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2 Chronicles 13
In the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam Abijah began to reign over Judah. 2 Three years he reigned in Jerusalem: and his mother’s name was Micaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. And there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. 3 And Abijah joined battle with an army of valiant men of war, even four hundred thousand chosen men: and Jeroboam set the battle in array against him with eight hundred thousand chosen men, who were mighty men of valor. 4 And Abijah stood up upon mount Zemaraim, which is in the hill-country of Ephraim, and said, Hear me, O Jeroboam and all Israel: 5 Ought you not to know that Yahweh, the Elohim of Israel, gave the kingdom over Israel to David for ever, even to him and to 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 sovereign. 7 And there were gathered to him worthless men, base fellows, that strengthened themselves against Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and tender-hearted, and could not withstand them. 8 And now you think to withstand the kingdom of Yahweh in the hand of the sons of David; and you are a great multitude, and there are with you the golden calves which Jeroboam made you for elohim. 9 Have you not driven out the priests of Yahweh, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and made for yourselves priests after the manner of the peoples of other lands? So that whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bullock and seven rams, the same may be a priest of them that are no elohim. 10 But as for us, Yahweh is our Elohim, and we have not forsaken him; and we have priests ministering to Yahweh, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites in their work: 11 and they burn to Yahweh every morning and every evening burnt-offerings and sweet incense: the showbread also they set in order upon the pure table; and the candlestick of gold with the lamps of it, to burn every evening: for we keep the charge of Yahweh our Elohim; but you have forsaken him. 12 And, behold, Elohim is with us at our head, and his priests with the trumpets of alarm to sound an alarm against you. O children of Israel, do not fight against Yahweh, the Elohim of your fathers; for you shall not prosper.
13 But Jeroboam caused an ambushment to come about behind them: so they were before Judah, and the ambushment was behind them. 14 And when Judah looked back, behold, the battle was before and behind them; and they cried to Yahweh, and the priests sounded with the trumpets. 15 Then the men of Judah gave a shout: and as the men of Judah shouted, it came to pass, that Elohim routed Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. 16 And the children of Israel fled before Judah; and Elohim delivered them into their hand. 17 And Abijah and his people killed them with a great slaughter: so there fell down killed of Israel five hundred thousand chosen men. 18 In this manner the children of Israel were brought under at that time, and the children of Judah prevailed, because they relied on Yahweh, the Elohim of their fathers. 19 And Abijah pursued after Jeroboam, and took cities from him, Beth-el with the towns of it, and Ephron with the towns of it. 20 Neither did Jeroboam recover strength again in the days of Abijah: and Yahweh struck him, and he died. 21 But Abijah grew mighty, and took to himself fourteen wives, and procreated twenty-two sons, and sixteen daughters. 22 And the rest of the acts of Abijah, and his ways, and his sayings, are written in the commentary of the prophet Iddo.
2 Chronicles 14
So Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David; and Asa his son reigned in his place. In his days the land was quiet ten years. 2 And Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of Yahweh his Elohim: 3 for he took away the foreign altars, and the high places, and broke down the pillars, and hewed down the Asherim, 4 and commanded Judah to seek Yahweh, the Elohim of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment. 5 Also he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the sun-images: and the kingdom was quiet before him. 6 And he built fortified cities in Judah; for the land was quiet, and he had no war in those years, because Yahweh had given him rest. 7 For he said to Judah, Let us build these cities, and make around them walls, and towers, gates and bars; the land is yet before us, because we have sought Yahweh our Elohim; we have sought him, and he has given us rest on every side. So they built and prospered. 8 And Asa had an army that bore bucklers and spears, out of Judah three hundred thousand; and Benjamin, that bore shields and drew bows, two hundred and eighty thousand: all these were mighty men of valor.
9 And Zerah the Ethiopian came out against them with an army of a million, and three hundred chariots; and he came to Mareshah. 10 Then Asa went out to meet him, and they set the battle in array in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. 11 And Asa cried to Yahweh his Elohim, and said, Yahweh, there is no one besides you to help, between the mighty and him that has no strength: help us, O Yahweh our Elohim; for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this multitude. 12 So Yahweh struck the Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah; and the Ethiopians fled. 13 And Asa and the people that were with him pursued them to Gerar: and there fell of the Ethiopians so many that they could not recover themselves; for they were destroyed before Yahweh, and before his army; and they carried away very much plunder. 14 And they destroyed all the cities all around Gerar; for the fear of Yahweh came upon them: and they plundered all the cities; for there was much plunder in them. 15 They, also attacked tents of cattle, and carried away sheep in abundance, and camels, and returned to Jerusalem.
2 Chronicles 15
And the Spirit of Elohim came upon Azariah the son of Oded: 2 and he went out to meet Asa, and said to him, Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: Yahweh is with you, while you are with him; and if you seek him, he will be found of you; but if you forsake him. he will forsake you. 3 Now for a long season Israel was without the true Elohim, and without a teaching priest, and without law: 4 but when in their distress they turned to Yahweh, the Elohim of Israel, and sought him, he was found by them. 5 And in those times there was no peace to him that went out, nor to him that came in; but great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the lands. 6 And they were broken in pieces, nation against nation, and city against city; for Elohim vexed them with all adversity. 7 But be strong, and do not let your hands be slack; for your work shall be rewarded.
8 And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the abominations out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken from the hill-country of Ephraim; and he renewed the altar of Yahweh, that was before the porch of Yahweh. 9 And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and them that sojourned with them out of Ephraim and Manasseh, and out of Simeon: for they fell to him out of Israel in abundance, when they saw that Yahweh his Elohim was with him. 10 So they gathered themselves together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa. 11 And they sacrificed to Yahweh in that day, of the plunder which they had brought, seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep. 12 And they entered into the covenant to seek Yahweh, the Elohim of their fathers, with all their heart and with all their soul; 13 and that whoever would not seek Yahweh, the Elohim of Israel, should be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman. 14 And they swore to Yahweh with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets. 15 And all Judah rejoiced at the oath; for they had sworn with all their heart, and sought him with their whole desire; and he was found by them: and Yahweh gave them rest all around.
16 And also Maacah, the mother of Asa the king, he removed from being queen, because she had made an abominable image for an Asherah; and Asa cut down her image, and made dust of it, and burnt it at the brook Kidron. 17 But the high places were not taken away out of Israel: nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days. 18 And he brought into the house of Elohim the things that his father had dedicated, and that he himself had dedicated, silver, and gold, and vessels. 19 And there was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of the reign of Asa.
2 Chronicles 16
In the thirty-sixth year of the reign of Asa, Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah, and built Ramah, that he might not allow anyone to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. 2 Then Asa brought out silver and gold out of the treasures of the house of Yahweh and of the king’s house, and sent to Ben-hadad king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying, 3 There is a league between me and you, as there was between my father and your father: behold, I have sent you silver and gold; go, break your league with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me. 4 And Ben-hadad listened to king Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel; and they conquered Ijon, and Dan, and Abel-maim, and all the store-cities of Naphtali. 5 And it came to pass, when Baasha heard of it, that he left off building Ramah, and let his work cease. 6 Then Asa the king took all Judah; and they carried away the stones of Ramah, and the timber of it, with which Baasha had built; and he built with them Geba and Mizpah.
7 And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said to him, Because you have relied on the king of Syria, and have not relied on Yahweh your Elohim, therefore the army of the king of Syria has escaped out of your hand. 8 Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubim a huge host, with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet, because you relied on Yahweh, he delivered them into your hand. 9 For the eyes of Yahweh run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. In this you have done foolishly; for from now on you shall have wars. 10 Then Asa was angry with the seer, and put him in the prison-house; for he was in a rage with him because of this thing. And Asa oppressed some of the people at the same time.
11 And, behold, the acts of Asa, first and last, lo, they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. 12 And in the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was diseased in his feet; his disease was very great: yet in his disease he did not seek Yahweh, but the physicians. 13 And Asa slept with his fathers, and died in the forty-first year of his reign. 14 And they buried him in his own sepulchres, which he had hewn out for himself in the city of David, and laid him in the bed which was filled with sweet odors and divers kinds of spices prepared by the perfumers’ art: and they made a very great burning for him.
