2 Chronicles 16

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.