1. Abijah joined the members of his family who had already died. His body was buried in the City of David. His son Asa became the next king after him. While Asa was king, the country had peace and rest for ten years.
2. Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God.
3. He removed the altars where strange gods were worshiped. He took away the high places. He smashed the sacred stones. He cut down the poles that were used to worship the goddess Asherah.
4. He commanded Judah to worship the Lord, the God of their people. He commanded them to obey the Lord's laws and commands.
5. He removed the high places and incense altars from every town in Judah. The kingdom had peace and rest under him.
6. He 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.
8. Asa 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 of those men were brave soldiers.
9. Zerah marched out against them. He was from Cush. He had a huge army. He also had 300 chariots. They came all the way to Mareshah.
10. Asa went out to meet Zerah in battle. They took up their positions in the Valley of Zephathah. It's near Mareshah.