1 Kings 15:9-24
New American Standard Bible
9 So in the twentieth year of Jeroboam the king of Israel, Asa began to reign as king of Judah. 10 He reigned for forty-one years in Jerusalem; and (A)his mother’s name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom. 11 Now (B)Asa did what was right in the sight of the Lord, like his father David. 12 (C)He also removed the male cult prostitutes from the land and (D)removed all the idols which his fathers had made. 13 And even his mother Maacah, (E)he also removed her from the position of queen mother, because she had made an abominable image [a]as an Asherah; and Asa cut down her abominable image and (F)burned it at the brook Kidron. 14 (G)But the high places [b]were not eliminated; nevertheless (H)Asa’s heart was [c]wholly devoted to the Lord all his days. 15 And (I)he brought into the house of the Lord the [d]holy gifts of his father and his own [e]holy gifts: silver, gold, and valuable utensils.
16 (J)Now there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. 17 (K)Baasha king of Israel marched against Judah and [f](L)fortified Ramah (M)in order to prevent anyone from going out or coming in to Asa king of Judah. 18 Then (N)Asa took all the silver and the gold that was left in the treasuries of the house of the Lord and the treasuries of the king’s house, and handed it over to his servants. And (O)King Asa sent them to Ben-hadad the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Aram, who lived in (P)Damascus, saying, 19 “Let’s make a (Q)treaty between [g]you and me, as there was between my father and your father. Behold, I have sent you a gift of silver and gold; go, break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel so that he will withdraw from me.” 20 So Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, and [h]conquered (R)Ijon, (S)Dan, (T)Abel-beth-maacah, and all (U)Chinneroth, besides all the land of Naphtali. 21 When Baasha heard about it, (V)he stopped [i]fortifying Ramah and remained in (W)Tirzah. 22 Then King Asa made a proclamation to all Judah—no one was exempt—and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its timber with which Baasha had built fortifications. And King Asa built with them (X)Geba of Benjamin and Mizpah.
Jehoshaphat Succeeds Asa
23 (Y)Now as for 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. 24 And Asa [j]lay down with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of his father David; and his son (Z)Jehoshaphat reigned in his place.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Kings 15:13 Or for Asherah; i.e., wooden symbol of a female deity
- 1 Kings 15:14 Lit did not cease
- 1 Kings 15:14 Lit complete with
- 1 Kings 15:15 Or votive offerings; i.e., gifts vowed
- 1 Kings 15:15 Or votive offerings; i.e., gifts vowed
- 1 Kings 15:17 Lit built
- 1 Kings 15:19 Lit me and you
- 1 Kings 15:20 Lit struck
- 1 Kings 15:21 Lit building
- 1 Kings 15:24 I.e., died
1 Kings 15:9-24
King James Version
9 And in the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel reigned Asa over Judah.
10 And forty and one years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom.
11 And Asa did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord, as did David his father.
12 And he took away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made.
13 And also Maachah his mother, even her he removed from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove; and Asa destroyed her idol, and burnt it by the brook Kidron.
14 But the high places were not removed: nevertheless Asa's heart was perfect with the Lord all his days.
15 And he brought in the things which his father had dedicated, and the things which himself had dedicated, into the house of the Lord, silver, and gold, and vessels.
16 And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.
17 And Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah, and built Ramah, that he might not suffer any to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah.
18 Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king's house, and delivered them into the hand of his servants: and king Asa sent them to Benhadad, the son of Tabrimon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying,
19 There is a league between me and thee, and between my father and thy father: behold, I have sent unto thee a present of silver and gold; come and break thy league with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me.
20 So Benhadad hearkened unto king Asa, and sent the captains of the hosts which he had against the cities of Israel, and smote Ijon, and Dan, and Abelbethmaachah, and all Cinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali.
21 And it came to pass, when Baasha heard thereof, that he left off building of Ramah, and dwelt in Tirzah.
22 Then king Asa made a proclamation throughout all Judah; none was exempted: and they took away the stones of Ramah, and the timber thereof, wherewith Baasha had builded; and king Asa built with them Geba of Benjamin, and Mizpah.
23 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? Nevertheless in the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet.
24 And 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.
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1 Kings 15:9-24
Living Bible
9 Asa became king of Judah, in Jerusalem, in the twentieth year of the reign of Jeroboam over Israel, 10 and reigned forty-one years. (His grandmother was Maacah, the daughter of Abishalom.) 11 He pleased the Lord like his ancestor King David. 12 He executed the male prostitutes and removed all the idols his father had made. 13 He deposed his grandmother Maacah as queen mother because she had made an idol—which he cut down and burned at Kidron Brook. 14 However, the shrines on the hills were not removed, for Asa did not realize that these were wrong.[a] 15 He made permanent exhibits in the Temple of the bronze shields his grandfather had dedicated,[b] along with the silver and gold vessels he himself had donated.
16 There was lifelong war between King Asa of Judah and King Baasha of Israel. 17 King Baasha built the fortress city of Ramah in an attempt to cut off all trade with Jerusalem. 18 Then Asa took all the silver and gold left in the Temple treasury and all the treasures of the palace, and gave them to his officials to take to Damascus, to King Ben-hadad of Syria, with this message:
19 “Let us be allies just as our fathers were. I am sending you a present of gold and silver. Now break your alliance with King Baasha of Israel so that he will leave me alone.”
20 Ben-hadad agreed and sent his armies against some of the cities of Israel; and he destroyed Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah, all of Chinneroth, and all the cities in the land of Naphtali. 21 When Baasha received word of the attack, he discontinued building the city of Ramah and returned to Tirzah. 22 Then King Asa made a proclamation to all Judah, asking every able-bodied man to help demolish Ramah and haul away its stones and timbers. And King Asa used these materials to build the city of Geba in Benjamin and the city of Mizpah.
23 The rest of Asa’s biography—his conquests and deeds and the names of the cities he built—is found in The Annals of the Kings of Judah. In his old age his feet became diseased, 24 and when he died, he was buried in the royal cemetery in Jerusalem. Then his son Jehoshaphat became the new king of Judah.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Kings 15:14 Asa did not realize that these were wrong, literally, “the heart of Asa was perfect toward Jehovah all his days.”
- 1 Kings 15:15 the bronze shields his grandfather had dedicated, literally, “the dedicated objects of his grandfather,” see 14:27.
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The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.