Chapter 16

Asa’s Infidelity. ¹ In the thirty-sixth year of the reign of King Asa, Baasha, the king of Israel, invaded Judah and fortified Ramah to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the kingdom of Asa, the king of Judah. ² Asa then brought out silver and gold from the treasuries of the house of the Lord and of his own palace, and he sent it to Ben-hadad, the king of Aram, who resided in Damascus.

³ “Let there be an alliance between the two of us,” Asa said, “as there was between my father and your father. Behold, I am sending you silver and gold. In return, I am asking you to break your alliance with Baasha, the king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me.” ⁴ Ben-hadad approved the request of King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the towns of Israel. They ravaged Ijon, Dan, Abel-maim, and all of the store cities of Naphtali.

⁵ When Baasha heard this, he discontinued his plan to fortify Ramah, and he abandoned any further improvements. ⁶ Then King Asa ordered all the men of Judah to remove the stones of Ramah and its timber that Baasha had been using to fortify that place, and he used them instead to fortify Geba and Mizpah.

⁷ At that time Hanani the seer came to King Asa of Judah and said to him: “Because you relied on the king of Aram and did not rely instead on the Lord, your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your clutches. ⁸ Did not the Ethiopians and the Libyans have a vast army with great numbers of chariots and cavalry? And yet, when you relied on the Lord, he delivered them into your hands. ⁹ For the eyes of the Lord range throughout all the earth to strengthen the hearts of those who are totally committed to him. You have acted foolishly in this instance, and from now on you will be forced to endure wars.” ¹⁰ Then Asa became enraged at what the seer had said, and he ordered Hanani to be imprisoned in the stocks. Furthermore, at the same time Asa treated some others of his people with great cruelty.

¹¹ The history of the reign of Asa, from beginning to end, is recorded in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. ¹² In the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa was gravely afflicted with severe disease in his feet. However, even during his illness he did not seek the help of the Lord but rather resorted to taking the advice of physicians. ¹³ Then, in the forty-first year of his reign, he died and fell asleep with his ancestors. ¹⁴ They buried him in the tomb that he had hewn for himself in the City of David, having laid him on a bier that had been filled with spices and various kinds of perfumes. In addition they also kindled a very great fire in his honor.^[a]