Asa Reigns over Judah^(A)

⁹ Asa began to reign as Judah’s king during the twentieth year of the reign of^[a] Jeroboam as king over Israel. ¹⁰ He reigned 41 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Maacah, the daughter of Abishalom. ¹¹ Asa practiced what the Lord considered to be right, just like his ancestor David. ¹² He also removed the male cult prostitutes^[b] from the land and destroyed all the idols that his ancestors had made. ¹³ He removed his mother Maacah from her position as Queen Mother because she had made a detestable image dedicated to Asherah.^[c] Asa cut down his mother’s idol, crushed it, and burned it at the Kidron Brook. ¹⁴ Nevertheless, the high places were not removed, even though Asa’s heart was blameless toward the Lord all of his life. ¹⁵ Asa brought into the Lord’s Temple the things that his father had dedicated, as well as his own dedicated gifts such as silver, gold, and temple service^[d] implements.

Alliances with Aram against Israel^(B)

¹⁶ A state of continual military unrest existed between Asa and King Baasha of Israel throughout their lifetimes. ¹⁷ King Baasha of Israel invaded Judah and interdicted Ramah by building fortifications around it so no one could enter or leave to join King Asa of Judah. ¹⁸ But Asa removed all the silver and gold from the treasuries of the Lord’s Temple and from his royal palace, placed them into the care of some servants, and then sent them to Tabrimmon’s son King Ben-hadad of Aram, the grandson of Hezion, who lived in Damascus.

¹⁹ “Let’s make a treaty between you and me,” he said, “just like the one between my father and your father. Notice that I’ve sent you silver and gold to break your treaty with King Baasha of Israel, so he’ll retreat from his attack^[e] on me.”

²⁰ So King Ben-hadad did just what King Asa had asked: he sent his commanding officers to attack the cities of Israel, conquering Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah, all of Chinneroth,^[f] and the territory of Naphtali. ²¹ When Baasha learned of this, he stopped fortifying Ramah and remained in Tirzah, ²² so King Asa published a proclamation throughout Judah (no one was left out) and they carried away the stones and timber with which Baasha had been fortifying Judah. King Asa used them to fortify Geba in Benjamin and Mizpah.

²³ The rest of Asa’s accomplishments, his strength, everything that he undertook, and the cities that he fortified are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah, are they not? However, as he approached old age, he became diseased in his feet. ²⁴ Then Asa died, as had his ancestors, and he was buried with his ancestors in the City of David, his ancestor. His son Jehoshaphat reigned in his place.