1 Kings 15:8–24

^8kSo Abijam ³rested with his fathers, and they buried him in the City of David. Then Asa his son reigned in his place.

Asa Reigns in Judah

⁹In the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Asa became king over Judah. ¹⁰And he reigned forty-one years in Jerusalem. His grandmother’s name was Maachah the granddaughter of Abishalom. ^11lAsa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as did his father David. ^12mAnd he banished the ⁴perverted persons from the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made. ¹³Also he removed ⁿMaachah his grandmother from being queen mother, because she had made an obscene image of ⁵Asherah. And Asa cut down her obscene image and ^oburned it by the Brook Kidron. ^14pBut the ⁶high places were not removed. Nevertheless Asa’s ^qheart was loyal to the Lord all his days. ¹⁵He also brought into the house of the Lord the things which his father ^rhad dedicated, and the things which he himself had dedicated: silver and gold and utensils.

¹⁶Now there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. ¹⁷And ^sBaasha king of Israel came up against Judah, and built ^tRamah, ^uthat he might let none go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. ¹⁸Then Asa took all the silver and gold that was 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 King Asa sent them to ^vBen-Hadad the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, who dwelt in ^wDamascus, saying, ¹⁹“Let there be a treaty between you and me, as there was between my father and your father. See, I have sent you a present of silver and gold. Come and break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me.”

²⁰So Ben-Hadad heeded King Asa, and ^xsent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel. He attacked ^yIjon, ^zDan, ^aAbel Beth Maachah, and all Chinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali. ²¹Now it happened, when Baasha heard it, that he stopped building Ramah, and remained in ^bTirzah.

^22cThen King Asa made a proclamation throughout all Judah; none was exempted. And they took away the stones and timber of Ramah, which Baasha had used for building; and with them King Asa built ^dGeba of Benjamin, and ^eMizpah.

²³The rest of all the acts of Asa, all his might, 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 ^fin the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet. ²⁴So Asa ⁷rested with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David his father. ^gThen ^hJehoshaphat his son reigned in his place.