1 Kings 15:18-28

18 Therefore Asa took all the silver and gold, that (were) left in the treasuries of the house of the Lord, and in the treasuries of the king's house, and gave it into the hands of his servants; and he sent it to Benhadad, the son of Tabrimon, son of Hezion, the king of Syria, that dwelled in Damascus (who lived in Damascus), and said,
19 A bond of peace is betwixt me and thee, and betwixt my father and thy father, and therefore I sent to thee gifts, gold, and silver; and I ask, that thou come, and make void the bond of peace, that thou hast with Baasha, king of Israel, and that he go away from me. (There is a covenant between me and thee, and between my father and thy father, and so I sent gifts of gold and silver to thee; and I ask that thou come, and dissolve the covenant, that thou hast with Baasha, the king of Israel, so that then he shall go away from me.)
20 Benhadad assented to king Asa, and sent the princes of his host into the cities of Israel; and they smote Ijon, and Dan, and Abel, the house of Maachah (and Abelbethmaachah), and all Cinneroth, that is, all the land of Naphtali.
21 And when Baasha had heard this thing, he left (off) to build Ramah, and turned again into Tirzah. (And when Baasha had heard of this thing, he stopped fortifying Ramah, and returned to Tirzah.)
22 Forsooth king Asa sent [a] message into all Judah, and said, No man be excused. And (so) they (all came, and) took (away) the stones of Ramah, and the trees thereof, by which Baasha had builded (it); and king Asa builded of the same stones and trees Geba of Benjamin, and Mizpah. (And King Asa sent a message to all Judah, and said, No man shall be excused. And so they all came, and took away the stones, and the timber, from Ramah, with which Baasha had fortified it; and King Asa used these same stones and timber to fortify Geba of Benjamin, and Mizpah.)
23 Soothly the residue of all the words of Asa, and of all his strength, and all things that he did, and the cities which he builded, whether these be not written in the book of [the] words of [the] days of [the] kings of Judah? Nevertheless Asa had (an) ache in his feet, in the time of his eld (age).
24 And Asa slept with his fathers, and he was buried with them in the city of David, his father; and Jehoshaphat, his son, reigned for him.
25 Forsooth Nadab, the son of Jeroboam, reigned on Israel, in the second year of Asa, king of Judah; and he reigned on Israel two years. (And Nadab, the son of Jeroboam, began to reign upon Israel in the second year of Asa, the king of Judah; and he reigned upon Israel for two years.)
26 And he did that, that was evil in the sight of the Lord, and he went in the ways of his father, and in the sins of him, in which he made Israel to do sin.
27 And Baasha, the son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar, setted treason to him, and he smote him in Gibbethon , which is a city of Philistines; and Nadab and all Israel besieged Gibbethon. (And Baasha, the son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar, set treason for him, and he struck him down in Gibbethon, which is a city of the Philistines; for Nadab and all Israel besieged Gibbethon.)
28 Therefore Baasha killed him, in the third year of Asa, king of Judah, and reigned for him.

1 Kings 15:18-28 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO 1 KINGS 15

In this chapter we have a short history of the reign of Abijam, 1Ki 15:1-8 and of Asa, 1Ki 14:9-24, both kings of Judah; and of the reigns of Nadab the son of Jeroboam, and of Baasha, who destroyed his family, both kings of Israel, 1Ki 15:25-34.

Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.