2 Chronicles 16

1 When Asa had been ruling [Judah] for almost 36 years, King Baasha of Israel went [with his army] to attack Judah. They [captured the town of] Ramah [north of Jerusalem] and started to build a wall around [it], in order to prevent any people from entering or leaving the area in Judah that was ruled by King Asa [because the only road into Judah from Israel went through Ramah].

En el año treinta y seis del reinado de Asa, Baasa, rey de Israel, invadió Judá. Fortificó Ramá para impedir que nadie viniera o fuera a Asa, rey de Judá.

2 So Asa told his workers to take all the silver and gold that was in the storerooms of the temple and in his own palace, and take and give it to Ben-Hadad, the king of Syria, who was ruling in Damascus. [He sent him a message, ] saying

Asa tomó la plata y el oro de los tesoros del Templo del Señor y del palacio real y los envió a Ben-hadad, rey de Siria, que vivía en Damasco, con un mensaje que decía

3 “I want there to be a peace treaty between me and you, like there was between my father and your father. Look, I am sending you [a lot of] silver and gold. So please cancel the treaty that you have 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].”

“Haz una alianza entre tú y yo como la que hubo entre mi padre y el tuyo. Mira la plata y el oro que te he enviado. Ve y rompe tu acuerdo con Baasa, rey de Israel, para que me deje y se vaya a casa”.

4 Ben-Hadad agreed to do what King Asa [suggested]. He sent the commanders of his armies [with their soldiers] to attack some of the towns in Israel. They captured Ijon, Dan, Abel-Beth-Maacah and all the cities in the area belonging to the tribe of Naphtali where supplies were kept.

El rey Ben-hadad hizo lo que Asa le había pedido, y envió a sus ejércitos y a sus comandantes a atacar las ciudades de Israel. Conquistaron Ijón, Dan, Abel-maim y todas las ciudades almacén de Neftalí.

5 When Baasha heard about that, he [commanded his troops to] stop fortifying Ramah and doing other work there.

Cuando Baasa se enteró, dejó de fortificar Ramá y abandonó su proyecto.

6 Then King Asa gathered all the men of Judah, and they took away from Ramah all the stones and timber that Baasha’s men had been using [to build the wall around that town]. They took those materials to [the town of] Geba and [the city of] Mizpah [north of Jerusalem] and built walls around them.

Entonces el rey Asa fue con todos los hombres de Judá, y se llevaron de Rama las piedras y los maderos que Baasa había usado para construir, y con ellos edificó Geba y Mizpa.

7 At that time the prophet Hanani went to King Asa and said to him, “Because you relied on the king of Syria and not on Yahweh our God, you missed your opportunity to destroy the army of the king of Syria.

Pero en ese momento el vidente Hanani se presentó ante Asa, rey de Judá, y le dijo: “Por haber puesto tu confianza en el rey de Harán y no haber puesto tu confianza en el Señor, tu Dios, tu oportunidad de destruir el ejército del rey de Harán ha desaparecido.

8 The huge armies from Ethiopia and Libya with all their chariots and soldiers [riding] on horses [were certainly very powerful. But] when you relied on Yahweh, he enabled your army to defeat them.

¿Acaso los etíopes y los libios no tenían un gran ejército con muchos carros y jinetes? Sin embargo, como confiaste en el Señor, él te hizo victorioso sobre ellos.

9 That happened because Yahweh sees [what is happening] all over the earth, and he strengthens those who completely trust him. You have done a very foolish thing, so from now on other armies will be fighting your army.”

Porque el Señor busca por toda la tierra la oportunidad de mostrar su poder a favor de los que le son total y sinceramente devotos. Tú has actuado de forma estúpida al hacer esto. Así que de ahora en adelante siempre estarás en guerra”.

10 Asa was very angry with the prophet because of what the prophet had said. So he [commanded his officials to] put Hanani in prison. At that same time, he started to treat some of his people very cruelly.

Asa se enfadó con el vidente. Estaba tan enojado con él por esto que lo puso en prisión. Al mismo tiempo, Asa comenzó a maltratar a algunos del pueblo.

11 All the things that Asa did while he was ruling, from the time he started to rule until he died, are written in the scroll containing the record of the [activities of the] kings of Judah and Israel.

El resto de lo que hizo Asa, de principio a fin, está escrito en el Libro de los Reyes de Judá e Israel.

12 When Asa had been ruling for almost 39 years, he was afflicted with a disease in his feet. The disease was very severe, but in spite of that, he did not request help from Yahweh. Instead he sought help only from doctors.

En el año treinta y nueve de su reinado, Asa tuvo problemas con una enfermedad en los pies, que se fue agravando. Sin embargo, ni siquiera en su enfermedad se dirigió al Señor, sino sólo a los médicos.

13 When he had been ruling for almost 40 years, he died.

Asa murió en el año cuarenta y uno de su reinado.

14 He was buried in the tomb that his workers had made for him in [the part of Jerusalem called] ‘The City of David’. They laid his corpse on a bed covered with spices and various perfumes that had been mixed together. They also lit a huge fire to honor him.

Fue enterrado en la tumba que él mismo había preparado en la Ciudad de David. Lo colocaron en un lecho lleno de especias, aceites perfumados y fragancias. Luego hicieron un gran fuego para honrarlo.