2 Chronicles 16

English ERV 2006 - Only For Website

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1In Asa's 36 year as king, Baasha attacked Judah and then built up the city of Ramah to keep Asa from leaving Judah on any kind of military campaign.

2So Asa took gold and silver from the treasuries of the Lord's Temple and the king's palace. He gave it to his officials and sent them to King Ben-Hadad of Aram. Ben- Hadad was the son of Tabrimmon. Tabrimmon was the son of Hezion. Damascus was Ben-Hadad's capital city.

3Asa sent this message, "My father and your father had a peace agreement. Now I want to make a peace agreement with you. I am sending you this gift of gold and silver. Please break your treaty with King Baasha of Israel and make him leave us alone."

4King Ben-Hadad made that agreement with King Asa and sent his army to fight against the Israelite towns of Ijon, Dan, Abel Maim, and the storage cities in the area of Naphtali.

5When Baasha heard about these attacks, he stopped building up Ramah and went back to Tirzah. He stopped all the work he was doing.

6Then king Asa gave an order for all the men in Judah, with no exceptions. They had to go to Ramah and carry out all the stone and wood that Baasha was using to build up the city. They carried the material to Geba in Benjamin and to Mizpah and used it to strengthen those two cities.

7At that time Hanani the seer came to King Asa of Judah and said to him, "Asa, you depended on the king of Aram to help you and not the Lord your God. You should have depended on the Lord. But, because you did not depend on the Lord for help, the king of Aram's army escaped from you.

8The Ethiopians and the Libyans had a very large and powerful army. They had many chariots and chariot drivers. But Asa, you depended on the Lord to help you defeat that large powerful army, and the Lord let you defeat them.

9The eyes of the Lord go around looking in all the earth for people who are faithful to him so that he can make them strong. Asa, you did a foolish thing. So from now on you will have wars."

10Asa was angry with Hanani because of what he said. He was so mad that he put Hanani in prison. He was also very rough and cruel to some of the people then.

11Everything Asa did, from the beginning to the end, is written in the book, The History of the Kings of Judah and Israel.

12Asa's feet became infected in his 39 year as king. Even though the infection was very serious, Asa did not go to the Lord for help. He went to the doctors instead.

13Asa died in the 41 year as king and rested with his ancestors.

14The people buried Asa in his own tomb that he made for himself in the City of David. They laid him in a bed that was filled with spices and different kinds of mixed perfumes, and they burned a large fire for him.

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