^17 (A)Baasha king of Israel marched against Judah and ^[a](B)fortified Ramah ^(C)in order to prevent anyone from going out or coming in to Asa king of Judah. ¹⁸ Then ^(D)Asa took all the silver and the gold that was left in the treasuries of the house of the Lord and the treasuries of the king’s house, and handed it over to his servants. And ^(E)King Asa sent them to Ben-hadad the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Aram, who lived in ^(F)Damascus, saying, ¹⁹ “Let’s make a ^(G)treaty between ^[b]you and me, as there was between my father and your father. Behold, I have sent you a gift of silver and gold; go, break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel so that he will withdraw from me.” ²⁰ So Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, and ^[c]conquered ^(H)Ijon, ^(I)Dan, ^(J)Abel-beth-maacah, and all ^(K)Chinneroth, besides all the land of Naphtali. ²¹ When Baasha heard about it, ^(L)he stopped ^[d]fortifying Ramah and remained in ^(M)Tirzah. ²² Then King Asa made a proclamation to all Judah—no one was exempt—and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its timber with which Baasha had built fortifications. And King Asa built with them ^(N)Geba of Benjamin and Mizpah.

Asa Wars against Baasha

16 In the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign, ^(A)Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah and ^[a]fortified Ramah in order to prevent anyone from going out or coming in to Asa king of Judah. ² Then Asa brought out silver and gold from the treasuries of the house of the Lord and the king’s house, and sent it to Ben-hadad king of Aram, who lived in Damascus, saying, ³ “A treaty must be made between ^[b]you and me, as there was between my father and your father. Behold, I have sent you silver and gold; go, break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel so that he will withdraw from me.” ⁴ And Ben-hadad listened to King Asa, and he sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, and they ^[c]conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel-maim, and all ^(B)the ^[d]storage cities of Naphtali. ⁵ When Baasha heard about it, he stopped ^[e]fortifying Ramah and put an end to his work. ⁶ Then King Asa brought all Judah, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its timber with which Baasha had been building, and with it he ^[f]fortified Geba and Mizpah.