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15 And in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam son of Nebat, reigned hath Abijam over Judah;

three years he hath reigned in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother [is] Maachah daughter of Abishalom;

and he walketh in all the sins of his father, that he did before him, and his heart hath not been perfect with Jehovah his God, as the heart of David his father;

but for David's sake hath Jehovah his God given to him a lamp in Jerusalem, to raise up his son after him, and to establish Jerusalem,

in that David did that which [is] right in the eyes of Jehovah, and turned not aside from all that He commanded him all days of his life -- only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite;

and war hath been between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life.

And the rest of the matters of Abijam, and all that he did, are they not written on the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Judah? And war hath been between Abijam and Jeroboam;

and Abijam lieth with his fathers, and they bury him in the city of David, and reign doth Asa his son in his stead.

And in the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel reigned hath Asa over Judah,

10 and forty and one years he hath reigned in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother [is] Maachah daughter of Abishalom.

11 And Asa doth that which [is] right in the eyes of Jehovah, like David his father,

12 and removeth the whoremongers out of the land, and turneth aside all the idols that his fathers made;

13 and also Maachah his mother -- he turneth her aside from being mistress, in that she made a horrible thing for a shrine, and Asa cutteth down her horrible thing, and burneth [it] by the brook Kidron;

14 and the high places have not turned aside; only, the heart of Asa hath been perfect with Jehovah all his days,

15 and he bringeth in the sanctified things of his father, and his own sanctified things, to the house of Jehovah, silver, and gold, and vessels.

16 And war hath been between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days,

17 and Baasha king of Israel goeth up against Judah, and buildeth Ramah, not to permit any one going out and coming in to Asa king of Judah.

18 And Asa taketh all the silver and the gold that are left in the treasures of the house of Jehovah, and the treasures of the house of the king, and giveth them into the hand of his servants, and king Asa sendeth them unto Ben-Hadad, son of Tabrimmon, son of Hezion king of Aram, who is dwelling in Damascus, saying,

19 `A covenant [is] between me and thee, between my father and thy father; lo, I have sent to thee a reward of silver and gold; go, break thy covenant with Baasha king of Israel, and he goeth up from off me.'

20 And Ben-Hadad hearkeneth unto king Asa, and sendeth the heads of the forces that he hath against cities of Israel, and smiteth Ijon, and Dan, and Abel-Beth-Maachah, and all Chinneroth, besides all the land of Naphtali;

21 and it cometh to pass at Baasha's hearing, that he ceaseth from building Ramah, and dwelleth in Tirzah.

22 And king Asa hath summoned all Judah -- there is none exempt -- and they lift up the stones of Ramah, and its wood, that Baasha hath built, and king Asa buildeth with them Geba of Benjamin, and Mizpah.

23 And the rest of all the matters of Asa, and all his might, and all that he did, and the cities that he built, are they not written on the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Judah? Only, at the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet;

24 and Asa lieth with his fathers, and is buried with his fathers in the city of David his father, and Jehoshaphat his son reigneth in his stead.

25 And Nadab son of Jeroboam hath reigned over Israel, in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and he reigneth over Israel two years,

26 and doth the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, and goeth in the way of his father, and in his sin that he made Israel to sin.

27 And conspire against him doth Baasha son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar, and Baasha smiteth him in Gibbethon, which [is] to the Philistines -- and Nadab and all Israel are laying siege against Gibbethon --

28 yea, Baasha putteth him to death in the third year of Asa king of Judah, and reigneth in his stead.

29 And it cometh to pass, at his reigning, he hath smitten the whole house of Jeroboam, he hath not left any breathing to Jeroboam till his destroying him, according to the word of Jehovah, that He spake by the hand of His servant Ahijah the Shilonite,

30 because of the sins of Jeroboam that he sinned, and that he caused Israel to sin, by his provocation with which he provoked to anger Jehovah, God of Israel.

31 And the rest of the matters of Nadab, and all that he did, are they not written on the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Israel?

32 And war hath been between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.

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

34 and he doth the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, and walketh in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin that he caused Israel to sin.

Abijah King of Judah(A)

15 In the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam son of Nebat, Abijah[a] became king of Judah, and he reigned in Jerusalem three years. His mother’s name was Maakah(B) daughter of Abishalom.[b]

He committed all the sins his father had done before him; his heart was not fully devoted(C) to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his forefather had been. Nevertheless, for David’s sake the Lord his God gave him a lamp(D) in Jerusalem by raising up a son to succeed him and by making Jerusalem strong. For David had done what was right in the eyes of the Lord and had not failed to keep(E) any of the Lord’s commands all the days of his life—except in the case of Uriah(F) the Hittite.

There was war(G) between Abijah[c] and Jeroboam throughout Abijah’s lifetime. As for the other events of Abijah’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? There was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. And Abijah rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. And Asa his son succeeded him as king.

Asa King of Judah(H)(I)

In the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Asa became king of Judah, 10 and he reigned in Jerusalem forty-one years. His grandmother’s name was Maakah(J) daughter of Abishalom.

11 Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as his father David(K) had done. 12 He expelled the male shrine prostitutes(L) from the land and got rid of all the idols(M) his ancestors had made. 13 He even deposed his grandmother Maakah(N) from her position as queen mother,(O) because she had made a repulsive image for the worship of Asherah. Asa cut it down(P) and burned it in the Kidron Valley. 14 Although he did not remove(Q) the high places, Asa’s heart was fully committed(R) to the Lord all his life. 15 He brought into the temple of the Lord the silver and gold and the articles that he and his father had dedicated.(S)

16 There was war(T) between Asa and Baasha king of Israel throughout their reigns. 17 Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and fortified Ramah(U) to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the territory of Asa king of Judah.

18 Asa then took all the silver and gold that was left in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple(V) and of his own palace. He entrusted it to his officials and sent(W) them to Ben-Hadad(X) son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, the king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus. 19 “Let there be a treaty(Y) between me and you,” he said, “as there was between my father and your father. See, I am sending you a gift of silver and gold. Now break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel so he will withdraw from me.”

20 Ben-Hadad agreed with King Asa and sent the commanders of his forces against the towns of Israel. He conquered(Z) Ijon, Dan, Abel Beth Maakah and all Kinnereth in addition to Naphtali. 21 When Baasha heard this, he stopped building Ramah(AA) and withdrew to Tirzah.(AB) 22 Then King Asa issued an order to all Judah—no one was exempt—and they carried away from Ramah(AC) the stones and timber Baasha had been using there. With them King Asa(AD) built up Geba(AE) in Benjamin, and also Mizpah.(AF)

23 As for all the other events of Asa’s reign, all his achievements, all he did and the cities he built, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? In his old age, however, his feet became diseased. 24 Then Asa rested with his ancestors and was buried with them in the city of his father David. And Jehoshaphat(AG) his son succeeded him as king.

Nadab King of Israel

25 Nadab son of Jeroboam became king of Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel two years. 26 He did evil(AH) in the eyes of the Lord, following the ways of his father(AI) and committing the same sin his father had caused Israel to commit.

27 Baasha son of Ahijah from the tribe of Issachar plotted against him, and he struck him down(AJ) at Gibbethon,(AK) a Philistine town, while Nadab and all Israel were besieging it. 28 Baasha killed Nadab in the third year of Asa king of Judah and succeeded him as king.

29 As soon as he began to reign, he killed Jeroboam’s whole family.(AL) He did not leave Jeroboam anyone that breathed, but destroyed them all, according to the word of the Lord given through his servant Ahijah the Shilonite. 30 This happened because of the sins(AM) Jeroboam had committed and had caused(AN) Israel to commit, and because he aroused the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel.

31 As for the other events of Nadab’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals(AO) of the kings of Israel? 32 There was war(AP) between Asa and Baasha king of Israel throughout their reigns.

Baasha King of Israel

33 In the third year of Asa king of Judah, Baasha son of Ahijah became king of all Israel in Tirzah,(AQ) and he reigned twenty-four years. 34 He did evil(AR) in the eyes of the Lord, following the ways of Jeroboam and committing the same sin Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 15:1 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint (see also 2 Chron. 12:16); most Hebrew manuscripts Abijam; also in verses 7 and 8
  2. 1 Kings 15:2 A variant of Absalom; also in verse 10
  3. 1 Kings 15:6 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac Abijam (that is, Abijah); most Hebrew manuscripts Rehoboam