1Abiya ne yeebakira wamu ne bajjajjaabe n’aziikibwa mu kibuga kya Dawudi. Asa mutabani we n’amusikira, era ku mulembe gwe ensi n’eba n’emirembe okumala emyaka kkumi.
Asa kabaka wa Yuda
2Asa n’akola ebyali ebirungi nga bituufu mu maaso ga Mukama Katonda we. 314:3 Kuv 34:13; Ma 7:5; 1Bk 15:12-14N’aggyawo ebyoto eby’abannamawanga n’ebifo ebigulumivu, era n’amenyaamenya empagi, n’ebifaananyi bya Asera n’abitemaatema. 4N’alagira Yuda okunoonya Mukama Katonda wa bajjajjaabe, era n’okukuuma amateeka ge n’ebiragiro bye. 514:5 2By 34:4, 7Era n’aggyawo ebifo ebigulumivu n’ebyoto eby’obubaane mu bibuga byonna ebya Yuda, n’obwakabaka ne buba n’emirembe mu bufuzi bwe. 614:6 1By 22:9; 2By 15:15N’azimba ebibuga ebiriko bbugwe mu Yuda, era ne wataba n’omu eyayaŋŋanga okulwana naye, kubanga Mukama yamuwa okuwummula ku njuyi zonna.
7N’agamba Yuda nti, “Tuzimbe ebibuga bino, tubiteekeko bbugwe, ne wankaaki n’emitayimbwa. Ensi ekyali yaffe, kubanga tunoonyezza Mukama Katonda waffe; tumunoonyezza, n’atuwa emirembe ku buli luuyi.” Ne bazimba era ne bagaggawala. 8Asa yalina eggye nga lya basajja emitwalo amakumi asatu okuva mu Yuda, nga balina engabo ennene n’amafumu, n’abalala emitwalo amakumi abiri mu munaana abaava mu Benyamini nga balina engabo entono n’obusaale, era bonna nga basajja bazira.
914:9 a 2By 12:3; 16:8 b 2By 11:8Olunaku lumu, Zeera Omwesiyopya n’abalumba ng’alina eggye lya basajja akakadde kamu, n’amagaali ebikumi bisatu, n’atuuka n’e Malesa. 10Asa n’agenda okumutabaala, buli omu ku bo n’asimba ennyiriri ez’entalo mu kiwonvu Zefasa e Malesa.
1114:11 a 2By 13:14 b 2By 13:18 c 1Sa 17:45 d 1Sa 14:6; Zab 9:19Awo Asa n’akoowoola Mukama Katonda we ng’agamba nti, “Mukama, tewali akwenkana mu kuyamba abanafu, nga balumbiddwa ab’amaanyi. Tuyambe Ayi Mukama Katonda waffe, kubanga twesize ggwe, era mu linnya lyo tuzze okutabaala eggye lino eddene. Ayi Mukama, oli Katonda waffe, toganya muntu yenna okutuwangula.”
1214:12 2By 13:15Awo Mukama n’akubira Abaesiyopiya mu maaso ga Asa ne mu maaso ga Yuda, Abaesiyopiya ne badduka. 1314:13 Lub 10:19Asa n’eggye lye ne babagoba okutuuka e Gerali, era bangi ku Baesiyopya ne bagwa, ne wataba n’omu ku bo alama, kubanga eggye lya Mukama lyabazikiriza. Abasajja aba Yuda ne beetikka omunyago mungi. 1414:14 Lub 35:5; 2By 17:10Ne bazikiriza ebibuga byonna ebyali byetoolodde Gerali, kubanga entiisa ya Mukama yabagwira. Ne banyaga ebyalo byonna, kubanga byalimu omunyago mungi. 15Ne balumba n’ebibinja by’abalaalo, ne batwala ente, n’endiga, n’embuzi, n’eŋŋamira nnyingi nnyo, ne balyoka baddayo e Yerusaalemi.
1Abijah joined the members of his family who had already died. He was buried in the City of David. Abijah’s son Asa became the next king after him. While Asa was king, the country had peace and rest for ten years.
Asa Becomes King of Judah
2Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God. 3Asa removed the altars where false gods were worshiped. He took away the high places. He smashed the sacred stones. He cut down the poles used to worship the female god named Asherah. 4He commanded Judah to worship the Lord, the God of their people. He commanded them to obey the Lord’s laws and commands. 5Asa removed the high places and incense altars from every town in Judah. The kingdom had peace and rest under his rule. 6He built up the cities of Judah that had high walls around them. The land was at peace. No one was at war with Asa during those years. That’s because the Lord gave him peace and rest.
7“Let’s build up our towns,” Asa said to the people of Judah. “Let’s put walls around them. Let’s provide them with towers. Let’s make them secure with gates that have heavy metal bars. The land still belongs to us. That’s because we’ve trusted in the Lord our God. We trusted in him, and he has given us peace and rest on every side.” So they built. And things went well for them.
8Asa had an army of 300,000 men from Judah. They carried spears and large shields. There were 280,000 men from Benjamin. They were armed with bows and small shields. All these men were brave soldiers.
9Zerah marched out against them. He was from Cush. He had a huge army of thousands. He also had 300 chariots. They came all the way to Mareshah. 10Asa went out to meet Zerah in battle. They took up their positions in the Valley of Zephathah. It’s near Mareshah.
11Then Asa called out to the Lord his God. He said, “Lord, there isn’t anyone like you. You help the weak against the strong. Lord our God, help us. We trust in you. In your name we have come out to fight against this huge army. Lord, you are our God. Don’t let mere human beings win the battle over you.”
12The Lord struck down the men of Cush for Asa and Judah. The Cushites ran away. 13Asa and his army chased them all the way to Gerar. A large number of Cushites fell down wounded or dead. So they couldn’t fight back. The Lord and his army crushed them. The men of Judah carried off a large amount of goods. 14They destroyed all the villages around Gerar. The Lord had made the people in those villages afraid of him. The men of Judah took everything from all the villages. 15They also attacked the camps of those who took care of the herds. They carried off large numbers of sheep, goats and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.
