Abijam King of Judah^(A)

15 Abijam [^C“My father is the Sea” (symbol of chaos); compare Abijah (“My father is the Lord”) in 2 Chr. 13:1] became king of Judah during the eighteenth year Jeroboam son of Nebat was king of Israel. ² Abijam ruled in Jerusalem for three years. His mother was Maacah daughter of Abishalom [^CDavid’s son Absalom]. ³ He ·did [committed; ^Lwalked in] all the same sins his father before him had ·done [committed]. ·Abijam was not faithful [^LHis heart was not fully/wholly devoted] to the Lord his God as David, his ·great-grandfather [^Lfather; ^Cin the sense of ancestor], had been. ⁴ ·Because the Lord loved David [For David’s sake], the Lord gave him a ·kingdom [^Llamp; ^Cpossibly a metaphor for the reign of a king] in Jerusalem and allowed him to have a son to be king after him. The Lord also ·kept Jerusalem safe [strengthened/established Jerusalem]. ⁵ David did what ·the Lord said was right [^Lwas right in the eyes/sight of the Lord] and ·obeyed [^Lhad not turned aside from] his commands all his ·life [^Ldays], except ·the one time when David sinned ·against [in the case/matter of] Uriah the Hittite [2 Sam. 11–12].

⁶ There was war between ·Abijam^[a] and Jeroboam during Abijam’s lifetime. ⁷ Everything else Abijam did is written in the book of the ·history [chronicles; annals; 14:19] of the kings of Judah. There was war between Abijam and Jeroboam. ⁸ Abijam ·died [^Llay down/^Tslept with his fathers/ancestors] and was buried in the City of David [^CJerusalem], and his son Asa became king in his place.

Asa King of Judah

⁹ During the twentieth year Jeroboam was king of Israel, Asa became king of Judah. ¹⁰ His ·grandmother’s [mother’s; ^Cin the sense of ancestor] name was Maacah, the daughter of Abishalom [15:2]. Asa ruled in Jerusalem for forty-one years.

¹¹ Asa did what ·the Lord said was right [^Lwas right in the eyes/sight of the Lord], as his ·ancestor [^Lfather] David had done. ¹² He ·forced the male prostitutes at the worship places to leave the country [expelled/banished the male cult prostitutes from the land; 14:24]. He also took away the idols that his ·ancestors [fathers] had made. ¹³ His ·grandmother [mother; ancestor] Maacah had made a ·terrible [obscene; repulsive; abominable] Asherah ·idol [pole; 14:15], so Asa removed her from being queen mother. He cut down ·that idol [her obscene/repulsive/abominable image/pole] and burned it in the Kidron Valley. ¹⁴ The ·places of worship to gods [^Lhigh places; 3:2] were not removed. Even so, Asa was ·faithful [devoted; true] to the Lord all his life. ¹⁵ Asa brought into the ·Temple [^Lhouse] of the Lord the gifts he and his father had ·given [dedicated]: gold, silver, and utensils.

¹⁶ There was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all ·the time they were kings [their days]. ¹⁷ Baasha ·attacked [invaded; ^Lwent up against] Judah, and he ·made the town of Ramah strong [fortified Ramah] so he could keep people from leaving or entering ·Judah, Asa’s country [^LAsa, king of Judah].

¹⁸ Asa took the rest of the silver and gold from the treasuries of the ·Temple [^Lhouse] of the Lord and ·his own palace [^Lthe treasuries of the king’s house] and gave it to his ·officers [officials; servants]. Then he sent them to Ben-Hadad son of Tabrimmon, who was the son of Hezion. Ben-Hadad was the king of Aram and ·ruled [lived] in the city of Damascus. Asa said, ¹⁹ “Let there be a treaty between you and me as there was between my father and your father. I am sending you a gift of silver and gold. Break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel so he will ·leave my land [withdraw from me].”

²⁰ Ben-Hadad ·agreed with [listened to] King Asa, so he sent the commanders of his armies ·to attack [against] the towns of Israel. They defeated the towns of Ijon, Dan, and Abel Beth Maacah, as well as all ·Galilee [^LKinnereth] and the area of Naphtali. ²¹ When Baasha heard about these attacks, he stopped ·building up [fortifying] Ramah and ·returned [withdrew] to Tirzah. ²² Then King Asa gave an ·order [proclamation] to all the people of Judah; everyone had to help carry away all the stones and ·wood [timber] Baasha had used in building Ramah, and they used them to build up Geba and Mizpah in the land of Benjamin.

²³ Everything else Asa did—his ·victories [power] and the cities he built—·is [^Lare they not…?] written in the book of the ·history [chronicles; annals; 14:19] of the kings of Judah. When he became old, he got a disease in his feet. ²⁴ After Asa ·died [^Llay down/^Tslept with his fathers/ancestors], he was buried with his ·ancestors [fathers] in the City of David [^CJerusalem], his ·ancestor [father]. Then Jehoshaphat, Asa’s son, ·became king [reigned] in his place.

Abijah King of Judah^(A)

13 Abijah became the king of Judah during the eighteenth year Jeroboam was king of Israel. ² Abijah ·ruled [reigned] in Jerusalem for three years. His mother was Maacah daughter of Uriel from the town of Gibeah.

And there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam.

²² ·Everything else Abijah did [The rest of the events/acts/history of Abijah]—what he said and what he did—is recorded in the ·writings [commentary; treatise] of the prophet Iddo.

14 Abijah ·died [^Llay down/^Tslept with his fathers/ancestors] and was buried in the City of David [^CJerusalem]. His son Asa became king in his place, and there was ·peace in the country [rest in the land] for ten years during Asa’s time.

Asa King of Judah^(A)

² Asa did what the Lord his God ·said was good and right [desired and approved]. ³ He removed the foreign altars and the ·places where gods were worshiped [^Lhigh places; 11:15]. He smashed the ·stone pillars that honored other gods [^Lpillars], and he ·tore [cut] down the Asherah [^Ca Canaanite fertility goddess] ·idols [poles; Deut. 7:5; 12:3; 16:21; Judg. 6:25, 28, 30; 2 Kin. 18:4]. ⁴ Asa commanded the people of Judah to ·follow [seek] the Lord, the God of their ·ancestors [fathers], and to obey his ·teachings [instructions; laws] and commandments. ⁵ He also removed the ·places where gods were worshiped [^Lhigh places; 11:15] and the incense altars from every town in Judah. So the kingdom ·had peace [was undisturbed] while Asa was king.

The Removal of Maacah^(A)

¹⁶ King Asa also removed Maacah, his ·grandmother [^Lmother], from being queen mother, because she had made a ·terrible [obscene; repulsive; loathsome; abominable] Asherah ·idol [pole; 14:3]. Asa cut down that idol, ·smashed it into pieces, [and crushed] and burned it in the Kidron Valley. ¹⁷ But the ·places of worship to gods [^Lhigh places; 11:15] were not removed from ·Judah [^LIsrael; 12:6]. Even so, Asa was ·faithful [wholeheartedly loyal/devoted] all his life.

¹⁸ Asa brought into the ·Temple [^Lhouse] of God the ·gifts [dedicated/holy things] he and his father had given: silver, gold, and ·utensils [articles].

¹⁹ There was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s ·rule [reign].

Asa’s Last Years^(A)

16 In the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s ·rule [reign], Baasha king of Israel ·attacked [invaded] Judah. He ·made the town of Ramah strong [fortified Ramah] so he could keep people from leaving or entering Judah, Asa’s ·country [territory].

² Asa took silver and gold from the treasuries of the ·Temple [^Lhouse] of the Lord and out of his own ·palace [^Lhouse]. Then he sent it with ·messengers [this message] to Ben-Hadad king of Aram, who lived in Damascus. Asa said, ³ “Let there be a ·treaty [alliance] between you and me as there was between my father and your father. I am sending you silver and gold. Break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel so he will ·leave [withdraw from] my land.”

⁴ Ben-Hadad ·agreed with [^Llistened to] King Asa and sent the ·commanders [officers] of his armies ·to attack [against] the towns of Israel. They ·defeated the towns of [conquered] Ijon, Dan, and Abel Beth Maacah, and all the ·towns in Naphtali where treasures were stored [storage/supply cities of Naphtali]. ⁵ When Baasha heard about this, he stopped ·building up [fortifying] Ramah and ·left [abandoned; ceased] his work. ⁶ Then King Asa brought all the people of Judah to Ramah, and they carried away the ·rocks [stones] and ·wood [timber] that Baasha had used. And they used them to ·build up [fortify] Geba and Mizpah.

⁷ At that time Hanani the ·seer [prophet] came to Asa king of Judah and said to him, “You ·depended on [trusted; relied on] the king of Aram to help you and not on the Lord your God. So the king of Aram’s army escaped from you. ⁸ ·The Cushites and Libyans had [^LDid not the Ethiopians and Lubim have…?] a large and powerful army and many chariots and horsemen. But you ·depended on [trusted; relied on] the Lord to help you, so he handed them over to you. ⁹ ·The Lord searches [^LThe eyes of the Lord search] ·all [throughout] the earth for people ·who have given themselves completely to him [whose hearts are completely his/committed to him]. He wants to strengthen them. Asa, you did a foolish thing, so from now on you will have wars.”

¹⁰ Asa was angry with Hanani the ·seer [prophet] because of what he had said; he was so ·angry [enraged] that he put Hanani in prison. And Asa ·was cruel to [oppressed] some of the people at the same time.

¹¹ ·Everything Asa did as king [The events/acts/history of Asa’s reign], from ·the beginning to the end [first to last], is written in the ·book [scroll] of the kings of Judah and Israel. ¹² In the thirty-ninth year of his ·rule [reign], Asa got a disease in his feet. Though his disease was very bad, he did not ·ask for help from [seek] the Lord, but only ·from the doctors [the physicians]. ¹³ Then Asa was buried [^Llay down; ^Trested] with his ·ancestors [fathers], having died in the forty-first year of his ·rule [reign]. ¹⁴ The people buried Asa in the tomb he had ·made [^Lcarved out] for himself in Jerusalem. They laid him on a ·bed filled [bier covered] with spices and ·different kinds of [assorted] mixed perfumes, and they made a large funeral fire to honor him.

Jehoshaphat King of Judah

17 Jehoshaphat, Asa’s son, became king of Judah in his place. Jehoshaphat ·made Judah strong so they could fight [strengthened himself] against Israel.