Āsa valda pār Jūdu
(1Ķēn 15:9–15)1 Āsa darīja to, kas labs un tīkams Kungam, viņa Dievam. 2 Viņš izdeldēja svešinieku altārus un augstienes, nogāza elku stabus un nocirta ašēras. 3 Un Jūdai pavēlēja: “Sekojiet Kungam, savu tēvu Dievam, ievērojiet bauslību un pavēles!” 4 No visām Jūdas pilsētām viņš aizvāca augstieņu altārus un saules stabus, un valsts viņa laikā atguvās. 5 Viņš Jūdā uzcēla pilsētu nocietinājumus, jo zemē bija miers, kara nebija visus šos gadus, jo Kungs deva mieru. 6 Viņš pavēlēja Jūdai: “Celsim šīs pilsētas un tām apkārt mūrus, torņus un vārtus ar aizšaujamām bultām. Zeme vēl pieder mums, jo mēs sekojam Kungam, savam Dievam, – viņam mēs sekojam! Viņš mums ir devis mieru visapkārt!” Un tie cēla un zēla.
7 Āsas karaspēkā bija trīs simti tūkstoši no Jūdas, bruņoti ar lieliem vairogiem un šķēpiem, no Benjāmina bija vairognesēji un loka šāvēji, divi simti astoņdesmit tūkstoši, visi tie bija vareni spēkavīri!
Kūšiešu uzbrukums atsists
8 Kūšietis Zerahs nāca pret tiem ar tūkstoš tūkstošu karaspēku un trīs simti kararatiem. Viņš atnāca līdz Mārēšai. 9 Āsa devās tam pretī un izvietojās kaujai Cefatas ielejā pie Mārēšas. 10 Āsa piesauca Kungu, savu Dievu, un sacīja:
“Kungs, neviens nav kā tu,
kas tā palīdz vājam pret stipru!
Palīdzi mums, Kungs, mūsu Dievs,
jo tu – mūsu balsts!
Tavā vārdā mēs ejam pret šo pulku!
Kungs, tu mūsu Dievs!
Nav cilvēka, kas tevi noturētu!”
11 Tad Kungs sita kūšiešus, un kūšieši bēga no Āsas un jūdiem. 12 Āsa ar saviem ļaudīm, kas bija pie viņa, tos vajāja līdz Gerārai. Kūšieši krita, neviens no tiem nepalika dzīvs, tie tika satriekti Kunga un viņa karapulku priekšā! Jūdi guva ļoti lielu laupījumu. 13 Viņi sakāva visas pilsētas ap Gerāru, jo Kunga šausmas bija tās pārņēmušas, un viņi izlaupīja visas pilsētas un guva brangu laupījumu. 14 Viņi sakāva arī ganu apmetnes un paņēma sev daudz sīklopu un kamieļu, bet pēc tam atgriezās Jeruzālemē.
King Asa of Judah
1 Abijah died and was buried in Jerusalem. Then his son Asa became king, and Judah had ten years of peace.
2 Asa obeyed the Lord his God and did right. 3 He destroyed the local shrines and the altars to foreign gods. He smashed the stone images of gods and cut down the sacred poles used in worshiping the goddess Asherah. 4 Then he told everyone in Judah to worship the Lord God, just as their ancestors had done, and to obey his laws and teachings. 5 He destroyed every local shrine and incense altar in Judah.
6 The Lord blessed Judah with peace while Asa was king, and so during that time, Asa fortified many of the towns. 7 He said to the people, “Let's build walls and defense towers for these towns, and put in gates that can be locked with bars. This land still belongs to us, because we have obeyed the Lord our God. He has given us peace from all our enemies.” The people did everything Asa had suggested.
8 Asa had a large army of brave soldiers: 300,000 of them were from the tribe of Judah and were armed with shields and spears; 280,000 were from Benjamin and were armed with shields and bows.
Judah Defeats Ethiopia's Army
9 Zerah from Ethiopia led an army of 1,000,000 soldiers and 300 chariots to the town of Mareshah in Judah. 10 Asa met him there, and the two armies prepared for battle in Zephathah Valley.
11 Asa prayed:
Lord God, only you can help a powerless army defeat a stronger one. So we depend on you to help us. We will fight against this powerful army to honor your name, and we know that you won't be defeated. You are the Lord our God.
12 The Lord helped Asa and his army defeat the Ethiopians. The enemy soldiers ran away, 13 but Asa and his troops chased them as far as Gerar. It was a total defeat—the Ethiopians could not even fight back!
The soldiers from Judah took everything that had belonged to the Ethiopians. 14 The people who lived in the villages around Gerar learned what had happened and were afraid of the Lord. So Judah's army easily defeated them and carried off everything of value that they wanted from these towns. 15 They also attacked the camps where the shepherds lived and took a lot of sheep, goats, and camels. Then they went back to Jerusalem.
