Chronological
Abijah’s Reign over Judah
15 In the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam son of Nebat, Abijah[a] became king over Judah. 2 He ruled for three years in Jerusalem. His mother was Maacah, the daughter of Abishalom.[b] 3 He followed all the sinful practices of his father before him. He was not wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord his God, as his ancestor David had been.[c] 4 Nevertheless for David’s sake the Lord his God maintained his dynasty[d] in Jerusalem by giving him a son[e] to succeed him[f] and by protecting Jerusalem.[g] 5 He did this[h] because David had done what he approved[i] and had not disregarded any of his commandments[j] his entire lifetime, except for the incident involving Uriah the Hittite. 6 Rehoboam[k] and Jeroboam were continually at war with each other throughout Abijah’s[l] lifetime. 7 The rest of the events of Abijah’s reign, including all his accomplishments, are recorded in the scroll called the Annals of the Kings of Judah.[m] Abijah and Jeroboam had been at war with each other. 8 Abijah passed away[n] and was buried[o] in the City of David. His son Asa replaced him as king.
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[p] was Maacah daughter of Abishalom. 11 Asa did what the Lord approved[q] as his ancestor[r] David had done. 12 He removed the male cultic prostitutes from the land and got rid of all the disgusting idols[s] his ancestors[t] had made. 13 He also removed Maacah his grandmother[u] from her position as queen mother[v] 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.[w] 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.[x]
16 Now Asa and King Baasha of Israel were continually at war with each other.[y] 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.[z] 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[aa] 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.[ab] 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.”[ac] 20 Ben Hadad accepted King Asa’s offer and ordered his army commanders to attack the cities of Israel.[ad] They conquered[ae] Ijon, Dan, Abel Beth Maacah, and all the territory of Naphtali, including the region of Kinnereth.[af] 21 When Baasha heard the news, he stopped fortifying[ag] 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.[ah] King Asa used the materials to build up[ai] 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.[aj] Yet when he was very old he developed a foot disease.[ak] 24 Asa passed away[al] and was buried with his ancestors in the city of his ancestor David. His son Jehoshaphat replaced him as king.
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]
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