1 Kings 15:9-24
Lexham English Bible
The Reign of Asa in Judah
9 In the twentieth year of Jeroboam the king of Israel, Asa became the king of Judah. 10 He reigned forty-one years in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom. 11 Asa did right in the eyes of Yahweh, like David his ancestor.[a] 12 He put away the male shrine prostitutes from the land, and he removed all of the idols that his ancestors[b] made. 13 Also, he had Maacah his mother removed from the office of queen mother, as she had made a repulsive image for the Asherah. Asa also cut down her repulsive image and burned it in the Wadi[c] Kidron. 14 But the high places he did not remove. Nevertheless, the heart of Asa was completely with Yahweh all of his days. 15 He brought the holy objects of his father and his own holy objects to the house of Yahweh, silver and gold and utensils.
16 There was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all of their days. 17 Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah, and he built Ramah to hinder the coming and going of anyone to Asa[d] king of Judah. 18 Asa took all of the silver and gold remaining in the storerooms of the house of Yahweh and in the treasury rooms of the house of the king, and he gave them into the hand of his servants; so King Asa sent them to Ben-Hadad the son of Tabrimmon the son of Hezion, the king of Aram, who lived in Damascus, saying, 19 “Let there be a covenant between me and you, between my father and your father. Look, I have sent you a gift of silver and gold. Go, break your covenant with Baasha king of Israel that he may go up away from me.” 20 Ben-Hadad listened to King Asa, and he sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel and he attacked Ijon, Dan, Abel-Beth-Maacah, and all of Kinnereth, in addition to all the land of Naphtali. 21 When Baasha heard, he stopped building Ramah, and he lived in Tirzah. 22 Then King Asa proclaimed among all of Israel that there was no one free from obligation, so they carried the stones of Ramah and its wood with which Baasha had built, and King Asa rebuilt Geba in Benjamin with them, and the Mizpah. 23 The remainder of the acts of Asa, all of his achievements, all that he did, and the cities which he built, are they not written in the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah? But at the time of his old age, he developed a foot disease.[e] 24 Asa slept with his ancestors[f] and was buried with his ancestors[g] in the city of David his ancestor;[h] Jehoshaphat his son became king in his place.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Kings 15:11 Or “father”
- 1 Kings 15:12 Or “fathers”
- 1 Kings 15:13 Or “valley”; a wadi is a valley that is dry most of the year, but contains a stream during the rainy season
- 1 Kings 15:17 Literally “to not give going and coming to Asa”
- 1 Kings 15:23 Literally “he became ill in his feet”
- 1 Kings 15:24 Or “fathers”
- 1 Kings 15:24 Or “fathers”
- 1 Kings 15:24 Or “father”
1 Kings 15:9-24
New Living Translation
Asa Rules in Judah
9 Asa began to rule over Judah in the twentieth year of Jeroboam’s reign in Israel. 10 He reigned in Jerusalem forty-one years. His grandmother[a] was Maacah, the granddaughter of Absalom.
11 Asa did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight, as his ancestor David had done. 12 He banished the male and female shrine prostitutes from the land and got rid of all the idols[b] his ancestors had made. 13 He even deposed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother because she had made an obscene Asherah pole. He cut down her obscene pole and burned it in the Kidron Valley. 14 Although the pagan shrines were not removed, Asa’s heart remained completely faithful to the Lord throughout his life. 15 He brought into the Temple of the Lord the silver and gold and the various items that he and his father had dedicated.
16 There was constant war between King Asa of Judah and King Baasha of Israel. 17 King Baasha of Israel invaded Judah and fortified Ramah in order to prevent anyone from entering or leaving King Asa’s territory in Judah.
18 Asa responded by removing all the silver and gold that was left in the treasuries of the Temple of the Lord and the royal palace. He sent it with some of his officials to Ben-hadad son of Tabrimmon, son of Hezion, the king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus, along with this message:
19 “Let there be a treaty[c] between you and me like the one between your father and my father. See, I am sending you a gift of silver and gold. Break your treaty with King Baasha of Israel so that he will leave me alone.”
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. 21 As soon as Baasha of Israel heard what was happening, he abandoned his project of fortifying Ramah and withdrew to Tirzah. 22 Then King Asa sent an order throughout Judah, requiring that everyone, without exception, help to carry away the building stones and timbers that Baasha had been using to fortify Ramah. Asa used these materials to fortify the town of Geba in Benjamin and the town of Mizpah.
23 The rest of the events in Asa’s reign—the extent of his power, everything he did, and the names of the cities he built—are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Judah. In his old age his feet became diseased. 24 When Asa died, he was buried with his ancestors in the City of David.
Then Jehoshaphat, Asa’s son, became the next king.
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