The Reign of Abijam

15¹ And in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam son of Nebat, reigned hath Abijam over Judah; ² three years he hath reigned in Jerusalem, and the name of his mother 'is' Maachah daughter of Abishalom; ³ 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; ⁴ 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, ⁵ 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; ⁶ and war hath been between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life. ⁷ 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; ⁸ and Abijam lieth with his fathers, and they bury him in the city of David, and reign doth Asa his son in his stead.

The Reign of Asa

⁹ 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.

Asa's League with Ben-hadad

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.

The Reign of Abijah

13¹ In the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam—Abijah reigneth over Judah; ² three years he hath reigned in Jerusalem, (and the name of his mother 'is' Michaiah daughter of Uriel, from Gibeah,) and war hath been between Abijah and Jeroboam. ³ And Abijah directeth the war with a force of mighty men of war, four hundred thousand chosen men, and Jeroboam hath set in array with him battle, with eight hundred thousand chosen men, mighty of valour. ⁴ And Abijah riseth up on the hill of Zemaraim that 'is' in the hill-country of Ephraim, and saith, 'Hear me, Jeroboam and all Israel! ⁵ Is it not for you to know that Jehovah, God of Israel, hath given the kingdom to David over Israel to the age, to him and to his sons—a covenant of salt? ⁶ and rise up doth Jeroboam, son of Nebat, servant of Solomon son of David, and rebelleth against his lord! ⁷ 'And there are gathered unto him vain men, sons of worthlessness, and they strengthen themselves against Rehoboam son of Solomon, and Rehoboam was a youth, and tender of heart, and hath not strengthened himself against them. ⁸ 'And now, ye are saying to strengthen yourselves before the kingdom of Jehovah in the hand of the sons of David, and ye 'are' a numerous multitude, and with you calves of gold that Jeroboam hath made to you for gods. ⁹ 'Have ye not cast out the priests of Jehovah, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and make to you priests like the peoples of the lands? every one who hath come to fill his hand with a bullock, a son of the herd, and seven rams, even he hath been a priest to No-gods! ¹⁰ 'As for us, Jehovah 'is' our God, and we have not forsaken Him, and priests are ministering to Jehovah, sons of Aaron and the Levites, in the work, ¹¹ and are making perfume to Jehovah, burnt-offerings morning by morning, and evening by evening, and perfume of spices, and the arrangement of bread 'is' on the pure table, and the candlestick of gold, and its lamps, to burn evening by evening, for we are keeping the charge of Jehovah our God, and ye—ye have forsaken Him. ¹² 'And lo, with us—at 'our' head—'is' God, and His priests and trumpets of shouting to shout against you; O sons of Israel, do not fight with Jehovah, God of your fathers, for ye do not prosper.'

¹³ And Jeroboam hath brought round the ambush to come in from behind them, and they are before Judah, and the ambush 'is' behind them. ¹⁴ And Judah turneth, and lo, against them 'is' the battle, before and behind, and they cry to Jehovah, and the priests are blowing with trumpets, ¹⁵ and the men of Judah shout—and it cometh to pass, at the shouting of the men of Judah, that God hath smitten Jeroboam, and all Israel, before Abijah and Judah. ¹⁶ And the sons of Israel flee from the face of Judah, and God giveth them into their hand, ¹⁷ and Abijah and his people smite among them a great smiting, and there fall wounded of Israel five hundred thousand chosen men. ¹⁸ And the sons of Israel are humbled at that time, and the sons of Judah are strong, for they have leant on Jehovah, God of their fathers. ¹⁹ And Abijah pursueth after Jeroboam, and captureth from him cities, Beth-El and its small towns, and Jeshanah and its small towns, and Ephraim and its small towns. ²⁰ And Jeroboam hath not retained power any more in the days of Abijah, and Jehovah smiteth him, and he dieth. ²¹ And Abijah strengtheneth himself, and taketh to him fourteen wives, and begetteth twenty and two sons, and sixteen daughters, ²² and the rest of the matters of Abijah, and his ways, and his words, are written in the 'Inquiry' of the prophet Iddo.

The Reign of Asa

14¹ And Abijah lieth with his fathers, and they bury him in the city of David, and reign doth Asa his son in his stead: in his days was the land quiet ten years. ² And Asa doth that which is good, and that which is right, in the eyes of Jehovah his God, ³ and turneth aside the altars of the stranger, and the high places, and breaketh the standing-pillars, and cutteth down the shrines, ⁴ and saith to Judah to seek Jehovah, God of their fathers, and to do the law and the command; ⁵ and he turneth aside out of all cities of Judah the high places and the images, and the kingdom is quiet before him. ⁶ And he buildeth cities of bulwarks in Judah, for the land hath quiet, and there is no war with him in these years, because Jehovah hath given rest to him. ⁷ And he saith to Judah, 'Let us build these cities, and compass 'them' with wall, and towers, two-leaved doors, and bars, while the land 'is' before us, because we have sought Jehovah our God, we have sought, and He giveth rest to us round about;' and they build and prosper. ⁸ And there is to Asa a force bearing target and spear, out of Judah three hundred thousand, and out of Benjamin, bearing shield and treading bow, two hundred and eighty thousand: all these 'are' mighty of valour.

⁹ And come out unto them doth Zerah the Cushite with a force of a thousand thousand, and chariots three hundred, and he cometh in unto Mareshah, ¹⁰ and Asa goeth out before him, and they set battle in array in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. ¹¹ And Asa calleth unto Jehovah his God, and saith, 'Jehovah! it is nothing with Thee to help, between the mighty and those who have no power; help us, O Jehovah, our God, for on Thee we have leant, and in Thy name we have come against this multitude; O Jehovah, our God thou 'art'; let him not prevail with Thee—mortal man! ¹² And Jehovah smiteth the Cushim before Asa, and before Judah, and the Cushim flee, ¹³ and Asa and the people who 'are' with him pursue them even to Gerar, and there fall of the Cushim, for they have no preserving, because they have been broken before Jehovah, and before His camp; and they bear away very much spoil, ¹⁴ and smite all the cities round about Gerar, for a fear of Jehovah hath been upon them, and they spoil all the cities, for abundant spoil hath been in them; ¹⁵ and also tents of cattle they have smitten, and they capture sheep in abundance, and camels, and turn back to Jerusalem.

Asa's Reforms

15¹ And upon Azariah son of Oded hath been the Spirit of God, ² and he goeth out before Asa, and saith to him, 'Hear, me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; Jehovah 'is' with you—in your being with Him, and if ye seek Him, He is found of you, and if ye forsake Him, He forsaketh you; ³ and many days 'are' to Israel without a true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law, ⁴ and it turneth back in its distress unto Jehovah, God of Israel, and they seek Him, and He is found of them, ⁵ and in those times there is no peace to him who is going out, and to him who is coming in, for many troubles 'are' on all the inhabitants of the lands, ⁶ and they have been beaten down, nation by nation, and city by city, for God hath troubled them with every adversity; ⁷ and ye, be ye strong, and let not your hands be feeble, for there is a reward for your work.'

⁸ And at Asa's hearing these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he hath strengthened himself, and doth cause the abominations to pass away out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities that he hath captured from the hill-country of Ephraim, and reneweth the altar of Jehovah that 'is' before the porch of Jehovah, ⁹ and gathereth all Judah and Benjamin, and the sojourners with them out of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and out of Simeon—for they have fallen unto him from Israel in abundance, in their seeing that Jehovah his God 'is' with him. ¹⁰ And they are gathered to Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa, ¹¹ and sacrifice to Jehovah on that day from the spoil they have brought in—oxen seven hundred, and sheep seven thousand, ¹² and they enter into a covenant to seek Jehovah, God of their fathers, with all their heart, and with all their soul, ¹³ and every one who doth not seek for Jehovah, God of Israel, is put to death, from small unto great, from man unto woman. ¹⁴ And they swear to Jehovah with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets, ¹⁵ and rejoice do all Judah concerning the oath, for with all their heart they have sworn, and with all their good-will they have sought Him, and He is found of them, and Jehovah giveth rest to them round about. ¹⁶ And also Maachah, mother of Asa the king—he hath removed her from 'being' mistress, in that she hath made for a shrine a horrible thing, and Asa cutteth down her horrible thing, and beateth 'it' small, and burneth 'it' by the brook Kidron: ¹⁷ yet the high places have not turned aside from Israel; only, the heart of Asa hath been perfect all his days. ¹⁸ And he bringeth in the sanctified things of his father, and his own sanctified things, to the house of God, silver, and gold, and vessels. ¹⁹ And war hath not been till the thirty and fifth year of the reign of Asa.

Asa's League with Ben-hadad

16¹ In the thirty and sixth year of the reign of Asa, come up hath Baasha king of Israel, against Judah, and buildeth Ramah, so as not to permit any going out and coming in to Asa king of Judah. ² And Asa bringeth out silver and gold from the treasures of the house of Jehovah, and of the house of the king, and sendeth unto Ben-Hadad king of Aram, who is dwelling in Damascus, saying, ³ 'A covenant 'is' between me and thee, and between my father and thy father, lo, I have sent to thee silver and gold; go, break thy covenant with Baasha king of Israel, and he doth go up from off me.' ⁴ And Ben-Hadad hearkeneth unto king Asa, and sendeth the heads of the forces that he hath unto cities of Israel, and they smite Ijon, and Dan, and Abel-Maim, and all the stores, cities of Naphtali. ⁵ And it cometh to pass, at Baasha's hearing, that he ceaseth from building Ramah, and letteth his work rest; ⁶ and Asa the king hath taken all Judah, and they bear away the stones of Ramah, and its wood, that Baasha hath built, and he buildeth with them Geba and Mizpah.

⁷ And at that time hath Hanani the seer come in unto Asa king of Judah, and saith unto him, 'Because of thy leaning on the king of Aram, and thou hast not leaned on Jehovah thy God, therefore hath the force of the king of Aram escaped from thy hand. ⁸ Did not the Cushim and the Lubim become a very great force for multitude, for chariot, and for horsemen? and in thy leaning on Jehovah He gave them into thy hand, ⁹ for Jehovah—His eyes go to and fro in all the earth, to show Himself strong 'for' a people whose heart 'is' perfect towards Him; thou hast been foolish concerning this, because—henceforth there are with thee wars.' ¹⁰ And Asa is angry at the seer, and giveth him to the house of torture, for 'he is' in a rage with him for this; and Asa oppresseth 'some' of the people at that time. ¹¹ And lo, the matters of Asa, the first and the last, lo, they are written on the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. ¹² And Asa is diseased—in the thirty and ninth year of his reign—in his feet, till his disease is excessive, and also in his disease he hath not sought Jehovah, but among physicians. ¹³ And Asa lieth with his fathers, and dieth in the forty and first year of his reign, ¹⁴ and they bury him in 'one of' his graves, that he had prepared for himself in the city of David, and they cause him to lie on a bed that 'one' hath filled 'with' spices, and divers kinds of mixtures, with perfumed work; and they burn for him a burning—very great.