2 Chronicles 15:16-16:6

Contemporary English Version

¹⁶ Asa's grandmother Maacah had made a disgusting idol of the goddess Asherah, so he cut it down, crushed it, and burned it in Kidron Valley. Then he removed Maacah from her position as queen mother.^{[a] 17} As long as Asa lived, he was faithful to the Lord, even though he did not destroy the local shrines^[b] in Israel. ¹⁸ He placed in the temple all the silver and gold objects that he and his father had dedicated to God.

¹⁹ There was peace in Judah until the thirty-fifth year of Asa's rule.

King Baasha of Israel Invades Judah

(1 Kings 15.16-22)

16 In the thirty-sixth year of Asa's rule, King Baasha of Israel invaded Judah and captured the town of Ramah. He started making the town stronger, and he put troops there to stop people from going in and out of Judah.

² When Asa heard about this, he took the silver and gold from his palace and from the Lord's temple. Then he sent it to Damascus with this message for King Benhadad of Syria: ³ “I think we should sign a peace treaty, just as our fathers did. This silver and gold is a present for you. Would you please break your treaty with King Baasha of Israel and force him to leave my country?”

⁴ Benhadad did what Asa asked and sent the Syrian army into Israel. They captured the towns of Ijon, Dan, Abel-Maim,^[c] and all the towns in Naphtali where supplies were kept. ⁵ When Baasha heard about it, he stopped his work on the town of Ramah.

⁶ Asa ordered everyone in Judah to carry away the stones and wood Baasha had used to fortify Ramah. Then he fortified the towns of Geba and Mizpah with these same stones and wood.