1 Kings 15
15
King Abijam of Judah
(2 Chronicles 13.1-22)
1Abijam became king of Judah in Jeroboam's eighteenth year as king of Israel, 2and he ruled from Jerusalem for three years. His mother was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom.
3Abijam did not truly obey the LORD his God as his ancestor David had done. Instead, he was sinful just like his father Rehoboam. 4-5David had always obeyed the LORD's commands by doing right, except in the case of Uriah.#15.4,5 Uriah: A Hittite who served in David's army; David had him killed so he could marry his wife Bathsheba (see 2 Samuel 11.1-27). And since Abijam was David's great-grandson, the LORD kept Jerusalem safe and let Abijam have a son who would be the next king.#1 K 11.36.#2 S 11.1-27.
6-7The war that had broken out between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continued during the time that Abijam was king.#2 Ch 13.3-21.
Everything else Abijam did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Judah. 8Abijam died and was buried in Jerusalem,#15.8 Jerusalem: See the note at 2.10,11. and his son Asa became king.
King Asa of Judah
(2 Chronicles 15.16—16.6,11-13)
9Asa became king of Judah in the twentieth year of Jeroboam's rule in Israel, 10and he ruled forty-one years from Jerusalem. His grandmother was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom.
11Asa obeyed the LORD, as David had done. 12He forced the prostitutes#15.12 prostitutes: See the note at 14.24. at the shrines to leave the country, and he got rid of the idols his ancestors had made.#2 Ch 15.8-15. 13His own grandmother Maacah had made an idol of Asherah, and Asa took it and burnt it in Kidron Valley. Then he removed Maacah from her position as queen mother.#15.13 queen mother: Or “the mother of the king”, an important position in biblical times (see 2.19).
14As long as Asa lived, he was completely faithful to the LORD, even though he did not destroy the local shrines. 15He placed in the temple all the silver and gold objects that he and his father had dedicated to the LORD.
16Asa was always at war with King Baasha of Israel. 17One time, Baasha invaded Judah and captured the town of Ramah. He started making the town stronger, so he could put troops there to stop people from going in and out of Judah.
18When Asa heard about this, he took the silver and gold from his palace and from the LORD's temple. He gave it to some of his officials and sent them to Damascus with this message for King Benhadad#15.18 Benhadad: Hebrew “Benhadad son of Tabrimmon son of Hezion”. of Syria: 19“Our fathers signed a peace treaty. Why don't we do the same thing? This silver and gold is a present for you. So, would you please break your treaty with Baasha and force him to leave my country?”
20Benhadad did what Asa asked and sent the Syrian army into Israel. They captured the towns of Ijon, Dan, and Abel-Bethmaacah, and the territories of Chinneroth and Naphtali. 21When Baasha heard about it, he left Ramah and went back to Tirzah.
22Asa ordered everyone in Judah to carry away the stones and wood Baasha had used to strengthen the town of Ramah. Then he used these same stones and wood to fortify the town of Geba in the territory of Benjamin and the town of Mizpah.
23Everything else Asa did while he was king, including his victories and the towns he rebuilt, is written in The History of the Kings of Judah. When he got older, he had a foot disease. 24Asa died and was buried in the tomb of his ancestors in Jerusalem.#15.24 Jerusalem: Hebrew “the city of David his ancestor”. His son Jehoshaphat then became king.
King Nadab of Israel
25Nadab son of Jeroboam became king of Israel in Asa's second year as king of Judah, and he ruled two years. 26Nadab disobeyed the LORD by following the evil example of his father, who had caused the Israelites to sin.
27-28Baasha son of Ahijah was from the tribe of Issachar, and he made plans to kill Nadab. When Nadab and his army went to attack the town of Gibbethon in Philistia, Baasha killed Nadab there. So in the third year of Asa's rule, Baasha became king of Israel.
29The LORD's prophet Ahijah had earlier said, “Not one man or boy in Jeroboam's family will be left alive.” And, as soon as Baasha became king, he killed everyone in Jeroboam's family,#1 K 14.10. 30because Jeroboam had made the LORD God of Israel angry by sinning and causing the Israelites to sin.
31Everything else Nadab did while he was king is written in The History of the Kings of Israel.
32King Asa of Judah and King Baasha of Israel were always at war.
King Baasha of Israel
33Baasha son of Ahijah became king of Israel in Asa's third year as king of Judah, and he ruled twenty-four years from Tirzah. 34Baasha also disobeyed the LORD by acting like Jeroboam, who had caused the Israelites to sin.
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© British and Foreign Bible Society 2012
1 Kings 15
15
1Abijam became king of Judah in the eighteenth year of the reign of King Jeroboam, son of Nebat. 2He reigned in Jerusalem for three years. His mother's name was Maacah, daughter of Abishalom.
3Abijam committed all the sins his father had before him. He was not wholly dedicated to the Lord his God as his forefather David had been. 4Even so, for David's sake, the Lord his God let his descendants continue to rule like a lamp,#15:4. See 11:36. a son to rule after him and to make Jerusalem strong. 5For David had done what was right in the Lord's sight, and had not deviated from anything the Lord commanded throughout his lifetime, except in the case of Uriah the Hittite.
6(Rehoboam and Jeroboam were always at war with each other.)#15:6. This verse appears to be repeated from 14:30 and does not fit here in the description of Abijam. In the following verse it indicates that Abijam and Jeroboam were also always at war. Perhaps for this reason this verse is omitted from some manuscripts of the Septuagint. 7The rest of what happened in Abijam's reign and everything that he did are recorded in the Book of Chronicles of the Kings of Judah. Abijam and Jeroboam were always at war with each other. 8Abijam died and was buried in the City of David. His son Asa succeeded him as king.
9Asa became king of Judah in the twentieth year of the reign of Jeroboam, king of Israel. 10He reigned in Jerusalem forty-one years. His grandmother's name was Maacah, daughter of Abishalom.
11Asa did what was right in the Lord's sight, as his forefather David had done. 12He expelled the cult prostitutes from the land and got rid of all of the idols that his forefathers had made. 13He even dismissed his grandmother Maacah as queen mother, because she had made a disgusting idol. Asa had the idol chopped down and burned in the Kidron Valley. 14Though the high places were not removed, Asa was completely committed to the Lord all his life. 15He brought into the house of the Lord the silver and gold and the other items that he and his father had dedicated.
16Asa and Baasha, king of Israel, were always at war with each other. 17Baasha, king of Israel, attacked Judah and fortified Ramah to stop people coming from or going to Asa, king of Judah.#15:17. Because some of those in Baasha's kingdom realized that Asa was following the true God, they wished to go over to him (see 2 Chronicles 15:9).
18So Asa took all the silver and gold that was left in the treasuries of the Lord's Temple and of the royal palace. He handed it over to his servants and sent them to Ben-hadad, son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Aram, who lived in Damascus, along with this message: 19“Let us make a treaty between us, just as there was between my father and your father. Look, I've sent you a gift of silver and gold. Go and break your treaty with Baasha, king of Israel, so that he will retreat and leave me alone.”
20Ben-hadad accepted Asa's proposal and sent his army with its commanders to attack the towns of Israel. They captured the towns of Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah, and all Kinnereth, including all the land of Naphtali. 21When Baasha heard about this, he stopped fortifying Ramah and retreated to Tirzah. 22Then King Asa issued a proclamation throughout all Judah, with no exception. The people obeyed, and carried away the stones and the timbers Baasha had used for building up Ramah. King Asa used these building materials to strengthen Geba of Benjamin, as well as Mizpah.
23The rest of what happened in Asa's reign, all his achievements, everything that he did, and the towns he built, are recorded in the Book of Chronicles of the Kings of Judah. But when he grew old he had disease in his feet.#15:23. This aspect was associated with problems in Asa's later life—see 2 Chronicles 16. 24Asa died and was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. His son Jehoshaphat succeeded him as king.
25Nadab, son of Jeroboam became king of Israel in the second year of the reign of King Asa of Judah. He reigned in Israel for two years. 26He did what was evil in the Lord's sight. He followed the ways of his father and committed the same sins his father had made Israel commit.
27Baasha, son of Ahijah of the tribe of Issachar, plotted a rebellion against him. Baasha murdered Nadab at the Philistine town of Gibbethon while Nadab and the whole Israelite army were besieging it. 28Baasha killed Nadab and took over as king in the third year of the reign of King Asa of Judah.
29As soon as he became king he killed all the rest of Jeroboam's family. He did not leave any of Jeroboam's descendants alive—he destroyed them all, as the Lord had said through his servant Ahijah the Shilonite. 30This happened because of the sins Jeroboam had committed and had made Israel commit, and because he had made the Lord, the God of Israel, angry.
31The rest of what happened in Nadab's reign and everything that he did are recorded in the Book of Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.
32Asa and Baasha, king of Israel, were always at war with each other. 33Baasha, son of Ahijah, became king over all of Israel in the third year of the reign of King Asa in Judah. Baasha reigned in Tirzah for twenty-four years. 34Baasha did what was evil in the Lord's sight and followed the way of Jeroboam and his sin, which he had made Israel commit.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com