1 Kings 15

₁In the eighteenth year of the reign of King Jeroboam of Israel, Abijah became king of Judah, ₂and he ruled for three years in Jerusalem. His mother was Maacah, the daughter of Absalom. ₃He committed the same sins as his father and was not completely loyal to the LORD his God, as his great-grandfather David had been. ₄But for David's sake, the LORD his God gave Abijah a son to rule after him in Jerusalem and to keep Jerusalem secure. ₅The LORD did this because David had done what pleased him and had never disobeyed any of his commands, except in the case of Uriah the Hittite. ₆The war which had begun between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continued throughout Abijah's lifetime. ₇And everything else that Abijah did is recorded in The History of the Kings of Judah.

₈Abijah died and was buried in David's City, and his son Asa succeeded him as king.

₉In the twentieth year of the reign of King Jeroboam of Israel, Asa became king of Judah, ₁₀and he ruled for 41 years in Jerusalem. His grandmother was Maacah, the daughter of Absalom. ₁₁Asa did what pleased the LORD, as his ancestor David had done. ₁₂He expelled from the country all the male and female prostitutes serving at the pagan places of worship, and he removed all the idols his predecessors had made. ₁₃He removed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother, because she had made an obscene idol of the fertility goddess Asherah. Asa cut down the idol and burnt it in the valley of the Kidron. ₁₄Even though Asa did not destroy all the pagan places of worship, he remained faithful to the LORD all his life. ₁₅He placed in the Temple all the objects his father had dedicated to God, as well as the gold and silver objects that he himself dedicated.

₁₆King Asa of Judah and King Baasha of Israel were constantly at war with each other as long as they were in power. ₁₇Baasha invaded Judah and started to fortify Ramah in order to cut off all traffic in and out of Judah. ₁₈So King Asa took all the silver and gold that was left in the Temple and the palace, and sent it by some of his officials to Damascus, to King Benhadad of Syria, the son of Tabrimmon and grandson of Hezion, with this message: ₁₉“Let us be allies, as our fathers were. This silver and gold is a present for you. Now break your alliance with King Baasha of Israel, so that he will have to pull his troops out of my territory.”

₂₀King Benhadad agreed to Asa's proposal and sent his commanding officers and their armies to attack the cities of Israel. They captured Ijon, Dan, Abel Beth Maacah, the area near Lake Galilee, and the whole territory of Naphtali. ₂₁When King Baasha heard what had happened, he stopped fortifying Ramah and went to Tirzah.

₂₂Then King Asa sent out an order throughout all Judah requiring everyone, without exception, to help carry away from Ramah the stones and timber that Baasha had been using to fortify it. With this material Asa fortified Mizpah and Geba, a city in the territory of Benjamin.

₂₃Everything else that King Asa did, his brave deeds and the towns he fortified, are all recorded in The History of the Kings of Judah. But in his old age he was crippled by a foot disease. ₂₄Asa died and was buried in the royal tombs in David's City, and his son Jehoshaphat succeeded him as king.

₂₅In the second year of the reign of King Asa of Judah, King Jeroboam's son Nadab became king of Israel, and he ruled for two years. ₂₆Like his father before him, he sinned against the LORD and led Israel into sin.

₂₇Baasha son of Ahijah, of the tribe of Issachar, plotted against Nadab and killed him as Nadab and his army were besieging the city of Gibbethon in Philistia. ₂₈This happened during the third year of the reign of King Asa of Judah. And so Baasha succeeded Nadab as king of Israel. ₂₉At once he began killing all the members of Jeroboam's family. In accordance with what the LORD had said through his servant, the prophet Ahijah from Shiloh, all Jeroboam's family were killed; not one survived. ₃₀This happened because Jeroboam aroused the anger of the LORD, the God of Israel, by the sins that he committed and that he caused Israel to commit.

₃₁Everything else that Nadab did is recorded in The History of the Kings of Israel. ₃₂King Asa of Judah and King Baasha of Israel were constantly at war with each other as long as they were in power.

₃₃In the third year of the reign of King Asa of Judah, Baasha son of Ahijah became king of all Israel, and he ruled in Tirzah for 24 years. ₃₄Like King Jeroboam before him, he sinned against the LORD and led Israel into sin.