2 Chronicles 16–17

Chapter 16

Asa Wars against Baasha

¹In the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign ^aBaasha king of Israel came up against Judah and ¹fortified 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 the Lord and the king’s house, and sent them to Ben-hadad king of Aram, who lived in Damascus, saying,

³“Let there be a treaty between ¹you and me, as between my father and your father. Behold, I have sent you silver and gold; go, break your treaty 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 armies against the cities of Israel, and they ¹conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel-maim and all ^athe ²store cities of Naphtali.

⁵When Baasha heard of it, he ceased ¹fortifying 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 ¹fortified Geba and Mizpah.

Asa Imprisons the Prophet

⁷At that time ^aHanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him, “^bBecause you have relied on the king of Aram and have not relied on the Lord your God, therefore the army of the king of Aram has escaped out of your hand.

⁸“Were not ^athe Ethiopians and the Lubim ^ban immense army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet ^cbecause you relied on the Lord, He delivered them into your hand.

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

¹⁰Then Asa was angry 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, the acts of Asa from first to last, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.

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

¹³So Asa slept with his fathers, ¹having died in the forty-first year of his reign.

¹⁴They buried him in his own tomb which he had cut 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 Succeeds Asa

^1aJehoshaphat his son then became king in his place, and made his position over Israel firm.

²He placed troops in all ^athe fortified cities of Judah, and set garrisons in the land of Judah and in the cities of Ephraim ^bwhich Asa his father had captured.

His Good Reign

³The Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he ¹followed the example of his father David’s earlier days and did not seek the Baals,

⁴but sought the God of his father, ¹followed His commandments, ^aand did not act as Israel did.

⁵So the Lord established the kingdom in his ¹control, and all Judah brought tribute to Jehoshaphat, and ^ahe had great riches and honor.

⁶¹He took great pride in the ways of the Lord and again ^aremoved the high places and the Asherim 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.

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

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

¹¹Some of the Philistines ^abrought gifts and silver as tribute 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.

¹³He had large supplies in the cities of Judah, and warriors, valiant men, 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 valiant warriors;

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 the Lord, and with him 200,000 valiant warriors;

¹⁷and of Benjamin, Eliada a valiant warrior, and with him 200,000 armed with bow and shield;

¹⁸and next to him Jehozabad, and with him 180,000 equipped for war.

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