The Message Bible MSG
King James Version KJV
1 In the eighteenth year of the rule of Jeroboam son of Nebat, Abijah took over the throne of Judah.
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Now in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam the son of Nebat reigned Abijam over Judah.
2 He ruled in Jerusalem three years. His mother was Maacah daughter of Absalom.
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Three years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom.
3 He continued to sin just like his father before him. He was not truehearted to God as his grandfather David had been.
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And he walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father.
4 But despite that, out of respect for David, his God graciously gave him a lamp, a son to follow him and keep Jerusalem secure.
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Nevertheless for David's sake did the LORD his God give him a lamp in Jerusalem, to set up his son after him, and to establish Jerusalem:
5 For David had lived an exemplary life before God all his days, not going off on his own in willful defiance of God's clear directions (except for that time with Uriah the Hittite).
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Because David did that which was right in the eyes of the LORD, and turned not aside from any thing that he commanded him all the days of his life, save only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.
6 But war continued between Abijah and Jeroboam the whole time.
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And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life.
7 The rest of Abijah's life, everything he did, is written in The Chronicles of the Kings of Judah. But the war with Jeroboam was the dominant theme.
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Now the rest of the acts of Abijam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? And there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam.
8 Abijah died and was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. His son Asa was king after him.
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And Abijam slept with his fathers; and they buried him in the city of David: and Asa his son reigned in his stead.
9 In the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Asa began his rule over Judah.
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And in the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel reigned Asa over Judah.
10 He ruled for forty-one years in Jerusalem. His grandmother's name was Maacah.
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And forty and one years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom.
11 Asa conducted himself well before God, reviving the ways of his ancestor David.
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And Asa did that which was right in the eyes of the LORD, as did David his father.
12 He cleaned house: He got rid of the sacred prostitutes and threw out all the idols his predecessors had made.
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And he took away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made.
13 Asa spared nothing and no one; he went so far as to remove Queen Maacah from her position because she had built a shockingly obscene memorial to the whore goddess Asherah. Asa tore it down and burned it up in the Kidron Valley.
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And also Maachah his mother, even her he removed from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove; and Asa destroyed her idol, and burnt it by the brook Kidron.
14 Unfortunately, he didn't get rid of the local sex-and-religion shrines. But he was well-intentioned - his heart was in the right place, in tune with God.
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But the high places were not removed: nevertheless Asa's heart was perfect with the LORD all his days.
15 All the gold and silver vessels and artifacts that he and his father had consecrated for holy use he installed in The Temple.
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And he brought in the things which his father had dedicated, and the things which himself had dedicated, into the house of the LORD, silver, and gold, and vessels.
16 But through much of his reign there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel.
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And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.
17 Baasha king of Israel started it by building a fort at Ramah and closing the border between Israel and Judah so no one could enter or leave Judah.
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And Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah, and built Ramah, that he might not suffer any to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah.
18 Asa took all the silver and gold that was left in the treasuries of The Temple of God and the royal palace, gave it to his servants, and sent them to Ben-Hadad son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus, with this message:
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Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king's house, and delivered them into the hand of his servants: and king Asa sent them to Benhadad, the son of Tabrimon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying,
19 "Let's make a treaty like the one between our fathers. I'm showing my good faith with this gift of silver and gold. Break your deal with Baasha king of Israel so he'll quit fighting against me."
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There is a league between me and thee, and between my father and thy father: behold, I have sent unto thee a present of silver and gold; come and break thy league with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me.
20 Ben-Hadad went along with King Asa and sent out his troops against the towns of Israel. He attacked Ijon, Dan, Abel Beth Maacah, and the entire region of Kinnereth, including Naphtali.
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So Benhadad hearkened unto king Asa, and sent the captains of the hosts which he had against the cities of Israel, and smote Ijon, and Dan, and Abelbethmaachah, and all Cinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali.
21 When Baasha got the report he quit fortifying Ramah and pulled back to Tirzah.
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And it came to pass, when Baasha heard thereof, that he left off building of Ramah, and dwelt in Tirzah.
22 Then King Asa issued orders to everyone in Judah - no exemptions - to haul away the logs and stones Baasha had used in the fortification of Ramah and use them to fortify Geba in Benjamin and Mizpah.
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Then king Asa made a proclamation throughout all Judah; none was exempted: and they took away the stones of Ramah, and the timber thereof, wherewith Baasha had builded; and king Asa built with them Geba of Benjamin, and Mizpah.
23 A full account of Asa's life, all the great things he did and the fortifications he constructed, is written in The Chronicles of the Kings of Judah. In his old age he developed severe gout.
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The rest of all the acts of Asa, and all his might, and all that he did, and the cities which he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? Nevertheless in the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet.
24 Then Asa died and was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. His son Jehoshaphat became king after him.
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And Asa slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father: and Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his stead.
25 Nadab son of Jeroboam became king over Israel in the second year of Asa's rule in Judah. He was king of Israel two years.
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And Nadab the son of Jeroboam began to reign over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned over Israel two years.
26 He was openly evil before God - he followed in the footsteps of his father who both sinned and made Israel sin.
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And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin.
27 Baasha son of Ahijah of the tribe of Issachar ganged up on him and attacked him at the Philistine town of Gibbethon while Nadab and the Israelites were doing battle there.
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And Baasha the son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar, conspired against him; and Baasha smote him at Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines; for Nadab and all Israel laid siege to Gibbethon.
28 Baasha killed Nadab in the third year of Asa king of Judah and became Israel's next king.
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Even in the third year of Asa king of Judah did Baasha slay him, and reigned in his stead.
29 As soon as he was king he killed everyone in Jeroboam's family. There wasn't a living soul left to the name of Jeroboam; Baasha wiped them out totally, just as God's servant Ahijah of Shiloh had prophesied
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And it came to pass, when he reigned, that he smote all the house of Jeroboam; he left not to Jeroboam any that breathed, until he had destroyed him, according unto the saying of the LORD, which he spake by his servant Ahijah the Shilonite:
30 - punishment for Jeroboam's sins and for making Israel sin, for making the God of Israel thoroughly angry.
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Because of the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned, and which he made Israel sin, by his provocation wherewith he provoked the LORD God of Israel to anger.
31 The rest of Nadab's life, everything else he did, is written in The Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.
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Now the rest of the acts of Nadab, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
32 There was continuous war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel.
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And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.
33 In the third year of Asa king of Judah, Baasha son of Ahijah became king in Tirzah over all Israel. He ruled twenty-four years.
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In the third year of Asa king of Judah began Baasha the son of Ahijah to reign over all Israel in Tirzah, twenty and four years.
34 He was openly evil before God, walking in the footsteps of Jeroboam, who both sinned and made Israel sin.
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And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.
The King James Version is in the public domain.