1 Kings 15

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

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

2 He ruled for three years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Maacah. She was 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 He walked in all the sins that his father had committed before his time; his heart was not devoted to Yahweh his God as the heart of David, his ancestor, had been.

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 Nevertheless, for David's sake, Yahweh his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem by raising up his son after him in order to strengthen 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 God did this because David had done what was right in his eyes; for all the days of his life, he had not turned away from anything that he commanded him, except only in 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 all the days of Abijah's life.

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

7 As for the other matters of Abijah, all that he did, are they not written in the book of the events of the kings of Judah? There was war between Abijah and Jeroboam.

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

8 Abijah slept with his ancestors, and they buried him in the city of David. Asa his son became king 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 In the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Asa began to reign over Judah.

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

10 He ruled forty-one years in Jerusalem. His grandmother's name was Maacah, the daughter of Abishalom.

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

11 Asa did what was right in the eyes of Yahweh, as David, his ancestor, had done.

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

12 He expelled the cultic prostitutes from the land and removed all the idols that his ancestors 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 He also removed Maacah, his grandmother, from being queen, because she had made a disgusting figure out of an Asherah pole. Asa cut down the disgusting figure and burned it at the Kidron Valley.

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 were not taken away. Nevertheless, Asa's heart was completely devoted to Yahweh 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 He brought into the house of Yahweh the things that were set apart by his father, and his own things that had been set apart that were made of silver and gold, and 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 There was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel, 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 Baasha king of Israel, acted aggressively against Judah and built up Ramah, so that he might not allow anyone to leave or enter into the land of Asa 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 Then Asa took all the silver and gold left in the storerooms in the house of Yahweh, and the storerooms of the king's palace. He put it into the hands of his servants and sent it to Ben Hadad son of Tabrimmon son of Hezion, the king of Aram, who lived in Damascus. He said,

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 “Let there be a covenant between me and you, as there was between my father and your father. Look, I have sent to you a gift of silver and gold. Break your covenant with Baasha king of Israel, so that he may leave me alone.”

“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 Ben Hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies, and they attacked the cities of Israel. They attacked Ijon, Dan, Abel of Beth Maacah, and all Kinnereth, together with 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 It came about that when Baasha heard this, he stopped building up Ramah and went back 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 made a proclamation to all Judah. No one was exempted. They carried away the stones and timbers of Ramah with which Baasha had been building up the city. Then King Asa used that building material to build 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 As for the other matters of Asa, all his might, all that he did, and the cities he built, are they not written in the book of the events of the kings of Judah? But during his old age he was diseased 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 Then Asa slept with his ancestors and was buried with them in the city of David his father. Jehoshaphat his son became king 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 Nadab son of Jeroboam began to reign over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah; he reigned over Israel 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 He did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh and walked in the way of his father, and in his own sin, by which he led 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 Baasha son of Ahijah, of the family of Issachar, conspired against Nadab; Baasha killed him down at Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines, for Nadab and all 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 In the third year of Asa king of Judah, Baasha killed Nadab and became king 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 As soon as he was king, Baasha killed all the family of Jeroboam. He left none of Jeroboam's descendants breathing; in this way he destroyed his royal line, just as Yahweh had spoken by his servant 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 for the sins of Jeroboam which he committed and by which he led Israel to sin, because he provoked Yahweh, the God of Israel, to anger.

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 As for the other matters concerning Nadab, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the events 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 There was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel 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 king of Judah, Baasha son of Ahijah began to reign over all Israel in Tirzah and he reigned 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 He did what was evil in the sight of Yahweh and walked in the way of Jeroboam and in his sin by which he led 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.