1 Kings 15

1 Then, in the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, Abijam reigned over Judah.

After Jeroboam had been the king of Israel for almost 18 years, Abijah became the king of Judah.

2 He reigned for three years in Jerusalem. The name of his mother was Maacah, the daughter of Abishalom.

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 all the sins of his father, which he had done before him. Neither was his heart perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David, his father.

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 But for the sake of David, the Lord his God gave to him a lamp in Jerusalem, so that he might raise up his son after him, and so that he 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 For David had done what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and he had not declined from all of the things that he had instructed to him, during all the days of his life, except the matter of Uriah, the Hittite.

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].

6 Now there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam during the entire time of his life.

There were wars between [the armies of] Rehoboam and Jeroboam all during the time that Abijah ruled.

7 And the rest of the words of Abijam, and all that he did, were these not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Judah? And there was fighting between Abijam and Jeroboam.

Everything else that Abijah did is written [RHQ] in the scroll called ‘The History of the Kings of Judah’.

8 And Abijam slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David. And Asa, his son, reigned in his place.

Abijah died [EUP] and was buried in [the part of Jerusalem called] ‘The City of David’, and his son Asa became king.

9 Then, in the twentieth year of Jeroboam, the king of Israel, Asa reigned as king of Judah.

After Jeroboam had been the king of Israel for almost 20 years, Asa started to rule Judah.

10 And he reigned for forty-one years in Jerusalem. The name of his mother was Maacah, the daughter of Abishalom.

He ruled in Jerusalem for 41 years. His grandmother was Maacah, the granddaughter of Absalom.

11 And Asa did what was right before the sight of the Lord, just as his father David did.

Asa did what was pleasing to Yahweh, as his ancestor David had done.

12 And he took away the effeminate from the land. And he purged all the filth of the idols, which his fathers had made.

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 Moreover, he also removed his mother, Maacah, from being the leader in the sacrifices of Priapus, and in his sacred grove which she had consecrated. And he destroyed his grotto. And he shattered the very indecent idol, and he burned it at the torrent Kidron.

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 the high places, he did not take away. Yet truly, the heart of Asa was perfect with the Lord during 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 the things that his father had sanctified and vowed back to the house of the Lord: the silver, and the gold, and the 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 Now there was war between Asa and Baasha, the king of Israel, during 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 Baasha, the king of Israel, ascended against Judah. And he built up Ramah, so that no one would be able to exit or enter from the side of Asa, the king of Judah.

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 so, Asa took all the silver and the gold which had remained in the treasuries of the house of the Lord, and in the treasuries of the house of the king, and he gave it into the hands of his servants. And he sent them to Benhadad, the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, the king of Syria, who was living 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 “There is a pact between me and you, and between my father and your father. For this reason, I have sent to you gifts of silver and of gold. And I ask you to go and break your pact with Baasha, the king of Israel, so that he may withdraw 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 Benhadad, acquiescing to king Asa, sent the leaders of his army against the cities of Israel. And they struck Ijon, and Dan, and Abel, the house of Maacah, and all of Chinneroth, that is, all the land of Naphtali.

[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 when Baasha had heard this, he ceased from fortifying Ramah, and he returned to Tirzah.

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 Then king Asa sent an announcement to all of Judah, saying, “Let no one be excused.” And they took away the stones from Ramah, and its timber, with which Baasha had fortified it. And from these things, king Asa built up Geba of Benjamin and Mizpah.

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 Now all the rest of the words of Asa, and his entire strength, and all that he did, and the cities that he built, were these not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Judah? Yet truly, in the time of his old age, he was afflicted 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 he slept with his fathers, and he was buried with them in the city of David, his father. And Jehoshaphat, his son, reigned in his place.

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 Yet truly, Nadab, the son of Jeroboam, reigned over Israel, in the second year of Asa, the king of Judah. And he reigned over Israel for two years.

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 what is evil in the sight of the Lord. And he walked in the ways of his father and in his sins, by which 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 Then Baasha, the son of Ahijah, from the house of Issachar, set an ambush against him, and he struck him down at Gibbethon, which is a city of the Philistines. For indeed, Nadab and all of Israel were laying siege to Gibbethon.

[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 so Baasha killed him in the third year of Asa, the king of Judah, and he reigned in his place.

That [DOU] was when Asa had been [the king ruling] Judah for almost three years. Then Baasha became the king of Israel.

29 And when he had reigned, he struck down the entire house of Jeroboam. He did not leave behind even one soul from his offspring, until he had wiped him away, in accord with the word of the Lord, which he had spoken by the hand of Ahijah, the Shilonite,

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 because of the sin of Jeroboam, which he had committed, and by which he had caused Israel to sin, and because of the offense by which he had provoked the Lord, the 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 But the rest of the words of Nadab, and all that he did, were these not written in the book of the words of the days 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 war between Asa and Baasha, the king of Israel, during all their days.

There were wars between [the armies of] King Asa and King Baasha all the time that they ruled.

33 In the third year of Asa, the king of Judah, Baasha, the son of Ahijah, reigned over all of Israel, at Tirzah, for twenty-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 evil in the sight of the Lord. And he walked in the ways of Jeroboam, and in his sins, by which 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.