< 2 Chronicles 16 >

1 In the thirty-sixth year of the rule of Asa, Baasha, king of Israel, went up against Judah, building Ramah so that no one was able to go out or in to Asa, king of Judah.
And in the thirty-eighth year of the reign of Asa, the king of Israel went up against Juda, and built Rama, so as not to allow egress or ingress to Asa king of Juda.
2 Then Asa took silver and gold out of the stores of the Lord's house and of the king's store-house, and sent to Ben-hadad, king of Aram, at Damascus, saying,
And Asa took silver and gold out of the treasures of the house of the Lord, and of the king's house, and sent [them] to the son of Ader king of Syria, which dwelt in Damascus, saying,
3 Let there be an agreement between me and you as there was between my father and your father: see, I have sent you silver and gold; go and put an end to your agreement with Baasha, king of Israel, so that he may give up attacking me.
Make a covenant between me and thee, and between my father and thy father: behold, I have sent thee gold and silver: come, and turn away from me Baasa king of Israel, and let him depart from me.
4 And Ben-hadad did as King Asa said, and sent the captains of his armies against the towns of Israel, attacking Ijon and Dan and Abel-maim, and all the store-towns of Naphtali.
And the son of Ader hearkened to king Asa, and sent the captains of his host against the cities of Israel; and smote Aeon, and Dan, and Abelmain, and all the country round Nephthali.
5 Then Baasha, hearing of it, put a stop to the building of Ramah, and let his work come to an end.
And it came to pass when Baasa heard [it] he left off building Rama, and put a stop to his work:
6 Then King Asa, with all Judah, took away the stones and wood with which Baasha was building Ramah, and he made use of them for building Geba and Mizpah.
then king Asa took all Juda, and took the stones of Rama, and its timber, [with] which Baasa [had] built; and he built with them Gabae and Maspha.
7 At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa, king of Judah, and said to him, Because you have put your faith in the king of Aram and not in the Lord your God, the army of the king of Aram has got away out of your hands.
And at that time came Anani the prophet to Asa king of Juda, and said to him, Because thou didst trust on the king of Syria, and didst not trust on the Lord thy God, therefore the army of Syria is escaped out of thy hand.
8 Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubim a very great army, with war-carriages and horsemen more than might be numbered? but because your faith was in the Lord, he gave them up into your hands.
Were not the Ethiopians and Libyans a great force, in courage, in horsemen, in great numbers? and did not He deliver them into thy hands, because thou trustedst in the Lord?
9 For the eyes of the Lord go this way and that, through all the earth, letting it be seen that he is the strong support of those whose hearts are true to him. In this you have done foolishly, for from now you will have wars.
For the eyes of the Lord look upon all the earth, to strengthen every heart that is perfect toward him. In this thou hast done foolishly; henceforth there shall be war with thee.
10 Then Asa was angry with the seer, and put him in prison, burning with wrath against him because of this thing. And at the same time Asa was cruel to some of the people.
And Asa was angry with the prophet, and put him in prison, for he was angry at this: and Asa vexed some of the people at that time.
11 Now the acts of Asa, first and last, are recorded in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.
And, behold, the acts of Asa, the first and the last, [are] written in the book of the kings of Juda and Israel.
12 In the thirty-ninth year of his rule, Asa had a very bad disease of the feet; but he did not go to the Lord for help in his disease, but to medical men.
And Asa was diseased [in] his feet in the thirty-ninth year of his reign, until he was very ill: but in his disease he sought not to the Lord, but to the physicians.
13 So Asa went to rest with his fathers, and death came to him in the forty-first year of his rule.
And Asa slept with his fathers, and died in the fortieth year of his reign.
14 And they put him into the resting-place which he had made for himself in the town of David, in a bed full of sweet perfumes of all sorts of spices, made by the perfumer's art, and they made a great burning for him.
And they buried him in the sepulchre which he had dug for himself in the city of David, and they laid him on a bed, and filled [it] with spices and [all] kinds of perfumes of the apothecaries; and they made for him a very great funeral.

< 2 Chronicles 16 >