1 Kings 15

1 In the eighteenth [nearly two decades] year [a period of time] of the reign [rule, kingdom] of Jeroboam [the people will contend] son [descendant, offspring] of Nebat [an Ephraimite], Abijam [my father is the sea, a king of Judah] became [began to rule, to reign] king [monarch, ruler] of Judah [the tribe descended from Judah, the son of Jacob], word study 2 and he reigned [as king, ruled] in Jerusalem [the city of peace, capital of Palestine] three [a period of time, thrice] years. His mother’s [female parent, maternal figure] name was Maacah [oppression, a place in Syria] daughter [female child, woman] of Abishalom [Absalom, son of King David]. word study 3 And Abijam walked [in the footsteps of, followed] in all the sins [transgressions, rebellions] that his father [ancestor, predecessor] before him had committed [done, practiced], and his heart [innermost being, mind] was not as fully devoted [completely loyal, wholly dedicated] to the LORD [Yehovah, the covenant God] his God [Elohim, the supreme Ruler] as the heart [inner self, spirit] of David [the beloved king] his forefather had been. word study 4 Nevertheless, for the sake [because of, out of regard for] of David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Israel], the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] his God [Elohim, the one supreme God] gave him a lamp [a candle, a light] in Jerusalem [the city of peace, the capital of Palestine] by raising up a son [a descendant, a grandson] to succeed him and to make Jerusalem [the chief city of the united kingdom] strong [established, secure]. word study 5 For David had done what was right [just, upright] in the eyes [sight, perception] of the LORD [Yehovah, the Lord God] and had not turned aside [deviated, departed] from anything [all things, every command] the LORD commanded [gave orders, appointed] all the days [daily, throughout his life] of his life, except [only, solely] in the matter [case, affair] of Uriah [God is my light] the Hittite [a descendant of Heth]. word study 6 And there was [continuous, ongoing] war [battle, conflict] between [in the midst of, separating] the houses [dynasties, kingdoms] of Rehoboam [son of Solomon, king of Judah] and Jeroboam [the people will contend, king of Israel] all [the entirety of, every moment of] the days [periods of time, seasons] of Abijam’s [son of Rehoboam, king of Judah] life [existence, lifetime]. word study 7 As for the rest [remainder, what is left] of the acts [deeds, accomplishments] of Abijam [Abijah, a king of Judah], along with all [everything, the entirety] his accomplishments [achievements, works], are they not written [recorded, inscribed] in the Book [scroll, written document] of the Chronicles [events, history] of the Kings [rulers, monarchs] of Judah [the tribe, the region]? And there was war [battle, conflict] between [in the midst of, among] Abijam and Jeroboam [the king of Israel, the one who contends with the people]. word study 8 And Abijam [slept, died] rested with his fathers [ancestors, predecessors] and was buried [laid to rest, interred] in the City of David [the town of Jerusalem], and his son [descendant, heir] Asa reigned [ruled, governed] in his place [stead, position]. word study 9 In the twentieth [a period of twenty years] year of Jeroboam’s [as king, ruler] reign [to advise, counsel, or rule] over Israel, Asa [a king of Judah, son of Abijam] became king [a royal person, monarch] of Judah [the tribe descended from Judah, the region], word study 10 and he reigned [as king, ruled with authority] in Jerusalem [the city of peace, capital of Israel] forty-one [forty and one] years [periods of time, seasons]. His [grand] grandmother’s name [identity, character] was Maacah [oppression, affliction] daughter [female child, descendant] of Abishalom [father of peace, Absalom]. word study 11 And Asa did [what was righteous, that which was right] what was right in the eyes [sight, perception] of the LORD [Yehovah, the supreme God], as his father [ancestor, forefather] David [the youngest son of Jesse, a king of Israel] had done [accomplished, carried out]. word study 12 He banished [removed, took away] the male shrine prostitutes [sodomites, cult prostitutes, those used for sex purposes in the worship of the gods] from the land [country, territory, region] and removed [turned aside, put away] all [everything] the idols [images, objects worshipped as gods] that his fathers [ancestors, forefathers] had made [created, fashioned]. word study 13 He also [even, too] removed his grandmother Maacah [his mother, the queen mother] from her position as queen mother [a woman in a position of power, a noble lady] because she had made a detestable [horrible, abominable] Asherah pole [an idol for the goddess Asherah, a tree or pole near an altar]. Asa [the king of Judah] chopped down the pole [cut it down, destroyed it] and burned it [set it on fire, kindled flames] in the Kidron Valley [by the brook Kidron, a small river or valley near Jerusalem]. word study 14 The high places [cultic platforms, idolatrous sites] were not removed [taken away, destroyed], but Asa’s heart [mind, will, and emotions] was fully devoted [perfect, completely committed] to the LORD [Yehovah, the covenant God] all his days [entire life, every moment]. word study 15 And he brought into the house [place, dwelling] of the LORD [Yehovah, the supreme God] the silver [precious metal, wealth] and gold [valuable treasure] and other articles [utensils, vessels] that he and his father [ancestor, progenitor] had dedicated [set apart, consecrated]. word study 16 Now there was [persistent, ongoing] war [battle, conflict] between [in the midst of, during the reign of] Asa [the king of Judah, son of Abijam] and Baasha [the king of Israel, who killed King Nadab] king [ruler, monarch] of Israel [the descendants of Jacob] throughout [all, during the entirety of] their days [a literal or figurative space of time]. word study 17 Baasha [king of the northern kingdom] king of Israel went to war [launched a military campaign] against Judah and fortified [built and strengthened] Ramah to prevent [stop or hinder] anyone from leaving [going out] or entering [coming in] the territory [land or domain] of Asa [a wise and peaceful ruler] king of Judah. word study 18 So Asa withdrew [took away, removed] all the silver [money, wealth] and gold [valuable metal, treasure] that remained [was left, still existed] in the treasuries [storehouses, depositories] of the house [dwelling place, temple] of the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] and the royal [king’s, sovereign] palace [residence, official building]. He entrusted [gave, delivered] it to his servants [attendants, workers] and sent [dispatched, commissioned] them with this message [saying, instruction] to Ben-hadad [son of the false god Hadad] son of Tabrimmon [son of Hezion], the son of Hezion [having a vision] king [ruler, monarch] of Aram [Syria, the region], who was ruling [sitting, dwelling] in Damascus [the capital city of Syria]: word study 19 “Let there be a [formal agreement, covenant] treaty between me and you, between my father [ancestor] and your father. See, I have sent you a gift [present, bribe] of silver [money, wealth] and gold. Now go and break [violate, annul] your [formal agreement, covenant] treaty with Baasha king of Israel, so that he will withdraw [depart, go up] from me.” word study 20 And Ben-hadad [the son of the false god] listened to King Asa and sent the commanders [captains of the hosts] of his armies against the cities [towns] of Israel, conquering [smote] Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah [meadow of the house of Maachah], and the whole land [all the territory] of Naphtali, including [besides] the region [district] of Chinnereth [near the Sea of Galilee]. word study 21 When Baasha [the king of Israel] learned of this [heard the news, was informed], he stopped [ceased, left off] fortifying [building, establishing] Ramah [a city in Palestine, a place of battle] and withdrew [returned, dwelt] to Tirzah [the capital city, a place of residence]. word study 22 Then King [the ruler, monarch] Asa summoned [called, gathered] all the men of Judah [the tribe descended from Judah, the son of Jacob], with no exceptions [no one exempt, none excluded], and they carried away [removed, took] the stones [rocks, building materials] of Ramah [a city in Palestine, a place of battle] and the timbers [wood, trees] Baasha had used [employed, utilized] for building [constructing, establishing]. And with these materials [resources, supplies] King Asa built up [fortified, strengthened] Geba [a city in the tribe of Benjamin, near Jerusalem] of Benjamin [the tribe descended from Benjamin, the son of Jacob], as well as [in addition to, including] Mizpah [a place in Palestine, a watchtower]. word study 23 Now the rest [remainder, what is left] of the acts [deeds, accomplishments] of Asa, along with all [everything, the entirety of] his might [strength, power], all [every aspect of] his accomplishments [achievements, successes], and the cities [towns, settlements] he built [constructed, established], are they not written [recorded, inscribed] in the Book [scroll, written document] of the Chronicles [history, accounts] of the Kings [rulers, leaders] of Judah [the tribe, the region]? In his old age [later years, time of life], however, he became diseased [weak, afflicted] in his feet [the lowest part of the body]. word study 24 And Asa [slept] rested with his fathers [ancestors, forefathers] and was buried [laid to rest, interred] with them in the city [town, settlement] of his father [ancestor, progenitor] David, and his son [descendant, offspring] Jehoshaphat [Jehovah has judged, God judges] reigned [ruled, governed] in his place [stead, position]. word study 25 In the second [early part of] year of Asa’s [King of Judah, son of Abijam] reign [rule, kingdom] over Judah, Nadab [generous, noble] son of Jeroboam [the people will contend] became king [ruler, monarch] of Israel, and he reigned [ruled, governed] two [a pair, dual] years. word study 26 And he did evil [morally bad, wicked] in the sight [in the presence, before] of the LORD [Yehovah] and walked [lived, followed] in the way [path, manner] of his father [ancestor, predecessor] and in his sin [guilt, rebellion], which he had caused [led, made] Israel [God’s chosen people] to commit [sin, disobey]. word study 27 Then Baasha [a leader from the house of Issachar] son of Ahijah of the house of Issachar conspired [plotted a secret rebellion] against Nadab, and Baasha struck [slew, murdered] him down at Gibbethon [a Philistine town, a mound] of the Philistines [immigrants from other places, non-Hebrews] while Nadab and all [every, the entire] Israel [the descendants of Jacob, God’s chosen people] were besieging [laying siege to, surrounding] the city. word study 28 In the third [specific, appointed] year of Asa’s [son of Abijam, king of Judah] reign [rule, kingdom] over Judah [the tribe and region], Baasha [king of Israel, founder of the second dynasty] killed [slew, put to death] Nadab and reigned [ruled, took the throne] in his place [stead, position, underneath him]. word study 29 As soon as Baasha became king [to reign, to rule as a monarch], he struck down [smote, killed] the entire household [all the family, every descendant] of Jeroboam [the people will contend]. He did not leave [spare, reserve] to Jeroboam anyone that breathed [any living being, any soul with breath], but destroyed [annihilated, desolated] them all according to the word [the divine message, the prophecy] that the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] had spoken [declared, communicated] through His servant [His faithful messenger, His prophet] Ahijah [brother of Jehovah] the Shilonite [from Shiloh, a place of rest], word study 30 because of the sins [transgressions, rebellions] Jeroboam had committed [practiced, perpetuated] and had caused Israel to commit [led astray, seduced], and because he had provoked [angered, offended] the LORD [Yehovah, the self-existent God], the God [Elohim, the supreme Ruler] of Israel, to anger [vexation, indignation]. word study 31 As for the rest [remainder, what is left] of the acts [accomplishments, deeds] of Nadab [generous, noble], along with all [everything, the entirety] his accomplishments [works, achievements], are they not [is it not the case] written [recorded, inscribed] in the Book [scroll, written document] of the Chronicles [history, accounts] of the Kings [rulers, monarchs] of Israel [God’s chosen people]? word study 32 And there was [continuous, ongoing] war [battle, conflict] between [in the midst of, separating] Asa [the king of Judah, son of Abijam] and Baasha [the king of the northern kingdom] king [ruler, monarch] of Israel [the descendants of Jacob, God’s chosen people] throughout [all, during the entirety of] their days [lifetime, period of reign]. word study 33 In the third [before all else, from the start] year [period of time, season] of Asa’s [king of Judah, son of Abijam] reign [to rule, have dominion] over Judah [the tribe, region], Baasha [king of Israel] son of Ahijah [brother of Jehovah, prophet] became king [ruler, monarch] of all [every, entire] Israel [descendants of Jacob], and he reigned [ruled, had authority] in Tirzah twenty-four [twenty and four, a period of time] years [seasons, periods of time]. word study 34 And Baasha did [what was] evil [morally wrong, bad] in the sight [eye, presence] of the LORD [Yehovah, God] and walked [lived, followed] in the way [path, manner] of Jeroboam [the people will contend] and in his sin [guilt, rebellion], which he had caused [led, made] Israel [God’s chosen people] to commit [sin, go wrong]. word study