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.

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.