2 Chronicles 16

In the thirty-sixth year of Asa's reign, Baasha king of Israel attacked Judah. He fortified the town of Ramah so that no one could leave or enter the land of Asa king of Judah.

1In the six and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah, and built Ramah, to the intent that he might let none go out or come in to Asa king of Judah.

NoteRamah lay about five miles north of Jerusalem on the main north–south road, at the border between the two kingdoms. Fortifying it let Baasha control all traffic in and out of Judah, a blockade rather than an invasion. The date is a long-standing puzzle: 1 Kings 16 has Baasha dying in the twenty-sixth year of Asa's reign, ten years before the events described here.

2So Asa took silver and gold out of the treasuries of the LORD's temple and of the royal palace. He sent it to Ben-hadad king of Syria, who ruled in Damascus, with this message:

2Then Asa brought out silver and gold out of the treasures of the house of the LORD and of the king’s house, and sent to Benhadad king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying,

NoteThe temple treasury and the palace treasury together held the kingdom's reserves of precious metal, accumulated from tribute, taxes and gifts; kings drew on both in emergencies. "Syria" here translates Aram, an Aramean kingdom centered on Damascus to the north-east; it does not correspond to the borders of modern Syria. Ben-hadad was a throne name used by several Aramean kings.

3"There is an agreement between you and me, as there was between my father and your father. Look, I have sent you silver and gold. Go and break your agreement with Baasha king of Israel, so that he will pull back from me."

3There is a league between me and thee, as there was between my father and thy father: behold, I have sent thee silver and gold; go, break thy league with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me.

NoteIn this world a "treaty" or "league" was a formal alliance sworn between rulers, and it was understood to pass from father to son, which is why Asa appeals to the arrangement their fathers had. The silver and gold is not a gift but the price of switching sides. The Hebrew of the first clause can be read either as a statement of fact ("there is a treaty between us") or as a proposal ("let there be a treaty between us").

4Ben-hadad listened to King Asa. He sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel. They struck down Ijon, Dan, and Abel-maim, along with all the supply cities of Naphtali.

4And Benhadad hearkened unto king Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel; and they smote Ijon, and Dan, and Abelmaim, and all the store cities of Naphtali.

NoteIjon, Dan and Abel-maim were towns in the far north of Israel, in the territory of the tribe of Naphtali, the region nearest Damascus and therefore the easiest for an Aramean army to reach. "Supply cities" (KJV "store cities") were fortified royal depots where grain, weapons and equipment were stockpiled.

5When Baasha heard about it, he stopped fortifying Ramah and abandoned the work.

5And it came to pass, when Baasha heard it, that he left off building of Ramah, and let his work cease.

6Then King Asa brought all the men of Judah, and they carried off the stones and timber that Baasha had been building with at Ramah. Asa used that material to build up Geba and Mizpah.

6Then Asa the king took all Judah; and they carried away the stones of Ramah, and the timber thereof, wherewith Baasha was building; and he built therewith Geba and Mizpah.

NoteGeba and Mizpah were towns on Judah's northern frontier, a few miles from Ramah. Dressed stone and cut timber were expensive and scarce, so carrying off an enemy's building material and reusing it in your own fortresses was normal practice.

7At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him, "Because you relied on the king of Syria and not on the LORD your God, the army of the king of Syria has slipped out of your hand.

7And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said unto him, Because thou hast relied on the king of Syria, and not relied on the LORD thy God, therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of thine hand.

NoteA "seer" is an older term for a prophet, literally one who sees, that is, receives visions. To have someone "in your hand" is a standard idiom meaning to have them in your power; the charge is that by hiring the Aramean king Asa let a force he might have defeated slip beyond his reach.

8Were not the Ethiopians and the Libyans a huge army, with a great many chariots and horsemen? Yet because you relied on the LORD, he handed them over to you.

8Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubims a huge host, with very many chariots and horsemen? yet, because thou didst rely on the LORD, he delivered them into thine hand.

NoteThis looks back to the invasion described in chapter 14. The KJV's "Ethiopians" translates Hebrew Cush, the region along the Nile south of Egypt (roughly modern Sudan), not the modern country of Ethiopia; the Lubim were Libyans, from west of Egypt. Chariots and cavalry were the elite arm of ancient warfare, expensive and hard for a small hill kingdom like Judah to match.

9The eyes of the LORD move back and forth across the whole earth, so that he can show his strength on behalf of those whose hearts are completely his. You have acted foolishly in this. From now on you will have wars."

9For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars.

NoteThe image is of a king's scouts or agents patrolling his realm and reporting back, so that he can send help where it is needed. In the KJV "perfect" does not mean faultless; the Hebrew word means whole or undivided, a loyalty not shared with anyone else.

10Then Asa was angry with the seer. He was so enraged about this that he put him in prison. At the same time Asa mistreated some of the people.

10Then Asa was wroth with the seer, and put him in a prison house; for he was in a rage with him because of this thing. And Asa oppressed some of the people the same time.

NoteThe Hebrew for the place of confinement is literally "the house of the stocks", a lock-up where prisoners were held with their feet or hands clamped in a wooden frame. The verb rendered "oppressed" or "mistreated" means to crush or break; it suggests violence against those who took the prophet's side, not merely harsh taxation.

11The acts of Asa, from first to last, are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.

11And, behold, the acts of Asa, first and last, lo, they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.

NoteThis is a source document the writer is citing, a court chronicle of the two kingdoms that has not survived. It is not the biblical books of 1 and 2 Kings.

12In the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa got a disease in his feet, and it grew very severe. Yet even when he was sick he did not seek help from the LORD, but only from the doctors.

12And Asa in the thirty and ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great: yet in his disease he sought not to the LORD, but to the physicians.

Note"To seek the LORD" is the standard Hebrew phrase for formally consulting God about a decision or a crisis, usually through a prophet or a priest, the same procedure a king would use before a battle. The contrast drawn is with whom Asa consulted, not with the use of treatment as such.

13Asa died and was laid to rest with his ancestors. He died in the forty-first year of his reign.

13And Asa slept with his fathers, and died in the one and fortieth year of his reign.

Note"Slept with his fathers" is the set formula used of a king who dies peacefully and is buried in the ancestral tomb, as opposed to one killed in battle or by assassination.

14They buried him in the tomb he had cut out for himself in the City of David. They laid him on a bed filled with sweet-smelling spices and various kinds of perfumes blended by skilled perfume makers, and they made a very great fire in his honor.

14And they buried him in his own sepulchres, which he had made for himself in the city of David, and laid him in the bed which was filled with sweet odours and divers kinds of spices prepared by the apothecaries’ art: and they made a very great burning for him.

NoteWealthy families and kings were buried in chambers cut into rock, often with several compartments, hence the KJV's plural "sepulchres." The "bed" is a bier, the frame on which the body was carried and laid out. "Prepared by the apothecaries' art" means blended by professional perfumers, a recognized trade. The "very great burning" was a ceremonial bonfire of spices in the king's honor; Israelites did not cremate their dead, and burning the body itself was a disgrace, not an honor.