2 Chronicles 16

Asa’s Slip Up & Final Days

1 In the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s rule, Baasha king of Israel rolled up against Judah and built Ramah to cut off access to Asa king of Judah.

2 Then Asa took silver and gold from the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and the king’s palace and sent it to Ben-Hadad king of Aram, who lived in Damascus, saying,

3 “Let us get this alliance back popping between me and you, just like between my pops and your pops. Look, I am sending you silver and gold. Go break your alliance with Baasha king of Israel so he will bounce from me.”

4 Ben-Hadad listened to King Asa and sent his army commanders against the cities of Israel. They hit Ijon, Dan, Abel-Maim, and all the storage cities of Naphtali.

5 When Baasha heard about it, he stopped building Ramah and quit his work.

6 Then King Asa and all Judah took away the stones and timber Baasha had used to build Ramah, and he used them to build Geba and Mizpah.

7 At that time, Hanani the seer popped up to Asa king of Judah and told him, “Because you leaned on the king of Aram and did not lean on the Lord your God, that is why the army of the king of Aram dipped from your hand.”

8 “Is not the Cushites and the Libyans a huge army with a ton of chariots and horsemen, Yet, because you leaned on the Lord, He handed them over to you.”

9 “For the eyes of the Lord are searching throughout the whole earth, to strongly support those whose heart is fully committed to Him. You acted like a fool in this, so from now on, you are going to have wars.”

10 Asa got mad at the seer and locked him up in jail, because he was heated about this. Asa also oppressed some of the people at that time.

11 As for the rest of Asa’s story, from beginning to end, look, it is written in the book of the Annals of the Kings of Judah.

12 In the thirty-ninth year of his rule, Asa got a severe disease in his feet. But even in his sickness, he did not seek the Lord, but relied on doctors.

13 Asa passed away in the forty-first year of his rule and joined his ancestors.

14 They buried him in his own burial place, which he had dug for himself in the City of David. They laid him in a bed filled with spices and various kinds of mixed perfumes, and they made a huge burning for him.