Solomon’s Activities and Accomplishments
8 Now it came about at the end of the twenty years in which Solomon had built the house of the Lord and his own house 2 that he built the cities which Huram had given to [a]him, and settled the sons of Israel there. 3 Then Solomon went to Hamath-zobah and captured it. 4 He built Tadmor in the wilderness and all the storage cities which he had built in Hamath. 5 He also built upper Beth-horon and lower Beth-horon, fortified cities with walls, gates and bars; 6 and Baalath and all the storage cities that Solomon had, and all the cities for [b]his chariots and cities for [c]his horsemen, and all that it pleased Solomon to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land [d]under his rule. 7 All of the people who were left of the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, who were not of Israel, 8 namely, from their descendants who were left after them in the land whom the sons of Israel had not destroyed, them Solomon raised as forced laborers to this day. 9 But Solomon did not make slaves for his work from the sons of Israel; they were men of war, his chief captains and commanders of his chariots and his horsemen. 10 These were the chief [e]officers of King Solomon, two hundred and fifty who ruled over the people. 11 Then Solomon brought Pharaoh’s daughter up from the city of David to the house which he had built for her, for he said, “My wife shall not dwell in the house of David king of Israel, because [f]the places are holy where the ark of the Lord has entered.” 12 Then Solomon offered burnt offerings to the Lord on the altar of the Lord which he had built before the porch; 13 and did so according to the daily rule, offering them up according to the commandment of Moses, for the sabbaths, the new moons and the three annual feasts—the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks (FIRST FRUITS) and the Feast of Booths. THIS CAN BE TENTS OR TABERNACLES.
14 Now according to the ordinance of his father David, he appointed the divisions of the priests for their service, and the Levites for their duties of praise and ministering before the priests according to the daily rule, and the gatekeepers by their divisions at every gate; for David the man of God had so commanded. 15 And they did not depart from the commandment of the king to the priests and Levites in any manner or concerning the storehouses. 16 Thus all the work of Solomon was carried out [g]from the day of the foundation of the house of the Lord, and until it was finished. So the house of the Lord was completed. 17 Then Solomon went to Ezion-geber and to Eloth on the seashore in the land of Edom. 18 And Huram by his servants sent him ships and servants who knew the sea; and they went with Solomon’s servants to Ophir, and took from there four hundred and fifty talents of gold and brought them to King Solomon.
Footnotes
2 Chronicles 8:2 Lit Solomon
2 Chronicles 8:6 Lit the
2 Chronicles 8:6 Lit the
2 Chronicles 8:6 Lit of
2 Chronicles 8:10 Or deputies
2 Chronicles 8:11 Lit they are
2 Chronicles 8:16 So ancient versions; M.T. as far as
Visit of the Queen of Sheba
9 Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to Jerusalem to test Solomon with difficult questions. She had a very large retinue (ADVISORS / ASSISTANTS) with camels carrying spices and a large amount of gold and precious stones; and when she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about all that was on her heart. 2 Solomon [a]answered all her questions; nothing was hidden from Solomon which he did not [b]explain to her. 3 When the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, the house which he had built, 4 the food at his table, the seating of his servants, the attendance of his ministers and their attire, his cupbearers and their attire, and [c]his stairway by which he went up to the house of the Lord, she was breathless. 5 Then she said to the king, “It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. 6 Nevertheless I did not believe their reports until I came and my eyes had seen it. And behold, the half of the greatness of your wisdom was not told me. You surpass the report that I heard. 7 How [d]blessed are your men, how [e]blessed are these your servants who stand before you continually and hear your wisdom. 8 Blessed be the Lord your God who delighted in you, setting you on His throne as king for the Lord your God; because your God loved Israel establishing them forever, therefore He made you king over them, to do justice and righteousness.” 9 Then she gave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold and a very great amount of spices and precious stones; there had never been spice like that which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon. 10 The servants of Huram and the servants of Solomon who brought gold from Ophir, also brought algum trees and precious stones. 11 From the algum trees the king made steps for the house of the Lord and for the king’s palace, and lyres and harps for the singers; and none like that was seen before in the land of Judah. 12 King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire which she requested besides a return for what she had brought to the king. Then she turned and went to her own land with her servants.
Solomon’s Wealth and Power
13 Now the weight of gold which came to Solomon in one year was 666 talents of gold, 14 besides that which the traders and merchants brought; and all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the country brought gold and silver to Solomon. 15 King Solomon made 200 large shields of beaten gold, [f]using 600 shekels of beaten gold on each large shield. 16 He made 300 shields of beaten gold, [g]using three hundred shekels of gold on each shield, and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon. 17 Moreover, the king made a great throne of ivory and overlaid it with pure gold. 18 There were six steps to the throne and a footstool in gold attached to the throne, and [h]arms [i]on each side of the seat, and two lions standing beside the [j]arms. 19 Twelve lions were standing there on the six steps on the one side and on the other; nothing like it was made for any other kingdom. 20 All King Solomon’s drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold; silver was not considered [k]valuable in the days of Solomon. 21 For the king had ships which went to Tarshish with the servants of Huram; once every three years the ships of Tarshish came bringing gold and silver, ivory and apes and peacocks. 22 So King Solomon became greater than all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom. 23 And all the kings of the earth were seeking the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom which God had put in his heart. 24 They brought every man his gift, articles of silver and gold, garments, weapons, spices, horses and mules, so much year by year. 25 Now Solomon had 4,000 stalls for horses and chariots and 12,000 horsemen, and he stationed them in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem. 26 He was the ruler over all the kings from the Euphrates River even to the land of the Philistines, and as far as the border of Egypt. 27 The king made silver as common as stones in Jerusalem, and he made cedars as plentiful as sycamore trees that are in the [l]lowland. 28 And they were bringing horses for Solomon from Egypt and from all countries. 29 Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, from first to last, are they not written in the [m]records of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of [n]Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam the son of Nebat? 30 Solomon reigned forty years in Jerusalem over all Israel. EDEN MAY HAVE BEEN IN BETWEEN TIGRIS AND EUPRHATES.
Death of Solomon
31 And Solomon slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of his father David; and his son Rehoboam reigned in his place.
Footnotes
2 Chronicles 9:2 Lit told her all her words
2 Chronicles 9:2 Lit tell
2 Chronicles 9:4 Or his burnt offering which he offered
2 Chronicles 9:7 Or happy
2 Chronicles 9:7 Or happy
2 Chronicles 9:15 Lit he brought up
2 Chronicles 9:16 Lit he brought up
2 Chronicles 9:18 Lit hands
2 Chronicles 9:18 Lit on this side and on this at the place of the seat
2 Chronicles 9:18 Lit hands
2 Chronicles 9:20 Lit anything
2 Chronicles 9:27 Heb shephelah
2 Chronicles 9:29 Lit words
2 Chronicles 9:29 Heb Jedo
Rehoboam’s Reign of Folly (TRIBE OF JUDAH (S) AND BENJAMIN, CAPITAL=JERUSALEM; BAD KING WHO LISTENED TO WRONG COUNSEL; RULED WITHOUT RELATIONSHIP WHICH LED TO REBELLION; RULED 17 YEARS; MOTHER WAS AMMONITIESS (IDOLATROUS); ISRAEL(N), CAPITAL=SAMARIA, 10 TRIBES); NO GOOD KINGS, NOT JESUS' LINE
10 Then Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king. 2 When Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it (for he was in Egypt where he had fled from the presence of King Solomon), Jeroboam returned from Egypt. 3 So they sent and summoned him. When Jeroboam and all Israel came, they spoke to Rehoboam, saying, 4 “Your father made our yoke hard; now therefore lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you.” 5 He said to them, “Return to me again in three days.” So the people departed. 6 Then King Rehoboam consulted with the elders who had [a]served his father Solomon while he was still alive, saying, “How do you counsel me to answer this people?” 7 They spoke to him, saying, “If you will be kind to this people and please them and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever.” 8 But he forsook the counsel of the elders which they had given him, and consulted with the young men who grew up with him [b]and served him. 9 So he said to them, “What counsel do you give that we may answer this people, who have spoken to me, saying, ‘Lighten the yoke which your father put on us’?” 10 The young men who grew up with him spoke to him, saying, “Thus you shall say to the people who spoke to you, saying, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you make it lighter for us.’ Thus you shall say to them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s loins! 11 Whereas my father loaded you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke; my father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.’” 12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day as the king had [c]directed, saying, “Return to me on the third day.” 13 The king answered them harshly, and King Rehoboam forsook the counsel of the elders. 14 He spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, saying, “[d]My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to it; my father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.” 15 So the king did not listen to the people, for it was a turn of events from God that the Lord might establish His word, which He spoke through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat. 16 When all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them the people answered the king, saying,
“What portion do we have in David?
We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse.
Every man to your tents, O Israel;
Now look after your own house, David.”
So all Israel departed to their tents. 17 But as for the sons of Israel who lived in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them. 18 Then King Rehoboam sent Hadoram, who was over the forced labor, and the sons of Israel stoned him [e]to death. And King Rehoboam made haste to mount his chariot to flee to Jerusalem. 19 So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.
Footnotes
2 Chronicles 10:6 Lit stood before
2 Chronicles 10:8 Lit who stood before
2 Chronicles 10:12 Lit spoken
2 Chronicles 10:14 Many mss read I have made
2 Chronicles 10:18 Lit with stones that he died
Rehoboam Reigns over Judah and Builds Cities
11 Now when Rehoboam had come to Jerusalem, he assembled the house of Judah and Benjamin, 180,000 chosen men who were warriors, to fight against Israel to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam. 2 But the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying, 3 “Speak to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, saying, 4 ‘Thus says the Lord, “You shall not go up or fight against your [a]relatives; return every man to his house, for this thing is from Me.”’” So they listened to the words of the Lord and returned from going against Jeroboam. 5 Rehoboam lived in Jerusalem and built cities for defense in Judah. 6 Thus he built Bethlehem, Etam, Tekoa, 7 Beth-zur, Soco, Adullam, 8 Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, 9 Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, 10 Zorah, Aijalon and Hebron, which are fortified cities in Judah and in Benjamin. 11 He also strengthened the fortresses and put officers in them and stores of food, oil and wine. 12 He put shields and spears in every city and strengthened them greatly. So he held Judah and Benjamin. 13 Moreover, the priests and the Levites who were in all Israel stood with him from all their districts.
Jeroboam Appoints False Priests
14 For the Levites left their pasture lands and their property and came to Judah and Jerusalem, for Jeroboam and his sons had excluded them from serving as priests to the Lord. 15 He set up priests of his own for the high places, for the satyrs (WOODLAND gods) and for the calves which he had made. 16 Those from all the tribes of Israel who set their hearts on seeking the Lord God of Israel [b]followed them to Jerusalem, to sacrifice to the Lord God of their fathers. 17 They strengthened the kingdom of Judah and supported Rehoboam the son of Solomon for three years, for they walked in the way of David and Solomon for three years.
Rehoboam’s Family
18 Then Rehoboam took as a wife Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David and of Abihail the daughter of Eliab the son of Jesse, 19 and she bore him sons: Jeush, Shemariah and Zaham. 20 After her he took Maacah the daughter of [c]Absalom, and she bore him Abijah, Attai, Ziza and Shelomith. 21 Rehoboam loved Maacah the daughter of Absalom more than all his other wives and concubines. For he had taken eighteen wives and sixty concubines and fathered twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters. 22 Rehoboam appointed Abijah the son of Maacah as head and leader among his brothers, for he intended to make him king. 23 He acted wisely and distributed [d]some of his sons through all the territories of Judah and Benjamin to all the fortified cities, and he gave them food in abundance. And he sought many wives for them.
Footnotes
2 Chronicles 11:4 Lit brothers
2 Chronicles 11:16 Lit came after
2 Chronicles 11:20 In 1 Kin 15:2, Abishalom
2 Chronicles 11:23 Lit from all
Shishak of Egypt Invades Judah
12 When the kingdom of Rehoboam was established and strong, he and all Israel with him forsook the law of the Lord. 2 And it came about in King Rehoboam’s fifth year, because they had been unfaithful to the Lord, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem 3 with 1,200 chariots and 60,000 horsemen. And the people who came with him from Egypt were without number: the Lubim, the Sukkiim and the Ethiopians. 4 He captured the fortified cities of Judah and came as far as Jerusalem. 5 Then Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and the princes of Judah who had gathered at Jerusalem because of Shishak, and he said to them, “Thus says the Lord, ‘You have forsaken Me, so I also have forsaken you [a]to Shishak.’” 6 So the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, “The Lord is righteous.” 7 When the Lord saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah, saying, “They have humbled themselves so I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some measure of deliverance, and My wrath shall not be poured out on Jerusalem by means of Shishak. 8 But they will become his slaves so that they may learn the difference between My service and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.”
Plunder Impoverishes Judah
9 So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, and took the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s palace. He took everything; he even took the golden shields which Solomon had made. 10 Then King Rehoboam made shields of bronze in their place and committed them to the [b]care of the commanders of the [c]guard who guarded the door of the king’s house. 11 As often as the king entered the house of the Lord, the [d]guards came and carried them and then brought them back into the [e]guards’ room. 12 And when he humbled himself, the anger of the Lord turned away from him, so as not to destroy him completely; and also conditions were good in Judah. 13 So King Rehoboam strengthened himself in Jerusalem and reigned. Now Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the Lord had chosen from all the tribes of Israel, to put His name there. And his mother’s name was Naamah the Ammonitess. 14 He did evil because he did not set his heart to seek the Lord.
15 Now the acts of Rehoboam, from first to last, are they not written in the [f]records of Shemaiah the prophet and of Iddo the seer, according to genealogical enrollment? LOST BOOKS OF THE BIBLE
"The Apocrypha contains a number of false teachings (see: Errors in the Apocrypha). (To check the following references, see http://www.newadvent.org/bible.)
The command to use magic (Tobit 6:5-7).
Forgiveness of sins by almsgiving (Tobit 4:11; 12:9).
The offering of money for the sins of the dead (2 Maccabees 12:43-45)"
https://carm.org/roman-catholicism/reasons-why-the-apocrypha-does-not-belong-in-the-bible/
"The Talmud, an ancient collection of rabbinical laws, law decisions, and comments on the law of Moses preserves the oral tradition of the Jewish people. One compilation was made in Jerusalem between 350 and 425 AD. An expanded compilation of the Talmud was made in Babylonia about 500 AD. Each compilation is known by the name of its place of compilation. The Talmud helped to establish the Jewish canon by rejecting later writings, including the Christian Gospels, which they judged to be heretical works. Evidence clearly supports the theory that the Hebrew canon was established well before the late first century AD, though more likely as early as the fourth century BC. A major reason for this conclusion comes from the Jews themselves, who from the 4th century BC onward were convinced that “the voice of God had ceased to speak directly.” In other words, the prophetic voice had been stilled. No word from God means no new Word of God. We know that Jesus often referred to the Old Testament; there is no evidence that He found fault with the canonicity of any Old Testament book. The Council of Carthage established the orthodox New Testament canon in 397 AD; it was upheld at the Council of Trent in 1545." https://www.josh.org/who-decided-what-in-bible/
SUMMARY OF THE BIBLE: OLD TESTAMENT: HISTORY (GENESIS-ESTHER), (TORAH/PENTATEUCH IS GENESIS-DUETERONOMY); POETRY/WISDOM, (JOB-SONG OF SOLOMON), PROPHECY (ISAIAH-MALACHI)
NEW TESTAMENT: HISTORY (MATTHEW-ACTS), EPISTLES (ROMANS-3RD JOHN), PROPHECY (REVELATION)
And there were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually. 16 And Rehoboam slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David; and his son Abijah became king in his place.
Footnotes
2 Chronicles 12:5 Lit in the hand of
2 Chronicles 12:10 Lit hands
2 Chronicles 12:10 Lit runners
2 Chronicles 12:11 Lit runners
2 Chronicles 12:11 Lit runners
2 Chronicles 12:15 Lit words
Abijah Succeeds Rehoboam
13 In the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, Abijah became king over Judah. 2 He reigned three years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Micaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. Now there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. 3 Abijah began the battle with an army of valiant warriors, 400,000 chosen men, while Jeroboam drew up in battle formation against him with 800,000 chosen men who were valiant warriors.
Civil War
4 Then Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, and said, “Listen to me, Jeroboam and all Israel: 5 Do you not know that the Lord God of Israel gave the rule over Israel forever to David [a]and his sons by a covenant of salt? 6 Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon the son of David, rose up and rebelled against his [b]master, 7 and worthless men gathered about him, scoundrels, who proved too strong for Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, when [c]he was young and timid and could not hold his own against them. 8 “So now you intend to resist the kingdom of the Lord [d]through the sons of David, [e]being a great multitude and having with you the golden calves which Jeroboam made for gods for you. 9 Have you not driven out the priests of the Lord, the sons of Aaron and the Levites, and made for yourselves priests like the peoples of other lands? Whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams, even he may become a priest of what are no gods. 10 But as for us, the Lord is our God, and we have not forsaken Him; and the sons of Aaron are ministering to the Lord as priests, and the Levites [f]attend to their work. 11 Every morning and evening (DO WE?) they [g]burn to the Lord burnt offerings and fragrant incense, and the showbread is set on the clean table, and the golden lampstand with its lamps is ready to light every evening; for we keep the charge of the Lord our God, but you have forsaken Him. 12 Now behold, God is with us at our head and His priests with the signal trumpets to sound the alarm against you. O sons of Israel, do not fight against the Lord God of your fathers, for you will not succeed.” 13 But Jeroboam had set an ambush to come from the rear, so that Israel was in front of Judah and the ambush was behind them. 14 When Judah turned around, behold, [h]they were attacked both front and rear; so they cried to the Lord, and the priests blew the trumpets. 15 Then the men of Judah raised a war cry, and when the men of Judah raised the war cry, then it was that God [i]routed Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. 16 When the sons of Israel fled before Judah, God gave them into their hand. 17 Abijah and his people defeated them with a great slaughter, so that 500,000 chosen men of Israel fell slain. 18 Thus the sons of Israel were subdued at that time, and the sons of Judah [j]conquered because they trusted in the Lord, the God of their fathers. 19 Abijah pursued Jeroboam and captured from him several cities, Bethel with its villages, Jeshanah with its villages and [k]Ephron with its villages.
Death of Jeroboam
20 Jeroboam did not again recover strength in the days of Abijah; and the Lord struck him and he died. 21 But Abijah became powerful; and took fourteen wives to himself, and became the father of twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters. 22 Now the rest of the acts of Abijah, and his ways and his words are written in the [l]treatise of the prophet Iddo.
Footnotes
2 Chronicles 13:5 Lit to him and to his sons
2 Chronicles 13:6 Or lord
2 Chronicles 13:7 Lit Rehoboam
2 Chronicles 13:8 Lit in the hands of
2 Chronicles 13:8 Lit and you are a
2 Chronicles 13:10 Lit in the work
2 Chronicles 13:11 Lit offer up in smoke
2 Chronicles 13:14 Lit the battle was before and behind them
2 Chronicles 13:15 Lit smote
2 Chronicles 13:18 Lit were strong
2 Chronicles 13:19 Another reading is Ephrain
2 Chronicles 13:22 Heb midrash
Asa (GOOD KING) Succeeds Abijah in Judah; RULED 41 YEARS, HAD 200K ARMY, ETHIOPIAN ARMY OF 1M ATTACKED HIM; ASA PRAYED AND WON.
14 [a]So Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David, and his son Asa became king in his place. The land was undisturbed for ten years during his days. 2 [b]Asa did good and right in the sight of the Lord his God, 3 for he removed the foreign altars and high places, tore down the sacred pillars, cut down the [c]Asherim, 4 and commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers and to observe the law and the commandment. 5 He also removed the high places and the incense altars from all the cities of Judah. And the kingdom was undisturbed under him. 6 He built fortified cities in Judah, since the land was undisturbed, and [d]there was no one at war with him during those years, because the Lord had given him rest. 7 For he said to Judah, “Let us build these cities and surround them with walls and towers, gates and bars. The land is still [e]ours because we have sought the Lord our God; we have sought Him, and He has given us rest on every side.” So they built and prospered. 8 Now Asa had an army of 300,000 from Judah, bearing large shields and spears, and 280,000 from Benjamin, bearing shields and wielding bows; all of them were valiant warriors. 9 Now Zerah the Ethiopian came out against them with an army of a million men and 300 chariots, and he came to Mareshah. 10 So Asa went out [f]to meet him, and they drew up in battle formation in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. 11 Then Asa called to the Lord his God and said, “Lord, there is no one besides You to help in the battle between the powerful and those who have no strength; so help us, O Lord our God, for we trust in You, and in Your name have come against this multitude. O Lord, You are our God; let not man prevail against You.” 12 So the Lord [g]routed the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled. 13 Asa and the people who were with him pursued them as far as Gerar; and so many Ethiopians fell that [h]they could not recover, for they were shattered before the Lord and before His army. And they carried away very much plunder. 14 They [i]destroyed all the cities around Gerar, for the dread of the Lord had fallen on them; and they despoiled all the cities, for there was much plunder in them. 15 They also struck down [j]those who owned livestock, and they carried away large numbers of sheep and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.
Footnotes
2 Chronicles 14:1 Ch 13:23 in Heb
2 Chronicles 14:2 Ch 14:1 in Heb
2 Chronicles 14:3 I.e. wooden symbols of a female deity
2 Chronicles 14:6 Lit there was not with him war
2 Chronicles 14:7 Lit before us
2 Chronicles 14:10 Lit before him
2 Chronicles 14:12 Lit struck
2 Chronicles 14:13 Or there was none left alive
2 Chronicles 14:14 Lit smote
2 Chronicles 14:15 Lit tents of livestock
The Prophet Azariah Warns Asa
15 Now the Spirit of God came on Azariah the son of Oded, 2 and he went out [a]to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: the Lord is with you when you are with Him. And if you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you. 3 For many days Israel was without the true God and without a teaching priest and without law. 4 But in their distress they turned to the Lord God of Israel, and they sought Him, and He let them find Him. 5 In those times there was no peace to him who went out or to him who came in, for many disturbances [b]afflicted all the inhabitants of the lands. 6 Nation was crushed by nation, and city by city, for God troubled them with every kind of distress. 7 But you, be strong and do not [c]lose courage, for there is reward for your work.” THIS IS LIKE JOSHUA.
Asa’s Reforms
8 Now when Asa heard these words and the [d]prophecy which Azariah the son of Oded the prophet spoke, he took courage and removed the abominable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities which he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. He then restored the altar of the Lord which was in front of the porch of the Lord. 9 He gathered all Judah and Benjamin and those from Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon who resided with them, for many defected to him from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him. 10 So they assembled at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign. 11 They sacrificed to the Lord that day 700 oxen and 7,000 sheep from the spoil they had brought. 12 They entered into the covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and soul; 13 and whoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel should be put to death, whether small or great, man or woman. 14 Moreover, they made an oath to the Lord with a loud voice, with shouting, with trumpets and with horns. 15 All Judah rejoiced concerning the oath, for they had sworn with their whole heart and had sought Him [e]earnestly, and He let them find Him. So the Lord gave them rest on every side. TAKING A SABBATH IS IMPORTANT. 16 He also removed Maacah, the mother of King Asa, from the position of queen mother, because she had made a horrid image [f]as an Asherah, and Asa cut down her horrid image, crushed it and burned it at the brook Kidron. 17 But the high places were not removed from Israel; nevertheless Asa’s heart was blameless all his days. 18 He brought into the house of God the dedicated things of his father and his own dedicated things: silver and gold and utensils. 19 And there was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign.
Footnotes
2 Chronicles 15:2 Lit before Asa
2 Chronicles 15:5 Lit were on
2 Chronicles 15:7 Lit let your hands drop
2 Chronicles 15:8 With several ancient versions; Heb the prophecy, Oded the prophet
2 Chronicles 15:15 Lit with their whole desire
2 Chronicles 15:16 Or for Asherah
Asa Wars against Baasha
16 In the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah and [a]fortified Ramah in order to prevent anyone from going out or coming in to Asa king of Judah. 2 Then Asa brought out silver and gold from the treasuries of the house of the Lord and the king’s house, and sent them to Ben-hadad king of Aram, who lived in Damascus (SYRIA) saying, 3 “Let there be a treaty between [b]you and me, as between my father and your father. Behold, I have sent you silver and gold; go, break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel so that he will withdraw from me.” 4 So Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, and they [c]conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel-maim and all the [d]store cities of Naphtali. 5 When Baasha heard of it, he ceased [e]fortifying Ramah and stopped his work. 6 Then King Asa brought all Judah, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its timber with which Baasha had been building, and with them he [f]fortified Geba and Mizpah.
Asa Imprisons the Prophet
7 At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him, “Because you have relied on the king of Aram and have not relied on the Lord your God, therefore the army of the king of Aram has escaped out of your hand. 8 Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubim an immense army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet because you relied on the Lord, He delivered them into your hand. 9 For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His. You have acted foolishly in this. Indeed, from now on you will surely have wars.” 10 Then Asa was angry with the seer and put him in [g]prison, for he was enraged at him for this. And Asa oppressed some of the people at the same time. 11 Now, the acts of Asa from first to last, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 12 In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa became diseased in his feet. His disease was severe, yet even in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but the physicians. DO WE? 13 So Asa slept with his fathers, [h]having died in the forty-first year of his reign. 14 They buried him in his own tomb which he had cut out for himself in the city of David, and they laid him in the resting place which he had filled with spices of various kinds blended by the perfumers’ art; and they made a very great fire for him.
Footnotes
2 Chronicles 16:1 Lit built
2 Chronicles 16:3 Lit me and you
2 Chronicles 16:4 Lit smote
2 Chronicles 16:4 Lit storage places of the cities
2 Chronicles 16:5 Lit building
2 Chronicles 16:6 Lit built
2 Chronicles 16:10 Lit the house of the stocks
2 Chronicles 16:13 Lit and
