(1 Kings 15:16–22)
1
In the thirty-sixth year of the reign of Asa, Baasha king of Israel has come up against Judah, and builds Ramah, so as not to permit any going out and coming in to Asa king of Judah.
2
And Asa brings out silver and gold from the treasures of the house of YHWH and of the house of the king, and sends [them] to Ben-Hadad king of Aram, who is dwelling in Damascus, saying,
3
“A covenant [is] between me and you, and between my father and your father, behold, I have sent silver and gold to you; go, break your covenant with Baasha king of Israel, and he goes up from off me.”
4
And Ben-Hadad listens to King Asa, and sends the heads of the forces that he has to cities of Israel, and they strike Ijon, and Dan, and Abel-Maim, and all the stores, cities of Naphtali.
5
And it comes to pass, at Baasha’s hearing, that he ceases from building Ramah, and lets his work rest;
6
and Asa the king has taken all Judah, and they carry away the stones of Ramah and its wood that Baasha has built [with], and he builds Geba and Mizpah with them.
Hanani’s Message to Asa
7
And at that time Hanani the seer has come to Asa king of Judah and says to him, “Because of your leaning on the king of Aram, and you have not leaned on your God YHWH, therefore the force of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand.
8
Did the Cushim and the Lubim not become a very great force for multitude, for chariot, and for horsemen? And in your leaning on YHWH He gave them into your hand,
9
for YHWH—His eyes go to and fro in all the earth, to show Himself strong [for] a people whose heart [is] perfect toward Him; you have been foolish concerning this, because from now on there are wars with you.”
10
And Asa is angry at the seer, and puts him [in] the house of stocks, for [he is] in a rage with him for this; and Asa oppresses [some] of the people at that time.
The Death and Burial of Asa
11
And behold, the matters of Asa, the first and the last, behold, they are written on the scroll of the kings of Judah and Israel.
12
And Asa is diseased—in the thirty-ninth year of his reign—in his feet, until his disease is excessive; and also in his disease he has not sought YHWH, but among physicians.
13
And Asa lies with his fathers, and dies in the forty-first year of his reign,
14
and they bury him in [one of] his graves that he had prepared for himself in the City of David, and they cause him to lie on a bed that [one] has filled [with] spices, and various kinds of mixtures, with perfumed work; and they burn a very great burning for him.
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