1 Kings 15:9-24
Legacy Standard Bible
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 (A)his mother’s name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom. 11 (B)And Asa did what was right in the sight of Yahweh, like David his father. 12 (C)He also put away the male cult prostitutes from the land and (D)removed all the idols which his fathers had made. 13 [a](E)He also removed Maacah his mother from being queen mother, because she had made a horrid image [b]for Asherah; and Asa cut down her horrid image and (F)burned it at the brook Kidron. 14 (G)But the high places were not removed; nevertheless (H)the heart of Asa was [c]wholly devoted to Yahweh all his days. 15 (I)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 (J)Now there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. 17 (K)And Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and (L)built up Ramah (M)in order to prevent anyone from going out or coming in to Asa king of Judah. 18 Then (N)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 (O)King Asa sent them to Ben-hadad the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Aram, who lived in (P)Damascus, saying, 19 “Let there be a (Q)covenant between [d]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 (R)Ijon, (S)Dan, (T)Abel-beth-maacah and all (U)Chinneroth, besides all the land of Naphtali. 21 Now it happened that when Baasha heard of it, (V)he ceased building up Ramah and remained in (W)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 (X)Geba of Benjamin and Mizpah.
23 (Y)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 (Z)Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his place.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 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 15:9-24
New Living Translation
Asa Rules in Judah
9 Asa began to rule over Judah in the twentieth year of Jeroboam’s reign in Israel. 10 He reigned in Jerusalem forty-one years. His grandmother[a] was Maacah, the granddaughter of Absalom.
11 Asa did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight, as his ancestor David had done. 12 He banished the male and female shrine prostitutes from the land and got rid of all the idols[b] his ancestors had made. 13 He even deposed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother because she had made an obscene Asherah pole. He cut down her obscene pole and burned it in the Kidron Valley. 14 Although the pagan shrines were not removed, Asa’s heart remained completely faithful to the Lord throughout his life. 15 He brought into the Temple of the Lord the silver and gold and the various items that he and his father had dedicated.
16 There was constant war between King Asa of Judah and King Baasha of Israel. 17 King Baasha of Israel invaded Judah and fortified Ramah in order to prevent anyone from entering or leaving King Asa’s territory in Judah.
18 Asa responded by removing all the silver and gold that was left in the treasuries of the Temple of the Lord and the royal palace. He sent it with some of his officials to Ben-hadad son of Tabrimmon, son of Hezion, the king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus, along with this message:
19 “Let there be a treaty[c] between you and me like the one between your father and my father. See, I am sending you a gift of silver and gold. Break your treaty with King Baasha of Israel so that he will leave me alone.”
20 Ben-hadad agreed to King Asa’s request and sent the commanders of his army to attack the towns of Israel. They conquered the towns of Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah, and all Kinnereth, and all the land of Naphtali. 21 As soon as Baasha of Israel heard what was happening, he abandoned his project of fortifying Ramah and withdrew to Tirzah. 22 Then King Asa sent an order throughout Judah, requiring that everyone, without exception, help to carry away the building stones and timbers that Baasha had been using to fortify Ramah. Asa used these materials to fortify the town of Geba in Benjamin and the town of Mizpah.
23 The rest of the events in Asa’s reign—the extent of his power, everything he did, and the names of the cities he built—are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Judah. In his old age his feet became diseased. 24 When Asa died, he was buried with his ancestors in the City of David.
Then Jehoshaphat, Asa’s son, became the next king.
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