1 Kings 15:8–24

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

Asa Reigns over Judah

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

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

^11aAnd Asa did what was right in the sight of Yahweh, like David his father.

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

^131aHe also removed Maacah his mother from being queen mother, because she had made a horrid image ²for Asherah; and Asa cut down her horrid image and ^bburned it at the brook Kidron.

^14aBut the high places were not removed; nevertheless ^bthe heart of Asa was ¹wholly devoted to Yahweh all his days.

^15aAnd he brought into the house of Yahweh the holy things of his father and his own holy things: silver and gold and utensils.

Asa Wars Against Baasha

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

^17aAnd Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and ^bbuilt up Ramah ^cin order to prevent anyone from going out or coming in to Asa king of Judah.

¹⁸Then ^aAsa took all the silver and the gold which were left in the treasuries of the house of Yahweh 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 ^acovenant between ¹you and me, as between my father and your father. Behold, I have sent you a gift of silver and gold; go, break your covenant with Baasha king of Israel so that he will withdraw from me.”

²⁰So Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his military force against the cities of Israel, and struck down ^aIjon, ^bDan, ^cAbel-beth-maacah and all ^dChinneroth, besides all the land of Naphtali.

²¹Now it happened that when Baasha heard of it, ^ahe ceased building up Ramah and remained in ^bTirzah.

²²Then King Asa caused an announcement to be heard throughout all Judah—none was exempt—and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its timber with which Baasha had been building. And King Asa built with them ^aGeba of Benjamin and Mizpah.

^23aNow 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.

²⁴And 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.