Asa

¹⁰ Solomon’s son was Rehoboam: Abijah was his son, Asa his son, Jehoshaphat his son,

¹¹ Joram his son, Ahaziah his son, Joash his son,

⁸ And Abijam rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David, and his son Asa reigned in his place.

⁹ In the twentieth year of Jeroboam’s reign over Israel, Asa became king of Judah,

¹⁰ and he reigned in Jerusalem forty-one years. His grandmother’s name was Maacah daughter of Abishalom.

¹¹ And Asa did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, as his father David had done.

¹² He banished the male shrine prostitutes from the land and removed all the idols that his fathers had made.

¹³ He also removed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother because she had made a detestable Asherah pole. Asa chopped down the pole and burned it in the Kidron Valley.

¹⁴ The high places were not removed, but Asa’s heart was fully devoted to the LORD all his days.

¹⁵ And he brought into the house of the LORD the silver and gold and other articles that he and his father had dedicated.

¹⁶ Now there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel throughout their days.

¹⁷ Baasha king of Israel went to war against Judah and fortified Ramah to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the territory of Asa king of Judah.

¹⁸ So Asa withdrew all the silver and gold that remained in the treasuries of the house of the LORD and the royal palace. He entrusted it to his servants and sent them with this message to Ben-hadad son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus:

¹⁹ “Let there be a treaty between me and you, between my father and your father. See, I have sent you a gift of silver and gold. Now go and break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me.”

²⁰ And Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, conquering Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah, and the whole land of Naphtali, including the region of Chinnereth.

²¹ When Baasha learned of this, he stopped fortifying Ramah and withdrew to Tirzah.

²² Then King Asa summoned all the men of Judah, with no exceptions, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and the timbers Baasha had used for building. And with these materials King Asa built up Geba of Benjamin, as well as Mizpah.

²³ Now the rest of the acts of Asa, along with all his might, all his accomplishments, and the cities he built, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? In his old age, however, he became diseased in his feet.

²⁴ And Asa rested with his fathers and was buried with them in the city of his father David, and his son Jehoshaphat reigned in his place.

²⁵ In the second year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Nadab son of Jeroboam became king of Israel, and he reigned two years.

In the third year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Baasha killed Nadab and reigned in his place.

³² And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel throughout their days.

³³ In the third year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Baasha son of Ahijah became king of all Israel, and he reigned in Tirzah twenty-four years.

⁸ In the twenty-sixth year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Elah son of Baasha became king of Israel, and he reigned in Tirzah two years.

⁹ However, while Elah was in Tirzah getting drunk in the house of Arza the steward of his household there, Elah’s servant Zimri, the commander of half his chariots, conspired against him.

¹⁰ So in the twenty-seventh year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Zimri went in, struck Elah down, and killed him. And Zimri reigned in his place.

¹⁵ In the twenty-seventh year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Zimri reigned in Tirzah for seven days. Now the troops were encamped against Gibbethon of the Philistines,

¹⁶ and the people in the camp heard that Zimri had not only conspired but had also struck down the king. So there in the camp that very day, all Israel proclaimed Omri, the commander of the army, king over Israel.

In the thirty-first year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned twelve years, six of them in Tirzah.

In the thirty-eighth year of Asa’s reign over Judah, Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria twenty-two years.