of the stranger, and the high places, and breaketh the standing-pillars, and cutteth down the shrines,
14:4and saith to Judah to seek Jehovah, God of their fathers, and to do the law and the command;
14:5and he turneth aside out of all cities of Judah the high places and the images, and the kingdom is quiet before him.
14:6And he buildeth cities of bulwarks in Judah, for the land hath quiet, and there is no war with him in these years, because Jehovah hath given rest to him.
14:7And he saith to Judah, `Let us build these cities, and compass them with wall, and towers, two-leaved doors, and bars, while the land is before us, because we have sought Jehovah our God, we have sought, and He giveth rest to us round about;' and they build and prosper.
14:8And there is to Asa a force bearing target and spear, out of Judah three hundred thousand, and out of Benjamin, bearing shield and treading bow, two hundred and eighty thousand: all these are mighty of valour.
14:9And come out unto them doth Zerah the Cushite with a force of a thousand thousand, and chariots three hundred, and he cometh in unto Mareshah,
14:10and Asa goeth out before him, and they set battle in array in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah.
14:11And Asa calleth unto Jehovah his God, and saith, `Jehovah! it is nothing with Thee to help, between the mighty and those who have no power; help us, O Jehovah, our God, for on Thee we have leant, and in Thy name we have come against this multitude; O Jehovah, our God thou art; let him not prevail with Thee -- mortal man!
14:12And Jehovah smiteth the Cushim before Asa, and before Judah, and the Cushim flee,
14:13and Asa and the people who are with him pursue them even to Gerar, and there fall of the Cushim, for they have no preserving, because they have been broken before Jehovah, and before His camp; and they bear away very much spoil,
14:14and smite all the cities round about Gerar, for a fear of Jehovah hath been upon them, and they spoil all the cities, for abundant spoil hath been in them;
14:15and also tents of cattle they have smitten, and they capture sheep in abundance, and camels, and turn back to Jerusalem.
15:1And upon Azariah son of Oded hath been the Spirit of God,
15:2and he goeth out before Asa, and saith to him, `Hear, me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; Jehovah is with you -- in your being with Him, and if ye seek Him, He is found of you, and if ye forsake Him, He forsaketh you;
15:3and many days are to Israel without a true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law,
15:4and it turneth back in its distress unto Jehovah, God of Israel, and they seek Him, and He is found of them,
15:5and in those times there is no peace to him who is going out, and to him who is coming in, for many troubles are on all the inhabitants of the lands,
15:6and they have been beaten down, nation by nation, and city by city, for God hath troubled them with every adversity;
15:7and ye, be ye strong, and let not your hands be feeble, for there is a reward for your work.'
15:8And at Asa's hearing these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he hath strengthened himself, and doth cause the abominations to pass away out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities that he hath captured from the hill-country of Ephraim, and reneweth the altar of Jehovah that is before the porch of Jehovah,
15:9and gathereth all Judah and Benjamin, and the sojourners with them out of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and out of Simeon -- for they have fallen unto him from Israel in abundance, in their seeing that Jehovah his God is with him.
15:10And they are gathered to Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa,
15:11and sacrifice to Jehovah on that day from the spoil they have brought in -- oxen seven hundred, and sheep seven thousand,
15:12and they enter into a covenant to seek Jehovah, God of their fathers, with all their heart, and with all their soul,
15:13and every one who doth not seek for Jehovah, God of Israel, is put to death, from small unto great, from man unto woman.
15:14And they swear to Jehovah with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets,
15:15and rejoice do all Judah concerning the oath, for with all their heart they have sworn, and with all their good-will they have sought Him, and He is found of them, and Jehovah giveth rest to them round about.
15:16And also Maachah, mother of Asa the king -- he hath removed her from being mistress, in that she hath made for a shrine a horrible thing, and Asa cutteth down her horrible thing, and beateth it small, and burneth it by the brook Kidron:
15:17yet the high places have not turned aside from Israel; only, the heart of Asa hath been perfect all his days.
15:18And he bringeth in the sanctified things of his father, and his own sanctified things, to the house of God, silver, and gold, and vessels.
15:19And war hath not been till the thirty and fifth year of the reign of Asa.
16:1In the thirty and sixth year of the reign of Asa, come up hath Baasha king of Israel, against Judah, and buildeth Ramah, so as not to permit any going out and coming in to Asa king of Judah.
16:2And Asa bringeth out silver and gold from the treasures of the house of Jehovah, and of the house of the king, and sendeth unto Ben-Hadad king of Aram, who is dwelling in Damascus, saying,
16:3`A covenant is between me and thee, and between my father and thy father, lo, I have sent to thee silver and gold; go, break thy covenant with Baasha king of Israel, and he doth go up from off me.'
16:4And Ben-Hadad hearkeneth unto king Asa, and sendeth the heads of the forces that he hath unto cities of Israel, and they smite Ijon, and Dan, and Abel-Maim, and all the stores, cities of Naphtali.
16:5And it cometh to pass, at Baasha's hearing, that he ceaseth from building Ramah, and letteth his work rest;
16:6and Asa the king hath taken all Judah, and they bear away the stones of Ramah, and its wood, that Baasha hath built, and he buildeth with them Geba and Mizpah.
16:7And at that time hath Hanani the seer come in unto Asa king of Judah, and saith unto him, `Because of thy leaning on the king of Aram, and thou hast not leaned on Jehovah thy God, therefore hath the force of the king of Aram escaped from thy hand.
16:8Did not the Cushim and the Lubim become a very great force for multitude, for chariot, and for horsemen? and in thy leaning on Jehovah He gave them into thy hand,
16:9for Jehovah -- His eyes go to and fro in all the earth, to show Himself strong for a people whose heart is perfect towards Him; thou hast been foolish concerning this, because -- henceforth there are with thee wars.'
16:10And Asa is angry at the seer, and giveth him to the house of torture, for he is in a rage with him for this; and Asa oppresseth some of the people at that time.
16:11And lo, the matters of Asa, the first and the last, lo, they are written on the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.
16:12And Asa is diseased -- in the thirty and ninth year of his reign -- in his feet, till his disease is excessive, and also in his disease he hath not sought Jehovah, but among physicians.
16:13And Asa lieth with his fathers, and dieth in the forty and first year of his reign,
16:14and they bury him in one of his graves, that he had prepared for himself in the city of David, and they cause him to lie on a bed that one hath filled with spices, and divers kinds of mixtures, with perfumed work; and they burn for him a burning -- very great.