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1 Kings 15

15
Abijam King of Judah
1Abijam became king of Judah during the eighteenth year Jeroboam son of Nebat was king of Israel. 2Abijam ruled in Jerusalem for three years. His mother was Maacah daughter of Abishalom. 3He did all the same sins his father before him had done. Abijam was not faithful to the Lord his God as David, his great-grandfather, had been. 4Because the Lord loved David, the Lord gave him a kingdom in Jerusalem and allowed him to have a son to be king after him. The Lord also kept Jerusalem safe. 5David always did what the Lord said was right and obeyed his commands all his life, except the one time when David sinned against Uriah the Hittite.
6There was war between Abijam and Jeroboam during Abijam’s lifetime. 7Everything else Abijam did is written in the book of the history of the kings of Judah. During the time Abijam ruled, there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam. 8Abijam died and was buried in Jerusalem, and his son Asa became king in his place.
Asa King of Judah
9During the twentieth year Jeroboam was king of Israel, Asa became king of Judah. 10His grandmother’s name was Maacah, the daughter of Abishalom. Asa ruled in Jerusalem for forty-one years.
11Asa did what the Lord said was right, as his ancestor David had done. 12He forced the male prostitutes at the worship places to leave the country. He also took away the idols that his ancestors had made. 13His grandmother Maacah had made a terrible Asherah idol, so Asa removed her from being queen mother. He cut down that idol and burned it in the Kidron Valley. 14The places of worship to gods were not removed. Even so, Asa was faithful to the Lord all his life. 15Asa brought into the Temple of the Lord the gifts he and his father had given: gold, silver, and utensils.
16There was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all the time they were kings. 17Baasha attacked Judah, and he made the town of Ramah strong so he could keep people from leaving or entering Judah, Asa’s country.
18Asa took the rest of the silver and gold from the treasuries of the Temple of the Lord and his own palace and gave it to his officers. Then he sent them to Ben-Hadad son of Tabrimmon, who was the son of Hezion. Ben-Hadad was the king of Aram and ruled in the city of Damascus. Asa said, 19“Let there be a treaty between you and me as there was between my father and your father. I am sending you a gift of silver and gold. Break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel so he will leave my land.”
20Ben-Hadad agreed with King Asa, so he sent the commanders of his armies to attack the towns of Israel. They defeated the towns of Ijon, Dan, and Abel Beth Maacah, as well as all Galilee and the area of Naphtali. 21When Baasha heard about these attacks, he stopped building up Ramah and returned to Tirzah. 22Then King Asa gave an order to all the people of Judah; everyone had to help. They carried away all the stones and wood Baasha had been using in Ramah, and they used them to build up Geba and Mizpah in the land of Benjamin.
23Everything else Asa did—his victories and the cities he built—is written in the book of the history of the kings of Judah. When he became old, he got a disease in his feet. 24After Asa died, he was buried with his ancestors in Jerusalem, the city of David, his ancestor. Then Jehoshaphat, Asa’s son, became king in his place.
Nadab King of Israel
25Nadab son of Jeroboam became king of Israel during the second year Asa was king of Judah. Nadab was king of Israel for two years, 26and he did what the Lord said was wrong. Jeroboam had led the people of Israel to sin, and Nadab sinned in the same way as his father Jeroboam.
27Baasha son of Ahijah, from the tribe of Issachar, made plans to kill Nadab. Nadab and all Israel were attacking the Philistine town of Gibbethon, so Baasha killed Nadab there. 28This happened during Asa’s third year as king of Judah, and Baasha became the next king of Israel.
Baasha King of Israel
29As soon as Baasha became king, he killed all of Jeroboam’s family, leaving no one in Jeroboam’s family alive. He destroyed them all as the Lord had said would happen through his servant Ahijah from Shiloh. 30King Jeroboam had sinned very much and had led the people of Israel to sin, so he made the Lord, the God of Israel, very angry.
31Everything else Nadab did is written in the book of the history of the kings of Israel. 32There was war between Asa king of Judah and Baasha king of Israel all the time they ruled.
33Baasha son of Ahijah became king of Israel during Asa’s third year as king of Judah. Baasha ruled in Tirzah for twenty-four years, 34and he did what the Lord said was wrong. Jeroboam had led the people of Israel to sin, and Baasha sinned in the same way as Jeroboam.

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1 Kings 15: NCV

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