1 Kings 15
Expanded Bible
Abijam King of Judah(A)
15 Abijam [C “My father is the Sea” (symbol of chaos); compare Abijah (“My father is the Lord”) in 2 Chr. 13:1] became king of Judah during the eighteenth year Jeroboam son of Nebat was king of Israel. 2 Abijam ruled in Jerusalem for three years. His mother was Maacah daughter of Abishalom [C David’s son Absalom]. 3 He ·did [committed; L walked in] all the same sins his father before him had ·done [committed]. ·Abijam was not faithful [L His heart was not fully/wholly devoted] to the Lord his God as David, his ·great-grandfather [L father; C in the sense of ancestor], had been. 4 ·Because the Lord loved David [For David’s sake], the Lord gave him a ·kingdom [L lamp; C possibly a metaphor for the reign of a king] in Jerusalem and allowed him to have a son to be king after him. The Lord also ·kept Jerusalem safe [strengthened/established Jerusalem]. 5 David did what ·the Lord said was right [L was right in the eyes/sight of the Lord] and ·obeyed [L had not turned aside from] his commands all his ·life [L days], except ·the one time when David sinned ·against [in the case/matter of] Uriah the Hittite [2 Sam. 11–12].
6 There was war between ·Abijam[a] and Jeroboam during Abijam’s lifetime. 7 Everything else Abijam did is written in the book of the ·history [chronicles; annals; 14:19] of the kings of Judah. There was war between Abijam and Jeroboam. 8 Abijam ·died [L lay down/T slept with his fathers/ancestors] and was buried in the City of David [C Jerusalem], and his son Asa became king in his place.
Asa King of Judah
9 During the twentieth year Jeroboam was king of Israel, Asa became king of Judah. 10 His ·grandmother’s [mother’s; C in the sense of ancestor] name was Maacah, the daughter of Abishalom [15:2]. Asa ruled in Jerusalem for forty-one years.
11 Asa did what ·the Lord said was right [L was right in the eyes/sight of the Lord], as his ·ancestor [L father] David had done. 12 He ·forced the male prostitutes at the worship places to leave the country [expelled/banished the male cult prostitutes from the land; 14:24]. He also took away the idols that his ·ancestors [fathers] had made. 13 His ·grandmother [mother; ancestor] Maacah had made a ·terrible [obscene; repulsive; abominable] Asherah ·idol [pole; 14:15], so Asa removed her from being queen mother. He cut down ·that idol [her obscene/repulsive/abominable image/pole] and burned it in the Kidron Valley. 14 The ·places of worship to gods [L high places; 3:2] were not removed. Even so, Asa was ·faithful [devoted; true] to the Lord all his life. 15 Asa brought into the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord the gifts he and his father had ·given [dedicated]: gold, silver, and utensils.
16 There was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all ·the time they were kings [their days]. 17 Baasha ·attacked [invaded; L went up against] Judah, and he ·made the town of Ramah strong [fortified Ramah] so he could keep people from leaving or entering ·Judah, Asa’s country [L Asa, king of Judah].
18 Asa took the rest of the silver and gold from the treasuries of the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord and ·his own palace [L the treasuries of the king’s house] and gave it to his ·officers [officials; servants]. Then he sent them to Ben-Hadad son of Tabrimmon, who was the son of Hezion. Ben-Hadad was the king of Aram and ·ruled [lived] in the city of Damascus. Asa said, 19 “Let there be a treaty between you and me as there was between my father and your father. I am sending you a gift of silver and gold. Break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel so he will ·leave my land [withdraw from me].”
20 Ben-Hadad ·agreed with [listened to] King Asa, so he sent the commanders of his armies ·to attack [against] the towns of Israel. They defeated the towns of Ijon, Dan, and Abel Beth Maacah, as well as all ·Galilee [L Kinnereth] and the area of Naphtali. 21 When Baasha heard about these attacks, he stopped ·building up [fortifying] Ramah and ·returned [withdrew] to Tirzah. 22 Then King Asa gave an ·order [proclamation] to all the people of Judah; everyone had to help carry away all the stones and ·wood [timber] Baasha had used in building Ramah, and they used them to build up Geba and Mizpah in the land of Benjamin.
23 Everything else Asa did—his ·victories [power] and the cities he built—·is [L are they not…?] written in the book of the ·history [chronicles; annals; 14:19] of the kings of Judah. When he became old, he got a disease in his feet. 24 After Asa ·died [L lay down/T slept with his fathers/ancestors], he was buried with his ·ancestors [fathers] in the City of David [C Jerusalem], his ·ancestor [father]. Then Jehoshaphat, Asa’s son, ·became king [reigned] in his place.
Nadab King of Israel
25 Nadab son of Jeroboam became king of Israel during the second year Asa was king of Judah. Nadab ·was king of [reigned over] Israel for two years, 26 and he did ·what the Lord said was wrong [L evil in the eyes/sight of the Lord]. Jeroboam had led the people of Israel to sin, and Nadab ·sinned in the same way as his father Jeroboam [L walked in the way/path of his father and in his sin].
27 Baasha son of Ahijah, from the ·tribe [L house] of Issachar, ·made plans to kill Nadab [plotted/conspired against him]. Nadab and all Israel were ·attacking [laying siege to] the Philistine town of Gibbethon, so Baasha killed Nadab there. 28 ·This happened [Baasha killed him] during Asa’s third year as king of Judah, and ·Baasha became the next king of Israel [reigned in his place].
Baasha King of Israel
29 As soon as Baasha became king, he killed all of Jeroboam’s ·family [L house], leaving no one in Jeroboam’s ·family [L house] alive. He destroyed them all ·as the Lord had said would happen [L according to the word which the Lord spoke] ·through [L by the hand of] his servant Ahijah from Shiloh. 30 All this was because King Jeroboam had sinned very much and had led the people of Israel to sin, ·provoking [arousing] the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger.
31 Everything else Nadab did ·is [L is it not…?]written in the book of the ·history [chronicles; annals; 14:19] of the kings of Israel. 32 There was war between Asa [C king of Judah] and Baasha king of Israel all ·the time they ruled [their days].
33 Baasha son of Ahijah became king of Israel during Asa’s third year as king of Judah. Baasha ruled in Tirzah for twenty-four years, 34 and he did ·what the Lord said was wrong [L evil in the eyes/sight of the Lord]. Jeroboam had led the people of Israel to sin, and Baasha ·sinned in the same way as [L walked in the way of] Jeroboam.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 15:6 Abijam Some Hebrew and Syriac copies read “Abijam.” Most Hebrew copies read “Rehoboam.”
1 Kings 15
English Standard Version
Abijam Reigns in Judah
15 (A)Now in the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam the son of Nebat, Abijam began to reign over Judah. 2 He reigned for three years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom. 3 And he walked in all the sins that his father did before him, and (B)his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father. 4 Nevertheless, for David's sake the Lord his God gave him (C)a lamp in Jerusalem, setting up his son after him, and establishing Jerusalem, 5 because (D)David did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and did not turn aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life, (E)except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite. 6 (F)Now there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life. 7 (G)The rest of the acts of Abijam and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? (H)And there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam. 8 (I)And Abijam slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David. And Asa his son reigned in his place.
Asa Reigns in Judah
9 In the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Asa began to reign over Judah, 10 and he reigned forty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom. 11 (J)And Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as David his father had done. 12 He put away the (K)male cult prostitutes out of the land and removed (L)all the idols that his fathers had made. 13 (M)He also removed Maacah his mother from being queen mother because she had made an abominable image for Asherah. And Asa cut down her image and (N)burned it at the brook Kidron. 14 (O)But the high places were not taken away. Nevertheless, (P)the heart of Asa was wholly true to the Lord all his days. 15 And (Q)he brought into the house of the Lord the sacred gifts of his father and his own sacred gifts, silver, and gold, and vessels.
16 (R)And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. 17 (S)Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and (T)built Ramah, (U)that he might permit no one to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. 18 Then Asa took all the silver and the gold (V)that were left in the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king's house and gave them into the hands of his servants. (W)And King Asa sent them to Ben-hadad the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, (X)who lived in Damascus, saying, 19 “Let there be (Y)a covenant[a] between me and you, as there was between my father and your father. Behold, I am sending to you a present of silver and gold. Go, break your covenant with Baasha king of Israel, that he may withdraw from me.” 20 And Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel and conquered (Z)Ijon, (AA)Dan, (AB)Abel-beth-maacah, and all (AC)Chinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali. 21 And when Baasha heard of it, (AD)he stopped building Ramah, and he lived in (AE)Tirzah. 22 Then King Asa made a proclamation to all Judah, none was exempt, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its timber, with which Baasha had been building, and with them King Asa built (AF)Geba of Benjamin and (AG)Mizpah. 23 (AH)Now the rest of all the acts of Asa, all his might, and all that he did, and the cities that he built, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? But in his old age he was diseased in his feet. 24 And Asa slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father, and (AI)Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his place.
Nadab Reigns in Israel
25 (AJ)Nadab the son of Jeroboam began to reign over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel two years. 26 He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord (AK)and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin (AL)which he made Israel to sin.
27 (AM)Baasha the son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar, conspired against him. And Baasha struck him down at (AN)Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines, for Nadab and all Israel were laying siege to Gibbethon. 28 So Baasha killed him in the third year of Asa king of Judah and reigned in his place. 29 And as soon as he was king, he killed all the house of Jeroboam. He left to the house of Jeroboam not one that breathed, until he had destroyed it, (AO)according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by his servant Ahijah the Shilonite. 30 It was for the sins of Jeroboam that he sinned and (AP)that he made Israel to sin, and because of the anger to which he provoked the Lord, the God of Israel.
31 Now the rest of the acts of Nadab and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 32 (AQ)And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.
Baasha Reigns in Israel
33 In the third year of Asa king of Judah, Baasha the son of Ahijah began to reign over all Israel at Tirzah, and he reigned twenty-four years. 34 He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord (AR)and walked in the way of Jeroboam and in his sin which he made Israel to sin.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 15:19 Or treaty; twice in this verse
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