1 Kings 15
New American 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 for 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 did not deviate from anything that He commanded him all the days of his life, (G)except in the case of Uriah the Hittite. 6 (H)And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life.
7 Now as for (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 [d]lay down with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David; and his son Asa 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 for forty-one years in Jerusalem; and (L)his mother’s name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom. 11 Now (M)Asa did what was right in the sight of the Lord, like his father David. 12 (N)He also removed the male cult prostitutes from the land and (O)removed all the idols which his fathers had made. 13 And even his mother Maacah, (P)he also removed her from the position of queen mother, because she had made an abominable image [e]as an Asherah; and Asa cut down her abominable image and (Q)burned it at the brook Kidron. 14 (R)But the high places [f]were not eliminated; nevertheless (S)Asa’s heart was [g]wholly devoted to the Lord all his days. 15 And (T)he brought into the house of the Lord the [h]holy gifts of his father and his own [i]holy gifts: silver, gold, and valuable utensils.
16 (U)Now there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. 17 (V)Baasha king of Israel marched against Judah and [j](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 that was left in the treasuries of the house of the Lord and the treasuries of the king’s house, and handed it over to 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’s make a (AB)treaty between [k]you and me, as there was between my father and your father. Behold, I have sent you a gift 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 [l]conquered (AC)Ijon, (AD)Dan, (AE)Abel-beth-maacah, and all (AF)Chinneroth, besides all the land of Naphtali. 21 When Baasha heard about it, (AG)he stopped [m]fortifying Ramah and remained in (AH)Tirzah. 22 Then King Asa made a proclamation to all Judah—no one was exempt—and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its timber with which Baasha had built fortifications. And King Asa built with them (AI)Geba of Benjamin and Mizpah.
Jehoshaphat Succeeds Asa
23 (AJ)Now as for 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 [n]lay down with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of his father David; and his son (AK)Jehoshaphat reigned in his place.
Nadab and Then Baasha Rule 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 for two years. 26 He did evil in the sight of the Lord, and (AM)walked in the way of his father and (AN)in his sin into which he misled Israel. 27 Then (AO)Baasha the son of Ahijah of the house of Issachar conspired against him, and Baasha struck and killed him at (AP)Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines, while 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 struck and killed all the household of Jeroboam. He did not leave Jeroboam any [o]persons alive, but kept killing until he had eliminated them, (AQ)in accordance with the word of the Lord which He spoke by His servant Ahijah the Shilonite, 30 and because of the sins of Jeroboam which he [p]committed, and into (AR)which he misled Israel, because of his provocation with which he provoked the Lord God of Israel to anger.
31 (AS)Now as for 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?
War with Judah
32 (AT)And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.
33 In the third year of Asa king of Judah, Baasha the son of Ahijah became king over all Israel at Tirzah, and he reigned for twenty-four years. 34 And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, and (AU)walked in the way of Jeroboam and in his sin into which he misled Israel.
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 15:8 I.e., died
- 1 Kings 15:13 Or for Asherah; i.e., wooden symbol of a female deity
- 1 Kings 15:14 Lit did not cease
- 1 Kings 15:14 Lit complete with
- 1 Kings 15:15 Or votive offerings; i.e., gifts vowed
- 1 Kings 15:15 Or votive offerings; i.e., gifts vowed
- 1 Kings 15:17 Lit built
- 1 Kings 15:19 Lit me and you
- 1 Kings 15:20 Lit struck
- 1 Kings 15:21 Lit building
- 1 Kings 15:24 I.e., died
- 1 Kings 15:29 Lit breath
- 1 Kings 15:30 Lit sinned
1 Kings 15
Names of God Bible
King Abijam of Judah(A)
15 In the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam (Nebat’s son), Abijam began to rule Judah. 2 He ruled for three years in Jerusalem. His mother was named Maacah, daughter of Abishalom. 3 He followed the sinful example his father had set and wasn’t committed to Yahweh his Elohim as his ancestor David had been. 4 But for David’s sake Yahweh his Elohim made Abijam a lamp in Jerusalem. He appointed David’s descendant to rule after him and protected Jerusalem. 5 Yahweh did this because David did what Yahweh considered right: David never failed to do anything Yahweh commanded him to do his entire life (except in the matter concerning Uriah the Hittite).
6 There was war between Abijam[a] and Rehoboam throughout their lives.
7 Isn’t everything else about Abijam—everything he did—written in the official records of the kings of Judah? There was war between Abijam and Jeroboam. 8 Abijam lay down in death with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. His son Asa succeeded him as king.
King Asa of Judah(B)
9 In Jeroboam’s twentieth year as king of Israel, Asa began to rule as king of Judah. 10 He ruled 41 years in Jerusalem. His grandmother was named Maacah, daughter of Abishalom.
11 Asa did what Yahweh considered right, as his ancestor David had done. 12 He forced the male temple prostitutes out of the land and got rid of the idols his father had made. 13 He also removed his grandmother Maacah from the position of queen mother because she made a statue of the repulsive goddess Asherah. Asa cut the statue down and burned it in the Kidron Valley. 14 Although the illegal worship sites were not torn down, Asa remained committed to Yahweh his entire life. 15 He brought into Yahweh’s temple the silver, the gold, and the utensils he and his father had set apart as holy.
King Asa’s War with King Baasha(C)
16 There was war between Asa and King Baasha of Israel as long as they lived. 17 King Baasha of Israel invaded Judah and fortified Ramah to keep anyone from going to or coming from King Asa of Judah.
18 Then Asa took all the silver and gold that was left in the treasuries of Yahweh’s temple and the royal palace and turned them over to his officials. King Asa sent them to Damascus to Aram’s King Benhadad, son of Tabrimmon and grandson of Hezion. 19 He said, “There’s a treaty between you and me as there was between your father and my father. I’m sending you a present of silver and gold. Now break your treaty with King Baasha of Israel so that he will leave me alone.”
20 Benhadad did what King Asa requested. He sent his generals and their armies to attack the cities of Israel. He conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel Beth Maacah, and the entire area around Chinneroth with the entire territory of Naphtali. 21 When Baasha heard the news, he stopped fortifying Ramah and lived in Tirzah. 22 Then King Asa drafted everyone in Judah and excused no one. He made them carry the stones and lumber from Ramah. Baasha had been using those to fortify the city. King Asa used the materials to fortify Geba in Benjamin and Mizpah.
23 Isn’t everything else about Asa—all his heroic acts, everything he did, and the cities he fortified—written in the official records of the kings of Judah? But when he was old, he had a foot disease. 24 Asa lay down in death with his ancestors. He was buried with his ancestors in the city of his ancestor, David. His son Jehoshaphat succeeded him as king.
King Baasha Overthrows Nadab, Son of Jeroboam
25 Nadab, son of Jeroboam, began to rule Israel in Asa’s second year as king of Judah. He ruled for two years. 26 He did what Yahweh considered evil, living as his father did, leading Israel into the same sins.
27 Then Baasha, son of Ahijah from the tribe of Issachar, plotted against Nadab. Baasha assassinated him in the Philistine city of Gibbethon while Nadab and the Israelite forces were attacking it. 28 The assassination happened in Asa’s third year as king of Judah. Baasha succeeded Nadab as king of Israel. 29 As soon as he was king, he killed everyone else in Jeroboam’s family. He did not spare a soul, as Yahweh had spoken through his servant Ahijah from Shiloh. 30 This was because of Jeroboam’s sins and the sins which he led Israel to commit. Those sins made Yahweh Elohim of Israel furious.
31 Isn’t everything else about Nadab—everything he did—written in the official records of the kings of Israel? 32 There was war between Asa and Baasha as long as they lived.
33 In Asa’s third year as king of Judah, Baasha, son of Ahijah, began to rule Israel in Tirzah. He ruled for 24 years. 34 He did what Yahweh considered evil. He lived like Jeroboam and led Israel into committing the same sins.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 15:6 Some Hebrew manuscripts; other Hebrew manuscripts “Jeroboam.”
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The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.