2 Chronicles 16
Christian Standard Bible
Asa’s Treaty with Aram
16 In the thirty-sixth year of Asa,(A) Israel’s King Baasha went to war against Judah. He built Ramah in order to keep anyone from leaving or coming to King Asa of Judah. 2 So Asa brought out the silver and gold from the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and the royal palace and sent it to Aram’s King Ben-hadad, who lived in Damascus, saying, 3 “There’s a treaty between me and you, between my father and your father. Look, I have sent you silver and gold. Go break your treaty with Israel’s King Baasha so that he will withdraw from me.”
4 Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies to the cities of Israel. They attacked Ijon, Dan, Abel-maim,[a] and all the storage cities[b] of Naphtali. 5 When Baasha heard about it, he quit building Ramah and stopped his work. 6 Then King Asa brought all Judah, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and the timbers Baasha had built it with. Then he built Geba and Mizpah with them.
Hanani’s Rebuke of Asa
7 At that time, the seer Hanani(B) came to King Asa of Judah and said to him, “Because you depended on the king of Aram and have not depended on the Lord your God,(C) the army of the king of Aram has escaped from you. 8 Were not the Cushites and Libyans a vast army with many chariots and horsemen?(D) When you depended on the Lord, he handed them over to you.(E) 9 For the eyes of the Lord roam throughout the earth(F) to show himself strong for those who are wholeheartedly devoted to him.(G) You have been foolish in this matter. Therefore, you will have wars from now on.” 10 Asa was enraged with the seer and put him in prison[c] because of his anger over this. And Asa mistreated some of the people at that time.
Asa’s Death
11 Note that the events(H) of Asa’s reign, from beginning to end, are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 12 In the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa developed a disease in his feet, and his disease became increasingly severe. Yet even in his disease he didn’t seek the Lord but only the physicians. 13 Asa rested with his ancestors; he died in the forty-first year of his reign. 14 He was buried in his own tomb that he had made for himself in the city of David. They laid him out in a coffin that was full of spices and various mixtures of prepared ointments;(I) then they made a great fire in his honor.(J)
2 Chronicles 16
EasyEnglish Bible
King Baasha of Israel attacks Judah
16 After Asa had been king of Judah for 36 years, King Baasha of Israel attacked Judah.[a] He put a group of his soldiers in Ramah and he made it a strong town. As a result, nobody could travel into Judah or out of Judah, where King Asa ruled.[b]
2 Then Asa took all the silver and gold that they had stored in the Lord's temple and in the king's palace. He sent it to Ben-Hadad, king of Syria, who lived in Damascus. 3 He also sent this message to Ben-Hadad: ‘We should make an agreement to be friends, as our fathers did. I am sending you this silver and gold. Please stop being friends with Baasha, king of Israel. If you no longer help him, he will have to take his soldiers out of my country.’
4 Ben-Hadad agreed to do what King Asa asked him to do. He sent his army with its leaders to attack towns in Israel. They won the battles at Ijon, Dan, Abel-Maim and all the cities of Naphtali's tribe where they stored things. 5 When King Baasha heard this news, he stopped the work in Ramah and he went away. 6 Then King Asa told all the men in Judah to do some hard work. They had to carry away from Ramah all the big stones and the wood that Baasha had been using there. Then King Asa used those things to make Geba and Mizpah strong towns again.
Hanani warns King Asa
7 At that time, the prophet Hanani went to visit Asa, king of Judah. He said to him, ‘You asked the king of Syria to help you. You should have trusted the Lord your God to help you instead. Because of that, the army of Syria's king has escaped from your power. 8 The armies of Ethiopia and Libya were very large. They had lots of chariots and soldiers who rode on horses. But you trusted the Lord when they attacked you, and he put them under your power. 9 The Lord carefully watches over the whole earth. If people serve him faithfully, he makes them strong. But you have done a foolish thing. As a result, you will now always be fighting wars.’
10 Asa was angry with the prophet, so he put him in prison. At that time Asa also started to do cruel things to some people.
Asa dies
11 All the things that happened while Asa was king are written in a book. The book is called ‘The history of the kings of Judah and Israel’. 12 When Asa had been king for 39 years, he had a disease in his feet. He became very ill, but he did not ask the Lord to help him. Instead, he asked doctors to make him better.
13 Asa died when he had been king for 41 years. 14 His people buried him in the grave that he had prepared for himself in the City of David. They put him on a special bed that had spices and different kinds of perfume on it. They burned a large fire to give him honour.
Footnotes
- 16:1 King Baasha of Israel had been an enemy of Judah since he became king. See 1 Kings 15:16.
- 16:1 Ramah was on the main road about 8 kilometres north of Jerusalem. It was a town that was part of Asa's kingdom, in land that belonged to Benjamin's tribe.
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