American Standard Version of 1901
Versliste
Better is a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king, who knoweth not how to receive admonition any more.
{[chapter 13:23 in Hebrew]}So Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David; and Asa his son reigned in his stead. In his days the land was quiet ten years. {[chapter 14:1 in Hebrew]}
And Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of Jehovah his God:
for he took away the foreign altars, and the high places, and brake down the {Or, obelisks}pillars, and hewed down the Asherim,
and commanded Judah to seek Jehovah, the God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment.
Also he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the sun-images: and the kingdom was quiet before him.
And he built fortified cities in Judah; for the land was quiet, and he had no war in those years, because Jehovah had given him rest.
Look therefore carefully how ye walk, not as unwise, but as wise;
{Greek: buying up the opportunity.}redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
Beloved, while I was giving all diligence to write unto you of our common salvation, I was constrained to write unto you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered unto the saints.
And Asa had an army that bare bucklers and spears, out of Judah three hundred thousand; and out of Benjamin, that bare shields and drew bows, two hundred and fourscore thousand: all these were mighty men of valor.
And there came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian with an army of a thousand thousand, and three hundred chariots; and he came unto Mareshah.
Then Asa went out to meet him, and they set the battle in array in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah.
And Asa cried unto Jehovah his God, and said, Jehovah, {Or, there is no difference with thee to help, whether the mighty or him &c.}there is none {Or, like}besides thee to help, between the mighty and him that hath no strength: help us, O Jehovah our God; for we rely on thee, and in thy name are we come against this multitude. O Jehovah, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee.
So Jehovah smote the Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah; and the Ethiopians fled.
And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, because they had trespassed against Jehovah,
and he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: Jehovah is with you, while ye are with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.
But be ye strong, and let not your hands be slack; for your work shall be rewarded.
And when Asa heard these words, {Or, even}and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the abominations out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken from the hill-country of Ephraim; and he renewed the altar of Jehovah, that was before the porch of Jehovah.
Then Solomon offered burnt-offerings unto Jehovah on the altar of Jehovah, which he had built before the porch,
And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and them that sojourned with them out of Ephraim and Manasseh, and out of Simeon: for they fell to him out of Israel in abundance, when they saw that Jehovah his God was with him.
And of Levi he said,Thy Thummim and thy Urim are with {Or, him whom thou lovest}thy godly one,Whom thou didst prove at Massah,With whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah;
Who said of his father, and of his mother, I have not seen him;Neither did he acknowledge his brethren,Nor knew he his own children:For they have observed thy word,And keep thy covenant.
But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?
In the six and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa, Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah, and built Ramah, that he might not suffer any one to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah.
In the third year of Asa king of Judah began Baasha the son of Ahijah to reign over all Israel in Tirzah, and reigned twenty and four years.
In the twenty and sixth year of Asa king of Judah began Elah the son of Baasha to reign over Israel in Tirzah, and reigned two years.
Then Asa brought out silver and gold out of the treasures of the house of Jehovah and of the king's house, and sent to Ben-hadad king of Syria, that dwelt at {Hebrew: Darmesek.}Damascus, saying,
{Or, Let there be}There 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.
And God raised up another adversary unto him, Rezon the son of Eliada, who had fled from his lord Hadadezer king of Zobah.
And he gathered men unto him, and became captain over a troop, when David slew them of Zobah: and they went to Damascus, and dwelt therein, and reigned in Damascus.
And he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon, besides the mischief that Hadad did: and he abhorred Israel, and reigned over Syria.
And he settled his countenance stedfastly upon him, until he was ashamed: and the man of God wept.
And Hazael said, Why weepeth my lord? And he answered, Because I know the evil that thou wilt do unto the children of Israel: their strongholds wilt thou set on fire, and their young men wilt thou slay with the sword, and wilt dash in pieces their little ones, and rip up their women with child.
And Hazael said, But what is thy servant, who is but a dog, that he should do this great thing? And Elisha answered, Jehovah hath showed me that thou shalt be king over Syria.
Then Asa was wroth with the seer, and put him in the {Hebrew: house of the stocks.}prison-house; for he was in a rage with him because of this thing. And Asa oppressed some of the people at the same time.
Ye were running well; who hindered you that ye should not obey the truth?
Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation;And my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.
I will be as the dew unto Israel; he shall blossom as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon.
And Asa slept with his fathers, and died in the one and fortieth year of his reign.
And they buried him in his own sepulchres, which he had hewn out for himself in the city of David, and laid him in the bed which was filled with sweet odors and divers kinds of spices prepared by the perfumers' art: and they made a very great burning for him.
And he walked in the way of Asa his father, and turned not aside from it, doing that which was right in the eyes of Jehovah.
And there came a writing to him from Elijah the prophet, saying, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of David thy father, Because thou hast not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat thy father, nor in the ways of Asa king of Judah,
Be ye therefore imitators of God, as beloved children;
Now the pit wherein Ishmael cast all the dead bodies of the men whom he had slain, by the side of Gedaliah (the same was that which Asa the king had made for fear of Baasha king of Israel), Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with them that were slain.
The fear of man bringeth a snare;But whoso putteth his trust in Jehovah {Hebrew: shall be set on high.}shall be safe.