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2 Chronicles 13-16
New English Translation

Abijah’s Reign

13 In the eighteenth year of the reign of King Jeroboam, Abijah became king over Judah. 2 He ruled for three years in Jerusalem. His mother[a] was Michaiah, the daughter of Uriel from Gibeah.[b]

There was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. 3 Abijah launched the attack with 400,000 well-trained warriors,[c] while Jeroboam deployed against him 800,000 well-trained warriors.[d]

4 Abijah ascended Mount Zemaraim, in the Ephraimite hill country, and said: “Listen to me, Jeroboam and all Israel! 5 Don’t you realize that the Lord God of Israel has given David and his dynasty lasting dominion over Israel by a formal covenant?[e] 6 Jeroboam son of Nebat, a servant of Solomon son of David, rose up and rebelled against his master. 7 Lawless good-for-nothing men[f] gathered around him and conspired[g] against Rehoboam son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was an inexperienced young man[h] and could not resist them. 8 Now you are declaring that you will resist the Lord’s rule through the Davidic dynasty.[i] You have a huge army,[j] and bring with you the gold calves that Jeroboam made for you as gods. 9 But you banished[k] the Lord’s priests, Aaron’s descendants, and the Levites, and appointed your own priests just as the surrounding nations do! Anyone who comes to consecrate himself with a young bull or seven rams becomes a priest of these fake gods![l] 10 But as for us, the Lord is our God and we have not rejected him. Aaron’s descendants serve as the Lord’s priests, and the Levites assist them with the work.[m] 11 They offer burnt sacrifices to the Lord every morning and every evening, along with fragrant incense. They arrange the Bread of the Presence on a ritually clean table and light the lamps on the gold lampstand every evening. Certainly[n] we are observing the Lord our God’s regulations, but you have rejected him. 12 Now look, God is with us as our leader. His priests are ready to blow the trumpets to signal the attack against you.[o] You Israelites, don’t fight against the Lord God of your ancestors,[p] for you will not win!”

13 Now Jeroboam had sent some men to ambush the Judahite army from behind.[q] The main army was in front of the Judahite army;[r] the ambushers were behind it. 14 The men of Judah turned around and realized they were being attacked from the front and the rear.[s] So they cried out to the Lord for help. The priests blew their trumpets, 15 and the men of Judah gave the battle cry. As the men of Judah gave the battle cry, God struck down Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. 16 The Israelites fled from before the Judahite army,[t] and God handed them over to the men of Judah.[u] 17 Abijah and his army thoroughly defeated them;[v] 500,000 well-trained Israelite men fell dead.[w] 18 That day[x] the Israelites were defeated; the men of Judah prevailed because they relied on the Lord God of their ancestors.

19 Abijah chased Jeroboam; he seized from him these cities: Bethel and its surrounding towns, Jeshanah and its surrounding towns, and Ephron and its surrounding towns. 20 Jeroboam did not regain power during the reign of Abijah.[y] The Lord struck him down and he died. 21 Abijah’s power grew; he had[z] fourteen wives and fathered twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters.

22 The rest of the events of Abijah’s reign, including his deeds and sayings,[aa] are recorded in the writings of the prophet Iddo.

14 (13:23)[ab] Abijah passed away[ac] and was buried in the City of David.[ad] His son Asa replaced him as king. During his reign[ae] the land had rest for ten years.

Asa’s Religious and Military Accomplishments

2 (14:1) Asa did what the Lord his God desired and approved.[af] 3 He removed the pagan altars[ag] and the high places, smashed the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles.[ah] 4 He ordered Judah to seek the Lord God of their ancestors[ai] and to observe his law and commands.[aj] 5 He removed the high places and the incense altars from all the towns of Judah. The kingdom had rest under his rule.[ak]

6 He built fortified cities throughout Judah, for the land was at rest and there was no war during those years; the Lord gave him peace. 7 He said to the people of Judah:[al] “Let’s build these cities and fortify them with walls, towers, and barred gates.[am] The land remains ours because we have followed[an] the Lord our God; we have followed him, and he has made us secure on all sides.”[ao] So they built the cities[ap] and prospered.

8 Asa had an army of 300,000 men from Judah, equipped with large shields and spears. He also had 280,000 men from Benjamin who carried small shields and were adept archers; they were all skilled warriors. 9 Zerah the Cushite marched against them with an army of 1,000,000 men[aq] and 300 chariots . He arrived at Mareshah, 10 and Asa went out to oppose him. They deployed for battle in the Valley of Zephathah near Mareshah.

11 Asa prayed[ar] to the Lord his God: “O Lord, there is no one but you who can help the weak when they are vastly outnumbered.[as] Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you and have marched on your behalf against this huge army.[at] O Lord, you are our God; don’t let men prevail against you!”[au] 12 The Lord struck down the Cushites before Asa and Judah. The Cushites fled, 13 and Asa and his army chased them as far as Gerar. The Cushites were wiped out;[av] they were shattered before the Lord and his army. The men of Judah[aw] carried off a huge amount of plunder. 14 They defeated all the towns surrounding Gerar, for the Lord caused them to panic.[ax] The men of Judah[ay] looted all the towns, for they contained a huge amount of goods.[az] 15 They also attacked the tents of the herdsmen in charge of the livestock.[ba] They carried off many sheep and camels and then returned to Jerusalem.

15 God’s Spirit came upon Azariah son of Oded. 2 He met[bb] Asa and told him, “Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin! The Lord is with you when you are loyal to him.[bc] If you seek him, he will respond to you,[bd] but if you reject him, he will reject you. 3 For a long time[be] Israel had not sought the one true God, or a priest to instruct them, or the law. 4 Because of their distress, they turned back to the Lord God of Israel. They sought him and he responded to them.[bf] 5 In those days[bg] no one could travel safely,[bh] for total chaos had overtaken all the people of the surrounding lands.[bi] 6 One nation was crushed by another, and one city by another, for God caused them to be in great turmoil.[bj] 7 But as for you, be strong and don’t get discouraged,[bk] for your work will be rewarded.”[bl]

8 When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he was encouraged.[bm] He removed the detestable idols from the entire land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities he had seized in the Ephraimite hill country. He repaired the altar of the Lord in front of the porch of the Lord’s temple.[bn]

9 He assembled all Judah and Benjamin, as well as the settlers[bo] from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who had come to live with them. Many people from Israel had come there to live[bp] when they saw that the Lord his God was with him. 10 They assembled in Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign. 11 At that time[bq] they sacrificed to the Lord some of the plunder they had brought back, including 700 head of cattle and 7,000 sheep.[br] 12 They solemnly agreed[bs] to seek the Lord God of their ancestors[bt] with their whole heart and being. 13 Anyone who would not seek the Lord God of Israel would be executed, whether they were young or old,[bu] male or female. 14 They swore their allegiance to the Lord, shouting their approval loudly and sounding trumpets and horns.[bv] 15 All Judah was happy about the oath, because they made the vow with their whole heart. They willingly sought the Lord and he responded to them.[bw] He made them secure on every side.[bx]

16 King Asa also removed Maacah his grandmother[by] from her position as queen mother[bz] because she had made a loathsome Asherah pole. Asa cut down her loathsome pole and crushed and burned it in the Kidron Valley. 17 The high places were not eliminated from Israel, yet Asa was wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord throughout his lifetime.[ca] 18 He brought the holy items that his father and he had made into God’s temple, including the silver, gold, and other articles.[cb]

Asa’s Failures

19 There was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign. 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.[cc] 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.[cd] See, I have sent you silver and gold. Break your treaty with King Baasha of Israel, so he will retreat from my land.”[ce] 4 Ben Hadad accepted King Asa’s offer and ordered his army commanders to attack the cities of Israel.[cf] They conquered[cg] Ijon, Dan, Abel Maim,[ch] and all the storage cities of Naphtali. 5 When Baasha heard the news, he stopped fortifying[ci] Ramah and abandoned the project.[cj] 6 King Asa ordered all the men of Judah to carry away the stones and wood that Baasha had used to build Ramah.[ck] He used the materials to build up[cl] Geba and Mizpah.

7 At that time Hanani the prophet[cm] 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[cn] the Lord watches the whole earth carefully[co] and is ready to strengthen those who are devoted to him.[cp] 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.[cq] 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.[cr] 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[cs] in the forty-first year of his reign. 14 He was buried in the tomb he had carved out in the City of David.[ct] They laid him to rest on a platform[cu] covered with spices and assorted mixtures of ointments. They made a huge bonfire to honor him.[cv]

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 13:2 tnHeb “The name of his mother.”
  2. 2 Chronicles 13:2 tn The parallel text in 1 Kgs 15:2 identifies his mother as “Maacah, the daughter of Abishalom” (=Absalom, 2 Chr 11:20). Although most English versions identify the mother’s father as Uriel of Gibeah, a number of English versions substitute the name “Maacah” here for the mother (e.g., NIV, NCV, CEV, NLT).
  3. 2 Chronicles 13:3 tn Heb “and Abijah bound [i.e., began] the battle with a force of men of war, 400,000 chosen men.”
  4. 2 Chronicles 13:3 tn Heb “and Jeroboam arranged with him [for] battle with 800,000 chosen men, strong warrior[s].”
  5. 2 Chronicles 13:5 tn Heb “Do you not know that the Lord God of Israel has given kingship to David over Israel permanently, to him and to his sons [by] a covenant of salt?”sn For other references to a “covenant of salt,” see Lev 2:13 and Num 18:19.
  6. 2 Chronicles 13:7 tn Heb “empty men, sons of wickedness.”
  7. 2 Chronicles 13:7 tn Heb “strengthened themselves.”
  8. 2 Chronicles 13:7 tn Heb “a young man and tender of heart.”
  9. 2 Chronicles 13:8 tn Heb “the kingdom of the Lord by the hand of the sons of David.”
  10. 2 Chronicles 13:8 tn Or “horde”; or “multitude.”
  11. 2 Chronicles 13:9 tn In the Hebrew text this is phrased as a rhetorical question, “Did you not banish?” The rhetorical question expects the answer, “Of course you did,” the force of which is reflected in the translation “But you banished.”
  12. 2 Chronicles 13:9 tn Heb “whoever comes to fill his hand with a bull, a son of cattle, and seven rams, and he is a priest to no-gods.”
  13. 2 Chronicles 13:10 tn Heb “and priests serving the Lord [are] the sons of Aaron and the Levites in the work.”
  14. 2 Chronicles 13:11 tn Or “for.”
  15. 2 Chronicles 13:12 tn Heb “and his priests and the trumpets of the war alarm [are ready] to sound out against you.”
  16. 2 Chronicles 13:12 tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 18).
  17. 2 Chronicles 13:13 tn Heb “and Jeroboam had caused to circle around an ambush to come from behind them.”
  18. 2 Chronicles 13:13 tn Heb “Judah.”
  19. 2 Chronicles 13:14 tn Heb “and Judah turned, and, look, to them [was] the battle in front and behind.”
  20. 2 Chronicles 13:16 tn Heb “Judah.”
  21. 2 Chronicles 13:16 tn Heb “them”; the referent (the men of Judah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  22. 2 Chronicles 13:17 tn Heb “struck them down with a great striking down.”
  23. 2 Chronicles 13:17 tn Heb “and [the] slain from Israel fell, 500,000 chosen men.”
  24. 2 Chronicles 13:18 tn Heb “at that time.”
  25. 2 Chronicles 13:20 tn Heb “and the strength of Jeroboam was not retained again in the days of Abijah.”
  26. 2 Chronicles 13:21 tn Heb “lifted up for himself.”
  27. 2 Chronicles 13:22 tn Heb “and his ways and his words.”
  28. 2 Chronicles 14:1 sn Beginning with 14:1, the verse numbers through 14:15 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 14:1 ET = 13:23 HT, 14:2 ET = 14:1 HT, 14:3 ET = 14:2 HT, etc., through 14:15 ET = 14:14 HT. Beginning with 15:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.
  29. 2 Chronicles 14:1 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
  30. 2 Chronicles 14:1 sn The phrase the City of David refers here to the fortress of Zion in Jerusalem, not to Bethlehem. See 2 Sam 5:7.
  31. 2 Chronicles 14:1 tn Heb “in his days.”
  32. 2 Chronicles 14:2 tn Heb “and Asa did the good and the right in the eyes of the Lord his God.”
  33. 2 Chronicles 14:3 tn Heb “the altars of the foreigner.”
  34. 2 Chronicles 14:3 sn Asherah poles. A leading deity of the Canaanite pantheon was Asherah, wife/sister of El and goddess of fertility. She was commonly worshiped at shrines in or near groves of evergreen trees, or, failing that, at places marked by wooden poles (Hebrew אֲשֵׁרִים [ʾasherim], as here). They were to be burned or cut down (Deut 7:5; 12:3; 16:21; Judg 6:25, 28, 30; 2 Kgs 18:4).
  35. 2 Chronicles 14:4 tn Heb “fathers.”
  36. 2 Chronicles 14:4 tn Heb “the law and the command.”
  37. 2 Chronicles 14:5 tn Heb “before him.”
  38. 2 Chronicles 14:7 tn The words “the people of” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The Hebrew text uses the name “Judah” by metonymy for the people of Judah.
  39. 2 Chronicles 14:7 tn Heb “and we will surround [them] with wall[s] and towers, doors, and bars.”
  40. 2 Chronicles 14:7 tn Heb “sought.”
  41. 2 Chronicles 14:7 tn Heb “we sought him, and he has given us rest all around.”
  42. 2 Chronicles 14:7 tn The words “the cities” are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.
  43. 2 Chronicles 14:9 tn Heb “a thousand thousands.”
  44. 2 Chronicles 14:11 tn Heb “called out.”
  45. 2 Chronicles 14:11 tn Heb “there is not except you to help between many with regard to [the one] without strength.”
  46. 2 Chronicles 14:11 tn Heb “and in your name we have come against this multitude.”
  47. 2 Chronicles 14:11 tn Heb “let not man retain [strength] with you.”
  48. 2 Chronicles 14:13 tn Heb “and there fell from the Cushites so that there was not to them preservation of life.”
  49. 2 Chronicles 14:13 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the men of Judah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  50. 2 Chronicles 14:14 tn Heb “for the terror of the Lord was upon them.”
  51. 2 Chronicles 14:14 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the men of Judah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  52. 2 Chronicles 14:14 tn Heb “for great plunder was in them.”
  53. 2 Chronicles 14:15 tn Heb “and also they struck down the tents of the livestock.”
  54. 2 Chronicles 15:2 tn Heb “went out before.”
  55. 2 Chronicles 15:2 tn Heb “when you are with him.”
  56. 2 Chronicles 15:2 tn Heb “he will allow himself to be found by you.”
  57. 2 Chronicles 15:3 tn Heb “Many days.”
  58. 2 Chronicles 15:4 tn Heb “and he allowed himself to be found by them.”
  59. 2 Chronicles 15:5 tn Heb “times.”
  60. 2 Chronicles 15:5 tn Heb “there was no peace for the one going out or the one coming in.”
  61. 2 Chronicles 15:5 tn Heb “for great confusion was upon all the inhabitants of the lands.”
  62. 2 Chronicles 15:6 tn Heb “threw them into confusion with all distress.”
  63. 2 Chronicles 15:7 tn Heb “and let not your hands drop.”
  64. 2 Chronicles 15:7 tn Heb “for there is payment for your work.”
  65. 2 Chronicles 15:8 tn Heb “strengthened himself.”
  66. 2 Chronicles 15:8 tn Heb “the porch of the Lord.”
  67. 2 Chronicles 15:9 tn Or “foreign residents.”
  68. 2 Chronicles 15:9 tn Heb “had fallen upon him.”
  69. 2 Chronicles 15:11 tn Or “In that day.”
  70. 2 Chronicles 15:11 tn The Hebrew term צֹאן (tsoʾn) denotes smaller livestock in general; depending on context it can refer to sheep only or goats only, but their is nothing in the immediate context here to specify one or the other.
  71. 2 Chronicles 15:12 tn Heb “entered into a covenant.”
  72. 2 Chronicles 15:12 tn Heb “fathers.”
  73. 2 Chronicles 15:13 tn Heb “whether small or great.”
  74. 2 Chronicles 15:14 tn Heb “with a loud voice and with a shout of joy and with trumpets and with horns.”
  75. 2 Chronicles 15:15 tn Heb “and with all their desire they sought him and he allowed himself to be found by them.”
  76. 2 Chronicles 15:15 tn Heb “and the Lord gave them rest all around.”
  77. 2 Chronicles 15:16 tn Heb “mother,” but Hebrew often uses “father” and “mother” for grandparents and even more remote ancestors.
  78. 2 Chronicles 15:16 tn The Hebrew term גְּבִירָה (gevirah) can denote “queen” or “queen mother” depending on the context. Here the latter is indicated, since Maacah was the wife of Rehoboam and mother of Abijah.
  79. 2 Chronicles 15:17 tn Heb “yet the heart of Asa was complete all his days.”
  80. 2 Chronicles 15:18 tn Heb “and he brought the holy things of his father and his holy things [into] the house of God, silver, gold, and items.”
  81. 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.”
  82. 2 Chronicles 16:3 tn Heb “[May there be] a covenant between me and you [as there was] between my father and your father.”
  83. 2 Chronicles 16:3 tn Heb “so he will go up from upon me.”
  84. 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.”
  85. 2 Chronicles 16:4 tn Heb “They struck down.”
  86. 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.
  87. 2 Chronicles 16:5 tn Heb “building.”
  88. 2 Chronicles 16:5 tn Heb “and he caused his work to cease.”
  89. 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.”
  90. 2 Chronicles 16:6 tn Heb “and he built with them.”
  91. 2 Chronicles 16:7 tn Heb “the seer.”
  92. 2 Chronicles 16:9 tn Or “for.”
  93. 2 Chronicles 16:9 tn Heb “the eyes of the Lord move quickly through all the earth.”
  94. 2 Chronicles 16:9 tn Heb “to strengthen himself with their heart, [the one] complete toward him.”
  95. 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.”
  96. 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.”
  97. 2 Chronicles 16:13 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers, and he died.”
  98. 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.
  99. 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.
  100. 2 Chronicles 16:14 tn Heb “and they burned for him a large fire, very great.”
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