2 Chronicles 16:4-14

4 And Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, and they conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel-maim, and all the 1store cities of Naphtali.
5 And when Baasha heard of it, he stopped building Ramah and let his work cease.
6 Then King Asa took all Judah, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its timber, with which Baasha had been building, and with them he built Geba and Mizpah.
7 At that time 2Hanani 3the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him, 4"Because you relied on the king of Syria, and did not rely on the LORD your God, the army of the king of Syria has escaped you.
8 Were not 5the Ethiopians and 6the Libyans a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet 7because you relied on the LORD, he gave them into your hand.
9 8For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those 9whose heart is blameless toward him. 10You have done foolishly in this, for from now on 11you will have wars."
10 Then Asa was angry with the seer and put him 12in the stocks in prison, for he was in a rage with him because of this. And Asa inflicted cruelties upon some of the people at the same time.
11 13The acts of Asa, from first to last, are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.
12 In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was diseased in his feet, and his disease became severe. Yet even in his disease he did not seek the LORD, but sought help from physicians.
13 And Asa slept with his fathers, dying in the forty-first year of his reign.
14 They buried him in the tomb that he had cut for himself in the city of David. They laid him on a bier 14that had been filled with various kinds of spices prepared by the perfumer's art, 15and they made a very great fire in his honor.

2 Chronicles 16:4-14 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO 2 CHRONICLES 16

Baasha coming up against Judah, and building Ramah, Asa made a league with the king of Syria, and hired him to make a diversion in his favour, and cause Baasha to leave off building, which succeeded, 2Ch 16:1-6, for which he was reproved by a prophet of the Lord, with whom he was so angry for it as to put him in prison, and oppress others, 2Ch 16:7,10, and the chapter is closed with an account of his disease and conduct under it, and of his death and burial, 2Ch 16:11-14.

Cross References 15

  • 1. [Exodus 1:11]
  • 2. 2 Chronicles 19:2; 1 Kings 16:1
  • 3. See 1 Samuel 9:9
  • 4. [Isaiah 31:1; Jeremiah 17:5]
  • 5. 2 Chronicles 14:9
  • 6. 2 Chronicles 12:3
  • 7. [2 Chronicles 13:16, 18]
  • 8. Zechariah 4:10; [Proverbs 15:3]
  • 9. [1 Kings 8:61]
  • 10. 1 Samuel 13:13
  • 11. 1 Kings 15:16, 32
  • 12. [2 Chronicles 18:26]
  • 13. For ver. 11-14, see 1 Kings 15:23, 24
  • 14. [Genesis 50:2; Mark 16:1; John 19:39, 40]
  • 15. [2 Chronicles 21:19; Jeremiah 34:5]
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.