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 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 the Lord his God, like the heart of his father David. ⁴ But for David’s sake the Lord 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 the Lord, 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)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.

Asa Succeeds Abijam

^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.

⁹ So in the twentieth year of Jeroboam the king of Israel, Asa began to reign as king of Judah. ¹⁰ He reigned forty-one years in Jerusalem; and ^(L)his mother’s name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom. ^11 (M)Asa did what was right in the sight of the Lord, 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]as an Asherah; and Asa cut down her horrid image and ^(Q)burned it at the brook Kidron. ^14 (R)But the high places were not taken away; nevertheless ^(S)the heart of Asa was ^[f]wholly devoted to the Lord all his days. ^15 (T)He brought into the house of the Lord the dedicated things of his father and his own dedicated things: silver and gold and utensils.

^16 (U)Now there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. ^17 (V)Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and ^[g](W)fortified 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 the Lord 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)treaty between ^[h]you and me, as between my father and your father. Behold, I have sent you a present 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 ^[i]conquered ^(AC)Ijon, ^(AD)Dan, ^(AE)Abel-beth-maacah and all ^(AF)Chinneroth, besides all the land of Naphtali. ²¹ When Baasha heard of it, ^(AG)he ceased ^[j]fortifying Ramah and remained in ^(AH)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 built. And King Asa built with them ^(AI)Geba of Benjamin and Mizpah.

Jehoshaphat Succeeds Asa

^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.

Abijah Succeeds Rehoboam

13 ^(A)In the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, Abijah became king over Judah. ² He reigned three years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Micaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah.

^(B)Now there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. ³ Abijah began the battle with an army of valiant warriors, 400,000 chosen men, while Jeroboam drew up in battle formation against him with 800,000 chosen men who were valiant warriors.

Civil War

⁴ Then Abijah stood on Mount ^(C)Zemaraim, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, and said, “Listen to me, Jeroboam and all Israel: ⁵ Do you not know that ^(D)the Lord God of Israel gave the rule over Israel forever to David ^[a]and his sons by ^(E)a covenant of salt? ⁶ Yet ^(F)Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon the son of David, rose up and rebelled against his ^[b]master, ⁷ and worthless men gathered about him, scoundrels, who proved too strong for Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, when ^[c](G)he was young and timid and could not hold his own against them.

⁸ “So now you intend to resist the kingdom of the Lord ^[d]through the sons of David, ^[e]being a great multitude and having with you ^(H)the golden calves which Jeroboam made for gods for you. ^9 (I)Have you not driven out the priests of the Lord, the sons of Aaron and the Levites, and made for yourselves priests like the peoples of other lands? Whoever comes ^(J)to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams, even he may become a priest of what are ^(K)no gods. ¹⁰ But as for us, the Lord is our God, and we have not forsaken Him; and the sons of Aaron are ministering to the Lord as priests, and the Levites ^[f]attend to their work. ¹¹ Every morning and evening ^(L)they ^[g]burn to the Lord burnt offerings and fragrant incense, and ^(M)the showbread is set on the clean table, and the golden lampstand with its lamps is ready to light every evening; for we keep the charge of the Lord our God, but you have forsaken Him. ¹² Now behold, God is with us at our head and ^(N)His priests with the signal trumpets to sound the alarm against you. O sons of Israel, do not fight against the Lord God of your fathers, for you will not succeed.”

¹³ But Jeroboam ^(O)had set an ambush to come from the rear, so that Israel was in front of Judah and the ambush was behind them. ¹⁴ When Judah turned around, behold, ^[h]they were attacked both front and rear; so ^(P)they cried to the Lord, and the priests blew the trumpets. ¹⁵ Then the men of Judah raised a war cry, and when the men of Judah raised the war cry, then it was that God ^[i](Q)routed Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. ¹⁶ When the sons of Israel fled before Judah, ^(R)God gave them into their hand. ¹⁷ Abijah and his people defeated them with a great slaughter, so that 500,000 chosen men of Israel fell slain. ¹⁸ Thus the sons of Israel were subdued at that time, and the sons of Judah ^[j]conquered ^(S)because they trusted in the Lord, the God of their fathers. ¹⁹ Abijah pursued Jeroboam and captured from him several cities, Bethel with its villages, Jeshanah with its villages and ^[k]Ephron with its villages.

Death of Jeroboam

²⁰ Jeroboam did not again recover strength in the days of Abijah; and the ^(T)Lord struck him and ^(U)he died.

²¹ But Abijah became powerful; and took fourteen wives to himself, and became the father of twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters. ²² Now the rest of the acts of Abijah, and his ways and his words are written in ^(V)the ^[l]treatise of ^(W)the prophet Iddo.

Asa Succeeds Abijah in Judah

14 ^[m](X)So Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David, and his son Asa became king in his place. The land was undisturbed for ten years during his days.

^2 [n]Asa did good and right in the sight of the Lord his God, ³ for he removed ^(Y)the foreign altars and ^(Z)high places, tore down the sacred pillars, cut down the ^[o](AA)Asherim, ⁴ and commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers and to observe the law and the commandment. ⁵ He also removed the high places and the ^(AB)incense altars from all the cities of Judah. And the kingdom was undisturbed under him. ^6 (AC)He built fortified cities in Judah, since the land was undisturbed, and ^[p]there was no one at war with him during those years, ^(AD)because the Lord had given him rest. ⁷ For he said to Judah, “^(AE)Let us build these cities and surround them with walls and towers, gates and bars. The land is still ^[q]ours because we have sought the Lord our God; we have sought Him, and He has given us rest on every side.” So they built and prospered. ⁸ Now Asa had an army of ^(AF)300,000 from Judah, bearing large shields and spears, and 280,000 from Benjamin, bearing shields and wielding bows; all of them were valiant warriors.

⁹ Now Zerah the Ethiopian ^(AG)came out against them with an army of a million men and 300 chariots, and he came to ^(AH)Mareshah. ¹⁰ So Asa went out ^[r]to meet him, and they drew up in battle formation in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. ¹¹ Then Asa ^(AI)called to the Lord his God and said, “Lord, there is no one besides You to help in the battle between the powerful and those who have no strength; so help us, O Lord our God, ^(AJ)for we trust in You, and in Your name have come against this multitude. O Lord, You are our God; let not man prevail against You.” ¹² So ^(AK)the Lord ^[s]routed 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 ^(AL)Gerar; and so many Ethiopians fell that ^[t]they could not recover, for they were shattered before the Lord and before His army. And they carried away very much plunder. ¹⁴ They ^[u]destroyed all the cities around Gerar, ^(AM)for the dread of the Lord had fallen on them; and they despoiled all the cities, for there was much plunder in them. ¹⁵ They also struck down ^[v]those who owned livestock, and they carried away large numbers of sheep and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.

The Prophet Azariah Warns Asa

15 Now ^(AN)the Spirit of God came on Azariah the son of Oded, ² and he went out ^[w]to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: ^(AO)the Lord is with you when you are with Him. And ^(AP)if you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you. ^3 (AQ)For many days Israel was without the true God and without ^(AR)a teaching priest and without law. ⁴ But ^(AS)in their distress they turned to the Lord God of Israel, and they sought Him, and He let them find Him. ^5 (AT)In those times there was no peace to him who went out or to him who came in, for many disturbances ^[x]afflicted all the inhabitants of the lands. ^6 (AU)Nation was crushed by nation, and city by city, for God troubled them with every kind of distress. ⁷ But you, ^(AV)be strong and do not ^[y]lose courage, for there is ^(AW)reward for your work.”

Asa’s Reforms

⁸ Now when Asa heard these words and the ^[z]prophecy which Azariah the son of Oded the prophet spoke, he took courage and removed the abominable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and from ^(AX)the cities which he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. ^(AY)He then restored the altar of the Lord which was in front of the porch of the Lord. ⁹ He gathered all Judah and Benjamin and those from Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon ^(AZ)who resided with them, for many defected to him from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him. ¹⁰ So they assembled at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign. ^11 (BA)They sacrificed to the Lord that day 700 oxen and 7,000 sheep from the spoil they had brought. ^12 (BB)They entered into the covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and soul; ¹³ and whoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel ^(BC)should be put to death, whether small or great, man or woman. ¹⁴ Moreover, they made an oath to the Lord with a loud voice, with shouting, with trumpets and with horns. ¹⁵ All Judah rejoiced concerning the oath, for they had sworn with their whole heart and had sought Him ^[aa]earnestly, and He let them find Him. So ^(BD)the Lord gave them rest on every side.

^16 (BE)He also removed Maacah, the mother of King Asa, from the position of queen mother, because she had made a horrid image ^[ab]as ^(BF)an Asherah, and ^(BG)Asa cut down her horrid image, crushed it and burned it at the brook Kidron. ¹⁷ But the high places were not removed from Israel; nevertheless Asa’s heart was blameless all his days. ¹⁸ He brought into the house of God the dedicated things of his father and his own dedicated things: silver and gold and utensils. ¹⁹ And there was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign.

Asa Wars against Baasha

16 In the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign ^(BH)Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah and ^[ac]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 them to Ben-hadad king of Aram, who lived in Damascus, saying, ³ “Let there be a treaty between ^[ad]you and me, as 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 So Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, and they ^[ae]conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel-maim and all ^(BI)the ^[af]store cities of Naphtali. ⁵ When Baasha heard of it, he ceased ^[ag]fortifying Ramah and stopped 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 them he ^[ah]fortified Geba and Mizpah.

Asa Imprisons the Prophet

⁷ At that time ^(BJ)Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him, “^(BK)Because you have relied on the king of Aram and have not relied on the Lord your God, therefore the army of the king of Aram has escaped out of your hand. ⁸ Were not ^(BL)the Ethiopians and the Lubim ^(BM)an immense army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet ^(BN)because you relied on the Lord, He delivered them into your hand. ⁹ For ^(BO)the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those ^(BP)whose heart is completely His. You have acted foolishly in this. Indeed, from now on you will surely have wars.” ¹⁰ Then Asa was angry with the seer and put him in ^[ai]prison, for he was enraged at him for this. And Asa oppressed some of the people at the same time.

^11 (BQ)Now, the acts of Asa from first to last, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. ¹² In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa became diseased in his feet. His disease was severe, yet even in his disease he ^(BR)did not seek the Lord, but the physicians. ¹³ So Asa slept with his fathers, ^[aj]having died in the forty-first year of his reign. ¹⁴ They buried him in his own tomb which he had cut out for himself in the city of David, and they laid him in the resting place which he had filled ^(BS)with spices of various kinds blended by the perfumers’ art; and ^(BT)they made a very great fire for him.