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16
1 In the thirty-sixth year of Asa's reign,*Probably calculated from the beginning of the southern kingdom, rather than Asa's personal reign. See 1 Kings 15. This would also apply to the preceding verse. Baasha, king of Israel, invaded Judah. He fortified Ramah to stop anyone coming from or going to Asa, king of Judah.†This action was presumably mainly to prevent the continued exodus of people to the southern kingdom.
2 Asa took the silver and gold from the treasuries of the Lord's Temple and the king's palace and sent them to Ben-hadad, king of Syria, who lived in Damascus, with a message that said:
3 “Make an alliance between me and you like the one between my father and your father. Look at the silver and gold I've sent you. Go ahead and break your agreement with Baasha, king of Israel, so that he will leave me and go home.”
4 King Ben-hadad did as Asa had asked, and he sent his armies and their commanders to attack the towns of Israel. They conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel-maim, and all the storehouse towns of Naphtali. 5 When Baasha heard about it, he stopped fortifying Ramah and gave up his project. 6 So King Asa went with all the men of Judah, and they carried away from Ramah the stones and the timbers Baasha had used for building, and with them he built up Geba and Mizpah.
7 But right then Hanani the seer came to Asa, king of Judah, and told him, “Because you have put your trust in the king of Aram and have not put your trust in the Lord your God, your opportunity to destroy the army of the king of Aram has gone. 8 Didn't the Ethiopians and Libyans have a huge army with many chariots and horsemen? Yet because you trusted in the Lord, he made you victorious over them. 9 For the Lord looks all over the earth for the opportunity to show his power on behalf of those who are completely and sincerely devoted to him. You have acted stupidly in doing this. So from now on you will always be at war.”
10 Asa was angry with the seer. He was so angry with him over this that he put him in prison. At this same time Asa started to mistreat some of the people.
11 The rest of what Asa did, from beginning to end, is written down in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 12 In the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa had trouble with disease in his feet, which only became worse and worse. Yet even in his sickness he did not turn to the Lord, but only the physicians. 13 Asa died in the forty-first year of his reign. 14 He was buried in the tomb that he had prepared for himself in the City of David. They placed him on a bed full of spices, perfumed oils, and fragrances. Then they made a great fire to honor him.

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*16:1 Probably calculated from the beginning of the southern kingdom, rather than Asa's personal reign. See 1 Kings 15. This would also apply to the preceding verse.

†16:1 This action was presumably mainly to prevent the continued exodus of people to the southern kingdom.

© 2018 Dr. Jonathan Gallagher