1 Kings 15:9-24
New English Translation
Asa’s Reign over Judah
9 In the twentieth year of Jeroboam’s reign over Israel, Asa became the king of Judah. 10 He ruled for forty-one years in Jerusalem. His grandmother[a] was Maacah daughter of Abishalom. 11 Asa did what the Lord approved[b] as his ancestor[c] David had done. 12 He removed the male cultic prostitutes from the land and got rid of all the disgusting idols[d] his ancestors[e] had made. 13 He also removed Maacah his grandmother[f] from her position as queen mother[g] because she had made a loathsome Asherah pole. Asa cut down her loathsome pole and burned it in the Kidron Valley. 14 The high places were not eliminated, yet Asa was wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord throughout his lifetime.[h] 15 He brought the holy items that he and his father had made into the Lord’s temple, including the silver, gold, and other articles.[i]
16 Now Asa and King Baasha of Israel were continually at war with each other.[j] 17 King Baasha of Israel attacked Judah and established Ramah as a military outpost to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the land of King Asa of Judah.[k] 18 Asa took all the silver and gold that was left in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and of the royal palace and handed it to his servants. He then told them to deliver it[l] to Ben Hadad son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, ruler in Damascus, along with this message: 19 “I want to make a treaty with you, like the one our fathers made.[m] See, I have sent you silver and gold as a present. Break your treaty with King Baasha of Israel, so he will retreat from my land.”[n] 20 Ben Hadad accepted King Asa’s offer and ordered his army commanders to attack the cities of Israel.[o] They conquered[p] Ijon, Dan, Abel Beth Maacah, and all the territory of Naphtali, including the region of Kinnereth.[q] 21 When Baasha heard the news, he stopped fortifying[r] Ramah and settled down in Tirzah. 22 King Asa ordered all the men of Judah (no exemptions were granted) to carry away the stones and wood that Baasha had used to build Ramah.[s] King Asa used the materials to build up[t] Geba (in Benjamin) and Mizpah.
23 The rest of the events of Asa’s reign, including all his successes and accomplishments, as well as a record of the cities he built, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah.[u] Yet when he was very old he developed a foot disease.[v] 24 Asa passed away[w] and was buried with his ancestors in the city of his ancestor David. His son Jehoshaphat replaced him as king.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Kings 15:10 tn Heb “mother,” but Hebrew often uses the terms “father” and “mother” for grandparents and more remote ancestors.
- 1 Kings 15:11 tn Heb “what was right in the eyes of the Lord.”
- 1 Kings 15:11 tn Heb “father,” but Hebrew often uses the terms “father” and “mother” for grandparents and more remote ancestors.
- 1 Kings 15:12 tn The word used here, גִלּוּלִים [gillulim], is always used as a disdainful reference to idols. It is generally thought to have originally referred to “dung pellets” (cf. KBL 183 s.v. גִלּוּלִים). It is only one of several terms used in this way, such as “worthless things” (אֱלִילִים, ʾelilim), “vanities” or “empty winds” (הֲבָלִים, havalim).
- 1 Kings 15:12 tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 24).
- 1 Kings 15:13 tn Heb “mother,” but Hebrew often uses the terms “father” and “mother” for grandparents and more remote ancestors.
- 1 Kings 15:13 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.
- 1 Kings 15:14 tn Heb “yet the heart of Asa was complete with the Lord all his days.”
- 1 Kings 15:15 tn Heb “and he brought the holy things of his father and his holy things (into) the house of the Lord, silver, gold, and items.” Instead of “his holy things,” a marginal reading (Qere) in the Hebrew text has “the holy things of [the house of the Lord].”
- 1 Kings 15:16 tn Heb “There was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.”
- 1 Kings 15:17 tn Heb “and he built up Ramah so as to not permit going out or coming in to Asa king of Judah.”
- 1 Kings 15:18 tn Heb “King Asa sent it.”
- 1 Kings 15:19 tn Heb “[May there be] a covenant between me and you [as there was] between my father and your father.”
- 1 Kings 15:19 tn Heb “so he will go up from upon me.”
- 1 Kings 15:20 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.”
- 1 Kings 15:20 tn Heb “he struck down.”
- 1 Kings 15:20 sn A city in Galilee (Deut 3:17) along with its surrounding region; Kinnereth was also another name for the Sea of Galilee.
- 1 Kings 15:21 tn Heb “building.”
- 1 Kings 15:22 tn Heb “and King Asa made a proclamation to all Judah, there was no one exempt, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its wood which Baasha had built.”
- 1 Kings 15:22 tn Heb “and King Asa built with them.”
- 1 Kings 15:23 tn Heb “As for the rest of all the events of Asa, and all his strength and all which he did and the cities which he built, are they not written on the scroll of the events of the days of the kings of Judah?”
- 1 Kings 15:23 tn Heb “Yet in the time of his old age he became sick in his feet.”
- 1 Kings 15:24 tn Heb “lay down with his fathers.”
1 Kings 15:9-24
Christian Standard Bible
Judah’s King Asa
9 In the twentieth year of Israel’s King Jeroboam,(A) Asa became king of Judah, 10 and he reigned forty-one years in Jerusalem. His grandmother’s[a] name was Maacah(B) daughter of Abishalom.
11 Asa did what was right in the Lord’s sight, as his ancestor David had done.(C) 12 He banished the male cult prostitutes(D) from the land and removed all of the idols that his ancestors had made.(E) 13 He also(F) removed his grandmother[b] Maacah from being queen mother because she had made an obscene image of Asherah. Asa chopped down her obscene image and burned it(G) in the Kidron Valley.(H) 14 The high places were not taken away,(I) but Asa was wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord his entire life.(J) 15 He brought his father’s consecrated gifts and his own consecrated gifts into the Lord’s temple: silver, gold, and utensils.(K)
16 There was war between Asa and King Baasha of Israel throughout their reigns.(L) 17 Israel’s King Baasha went to war against Judah.(M) He built Ramah(N) in order to keep anyone from leaving or coming to King Asa of Judah. 18 So Asa withdrew all the silver and gold that remained in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple(O) and the treasuries of the royal palace and gave it to his servants. Then King Asa sent them to Ben-hadad(P) son of Tabrimmon son of Hezion king of Aram who lived in Damascus,(Q) saying, 19 “There is a treaty between me and you, between my father and your father.(R) Look, I have sent you a gift of silver and gold. Go and break your treaty with King Baasha of Israel(S) so that he will withdraw from me.”
20 Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel. He attacked Ijon,(T) Dan,(U) Abel-beth-maacah,(V) all Chinnereth,(W) and the whole land of Naphtali.(X) 21 When Baasha heard about it, he quit building Ramah and stayed in Tirzah.(Y) 22 Then King Asa gave a command to everyone without exception in Judah, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and the timbers Baasha had built it with. Then King Asa built Geba(Z) of Benjamin and Mizpah(AA) with them.
23 The rest of all the events of Asa’s reign,(AB) along with all his might, all his accomplishments, and the cities he built, are written in the Historical Record of Judah’s Kings.(AC) But in his old age he developed a disease in his feet.(AD) 24 Then Asa rested with his ancestors and was buried in the city of his ancestor David.(AE) His son Jehoshaphat(AF) became king in his place.
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