2 He removed the illicit altars and the high places, smashed the sacred pillars, and cut down the asherahs.
3 He told Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and to observe the law and the commandment.
4 He removed the high places and incense stands from all the cities of Judah, and under him the kingdom had peace.
5 He built fortified cities in Judah, for the land had peace and no war was waged against him during these years, because the Lord had given him rest.
6 He said to Judah: “Let us build these cities and surround them with walls, towers, gates and bars. The land is still ours, for we have sought the Lord, our God; we sought him, and he has given us rest on every side.” So they built and prospered.
7 Asa had an army of three hundred thousand shield- and lance-bearers from Judah, and from Benjamin two hundred and eighty thousand who carried bucklers and were archers, all of them valiant warriors.
8 Zerah the Ethiopian advanced against them with a force of one million men and three hundred chariots, and he came as far as Mareshah.