2 Chronicles 16–17

CHAPTER 16

Asa Wars Against Baasha

¹In the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign ^aBaasha king of Israel went up against Judah and built up Ramah in order to prevent anyone from going out or coming in to Asa king of Judah.

²Then Asa brought out silver and gold from the treasuries of the house of Yahweh and the king’s house, and sent them to Ben-hadad king of Aram, who lived in Damascus, saying,

³“Let there be a covenant between ¹you and me, as between my father and your father. Behold, I have sent you silver and gold; go, break your covenant with Baasha king of Israel so that he will withdraw from me.”

⁴So Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his military forces against the cities of Israel, and they struck down Ijon, Dan, Abel-maim, and all ^athe ¹store cities of Naphtali.

⁵Now it happened that when Baasha heard of it, he ceased building up Ramah and stopped his work.

⁶Then King Asa brought all Judah, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its timber with which Baasha had been building, and with them he built Geba and Mizpah.

Asa Imprisons a Seer

⁷Now at that time ^aHanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him, “^bBecause you have leaned on the king of Aram and have not leaned on Yahweh your God, therefore the military force of the king of Aram has escaped out of your hand.

⁸“Were not ^athe Ethiopians and the Lubim ^ba vast military force with an exceedingly vast number of chariots and horsemen? Yet ^cbecause you leaned on Yahweh, He gave them into your hand.

⁹“For ^athe eyes of Yahweh move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those ^bwhose heart is wholly devoted to Him. You have acted foolishly in this. Indeed, from now on you will surely have wars.”

¹⁰Then Asa was vexed with the seer and put him in ¹prison, for he was enraged at him for this. And Asa oppressed some of the people at the same time.

^11aNow behold, the acts of Asa from first to last, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.

¹²And Asa became diseased in his feet in the thirty-ninth year of his reign. His disease was severe, yet even in his disease he ^adid not seek Yahweh, but the physicians.

¹³So Asa slept with his fathers. And he died in the forty-first year of his reign.

¹⁴And they buried him in his own tomb which he had ¹cut out for himself in the city of David, and they laid him in the resting place which he had filled ^awith spices of various kinds blended by the perfumers’ art; and ^bthey made a very great fire for him.

CHAPTER 17

Jehoshaphat Reigns over Judah

^1aJehoshaphat his son then became king in his place, and strengthened himself over Israel.

²And he put military forces in all ^athe fortified cities of Judah, and put garrisons in the land of Judah and in the cities of Ephraim ^bwhich Asa his father had captured.

Jehoshaphat’s Kingdom Established

³And Yahweh was with Jehoshaphat because he walked in the ways of his father David’s earlier days and did not seek the Baals,

⁴but sought the God of his father, walked in His commandments, ^aand did not act as Israel did.

⁵So Yahweh established the kingdom in his hand, and all Judah brought presents to Jehoshaphat, and ^ahe had great riches and honor.

⁶And ¹his heart took great pride in the ways of Yahweh, and again he ^atook away the high places and the ²Asherim from Judah.

⁷Then in the third year of his reign he sent his officials, Ben-hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel and Micaiah, ^ato teach in the cities of Judah;

⁸and with them ^athe Levites, Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, and Tobadonijah, the Levites; and with them Elishama and Jehoram, the priests.

⁹And they taught in Judah, having ^athe book of the law of Yahweh with them; and they went throughout all the cities of Judah and taught among the people.

¹⁰Now ^athe dread of Yahweh was on all the kingdoms of the lands which were around Judah, so that they did not make war against Jehoshaphat.

¹¹Indeed, some of the Philistines ^abrought presents and silver as their tax burden to Jehoshaphat; the Arabians also brought him flocks, 7,700 rams and 7,700 male goats.

¹²So Jehoshaphat grew greater and greater, and he built fortresses and store cities in Judah.

¹³And he had large supplies in the cities of Judah, and men of war, mighty men of valor, in Jerusalem.

¹⁴This was their muster according to their fathers’ households: of Judah, commanders of thousands, Adnah was the commander, and with him 300,000 mighty men of valor;

¹⁵and next to him was Johanan the commander, and with him 280,000;

¹⁶and next to him Amasiah the son of Zichri, ^awho volunteered for Yahweh, and with him 200,000 mighty men of valor;

¹⁷and of Benjamin, Eliada a mighty man of valor, and with him 200,000 equipped with bow and shield;

¹⁸and next to him Jehozabad, and with him 180,000 armed for military duty.

¹⁹These are they who attended on the king, apart from ^athose whom the king put in the fortified cities through all Judah.