1In the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, son of Nebat, Abijah reigned over Judah. 2He reigned three years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom. 3And he indulged in all the sins that his father had before him; and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David, his father. 4Nevertheless, for David's sake, the LORD his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, to set up his son after him, and to establish Jerusalem, 5Because David did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, and did not turn aside from anything that He commanded him all the days of his life, except for the matter of Uriah, the Hittite. 6And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of Jeroboam’s life. 7Now the rest of the acts of Abijah, and what he did, and his deeds, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? And there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. 8And Abijah slept with his fathers; and they buried him in the city of David, and his son, Asa, reigned in his stead. 9In the twentieth year of Jeroboam, king of Israel, Asa reigned over Judah. 10Asa reigned in Jerusalem forty-one years. His (grand)mother's name was Maachah, a daughter of Abishalom. 11And Asa did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, as David, his father, did. 12He banned the sodomites from the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made. 13And he also removed Maachah, his (grand)mother, from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove; and Asa destroyed her idol, burning it by the brook Kidron. 14But the high places were not removed; nevertheless, Asa's heart was faithful to the LORD all his days. 15And he brought the things which his father had dedicated, and those that he, himself, had dedicated, into the Temple of the LORD: silver, gold, and vessels. 16And there was war between Asa and Baasha, king of Israel, all their days. 17And Baasha, king of Israel, invaded Judah, and built Ramah, to prevent anyone from entering or leaving the territory of Asa, king of Judah. 18Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that was left in the treasuries of the Temple of the LORD, and the treasures of his own palace, entrusted them to his servants, and Asa sent them to Ben-hadad, son of Tabrimmon, son of Hezion, king of Syria, who lived at Damascus, to say, 19“There is a treaty between me and you, and between my father and your father. I have sent a present of silver and gold to you; come and break your treaty with Baasha, king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me.” 20So Ben-hadad agreed, and sent the captains of his army against the cities of Israel, conquering Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maachah, all Chinneroth, and all the land of Naphtali. 21And when Baasha heard of it, he stopped building Ramah, and withdrew to Tirzah. 22Then King Asa issued an order throughout all Judah - none being exempt – that they carry away the stones and timber that Baasha had used to build Ramah; and King Asa used them to build Geba in Benjamin, and also Mizpah. 23The rest of all the acts of Asa, and his reign, and 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? And in his old age, his feet became diseased. 24And Asa died, and was buried with his ancestors in the city of David, his father; and Jehoshaphat, his son, reigned in his stead. 25And Nadab, son of Jeroboam, began his reign over Israel in the second year of Asa, king of Judah, and he reigned two years in Israel. 26And Nadab did evil in the eyes of the LORD, as his father did, encouraging Israel to sin. 27And Baasha, son of Ahijah, of the tribe of Issachar, conspired against and assassinated Nadab while Nadab and the Israelites were besieging Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines. 28Baasha killed Nadab in the third year of the reign of Asa, king of Judah, and reigned in his stead. 29And at the start of his reign, he killed all the family of Jeroboam; leaving Jeroboam no one alive - he destroyed them all, according to the word which the LORD spoke by His servant, Ahijah, the Shilonite, 30Because of the sins that Jeroboam committed, and by which he caused Israel to sin, provoking the LORD God of Israel to anger. 31Now the rest of the events of Nadab’s reign, and what he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 32And there was war between Asa and Baasha, king of Israel, all their days. 33In the third year of Asa, king of Judah, Baasha, son of Ahijah, began his twenty-four- year reign over all Israel in Tirzah. 34And he did evil in the eyes of the LORD, continuing the sins of Jeroboam that caused Israel to sin. Reader-Friendly Bible: Purple Letter Edition © 2024 by Jim Musser. Used by Permission. All rights Reserved. Bible Hub |