I Kings 15

¹Now in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam the son of Nebat began Abijam to reign over Judah.

²Three years reigned he in Jerusalem: and his mother’s name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom.

³And he walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him; and his heart was not perfect with Jehovah his God, as the heart of David his father.

⁴Nevertheless for David’s sake did Jehovah his God give him a lamp in Jerusalem, to set up his son after him, and to establish Jerusalem;

⁵because David did that which was right in the eyes of Jehovah, and turned not aside from anything that he commanded him all the days of his life, save only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.

⁶Now there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life.

⁷And the rest of the acts of Abijam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? And there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam.

⁸And Abijam slept with his fathers; and they buried him in the city of David: and Asa his son reigned in his stead.

⁹And in the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel began Asa to reign over Judah.

¹⁰And forty and one years reigned he in Jerusalem: and his mother’s name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom.

¹¹And Asa did that which was right in the eyes of Jehovah, as did David his father.

¹²And he put away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made.

¹³And also Maacah his mother he removed from being queen, because she had made an abominable image for an Asherah; and Asa cut down her image, and burnt it at the brook Kidron.

¹⁴But the high places were not taken away: nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect with Jehovah all his days.

¹⁵And he brought into the house of Jehovah the things that his father had dedicated, and the things that himself had dedicated, silver, and gold, and vessels.

¹⁶And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.

¹⁷And Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah, and built Ramah, that he might not suffer any one to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah.

¹⁸Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the house of Jehovah, and the treasures of the king’s house, and delivered them into the hand of his servants; and king Asa sent them to Ben-hadad, the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying,

¹⁹There is a league between me and thee, between my father and thy father: behold, I have sent unto thee a present of silver and gold; go, break thy league with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me.

²⁰And Ben-hadad hearkened unto king Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel, and smote Ijon, and Dan, and Abel-beth-maacah, and all Chinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali.

²¹And it came to pass, when Baasha heard thereof, that he left off building Ramah, and dwelt in Tirzah.

²²Then king Asa made a proclamation unto all Judah; none was exempted: and they carried away the stones of Ramah, and the timber thereof, wherewith Baasha had builded; and king Asa built therewith Geba of Benjamin, and Mizpah.

²³Now the rest of all the acts of Asa, and all his might, and all that he did, and the cities which he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? But in the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet.

²⁴And Asa slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father; and Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his stead.

²⁵And Nadab the son of Jeroboam began to reign over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah; and he reigned over Israel two years.

²⁶And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin.

²⁷And Baasha the son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar, conspired against him; and Baasha smote him at Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines; for Nadab and all Israel were laying siege to Gibbethon.

²⁸Even in the third year of Asa king of Judah did Baasha slay him, and reigned in his stead.

²⁹And it came to pass that, as soon as he was king, he smote all the house of Jeroboam: he left not to Jeroboam any that breathed, until he had destroyed him; according unto the saying of Jehovah, which he spake by his servant Ahijah the Shilonite;

³⁰for the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned, and wherewith he made Israel to sin, because of his provocation wherewith he provoked Jehovah, the God of Israel, to anger.

³¹Now the rest of the acts of Nadab, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

³²And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.

³³In the third year of Asa king of Judah began Baasha the son of Ahijah to reign over all Israel in Tirzah, and reigned twenty and four years.

³⁴And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, and walked in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin.

I Kings 15

¹In the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam son of Nebat, Abijam became king of Judah,

²and he reigned in Jerusalem three years. His mother’s name was Maacah daughter of Abishalom.

³And Abijam walked in all the sins that his father before him had committed, and his heart was not as fully devoted to the LORD his God as the heart of David his forefather had been.

⁴Nevertheless, for the sake of David, the LORD his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem by raising up a son to succeed him and to make Jerusalem strong.

⁵For David had done what was right in the eyes of the LORD and had not turned aside from anything the LORD commanded all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.

⁶And there was war between the houses of Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of Abijam’s life.

⁷As for the rest of the acts of Abijam, along with all his accomplishments, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? And there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam.

⁸And Abijam rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David, and his son Asa reigned in his place.

⁹In the twentieth year of Jeroboam’s reign over Israel, Asa became king of Judah,

¹⁰and he reigned in Jerusalem forty-one years. His grandmother’s name was Maacah daughter of Abishalom.

¹¹And Asa did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, as his father David had done.

¹²He banished the male shrine prostitutes from the land and removed all the idols that his fathers had made.

¹³He also removed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother because she had made a detestable Asherah pole. Asa chopped down the pole and burned it in the Kidron Valley.

¹⁴The high places were not removed, but Asa’s heart was fully devoted to the LORD all his days.

¹⁵And he brought into the house of the LORD the silver and gold and other articles that he and his father had dedicated.

¹⁶Now there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel throughout their days.

¹⁷Baasha king of Israel went to war against Judah and fortified Ramah to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the territory of Asa king of Judah.

¹⁸So Asa withdrew all the silver and gold that remained in the treasuries of the house of the LORD and the royal palace. He entrusted it to his servants and sent them with this message to Ben-hadad son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus:

¹⁹“Let there be a treaty between me and you, between my father and your father. See, I have sent you a gift of silver and gold. Now go and break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me.”

²⁰And Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, conquering Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah, and the whole land of Naphtali, including the region of Chinnereth.

²¹When Baasha learned of this, he stopped fortifying Ramah and withdrew to Tirzah.

²²Then King Asa summoned all the men of Judah, with no exceptions, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and the timbers Baasha had used for building. And with these materials King Asa built up Geba of Benjamin, as well as Mizpah.

²³Now the rest of the acts of Asa, along with all his might, all his accomplishments, and the cities he built, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? In his old age, however, he became diseased in his feet.

²⁴And Asa rested with his fathers and was buried with them in the city of his father David, and his son Jehoshaphat reigned in his place.

²⁵In the second year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Nadab son of Jeroboam became king of Israel, and he reigned two years.

²⁶And he did evil in the sight of the LORD and walked in the way of his father and in his sin, which he had caused Israel to commit.

²⁷Then Baasha son of Ahijah of the house of Issachar conspired against Nadab, and Baasha struck him down at Gibbethon of the Philistines while Nadab and all Israel were besieging the city.

²⁸In the third year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Baasha killed Nadab and reigned in his place.

²⁹As soon as Baasha became king, he struck down the entire household of Jeroboam. He did not leave to Jeroboam anyone that breathed, but destroyed them all according to the word that the LORD had spoken through His servant Ahijah the Shilonite,

³⁰because of the sins Jeroboam had committed and had caused Israel to commit, and because he had provoked the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger.

³¹As for the rest of the acts of Nadab, along with all his accomplishments, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

³²And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel throughout their days.

³³In the third year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Baasha son of Ahijah became king of all Israel, and he reigned in Tirzah twenty-four years.

³⁴And Baasha did evil in the sight of the LORD and walked in the way of Jeroboam and in his sin, which he had caused Israel to commit.