1 Kings 15

Abijam Reigns in Judahⓘ

Abijam king of Judah¹In the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam son of Nebat, Abijam^a became king of Judah, ²and he reigned in Jerusalem three years. His motherʼs name was Maacah daughter of Abishalom.^b

³And Abijam walked in all the sins that his father before him had committed, and his heart was not as fully devoted to the Lord his God as the heart of David his forefather had been. ⁴Nevertheless, for the sake of David, the Lord his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem by raising up a son to succeed him and to make Jerusalem strong. ⁵For David had done what was right in the eyes of the Lord and had not turned aside from anything the Lord commanded all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.

⁶And there was war between the houses of Rehoboam^c and Jeroboam all the days of Abijamʼs life.^d

⁷As for the rest of the acts of Abijam, along with all his accomplishments, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? And there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam.

⁸And Abijam rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David, and his son Asa reigned in his place.

Asa Reigns in Judahⓘ

Asa's reforms and treaty with Aram⁹In the twentieth year of Jeroboamʼs reign over Israel, Asa became king of Judah, ¹⁰and he reigned in Jerusalem forty-one years. His grandmotherʼs^e name was Maacah daughter of Abishalom.

¹¹And Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as his father David had done. ¹²He banished the male shrine prostitutes from the land and removed all the idols that his fathers had made. ¹³He also removed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother because she had made a detestable Asherah pole. Asa chopped down the pole and burned it in the Kidron Valley.

¹⁴The high places were not removed, but Asaʼs heart was fully devoted to the Lord all his days. ¹⁵And he brought into the house of the Lord the silver and gold and other articles that he and his father had dedicated.

War between Asa and Baashaⓘ

¹⁶Now there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel throughout their days. ¹⁷Baasha king of Israel went to war against Judah and fortified Ramah to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the territory of Asa king of Judah.

¹⁸So Asa withdrew all the silver and gold that remained in the treasuries of the house of the Lord and the royal palace. He entrusted it to his servants and sent them with this message to Ben-hadad son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, the king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus: ¹⁹“Let there be a treaty^f between me and you as there was between my father and your father. See, I have sent you a gift of silver and gold. Now go and break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me.”

²⁰And Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, conquering Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah, and the whole land of Naphtali, including the region of Chinnereth.

²¹When Baasha learned of this, he stopped fortifying Ramah and withdrew to Tirzah. ²²Then King Asa summoned all the men of Judah,^g with no exceptions, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and the timbers Baasha had used for building. And with these materials King Asa built up Geba of Benjamin, as well as Mizpah.

Jehoshaphat Succeeds Asaⓘ

²³Now the rest of the acts of Asa, along with all his might, all his accomplishments, and the cities he built, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? In his old age, however, he became diseased in his feet.

²⁴And Asa rested with his fathers and was buried with them in the city of his father David, and his son Jehoshaphat reigned in his place.

Nadab Reigns in Israelⓘ

Nadab and Baasha of Israel²⁵In the second year of Asaʼs reign over Judah, Nadab son of Jeroboam became king of Israel, and he reigned two years. ²⁶And he did evil in the sight of the Lord and walked in the way of his father and in his sin, which he had caused Israel to commit.

²⁷Then Baasha son of Ahijah of the house of Issachar conspired against Nadab, and Baasha struck him down at Gibbethon of the Philistines while Nadab and all Israel were besieging the city. ²⁸In the third year of Asaʼs reign over Judah, Baasha killed Nadab and reigned in his place.

²⁹As soon as Baasha became king, he struck down the entire household of Jeroboam. He did not leave to Jeroboam anyone who breathed, but destroyed them all according to the word that the Lord had spoken through His servant Ahijah the Shilonite, ³⁰because of the sins Jeroboam had committed and had caused Israel to commit, and because he had provoked the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger.

³¹As for the rest of the acts of Nadab, along with all his accomplishments, 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 throughout their days.

Baasha Reigns in Israelⓘ

³³In the third year of Asaʼs reign over Judah, Baasha son of Ahijah became king of all Israel, and he reigned in Tirzah twenty-four years.

³⁴And Baasha did evil in the sight of the Lord and walked in the way of Jeroboam and in his sin, which he had caused Israel to commit.