1 Kings 15
Some Kings Walked in the Way, and Some Did Not
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Abiou King of Judah
15:1In the eighteenth year of Jeroboam son of Nebat’s reign, Abiou son of Rehoboam became king over Judah.
15:2He reigned six years. His mother’s name was Maacah daughter of Absalom.
15:3He walked in his father’s sins which he had committed before him. His heart was not whole with the Lord his God, like the heart of David his father.
15:4For David’s sake the Lord gave him a remnant, establishing his children after him and preserving Jerusalem,
15:5because David did what was right before the Lord and did not turn aside from anything He commanded him all the days of his life.
15:7The rest of Abiou’s acts and all he did—look, are these not written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Judah? There was war between Abiou and Jeroboam.
15:8Abiou slept with his fathers in Jeroboam’s twenty-fourth year and was buried with his fathers in the City of David. Asa his son reigned in his place.
Asa King of Judah
15:9In the twenty-fourth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Asa became king over Judah.
15:10He reigned forty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Ana daughter of Absalom.
15:11Asa did what was right before the Lord, like David his father.
15:12He removed the initiatory rites from the land and expelled all the practices his fathers had carried out.
15:13He also removed Ana his mother from being a leader, because she had held a gathering in her grove. Asa cut down her hiding places and burned them with fire at the Kidron wadi.
15:14He did not remove the high places; nevertheless Asa’s heart was whole with the Lord all his days.
15:15He brought in his father’s pillars, and he brought his own pillars into the Lord’s house—silver and gold pillars, and vessels.
Asa and the Covenant with the Son of Ader
15:16There was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel continually.
15:17Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and built Ramah, so there would be no one going out or coming in to Asa king of Judah.
15:18Asa took the silver and gold found in the treasuries of the king’s house and gave them into his attendants’ hands. King Asa sent them to the son of Ader, son of Tabrimmon, son of Azin, king of Syria, who lived in Damascus, saying,
15:19“Make a covenant between me and you, and between my father and your father. Look, I have sent you gifts of silver and gold. Come, break your covenant with Baasha king of Israel, so he will withdraw from me.”
15:20The son of Ader listened to King Asa and sent his commanders of forces against Israel’s cities. He struck Ain, Dan, Abelmaa, and all Chezrath, as far as all the land of Naphtali.
15:21When Baasha heard, he stopped building Ramah and returned to Tirzah.
15:22King Asa issued orders to all Judah as far as Ainakim. They carried away Ramah’s stones and timber with which Baasha had built. With them King Asa built the whole hill of Benjamin and the watchtower.
15:23The rest of Asa’s acts and all the power he exercised—look, are these not written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Judah? Yet in his old age he suffered in his feet.
15:24Asa slept and was buried with his fathers in the City of David. Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his place.
Nadab King of Israel
15:25Nadab son of Jeroboam became king over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel two years.
15:26He did evil before the Lord and walked in his father’s way and in his sins by which he caused Israel to sin.
Baasha Strikes the House of Jeroboam
15:27Baasha son of Ahijah, over the house of Belaan, besieged him and struck him at Gibbethon, which belonged to the foreigners, while Nadab and all Israel were besieging Gibbethon.
15:28Baasha put him to death in the third year of Asa son of Abiou, king of Judah, and reigned.
15:29When he became king, he struck down Jeroboam’s house. He left Jeroboam no breath, until he had destroyed him, according to the Lord’s word which He spoke through His servant Ahijah the Shilonite,
15:30concerning Jeroboam’s sins, how he caused Israel to sin, and his provocation by which he provoked the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger.
15:31The rest of Nadab’s acts and all he did—look, are these not written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel?
Baasha King of Israel
15:33In the third year of Asa king of Judah, Baasha son of Ahijah became king over Israel in Tirzah, reigning twenty-four years.
15:34He did evil before the Lord and walked in the way of Jeroboam son of Nebat and in his sins, as he caused Israel to sin.
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Saints Translation · Liturgical reading edition · V1 · working draft awaiting specialist review.