Kings III 15
1 And in the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam son of Nabat, Abiu son of Roboam reigns over Juda.
After Jeroboam had been the king of Israel for almost 18 years, Abijah became the king of Judah.
2 And he reigned three years over Jerusalem: and his mother's name [was] Maacha, daughter of Abessalom.
He ruled for three years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Maacah, the granddaughter of [David’s son] Absalom.
3 And he walked in the sins of his father which he wrought in his presence, and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as [was] the heart of his father [David].
Abijah committed the same kind of sins that his father had committed. He was not fully dedicated/committed to Yahweh his God, as his grandfather David had been.
4 Howbeit for David's sake the Lord gave him a remnant, that he might establish his children after him, and might establish Jerusalem.
But, because of [what Yahweh his God had promised to] David, Yahweh gave Abijah a son [MET] to rule in Jerusalem after him, and in order to protect Jerusalem [from their enemies].
5 Forasmuch as David did that which was right in the sight of the Lord: he turned not from any thing that he commanded him all the days of his life.
Yahweh did that because David had always done what pleased Yahweh and because David had always obeyed Yahweh. The only time when he disobeyed Yahweh was when he caused Uriah [to be killed].
There were wars between [the armies of] Rehoboam and Jeroboam all during the time that Abijah ruled.
7 And the rest of the history of Abiu, and all that he did, behold, are not these written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Juda? And there was war between Abiu and Jeroboam.
Everything else that Abijah did is written [RHQ] in the scroll called ‘The History of the Kings of Judah’.
8 And Abiu slept with his fathers in the twenty-fourth year of Jeroboam; and he is buried with his fathers in the city of David: And Asa his son reigns in his stead.
Abijah died [EUP] and was buried in [the part of Jerusalem called] ‘The City of David’, and his son Asa became king.
9 In the four and twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Asa begins to reign over Juda.
After Jeroboam had been the king of Israel for almost 20 years, Asa started to rule Judah.
10 And he reigned forty-one years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name [was] Ana, daughter of Abessalom.
He ruled in Jerusalem for 41 years. His grandmother was Maacah, the granddaughter of Absalom.
11 And Asa did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, as David his father.
Asa did what was pleasing to Yahweh, as his ancestor David had done.
12 And he removed the sodomites out of the land, and abolished all the practices which his fathers had kept up.
He got rid of the male prostitutes that were at the places where the people worshiped idols, and he also got rid of all the idols that his ancestors had made.
13 And he removed Ana his mother from being queen, forasmuch as she gathered a meeting in her grove: and Asa cut down her retreats, and burnt them with fire in the brook of Kedron.
He also removed his grandmother Maacah so that she no longer had influence in the government [because of] being the mother of a previous king. He did that because she had made a disgusting [wooden] statue of the goddess Asherah. Asa [told his workers to] cut down the statue and burned it in the Kidron Valley.
14 But he removed not the high places; nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect with the Lord all his days.
He was not able to destroy all the places where the people worshiped [idols] on the high hills, but he continued to be dedicated/committed to Yahweh his entIre life.
15 And he brought in the pillars of his father, he even brought in his gold and silver pillars into the house of the Lord, and [his] vessels.
He [told his workers to] place in the temple all the items that his father had dedicated to God, and all the gold and silver things that he had dedicated to God.
16 And there was war between Asa and Baasa king of Israel all their days.
There were wars between [the armies of] Asa and Baasha, the king of Israel, all during the time that they ruled.
17 And Baasa king of Israel went up against Juda, and built Rama, so that no one should go out or come in for Asa king of Juda.
Baasha’s army invaded Judah. They captured Ramah [town north of Jerusalem]. Then they started to build a wall around it in order to prevent people from entering or leaving the area in Judah that was ruled by King Asa.
18 And Asa took all the silver and the gold that was found in the treasures of the house of the Lord, and in the treasures of the king's house, and gave them into the hands of his servants; and king Asa sent them out to the son of Ader, the son of Taberema son of Azin king of Syria, who dwelt in Damascus, saying,
So Asa [told] his workers [to] take all the silver and gold that was still in the storerooms in the temple and in the palace. He told them to take it to Damascus and give it to King Ben-Hadad who ruled Syria. Ben-Hadad was the son of Tabrimmon and grandson of Hezion. He told the workers to say this to Ben-Hadad:
19 Make a covenant between me and thee, and between my father and thy father: lo! I have sent forth to thee gold and silver [for] gifts: come, break thy league with Baasa king of Israel, that he may go up from me.
“I want there to be a peace treaty between you and me, like there was between your father and my father. For that reason, I am giving you this silver and gold. So now please cancel the treaty that you made with Baasha, the king of Israel, in order that he will take his soldiers away from attacking mine, [because he will be afraid of your army].”
20 And the son of Ader hearkened to king Asa, and sent the chiefs of his forces to the cities of Israel; and they smote Ain, Dan, and Abel of the house of Maacha, and all Chennereth, as far as the whole land of Nephthali.
[So the workers went and gave the message to] Ben-Hadad, [and he] did what Asa suggested. He sent his army commanders [and their soldiers] to attack some of the towns in Israel. They captured Ijon, Dan, Abel-Beth-Maacah, the area near Galilee Lake, and all the land of [the tribe of] Naphtali.
21 And it came to pass when Baasa heard it, that he left off building Rama, and returned to Thersa.
When Baasha heard about that, he [told his soldiers to] stop working at Ramah. He [and his soldiers returned to] Tirzah [and] stayed there.
22 And king Asa charged all Juda without exception: and they take up the stones of Rama and its timbers [with] which Baasa was building; and king Asa built with them upon the whole hill of Benjamin, and the watch-tower.
Then King Asa sent a message to all the [people in the] towns in Judah, stating that they all were required to go to Ramah and carry away the stones and timber that Baasha’s soldiers had been using to build a wall around the city. With those stones and timber they fortified Mizpah [city north of Jerusalem], and Geba, [a town] in the territory of the tribe of Benjamin.
23 And the rest of the history of Asa, and all his mighty deeds which he wrought, and the cities which he built, behold, are not these written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Juda? Nevertheless in the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet.
Everything else that Asa did, the armies that his soldiers defeated, and the names of the cities that he caused to be fortified, are [RHQ] written in the scroll called ‘The History of the Kings of Judah’. But when Asa became old, he got a disease in his feet.
24 And Asa slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father: and Josaphat his son reigns in his stead.
He died [EUP] and was buried where his ancestors were buried in [the part of Jerusalem called] ‘The City of David’. Then his son Jehoshaphat became king.
25 And Nabat son of Jeroboam reigns over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Juda, and he reigned two years in Israel.
After Asa had been the king of Judah for almost two years, King Jeroboam’s son Nadab started to rule Israel. He ruled for two years.
26 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way of his father, and in his sins wherein he caused Israel to sin.
He did things that Yahweh considered to be evil. His behavior was sinful like his father’s behavior had been, and what he did led the people of Israel to sin.
27 And Baasa son of Achia, [who was] over the house of Belaan son of Achia, conspired against him, and smote him in Gabathon of the Philistines; for Nabat and all Israel were besieging Gabathon.
[A man named] Baasha, from the tribe of Issachar, planned to harm him. He killed Nadab when Nadab and his army had surrounded Gibbethon [city] in the Philistia area.
28 And Baasa slew him in the third year of Asa son of Asa king of Juda; and reigned in his stead.
That [DOU] was when Asa had been [the king ruling] Judah for almost three years. Then Baasha became the king of Israel.
29 And it came to pass when he reigned, that he smote the whole house of Jeroboam, and left none that breathed of Jeroboam, until he has destroyed him utterly, according to the word of the Lord which he spoke by his servant Achia the Selonite,
As soon as Baasha became king, [he commanded his soldiers to] kill all of Jeroboam’s family. Doing what Yahweh had told the prophet Ahijah from Shiloh would happen, they killed all of Jeroboam’s family. None of them (was left/remained alive).
30 for the sins of Jeroboam, who led Israel into sin, even by his provocation wherewith he provoked the Lord God of Israel.
That happened because Yahweh had become very angry with Jeroboam because of all the sins that Jeroboam had committed, and because of the sins that he had persuaded the people of Israel to commit.
31 And the rest of the history of Nabat, and all that he did, behold, are not these written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
Everything else that Nadab did is written [RHQ] in the scroll called ‘The History of the Kings of Israel’.
32 [And there was a war between Asa and Baasa king of Israel in all their days. ]
There were wars between [the armies of] King Asa and King Baasha all the time that they ruled.
33 And in the third year of Asa king of Juda, Baasa the son of Achia begins to reign over Israel in Thersa, twenty and four years.
After Asa had been the king of Judah for almost three years, Baasha, the son of Ahijah, started to rule Israel at Tirzah [city]. He ruled for 24 years.
34 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nabat, and in his sins, as he caused Israel to sin.
He did things that Yahweh considered to be evil, and his behavior was sinful like his father’s had been, and he led the people of Israel to sin.
