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.

Abijah Reigns in Judah

13 ^(A)In the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, ^(B)Abijah began to reign over Judah. ² He reigned for three years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was ^(C)Micaiah^[a] the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah.

^(D)Now there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. ³ Abijah went out to battle, having an army of valiant men of war, 400,000 chosen men. And Jeroboam ^(E)drew up his line of battle against him with 800,000 chosen mighty warriors. ⁴ Then Abijah stood up on Mount ^(F)Zemaraim that is in ^(G)the hill country of Ephraim and said, “Hear me, O Jeroboam and all Israel! ⁵ Ought you not to know that the Lord God of Israel ^(H)gave the kingship over Israel forever to David and his sons by ^(I)a covenant of salt? ⁶ Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, a servant of Solomon the son of David, rose up ^(J)and rebelled against his lord, ⁷ and certain ^(K)worthless scoundrels^[b] gathered about him and defied Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was ^(L)young and irresolute^[c] and could not withstand them.

⁸ “And now you think to withstand the kingdom of the Lord in the hand of the sons of David, because you are a great multitude and have with you ^(M)the golden calves that Jeroboam made you for gods. ^9 (N)Have you not driven out the priests of the Lord, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and made priests for yourselves like the peoples of other lands? Whoever comes ^(O)for ordination^[d] with a young bull or seven rams becomes a priest of what are ^(P)not gods. ¹⁰ But as for us, the Lord is our God, and we have not forsaken him. We have priests ministering to the Lord who are sons of Aaron, and Levites for their service. ¹¹ They offer to the Lord ^(Q)every morning and every evening burnt offerings and incense of sweet spices, set out ^(R)the showbread on the table of pure gold, ^(S)and care for the golden lampstand that its lamps may ^(T)burn every evening. For we ^(U)keep the charge of the Lord our God, but you have forsaken him. ¹² Behold, God is with us at our head, and his priests ^(V)with their battle trumpets to sound the call to battle against you. O sons of Israel, ^(W)do not fight against the Lord, the God of your fathers, for you cannot succeed.”

¹³ Jeroboam had sent ^(X)an ambush around to come upon them from behind. Thus his troops^[e] were in front of Judah, and the ambush was behind them. ¹⁴ And when Judah looked, behold, the battle was in front of and behind them. ^(Y)And they cried to the Lord, and the priests ^(Z)blew the trumpets. ¹⁵ Then the men of Judah raised the battle shout. And when the men of Judah shouted, ^(AA)God defeated Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. ¹⁶ The men of Israel fled before Judah, ^(AB)and God gave them into their hand. ¹⁷ Abijah and his people struck them with great force, so there fell slain of Israel 500,000 chosen men. ¹⁸ Thus the men of Israel were subdued at that time, and the men of Judah prevailed, ^(AC)because they relied on the Lord, the God of their fathers. ¹⁹ And Abijah pursued Jeroboam ^(AD)and took cities from him, Bethel with its villages and Jeshanah with its villages and ^(AE)Ephron^[f] with its villages. ²⁰ Jeroboam did not recover his power in the days of Abijah. ^(AF)And the Lord struck him down, ^(AG)and he died. ²¹ But Abijah grew mighty. And he took fourteen wives and had twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters. ²² The rest of the acts of Abijah, his ways and his sayings, are written in the ^(AH)story of the prophet ^(AI)Iddo.

Asa Reigns in Judah

14 ^{[g] (AJ)}Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David. And Asa his son reigned in his place. In his days the land had rest for ten years. ^2 [h] And Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God. ³ He took away the foreign altars ^(AK)and the high places and broke down ^(AL)the pillars and cut down the ^(AM)Asherim ⁴ and commanded Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, and to keep the law and the commandment. ⁵ He also took out of all the cities of Judah ^(AN)the high places and the ^(AO)incense altars. And the kingdom had rest under him. ⁶ He built ^(AP)fortified cities in Judah, for the land had rest. He had no war in those years, ^(AQ)for the Lord gave him peace. ⁷ And he said to Judah, “Let us build these cities and surround them with ^(AR)walls and towers, gates and bars. The land is still ours, because we have sought the Lord our God. We have sought him, ^(AS)and he has given us peace on every side.” So they built and prospered. ⁸ And Asa had an army of ^(AT)300,000 from Judah, armed with large shields and spears, and 280,000 men from Benjamin that carried shields and drew bows. All these were mighty men of valor.

⁹ Zerah ^(AU)the Ethiopian came out against them with an army of a million men and 300 chariots, and came as far as ^(AV)Mareshah. ¹⁰ And Asa went out to meet him, and ^(AW)they drew up their lines of battle in the Valley of Zephathah at ^(AX)Mareshah. ¹¹ And Asa ^(AY)cried to the Lord his God, “O Lord, there is none like you to help, between the mighty and the weak. Help us, O Lord our God, ^(AZ)for we rely on you, ^(BA)and in your name we have come against this multitude. O Lord, you are our God; let not man prevail against you.” ^12 (BB)So the Lord defeated the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled. ¹³ Asa and the people who were with him pursued them as far as ^(BC)Gerar, and the Ethiopians fell until none remained alive, for they were broken before the Lord and his army. The men of Judah^[i] carried away very much spoil. ¹⁴ And they attacked all the cities around ^(BD)Gerar, ^(BE)for the fear of the Lord was upon them. They plundered all the cities, for there was much plunder in them. ¹⁵ And they struck down the tents of those who had livestock and carried away sheep in abundance and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.

4 Therefore, my brothers,^[a] whom I love and ^(A)long for, ^(B)my joy and ^(C)crown, ^(D)stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.

Exhortation, Encouragement, and Prayer

² I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to ^(E)agree in the Lord. ³ Yes, I ask you also, true companion,^[b] help these women, who have labored^[c] side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, ^(F)whose names are in the book of life.

^4 (G)Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. ⁵ Let your reasonableness^[d] be known to everyone. ^(H)The Lord is at hand; ^6 (I)do not be anxious about anything, ^(J)but in everything by prayer and supplication ^(K)with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷ And ^(L)the peace of God, ^(M)which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

⁸ Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. ⁹ What you have learned^[e] and ^(N)received and heard and seen ^(O)in me—practice these things, and ^(P)the God of peace will be with you.

God's Provision

¹⁰ I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length ^(Q)you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. ¹¹ Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be ^(R)content. ¹² I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and ^(S)hunger, abundance and ^(T)need. ¹³ I can do all things ^(U)through him who strengthens me.

¹⁴ Yet it was kind of you ^(V)to share^[f] my trouble. ¹⁵ And you Philippians yourselves know that ^(W)in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, ^(X)no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only. ¹⁶ Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again. ^17 (Y)Not that I seek the gift, but I seek ^(Z)the fruit that increases to your credit.^{[g] 18} I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, ^(AA)having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, ^(AB)a fragrant offering, ^(AC)a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. ¹⁹ And my God ^(AD)will supply every need of yours ^(AE)according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. ²⁰ To ^(AF)our God and Father be ^(AG)glory forever and ever. Amen.

Final Greetings

²¹ Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. ^(AH)The brothers who are with me greet you. ^22 (AI)All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar's household.

^23 (AJ)The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.