1Tsono Abiya anamwalira ndipo anayikidwa mʼmanda mu mzinda wa Davide. Asa mwana wake anakhala mfumu mʼmalo mwake ndipo pa masiku ake, dziko linakhala pa mtendere kwa zaka khumi.
Asa Mfumu ya Yuda
2Asa anachita zabwino ndi zolungama pamaso pa Yehova Mulungu wake. 3Iye anachotsa maguwa achilendo ndi malo opembedzerapo mafano, anaphwanya zipilala za miyala yachipembedzo ndi kugwetsa mafano a Asera. 4Asa analamula Yuda kuti afunefune Yehova Mulungu wa makolo awo ndi kumvera malamulo ndi zolamulira zake. 5Iye anachotsa malo opembedzera mafano ndi maguwa ofukizira lubani mu mzinda uliwonse wa mu Yuda, ndipo mu ufumu wake munali mtendere pa nthawi ya ulamuliro wake. 6Asa anamanga mizinda yonse yotetezedwa ya Yuda pakuti dziko linali pa mtendere. Panalibe amene anachita naye nkhondo mʼzaka zimenezo, pakuti Yehova anamupatsa mpumulo.
7Iye anati kwa Yuda “Tiyeni timange mizinda iyi ndipo timange makoma ndi nsanja, zitseko ndi zotchinga. Dzikoli likanali lathu chifukwa tafuna Yehova Mulungu wathu; tinamufuna Iye ndipo watipatsa mpumulo mbali zonse.” Kotero iwo anamanga ndi kukhala pa ulemerero.
8Asa anali ndi ankhondo 300,000 ochokera ku Yuda, okhala ndi zishango zikuluzikulu ndi mikondo, ndiponso ankhondo 280,000 ochokera ku Benjamini, okhala ndi zishango ndi mauta. Onsewa anali ankhondo amphamvu ndi olimba mtima.
9Zera wa ku Kusi anapita kukamenyana nawo ali ndi gulu lalikulu kwambiri la asilikali ndi magaleta 300 ndipo anafika mpaka ku Maresa. 10Asa anapita kukakumana naye ndipo anakhala pa mizere yawo ya nkhondo mʼchigwa cha Zefata pafupi ndi Maresa.
11Kenaka Asa anafuwulira Yehova Mulungu wake ndipo anati “Yehova palibe wina wofanana nanu kuti angathandize anthu opanda mphamvu pakati pa amphamvu. Tithandizeni Inu Yehova Mulungu wathu pakuti ife timadalira Inu ndipo mʼdzina lanu ife tabwera kudzalimbana ndi gulu la ankhondo lalikulu kwambiri ngati ili. Inu Yehova ndinu Mulungu wathu, musalole kuti munthu akupambaneni.”
12Yehova anakantha Akusi pamaso pa Asa ndi Ayuda. Akusi anathawa, 13ndipo Asa ndi ankhondo ake anawathamangitsa mpaka ku Gerari. Gulu lonse lalikulu lija la Akusi linaphedwa. Sanapezeke mmodzi wamoyo pakati pawo. Iwo anakanthidwa pamaso pa Yehova ndi asilikali ake. Anthu a ku Yuda anatenga katundu wambiri olanda ku nkhondo. 14Iwo anawononga midzi yonse yozungulira Gerari pakuti mantha aakulu wochokera kwa Yehova anagwera anthuwo. Analanda katundu wa midzi yonse, popeza kunali katundu wambiri kumeneko. 15Anakathiranso nkhondo misasa ya anthu oweta ziweto ndipo anatenga nkhosa zambiri, mbuzi ndi ngamira. Atatero anabwerera ku Yerusalemu.
In Hebrew texts 14:1 is numbered 13:23, and 14:2-15 is numbered 14:1-14. 1And 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
2Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God. 3He removed the foreign altars and the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles.14:3 That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah; here and elsewhere in 2 Chronicles 4He commanded Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and to obey his laws and commands. 5He removed the high places and incense altars in every town in Judah, and the kingdom was at peace under him. 6He 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.
7‘Let us build up these towns,’ he said to Judah, ‘and put walls round 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 on every side.’ So they built and prospered.
8Asa had an army of three hundred thousand 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.
9Zerah the Cushite marched out against them with an army of thousands upon thousands and three hundred chariots, and came as far as Mareshah. 10Asa went out to meet him, and they took up battle positions in the Valley of Zephathah near Mareshah.
11Then Asa called to the Lord his God and said, ‘Lord, there is no-one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast army. Lord, you are our God; do not let mere mortals prevail against you.’
12The Lord struck down the Cushites before Asa and Judah. The Cushites fled, 13and Asa and his army pursued them as far as Gerar. Such a great number of Cushites fell that they could not recover; they were crushed before the Lord and his forces. The men of Judah carried off a large amount of plunder. 14They destroyed all the villages around Gerar, for the terror of the Lord had fallen on them. They looted all these villages, since there was much plunder there. 15They also attacked the camps of the herdsmen and carried off droves of sheep and goats and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.
