1 Kings 15:9-24

Other Translations of 1 Kings 15:9-24

King James Version

The Reign of Asa

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 mother's: that is, grandmother'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 destroyed: Heb. cut off 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 things: Heb. holy which his father had dedicated, and the things which himself had dedicated, into the house of the Lord, silver, and gold, and vessels.

Asa's League with Ben-hadad

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 depart: Heb. go up 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: exempted: Heb. free 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 Jehoshaphat: Gr. Josaphat his son reigned in his stead.

English Standard Version

The Reign of Asa

⁹ In the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Asa began to reign over Judah, ¹⁰ and he reigned forty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom. ¹¹ And Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as David his father had done. ¹² He put away the male cult prostitutes out of the land and removed all the idols that his fathers had made. ¹³ He also removed Maacah his mother from being queen mother because she had made an abominable image for Asherah. And Asa cut down her image and burned it at the brook Kidron. ¹⁴ But the high places were not taken away. Nevertheless, the heart of Asa was wholly true to the Lord all his days. ¹⁵ And he brought into the house of the Lord the sacred gifts of his father and his own sacred gifts, silver, and gold, and vessels.

Asa's League with Ben-hadad

¹⁶ And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. ¹⁷ Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and built Ramah, that he might permit no one 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 gave them into the hands of his servants. And King Asa sent them to Ben-hadad the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, who lived in Damascus, saying, ¹⁹ "Let there be a covenantOr treaty; twice in this verse between me and you, as there was between my father and your father. Behold, I am sending to you a present of silver and gold. Go, break your covenant with Baasha king of Israel, that he may withdraw from me." ²⁰ And Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel and conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah, and all Chinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali. ²¹ And when Baasha heard of it, he stopped building Ramah, and he lived in Tirzah. ²² Then King Asa made a proclamation to all Judah, none was exempt, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its timber, with which Baasha had been building, and with them King Asa built Geba of Benjamin and Mizpah. ²³ Now the rest of all the acts of Asa, all his might, and all that he did, and the cities that he built, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? But in 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 place.

The Message

The Reign of Asa

⁹ In the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Asa began his rule over Judah. ¹⁰ He ruled for forty-one years in Jerusalem. His grandmother's name was Maacah. ¹¹ Asa conducted himself well before God, reviving the ways of his ancestor David. ¹² He cleaned house: He got rid of the sacred prostitutes and threw out all the idols his predecessors had made. ¹³ Asa spared nothing and no one; he went so far as to remove Queen Maacah from her position because she had built a shockingly obscene memorial to the whore goddess Asherah. Asa tore it down and burned it up in the Kidron Valley. ¹⁴ Unfortunately, he didn't get rid of the local sex-and-religion shrines. But he was well-intentioned - his heart was in the right place, in tune with God. ¹⁵ All the gold and silver vessels and artifacts that he and his father had consecrated for holy use he installed in The Temple.

Asa's League with Ben-hadad

¹⁶ But through much of his reign there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel. ¹⁷ Baasha king of Israel started it by building a fort at Ramah and closing the border between Israel and Judah so no one could enter or leave Judah. ¹⁸ Asa took all the silver and gold that was left in the treasuries of The Temple of God and the royal palace, gave it to his servants, and sent them to Ben-Hadad son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus, with this message: ¹⁹ "Let's make a treaty like the one between our fathers. I'm showing my good faith with this gift of silver and gold. Break your deal with Baasha king of Israel so he'll quit fighting against me." ²⁰ Ben-Hadad went along with King Asa and sent out his troops against the towns of Israel. He attacked Ijon, Dan, Abel Beth Maacah, and the entire region of Kinnereth, including Naphtali. ²¹ When Baasha got the report he quit fortifying Ramah and pulled back to Tirzah. ²² Then King Asa issued orders to everyone in Judah - no exemptions - to haul away the logs and stones Baasha had used in the fortification of Ramah and use them to fortify Geba in Benjamin and Mizpah. ²³ A full account of Asa's life, all the great things he did and the fortifications he constructed, is written in The Chronicles of the Kings of Judah. In his old age he developed severe gout. ²⁴ Then Asa died and was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. His son Jehoshaphat became king after him.

New King James Version

The Reign of Asa

⁹ In the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Asa became king over Judah. ¹⁰ And he reigned forty-one years in Jerusalem. His grandmother's name was Maachah the granddaughter of Abishalom. ¹¹ Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as did his father David. ¹² And he banished the perverted persons from the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made. ¹³ Also he removed Maachah his grandmother from being queen mother, because she had made an obscene image of Asherah. And Asa cut down her obscene image and burned it by the Brook Kidron. ¹⁴ But the high places were not removed. Nevertheless Asa's heart was loyal to the Lord all his days. ¹⁵ He also brought into the house of the Lord the things which his father had dedicated, and the things which he himself had dedicated: silver and gold and utensils.

Asa's League with Ben-hadad

¹⁶ Now there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. ¹⁷ And Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah, and built Ramah, that he might let none go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. ¹⁸ Then Asa took all the silver and gold that was left in the treasuries of the house of the Lord and the treasuries 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, who dwelt in Damascus, saying, ¹⁹ "Let there be a treaty between you and me, as there was between my father and your father. See, I have sent you a present of silver and gold. Come and break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me." ²⁰ So Ben-Hadad heeded King Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel. He attacked Ijon, Dan, Abel Beth Maachah, and all Chinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali. ²¹ Now it happened, when Baasha heard it, that he stopped building Ramah, and remained in Tirzah. ²² Then King Asa made a proclamation throughout all Judah; none was exempted. And they took away the stones and timber of Ramah, which Baasha had used for building; and with them King Asa built Geba of Benjamin, and Mizpah. ²³ The rest of all the acts of Asa, all his might, 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 So Asa rested with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David his father. Then Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his place.

New Living Translation

The Reign of Asa

⁹ Asa began to rule over Judah in the twentieth year of Jeroboam's reign in Israel. ¹⁰ He reigned in Jerusalem forty-one years. His grandmother was Maacah, the granddaughter of Absalom. ¹¹ Asa did what was pleasing in the Lord 's sight, as his ancestor David had done. ¹² He banished the male and female shrine prostitutes from the land and got rid of all the idols his ancestors had made. ¹³ He even deposed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother because she had made an obscene Asherah pole. He cut down her obscene pole and burned it in the Kidron Valley. ¹⁴ Although the pagan shrines were not removed, Asa's heart remained completely faithful to the Lord throughout his life. ¹⁵ He brought into the Temple of the Lord the silver and gold and the various items that he and his father had dedicated.

Asa's League with Ben-hadad

¹⁶ There was constant war between King Asa of Judah and King Baasha of Israel. ¹⁷ King Baasha of Israel invaded Judah and fortified Ramah in order to prevent anyone from entering or leaving King Asa's territory in Judah. ¹⁸ Asa responded by removing all the silver and gold that was left in the treasuries of the Temple of the Lord and the royal palace. He sent it with some of his officials to Ben-hadad son of Tabrimmon, son of Hezion, the king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus, along with this message: ¹⁹ "Let there be a treaty between you and me like the one between your father and my father. See, I am sending you a gift of silver and gold. Break your treaty with King Baasha of Israel so that he will leave me alone." ²⁰ Ben-hadad agreed to King Asa's request and sent the commanders of his army to attack the towns of Israel. They conquered the towns of Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah, and all Kinnereth, and all the land of Naphtali. ²¹ As soon as Baasha of Israel heard what was happening, he abandoned his project of fortifying Ramah and withdrew to Tirzah. ²² Then King Asa sent an order throughout Judah, requiring that everyone, without exception, help to carry away the building stones and timbers that Baasha had been using to fortify Ramah. Asa used these materials to fortify the town of Geba in Benjamin and the town of Mizpah. ²³ The rest of the events in Asa's reign-the extent of his power, everything he did, and the names of the cities he built-are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Judah (or Israel). In his old age his feet became diseased. ²⁴ When Asa died, he was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. Then Jehoshaphat, Asa's son, became the next king.