Asa mambo we Juda
1 Ndizo Abija kafa ngono bakambiganya mu nzi nkulu wa Dafite. Asa nkololo uwe kan'gala thaka kabusa mu bumo gugwe. Ngono kwakati kubusa Asa shango yakabe ne kunyalala kwe makole ali gumi. 2 Asa wakashathisa Yahwe Ndzimu uwe ngothama bubuya. 3 Wakapkhwanyila kutjena zwibeso zwe zwibhayilo zwe midzimu ipoga ne magalo apezhugwi katema phanda dze ndzimukadzi Ashera. 4 Ngono wakalaula kuti bathu be Juda bathame tjinoshakiwa ndi Yahwe Ndzimu wa bobatategulu babo ne kulondolodza milayo yabo. 5 Wakakolomola magalo wose akabe ethigamigwa midzimu ne zwibeso zwakabe zwipisigwa motsha mu mizi mikulu yose ye Juda, ngono kukabe ne kunyalala mu mbuso uwe. 6 Wakabaka matizhilo mu mizi mikulu ye Juda ngoti shango yakabe yabe ne kunyalala. Akuna wakagwa naye mu misi iyeyo ngoti Yahwe bakampa kunyalala. 7 Ngono wakati ku bathu be Juda, “Ngatibakeni mizi mikulu tiibakilile nge makuma ne thungamakole nge mikoba inozhaligwa nge butale. Tina simba le shango ngoti ndeyedu takathama kuda kwa Yahwe Ndzimu wedu. Bakatibakilila bakatipa kunyalala.” Ndizo bakabaka ngono bakabhudilila. 8 Asa wakabe ana babhayani be Bajuta bali mazana matatu e zwiwulu (300 000) bakabe bakashakatila mathumo ne zwivikisi ne babhayani banodwa ku Bhenjamini bali zwiwulu zwili mazana mabili ana zwili makumi ali zhanakadzi (280 000) bakabe bakazwilulwamisa zubuyanana nge zwivikisi ne matati bose ibaba bakabe bali balume bakasima be ngwa.
9 Kwakabe kuna nlume we Nkhushi wakabe edang'wa Zera, nlume iwoyo kanginilila Juda nge babhayani bali miliyoni (1 000 000) ne koloyi dze ngwa dzili mazana matatu (300) ngono kayenda kudzina kunoti ku Maresha. 10 Asa wakamilika kanobagwisa, ngono bakama zubuyanana bakalingisana bali ku nkuku we Zefatha pejo ne Maresha. 11 Ngono Asa kadana Yahwe Ndzimu uwe kati, “Yahwe akuna iye ungabhatsha pakati kwe bana matatabuko ne basina matatabuko kuzhe kwenyu. Mutibhatshe Yahwe Ndzimu wedu ngoti takabiga mu muli kakale nge zina lenyu tazha tiwolingisana ne babhayani ibaba banjinji. Yahwe imwi Ndzimu wedu akuna ungamukunda.”
12 Ndizo Yahwe bakakunda Baitopiya ha Asa ne Bajuda be banginilila ngono Baitopiya bakatizha. 13 Asa ne babhayani babe bakabatatamila kudzina benoti ku Gera. Bunji gwe Baitopiya bakabulawa kukasheta ne limbelimbe lasala litjila ngobe bakabe bakuligwa nge babhayani mbeli kwa Yahwe nenge babhayani babo, babhayani bakatapa thundu njinji. 14 Bakakolomola mizi mikulu yose yakapoteleka Gera ngoti bathu bakabe betja Yahwe. Babhayani bakatapa mizi mikulu ngobe kwakabe kuna thundu njinji muili. 15 Bakanokolomola mishasha ye bathuwi be ng'ombe ngono bakatapa pkhwizi dzabo njinji ne kamela dzabo. Kudwapo bakabgwilila ku Jerusalema.
King Asa Defeats the Ethiopians
1 King Abijah died and was buried in the royal tombs in David's City. His son Asa succeeded him as king, and under Asa the land enjoyed peace for ten years. 2 Asa pleased the Lord, his God, by doing what was right and good. 3 He removed the foreign altars and the pagan places of worship, broke down the sacred stone columns, and cut down the symbols of the goddess Asherah. 4 He commanded the people of Judah to do the will of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and to obey his teachings and commands. 5 Because he abolished the pagan places of worship and the incense altars from all the cities of Judah, the kingdom was at peace under his rule. 6 He built fortifications for the cities of Judah during this time, and for several years there was no war, because the Lord gave him peace. 7 He told the people of Judah, “Let us fortify the cities by building walls and towers, and gates that can be shut and barred. We have control of the land because we have done the will of the Lord our God. He has protected us and given us security on every side.” And so they built and prospered. 8 King Asa had an army of 300,000 men from Judah, armed with shields and spears, and 280,000 men from Benjamin, armed with shields and bows. All of them were brave, well-trained men.
9 An Ethiopian named Zerah invaded Judah with an army of a million men and three hundred chariots and advanced as far as Mareshah. 10 Asa went out to fight him, and both sides took up their positions at Zephathah Valley near Mareshah. 11 Asa prayed to the Lord his God, “O Lord, you can help a weak army as easily as a powerful one. Help us now, O Lord our God, because we are relying on you, and in your name we have come out to fight against this huge army. Lord, you are our God; no one can hope to defeat you.”
12 The Lord defeated the Ethiopian army when Asa and the Judean army attacked them. They fled, 13 and Asa and his troops pursued them as far as Gerar. So many of the Ethiopians were killed that the army was unable to rally and fight. They were overpowered by the Lord and his army, and the army took large amounts of loot. 14 Then they were able to destroy the cities in the area around Gerar, because the people there were terrified of the Lord. The army plundered all those cities and captured large amounts of loot. 15 They also attacked the camps of some shepherds, capturing large numbers of sheep and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.