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,^[a] and all the store cities in Naphtali.

¹⁵ They have wandered off the right road and followed the footsteps of Balaam son of Beor,^[a] who loved to earn money by doing wrong.

¹⁰ For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

¹² So Jehoshaphat became more and more powerful and built fortresses and storage cities throughout Judah.

⁶ He also rebuilt Baalath and other supply centers and constructed towns where his chariots and horses^[a] could be stationed. He built everything he desired in Jerusalem and Lebanon and throughout his entire realm.

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.

¹⁹ He built towns as supply centers and constructed towns where his chariots and horses^[a] could be stationed. He built everything he desired in Jerusalem and Lebanon and throughout his entire realm.

Israel’s War with Benjamin

20 Then all the Israelites were united as one man, from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south, including those from across the Jordan in the land of Gilead. The entire community assembled in the presence of the Lord at Mizpah.

²⁸ There was no one to rescue the people, for they lived a great distance from Sidon and had no allies nearby. This happened in the valley near Beth-rehob.

Then the people of the tribe of Dan rebuilt the town and lived there. ²⁹ They renamed the town Dan after their ancestor, Israel’s son, but it had originally been called Laish.

¹¹ So the Egyptians made the Israelites their slaves. They appointed brutal slave drivers over them, hoping to wear them down with crushing labor. They forced them to build the cities of Pithom and Rameses as supply centers for the king.