1 Kings 15

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

Now, in the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam son of Nebat, began Abijah to reign over Judah.

2 He ruled for three years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Maacah, the granddaughter of [David’s son] Absalom.

Three years, reigned he in Jerusalem, —and, the name of his mother, was Maachah, daughter of Abishalom.

3 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.

And he walked in all the sins of his father which he had done before him, —and his heart was not blameless with Yahweh his God, like the heart of David his father.

4 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].

But, for the sake of David, did Yahweh his God give him a lamp, in Jerusalem, —by raising up a son of his after him, and by suffering Jerusalem to stand;

5 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].

because David did that which was right in the eyes of Yahweh, —and turned not aside from anything that he commanded him, all the days of his life, save only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.

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

And there was, war, between Rehoboam and Jeroboam, all the days of his life.

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

Now, the rest of the story of Abijah and all that he did, are, they, not written in the book of Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? And there was, war, between Abijah and Jeroboam.

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

So then Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David, —and, Asa his son, reigned, in his stead.

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

Now, in the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, began Asa to reign as king of Judah;

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

and, forty-one years, reigned he in Jerusalem, —and, the name of his mother, was Maachah, daughter of Abishalom.

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

And Asa did that which was right in the eyes of Yahweh, —like David his father;

12 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.

and he put away the male devotees out of the land, —and removed all the idols that his fathers had made.

13 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.

Moreover also, even Maachah his mother, he removed from being queen, because she had made a monstrous thing to the Sacred Stem, —and Asa cut down her monstrous thing and burned it in the Kidron ravine.

14 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.

But, the high places, removed he not, —nevertheless, the heart of Asa, was blameless with Yahweh, all his days.

15 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.

And he brought in the hallowed things of his father, and his own hallowed things, into the house of Yahweh, —silver and gold, and vessels.

16 There were wars between [the armies of] Asa and Baasha, the king of Israel, all during the time that they ruled.

And there was, war, between Asa and Baasha king of Israel, all their days.

17 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.

And Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah, and built Ramah, —so as not to suffer any one to come out or go in unto Asa king of Judah.

18 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:

So Asa took all the silver and the gold, that were left in the treasuries of the house of Yahweh, and the treasures of the house of the king, and delivered them into the hand of his servants, —and King Asa sent them unto Ben-hadad, son of Tabrimmon, son of Hezion, king of Syria, who dwelt in Damascus, saying:

19 “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].”

[Let there be a] covenant between me and thee, [as] between my father and thy father: Lo! I have sent thee a gift, silver and gold, Come break thy covenant with Baasha, king of Israel, that he may go up from against me.

20 [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.

So Ben-hadad hearkened unto King Asa, and sent the generals of the forces which he had, against the cities of Israel, and smote Iyyohn [Ijon], and Dan, and Abel-beth-maacah, —and all Chinneroth, against all the land of Naphtali.

21 When Baasha heard about that, he [told his soldiers to] stop working at Ramah. He [and his soldiers returned to] Tirzah [and] stayed there.

And it came to pass, when Baasha heard thereof, he left off building Ramah, —and returned to Tirzah.

22 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.

And, King Asa, published it unto all Judah, none was exempted, so they carried away the stones of Ramah, and the beams thereof, wherewith Baasha had built, —and King Asa built therewith Geba of Benjamin, and Mizpah.

23 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.

Now, the rest of all the story of Asa, and all his might, and all that he did and the cities which he built, are, they, not written in the book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? Howbeit, in the time of his old age, he was diseased in his feet.

24 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.

So then Asa slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers, in the city of David his father, —and, Jehoshaphat his son, reigned, in his stead.

25 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.

Now, Nadab son of Jeroboam, began to reign over Israel, in the second year of Asa king of Judah, —and he reigned over Israel, two years.

26 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.

And he did the thing that was wicked in the eyes of Yahweh, —and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin, wherewith he caused, Israel, to sin.

27 [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.

And Baasha son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar, conspired against him, and Baasha smote him in Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines, —Nadab and all Israel being in siege against Gibbethon.

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

And Baasha slew him, in the third year of Asa king of Judah, —and reigned in his stead.

29 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).

And it came to pass, when he became king, that he smote all the house of Jeroboam, he left not remaining any breathing thing pertaining to Jeroboam, until he had destroyed him, —according to the word of Yahweh, which he spake by the hand of his servant Ahijah the Shilonite:

30 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.

for the sins of Jeroboam which he committed, and which he caused, Israel, to commit, —by his provocation wherewith he provoked to anger Yahweh God of Israel.

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

Now, the rest of the story of Nadab, and all that he did, are, they, not written in the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Israel?

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

And there was, war, between Asa and Baasha king of Israel, all their days.

33 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.

In the third year of Asa king of Judah, began Baasha, son of Ahijah, to reign over all Israel, in Tirzah, [and he reigned] twenty-four years.

34 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.

And he did that which was wicked in the eyes of Yahweh, —and walked in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin wherewith he caused, Israel, to sin.