1 Kings 15
Legacy Standard Bible
Abijam Reigns over Judah
15 (A)Now in the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, Abijam became king over Judah. 2 He reigned three years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was [a](B)Maacah the daughter of [b](C)Abishalom. 3 And he walked in all the sins of his father which he had committed before him; and (D)his heart was not [c]wholly devoted to Yahweh his God, like the heart of his father David. 4 But for David’s sake Yahweh his God gave him a (E)lamp in Jerusalem, to raise up his son after him and to establish Jerusalem; 5 (F)because David did what was right in the sight of Yahweh, and had not turned aside from anything that He commanded him all the days of his life, (G)except in the case of Uriah the Hittite. 6 (H)Now there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life.
7 Now (I)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? (J)And there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam. 8 (K)And Abijam slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David; and Asa his son became king in his place.
Asa Reigns over Judah
9 Now in the twentieth year of Jeroboam the king of Israel, Asa began to reign as king of Judah. 10 And he reigned forty-one years in Jerusalem; and (L)his mother’s name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom. 11 (M)And Asa did what was right in the sight of Yahweh, like David his father. 12 (N)He also put away the male cult prostitutes from the land and (O)removed all the idols which his fathers had made. 13 [d](P)He also removed Maacah his mother from being queen mother, because she had made a horrid image [e]for Asherah; and Asa cut down her horrid image and (Q)burned it at the brook Kidron. 14 (R)But the high places were not removed; nevertheless (S)the heart of Asa was [f]wholly devoted to Yahweh all his days. 15 (T)And he brought into the house of Yahweh the holy things of his father and his own holy things: silver and gold and utensils.
Asa Wars Against Baasha
16 (U)Now there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. 17 (V)And Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and (W)built up Ramah (X)in order to prevent anyone from going out or coming in to Asa king of Judah. 18 Then (Y)Asa took all the silver and the gold which were left in the treasuries of the house of Yahweh and the treasuries of the king’s house, and delivered them into the hand of his servants. And (Z)King Asa sent them to Ben-hadad the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Aram, who lived in (AA)Damascus, saying, 19 “Let there be a (AB)covenant between [g]you and me, as between my father and your father. Behold, I have sent you a gift of silver and gold; go, break your covenant 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 military force against the cities of Israel, and struck down (AC)Ijon, (AD)Dan, (AE)Abel-beth-maacah and all (AF)Chinneroth, besides all the land of Naphtali. 21 Now it happened that when Baasha heard of it, (AG)he ceased building up Ramah and remained in (AH)Tirzah. 22 Then King Asa caused an announcement to be heard throughout all Judah—none was exempt—and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its timber with which Baasha had been building. And King Asa built with them (AI)Geba of Benjamin and Mizpah.
23 (AJ)Now the rest of all the acts of Asa and all his might and all that he did and the cities which he built, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? But in the time of 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 (AK)Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his place.
Nadab Reigns over Israel
25 Now (AL)Nadab the son of Jeroboam became king over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel two years. 26 And he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, and (AM)walked in the way of his father and (AN)in his sin which he made Israel sin. 27 Then (AO)Baasha the son of Ahijah of the house of Issachar conspired against him, and Baasha struck him down at (AP)Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines, while Nadab and all Israel were laying siege to Gibbethon.
28 So Baasha put him to death in the third year of Asa king of Judah and became king in his place. 29 Now it happened that as soon as he was king, he struck down all the household of Jeroboam. He did not leave to Jeroboam anyone who drew breath, until he had destroyed them, (AQ)according to the word of Yahweh, which He spoke by the hand of His servant Ahijah the Shilonite, 30 and because of the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned, and (AR)which he made Israel sin, because of his provocation with which he provoked Yahweh, the God of Israel, to anger.
31 (AS)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 (AT)Now there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.
Baasha Reigns over Israel
33 In the third year of Asa king of Judah, Baasha the son of Ahijah became king over all Israel at Tirzah, and reigned twenty-four years. 34 And he did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh, and (AU)walked in the way of Jeroboam and in his sin which he made Israel sin.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 15:2 In 2 Chr 13:2, Micaiah, the daughter of Uriel
- 1 Kings 15:2 In 2 Chr 11:20, Absalom
- 1 Kings 15:3 Lit complete with
- 1 Kings 15:13 Lit Also Maacah his mother and he removed her
- 1 Kings 15:13 Or as an Asherah
- 1 Kings 15:14 Lit complete with
- 1 Kings 15:19 Lit me and you
1 Kings 15
Common English Bible
Abijam rules Judah
15 Abijam[a] became king of Judah in the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, Nebat’s son. 2 He ruled for three years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Maacah, and she was Abishalom’s daughter. 3 Abijam followed all the sinful ways of his father before him. He didn’t follow the Lord his God with all his heart like his ancestor David. 4 Even so, on account of David, the Lord his God gave Abijam a lamp in Jerusalem by supporting his son who succeeded him and by preserving Jerusalem. 5 This was because David did the right thing in the Lord’s eyes. David didn’t deviate from anything the Lord commanded him throughout his life—except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite. 6 There was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam as long as Abijam lived. 7 The rest of Abijam’s deeds and all that he did, aren’t they written in the official records of Judah’s kings? There was war between Abijam and Jeroboam. 8 Abijam lay down with his ancestors; he was buried in David’s City. His son Asa succeeded him as king.
Asa rules Judah
9 In the twentieth year of Israel’s King Jeroboam, Asa became king of Judah. 10 He ruled in Jerusalem for forty-one years. His grandmother’s[b] name was Maacah; she was Abishalom’s daughter. 11 Asa did the right things in the Lord’s eyes, just like his father David. 12 He removed the consecrated workers[c] from the land, and he did away with all the worthless idols that his predecessors had made. 13 He even removed his grandmother Maacah from the position of queen mother because she had made an image of Asherah. Asa cut down her image and burned it in the Kidron Valley. 14 Though the shrines weren’t eliminated, nevertheless Asa remained committed with all his heart to the Lord throughout his life. 15 He brought into the Lord’s temple the silver and gold equipment that he and his father had dedicated. 16 There was war between Asa and Israel’s King Baasha throughout their lifetimes. 17 Israel’s King Baasha attacked Judah and fortified Ramah to prevent Judah’s King Asa from moving into that area.
18 Asa took all the silver and gold that remained in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and the royal palace, and he gave them to his officials. Then King Asa sent them with the following message to Aram’s King Ben-hadad, Tabrimmon’s son and Hezion’s grandson, who ruled from Damascus: 19 “Let’s make a covenant similar to the one between our fathers. Since I have already sent you a gift of silver and gold, break your covenant with Israel’s King Baasha so that he will leave me alone.” 20 Ben-hadad agreed with King Asa and sent his army commanders against the cities of Israel, attacking Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah, and all Chinneroth, along with all the land of Naphtali. 21 As soon as Baasha learned this, he stopped building Ramah and stayed in Tirzah. 22 King Asa issued an order to every Judean without exception: all the people carried away the stone and timber that Baasha was using to build Ramah, and King Asa used it to build Geba of Benjamin and Mizpah. 23 The rest of Asa’s deeds, his strength, and all that he did, as well as the towns that he built, aren’t they written in the official records of Judah’s kings? When he was old, Asa developed a severe foot disease. 24 He died and was buried with his ancestors in David’s City.[d] His son Jehoshaphat succeeded him as king.
Nadab rules Israel
25 Jeroboam’s son Nadab became king of Israel in the second year of Judah’s King Asa. He ruled over Israel for two years. 26 He did evil in the Lord’s eyes by walking in the way of his father Jeroboam and the sin Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit. 27 Baasha, Ahijah’s son from the house of Issachar, plotted against him and attacked him at Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines. Nadab and all Israel were laying siege against Gibbethon. 28 Baasha killed Nadab in the third year of Judah’s King Asa and ruled in Nadab’s place.
29 When he became king, Baasha attacked the entire house of Jeroboam. He didn’t allow any living person to survive in Jeroboam’s family; he wiped them out according to the Lord’s word spoken by the Lord’s servant Ahijah of Shiloh. 30 This happened because of Jeroboam’s sins that he committed and that he caused Israel to commit, and because he angered the Lord, Israel’s God. 31 The rest of Nadab’s deeds and all that he did, aren’t they written in the official records of Israel’s kings? 32 There was war between Asa and Israel’s King Baasha throughout their lifetimes.
Baasha rules Israel
33 In the third year of Judah’s King Asa, Baasha, Ahijah’s son, became king over all Israel. He ruled in Tirzah for twenty-four years. 34 He did evil in the Lord’s eyes by walking in Jeroboam’s ways and the sin he had caused Israel to commit.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 15:1 Spelled Abijah in 2 Chron 12
- 1 Kings 15:10 Or mother; also in 15:13; cf 2 Chron 13:2
- 1 Kings 15:12 Traditionally cultic prostitutes
- 1 Kings 15:24 Heb adds his father.
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