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2 Chronicles 16
New English Translation

16 1 In the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign, King Baasha of Israel attacked Judah, and he established Ramah as a military outpost to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the land of King Asa of Judah.[a] 2 Asa took all the silver and gold that was left in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and of the royal palace and sent it to King Ben Hadad of Syria, ruler in Damascus, along with this message: 3 “I want to make a treaty with you, like the one our fathers made.[b] See, I have sent you silver and gold. Break your treaty with King Baasha of Israel, so he will retreat from my land.”[c] 4 Ben Hadad accepted King Asa’s offer and ordered his army commanders to attack the cities of Israel.[d] They conquered[e] Ijon, Dan, Abel Maim,[f] and all the storage cities of Naphtali. 5 When Baasha heard the news, he stopped fortifying[g] Ramah and abandoned the project.[h] 6 King Asa ordered all the men of Judah to carry away the stones and wood that Baasha had used to build Ramah.[i] He used the materials to build up[j] Geba and Mizpah.

7 At that time Hanani the prophet[k] visited King Asa of Judah and said to him: “Because you relied on the king of Syria and did not rely on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Syria has escaped from your hand. 8 Did not the Cushites and Libyans have a huge army with chariots and a very large number of horsemen? But when you relied on the Lord, he handed them over to you! 9 Certainly[l] the Lord watches the whole earth carefully[m] and is ready to strengthen those who are devoted to him.[n] You have acted foolishly in this matter; from now on you will have war.” 10 Asa was so angry at the prophet, he put him in jail.[o] Asa also oppressed some of the people at that time.

Asa’s Reign Ends

11 The events of Asa’s reign, from start to finish, are recorded in the Scroll of the Kings of Judah and Israel.[p] 12 In the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa developed a foot disease and his disease became severe. Yet even in his disease, he did not seek the Lord, but only the doctors. 13 Asa passed away[q] in the forty-first year of his reign. 14 He was buried in the tomb he had carved out in the City of David.[r] They laid him to rest on a platform[s] covered with spices and assorted mixtures of ointments. They made a huge bonfire to honor him.[t]

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 16:1 tn Heb “and he built up Ramah so as to not permit going out or coming in to Asa king of Judah.”
  2. 2 Chronicles 16:3 tn Heb “[May there be] a covenant between me and you [as there was] between my father and your father.”
  3. 2 Chronicles 16:3 tn Heb “so he will go up from upon me.”
  4. 2 Chronicles 16:4 tn Heb “and Ben Hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of the armies which belonged to him against the cities of Israel.”
  5. 2 Chronicles 16:4 tn Heb “They struck down.”
  6. 2 Chronicles 16:4 sn In the parallel passage in 1 Kgs 15:20, this city’s name appears as Abel Beth Maacah. These appear to be variant names for the same place.
  7. 2 Chronicles 16:5 tn Heb “building.”
  8. 2 Chronicles 16:5 tn Heb “and he caused his work to cease.”
  9. 2 Chronicles 16:6 tn Heb “and King Asa took all Judah and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its wood which Baasha had built.”
  10. 2 Chronicles 16:6 tn Heb “and he built with them.”
  11. 2 Chronicles 16:7 tn Heb “the seer.”
  12. 2 Chronicles 16:9 tn Or “for.”
  13. 2 Chronicles 16:9 tn Heb “the eyes of the Lord move quickly through all the earth.”
  14. 2 Chronicles 16:9 tn Heb “to strengthen himself with their heart, [the one] complete toward him.”
  15. 2 Chronicles 16:10 tn Heb “and Asa was angry at the seer, and he put him [in] the house of stocks, because of his rage with him over this.”
  16. 2 Chronicles 16:11 tn Heb “Look, the events of Asa, the former and the latter, look, they are written on the scroll of the kings of Judah and Israel.”
  17. 2 Chronicles 16:13 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers, and he died.”
  18. 2 Chronicles 16:14 sn The phrase the City of David refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7.
  19. 2 Chronicles 16:14 tn The Hebrew term מִשְׁכָּב (mishkav) most often refers to a bed. In this setting it was most likely a raised platform within the tomb where the body was laid to rest, technically similar to a bier.
  20. 2 Chronicles 16:14 tn Heb “and they burned for him a large fire, very great.”
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2 Chronicles 16
New Living Translation

Final Years of Asa’s Reign

16 In the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign, King Baasha of Israel invaded Judah and fortified Ramah in order to prevent anyone from entering or leaving King Asa’s territory in Judah.

2 Asa responded by removing the silver and gold from the treasuries of the Temple of the Lord and the royal palace. He sent it to King Ben-hadad of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus, along with this message:

3 “Let there be a treaty[a] between you and me like the one between your father and my father. See, I am sending you silver and gold. Break your treaty with King Baasha of Israel so that he will leave me alone.”

4 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,[b] and all the store cities in Naphtali. 5 As soon as Baasha of Israel heard what was happening, he abandoned his project of fortifying Ramah and stopped all work on it. 6 Then King Asa called out all the men of Judah to carry away the building stones and timbers that Baasha had been using to fortify Ramah. Asa used these materials to fortify the towns of Geba and Mizpah.

7 At that time Hanani the seer came to King Asa and told him, “Because you have put your trust in the king of Aram instead of in the Lord your God, you missed your chance to destroy the army of the king of Aram. 8 Don’t you remember what happened to the Ethiopians[c] and Libyans and their vast army, with all of their chariots and charioteers?[d] At that time you relied on the Lord, and he handed them over to you. 9 The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. What a fool you have been! From now on you will be at war.”

10 Asa became so angry with Hanani for saying this that he threw him into prison and put him in stocks. At that time Asa also began to oppress some of his people.

Summary of Asa’s Reign

11 The rest of the events of Asa’s reign, from beginning to end, are recorded in The Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 12 In the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa developed a serious foot disease. Yet even with the severity of his disease, he did not seek the Lord’s help but turned only to his physicians. 13 So he died in the forty-first year of his reign. 14 He was buried in the tomb he had carved out for himself in the City of David. He was laid on a bed perfumed with sweet spices and fragrant ointments, and the people built a huge funeral fire in his honor.

Footnotes

  1. 16:3 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads There is a treaty.
  2. 16:4 As in parallel text at 1 Kgs 15:20; Hebrew reads Abel-maim, another name for Abel-beth-maacah.
  3. 16:8a Hebrew Cushites.
  4. 16:8b Or and horsemen?
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2 Chronicles 15
2 Chronicles 17
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New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.