Asa

Aviyah slept with his ancestors, and they buried him in the City of David. Then Asa his son became king in his place; during his time the land was quiet for ten years.

Asa did what was good and right from the perspective of ADONAI his God;

Asa had an army of 300,000 men from Y'hudah, equipped with shields and spears, and another 280,000 from Binyamin, with shields and bows; all were brave, strong men.

Asa went out to fight him, and the forces were arranged for battle in the Tz'fat Valley at Mareshah.

Asa cried out to ADONAI his God, "ADONAI, there is no one besides yourself, strong or weak, who can help. Help us, ADONAI our God, because we are relying on you, and we are coming against this vast throng in your name. You are ADONAI our God; don't let human beings stop you!"

So ADONAI struck the Ethiopians before Asa and Y'hudah, and the Ethiopians fled.

Asa and the army with him pursued them to G'rar, and the Ethiopians were defeated beyond recovery; they were shattered before ADONAI and his army, who carried off much spoil.

he went out to meet Asa and said to him, "Listen to me, Asa, and all Y'hudah and Binyamin! ADONAI is with you, as long as you are with him; if you seek him, you will find him; but if you abandon him, he will abandon you!

When Asa heard these words prophesied by 'Oded the prophet, it gave him courage to throw the disgusting things out of the whole land of Y'hudah and Binyamin and out of the cities he had captured in the hills of Efrayim; he also renewed the altar of ADONAI which was in front of the vestibule of ADONAI.

They assembled together at Yerushalayim in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa's reign.

Asa the king also deposed Ma'akhah his [grand]mother from her position as queen mother, because she had made a disgusting image for an asherah. Asa cut down this image of hers, chopped it into tiny pieces and burned it in Vadi Kidron.

But the high places were not removed from Isra'el. Nevertheless, Asa was wholehearted throughout his life.

There was no more war through the thirty-fifth year of Asa's reign.

In the thirty-sixth year of Asa's reign, Ba'asha king of Isra'el attacked Y'hudah, and he fortified Ramah to prevent anyone's leaving or entering the territory of Asa king of Y'hudah.

Then Asa removed silver and gold from the treasures of the house of ADONAI and the royal palace; and sent this message to Ben-Hadad king of Aram, who lived in Dammesek:

Ben-Hadad did as King Asa had asked - he sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Isra'el, attacking 'Iyon, Dan, Avel-Mayim and all the storage-cities of Naftali.

Asa the king took all Y'hudah and carried off the stones and timber which Ba'asha had used to fortify Ramah. With them he fortified Geva and Mitzpah.

It was around then that Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Y'hudah and said to him, "Because you relied on the king of Aram and didn't rely on ADONAI your God, the king of Aram's army has escaped from your power.

But Asa became angry at the seer; in fact, because of his rage at him over this matter he threw him in prison. Moreover, at the same time, he mistreated some of the people.

The activities of Asa from beginning to end are recorded in the Annals of the Kings of Y'hudah and Isra'el.

In the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa suffered from a disease in his legs. It was a very serious disease, yet even with this disease he did not seek out ADONAI but turned to the physicians.

Asa slept with his ancestors, dying in the forty-first year of his reign.

by placing forces in all the fortified cities of Y'hudah, and by garrisoning troops in the territory of Y'hudah and in the cities of Efrayim that Asa his father had captured.

He lived in the manner of Asa his father and did not turn away from it, doing what was right from ADONAI's perspective;

A letter came to him from Eliyahu the prophet which said, "Here is what ADONAI, the God of David your ancestor, says: 'You have not lived by the examples of Y'hoshafat your father or Asa king of Y'hudah.