1 KingsChapter 15

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¹Abijam became king of Judah in the eighteenth year that Jeroboam son of Nebat was king. ²He ruled in Jerusalem for three years. His mother was Maacah daughter of Abishalom. ³Abijam did all the same sins his father had done before him. His heart was not fully given to the LORD his God. It was not like the heart of his ancestor David. ⁴But the LORD his God gave Abijam a lamp in Jerusalem because of David. He raised up a son to rule after him. He made Jerusalem strong. ⁵That was because David had done what was right in the LORD's eyes. All his life he had not turned away from anything the LORD commanded. The only time he did was with Uriah the Hittite. ⁶There was war between the families of Rehoboam and Jeroboam all through Abijam's life. ⁷The rest of what Abijam did is written in the Book of the History of the Kings of Judah. All he did is written there. There was war between Abijam and Jeroboam. ⁸Abijam died and was laid to rest with his ancestors. He was buried in the City of David. His son Asa became king after him. ⁹Asa became king of Judah in the twentieth year that Jeroboam was king of Israel. ¹⁰He ruled in Jerusalem for forty-one years. His grandmother was Maacah daughter of Abishalom. ¹¹Asa did what was right in the LORD's eyes, just as his ancestor David had done. ¹²He sent the male shrine prostitutes out of the land. He got rid of all the idols his ancestors had made. ¹³He even took away his grandmother Maacah's place as queen mother. She had made a disgusting Asherah pole. Asa cut the pole down and burned it in the Kidron Valley. ¹⁴The high places were not taken away. But Asa's heart was fully given to the LORD all his life. ¹⁵He brought silver, gold, and other objects into the LORD's temple. He and his father had set these apart for God. ¹⁶There was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel the whole time they lived. ¹⁷Baasha king of Israel went to war against Judah. He made the town of Ramah strong with walls. He did this to keep anyone from going in or out of the land of Asa king of Judah. ¹⁸So Asa took all the silver and gold that was left in the treasuries of the LORD's temple and the king's palace. He gave it to his servants. He sent them to Ben-hadad, the king of Aram, who ruled in Damascus. Ben-hadad was the son of Tabrimmon and grandson of Hezion. Asa sent this message: ¹⁹"Let's make a treaty between you and me. Let it be like the one between my father and your father. Look, I have sent you a gift of silver and gold. Now go and break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel. Then he will pull back and leave me alone." ²⁰Ben-hadad agreed with King Asa. He sent the commanders of his armies against the towns of Israel. They took over Ijon, Dan, and Abel-beth-maacah. They took all the land of Naphtali, including the area of Chinnereth. ²¹Baasha heard about this. So he stopped building up Ramah and went back to Tirzah. ²²Then King Asa called together all the men of Judah. No one was left out. They carried away the stones and wooden beams Baasha had been using to build Ramah. King Asa used these to build up Geba in Benjamin and also Mizpah. ²³The rest of what Asa did is written in the Book of the History of the Kings of Judah. It tells about all his power, all he did, and the towns he built. But when he was old, his feet became diseased. ²⁴Asa died and was laid to rest with his ancestors. He was buried with them in the city of his ancestor David. His son Jehoshaphat became king after him. ²⁵Nadab son of Jeroboam became king of Israel in the second year that Asa was king of Judah. Nadab ruled for two years. ²⁶He did evil in the LORD's eyes. He lived the way his father had lived. He did the same sin his father had made Israel do. ²⁷Baasha son of Ahijah was from the tribe of Issachar. He made a secret plan against Nadab. Nadab and all Israel were surrounding the town of Gibbethon to attack it. It belonged to the Philistines. There Baasha struck Nadab down. ²⁸Baasha killed Nadab in the third year that Asa was king of Judah. Then Baasha became king in his place. ²⁹As soon as Baasha became king, he killed Jeroboam's whole family. He did not leave anyone in Jeroboam's family alive. He destroyed them all. It happened just as the LORD had said through his servant Ahijah from Shiloh. ³⁰It happened because of the sins Jeroboam had done and had made Israel do. He had made the LORD, the God of Israel, angry. ³¹The rest of what Nadab did is written in the Book of the History of the Kings of Israel. All he did is written there. ³²There was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel the whole time they lived. ³³Baasha son of Ahijah became king of all Israel in the third year that Asa was king of Judah. Baasha ruled in Tirzah for twenty-four years. ³⁴Baasha did evil in the LORD's eyes. He lived the way Jeroboam had lived. He did the same sin Jeroboam had made Israel do.