2 Chronicles 16

1 In the thirty-sixth [thirty and sixth] year of Asa’s [the king of Judah, son of Abijam] reign, Baasha [the king of Israel, founder of the second dynasty] king of Israel went up [to ascend, rise] against Judah and fortified [built, established] Ramah [a city in Palestine, a place of battle] to prevent [lest, not allow] anyone from leaving [to come out, go out] or entering [to come, go in] the territory [the land, kingdom] of Asa king of Judah. word study 2 So Asa [the king of Judah] withdrew the silver [money, wealth] and gold [a valuable metal] from the treasuries [storehouses, depositories] of the house [temple, dwelling place] of the LORD [Yehovah, the supreme God] and the royal palace [king’s house, residence], and he sent it with this message [saying, speaking] to Ben-hadad [son of the false god Hadad] king of Aram [also known as Syria], who was ruling [sitting, dwelling] in Damascus [the capital city of Syria]: word study 3 “Let there be a [covenant, solemn agreement] treaty between me and you, between my father [ancestor] and your father. See, I have sent you [payment, wealth] silver and gold. Now go and break [frustrate, violate] your [alliance, pact] treaty with Baasha [king of the northern kingdom] king of Israel, so that he will withdraw [depart] from me.” word study 4 And Ben-hadad [the son of the false god Hadad] listened [hearkened, gave attention] to King Asa and sent [dispatched, commanded to go] the commanders [captains, leaders] of his armies against [toward, to attack] the cities [towns, settlements] of Israel, conquering [smote, defeated] Ijon, Dan, Abel-maim [meadow of waters], and all [every, the entire] the store [supply, storage] cities of Naphtali. word study 5 When Baasha [the king of Israel] learned of this [heard the news, was informed], he stopped [ceased, came to an end] fortifying [building, establishing] Ramah [a city in Palestine, a place of battle] and abandoned [let cease, gave up] his work [his occupation, labor]. word study 6 Then King [the ruler, monarch] Asa brought all [every single one] the men of Judah, and they carried away the stones [rocks, building materials] of Ramah and the timbers [wood, wooden beams] Baasha had used for building [constructing, establishing]. And with these materials he built up [established, fortified] Geba and Mizpah [watchtower, a place of safety]. word study 7 At that time [in this specific occasion, during this event] Hanani the seer [one who sees, a prophet] came to King Asa [a ruler, a leader] of Judah [the tribe, the region] and told him, “Because you have relied [trusted, depended] on the king of Aram [Syria, a neighboring region] and not on the LORD [Yehovah, the supreme God] your God [Elohim, the one true deity], the army [host, forces] of the king of Aram has escaped [been delivered, slipped away] from your hand [power, control]. word study 8 Were not the Cushites [Ethiopians, descendants of Cush] and Libyans [Lubims, a people from interior Africa] a vast army [huge host, numerous force] with many chariots [vehicles, teams of horses] and horsemen [cavalry soldiers, those who rode chariots in battle]? Yet because you relied [trusted, leaned] on the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God], He delivered [gave, put] them into your hand [power, direction, strength]. word study 9 For the eyes [watchful and observant] of the LORD [Yehovah, the covenant God] roam [continually searching] to and fro over all [the entire, whole] the earth, to show Himself strong [to strengthen and support] on behalf of those whose hearts [innermost being, mind and will] are fully devoted [completely and sincerely committed] to Him. You have acted foolishly [done a very foolish thing, been silly] in this matter. From now [at this time, henceforth] on, therefore, you will be at war [involved in battles and conflicts].” word study 10 Asa [the king of Judah, son of Abijam] was angry [enraged, provoked to wrath] with the seer [the prophet, one who sees] and became so enraged [in a rage, furious] over this matter [this thing, this situation] that he put the man in prison [the house of torture, a place of confinement]. And at the same time Asa oppressed [crushed, mistreated] some of the people [the nation, the populace]. word study 11 Now the rest [the remainder, all that is left] of the acts [chronicles, historical records] of Asa [the king of Judah, son of Abijam], from beginning [the first, initial] to end [the last, final], are indeed written [recorded, inscribed] in the Book [scroll, written document] of the Kings [rulers, monarchs] of Judah [the tribe, region] and Israel [descendants of Jacob]. word study 12 In the thirty-ninth [thirty and ninth] year of his reign, Asa [a king of Judah] became diseased [sick, afflicted with a severe malady] in his feet, and his malady [sickness, disease] became increasingly severe [exceedingly great, extreme]. Yet even in his illness [sickness, disease] he did not seek [to ask, inquire of] the LORD [Yehovah, the supreme God], but only [instead, for] the physicians [to heal, medical men]. word study 13 So in the forty-first [one and fortieth] year of his reign, Asa [the king of Judah] died [slept with his fathers, passed away] and rested [lieth down, to lie down] with his fathers [ancestors, those who came before]. word study 14 And he was buried [in his own sepulchres, laid to rest] in the tomb [grave, place of interment] that he had cut out [dug, excavated] for himself in the City of David [the town, Jerusalem]. They laid him on a bier [bed, place of rest] that was full of spices [sweet odors, fragrances] and various [divers kinds of] blended perfumes [mixtures, compounds]; then they made a great [very large, exceedingly] fire [burning, cremation] in his honor [to show respect, with great pomp]. word study