1 Kings 15:8–24

Asa Succeeds Abijam

8 aAnd Abijam slept with his fathers and they buried him in the city of David; and Asa his son became king in his place.

9 So in the twentieth year of Jeroboam the king of Israel, Asa began to reign as king of Judah.

10 He reigned forty-one years in Jerusalem; and ahis mother’s name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom.

11 aAsa did what was right in the sight of the Lord, like David his father.

12 aHe also put away the male cult prostitutes from the land and bremoved all the idols which his fathers had made.

13 1aHe also removed Maacah his mother from being queen mother, because she had made a horrid image 2as an Asherah; and Asa cut down her horrid image and bburned it at the brook Kidron.

14 aBut the high places were not taken away; nevertheless bthe heart of Asa was 1wholly devoted to the Lord all his days.

15 aHe brought into the house of the Lord the dedicated things of his father and his own dedicated things: silver and gold and utensils.

16 aNow there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.

17 aBaasha king of Israel went up against Judah and 1bfortified Ramah cin order to prevent anyone from going out or coming in to Asa king of Judah.

18 Then aAsa took all the silver and the gold which were 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 bKing Asa sent them to Ben-hadad the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Aram, who lived in cDamascus, saying,

19 “Let there be a atreaty between 1you and me, as between my father and your father. Behold, I have sent you a present of silver and gold; go, break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel so that he will withdraw from me.”

20 So Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, and 1conquered aIjon, bDan, cAbel-beth-maacah and all dChinneroth, besides all the land of Naphtali.

21 When Baasha heard of it, ahe ceased 1fortifying Ramah and remained in bTirzah.

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 built. And King Asa built with them aGeba of Benjamin and Mizpah.

Jehoshaphat Succeeds Asa

23 aNow 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? But 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 aJehoshaphat his son reigned in his place.