2Chronicles:13-17

---

Seeker Overlay ON

* Now in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam began Abijah to reign over Judah . * He reigned three years in Jerusalem . His mother 's name also was Michaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah . And there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam . * And Abijah set the battle in array with an army of valiant men of war , even four hundred thousand chosen men : Jeroboam also set the battle in array against him with eight hundred thousand chosen men , being mighty men of valour . * And Abijah stood up upon mount Zemaraim , which is in mount Ephraim , and said , Hear me , thou Jeroboam , and all Israel ; * Ought ye not to know that the LORD God of Israel gave the kingdom over Israel to David for ever , even to him and to his sons by a covenant of salt ? * Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat , the servant of Solomon the son of David , is risen up , and hath rebelled against his lord . * And there are gathered unto him vain men , the children of Belial , and have strengthened themselves against Rehoboam the son of Solomon , when Rehoboam was young and tenderhearted , and could not withstand them . * And now ye think to withstand the kingdom of the LORD in the hand of the sons of David ; and ye be a great multitude , and there are with you golden calves , which Jeroboam made you for gods . * Have ye not cast out the priests of the LORD , the sons of Aaron , and the Levites , and have made you priests after the manner of the nations of other lands ? so that whosoever cometh to consecrate himself with a young bullock and seven rams , the same may be a priest of them that are no gods . * But as for us , the LORD is our God , and we have not forsaken him ; and the priests , which minister unto the LORD , are the sons of Aaron , and the Levites wait upon their business : * And they burn unto the LORD every morning and every evening burnt sacrifices and sweet incense : the shewbread also set they in order upon the pure table ; and the candlestick of gold with the lamps thereof , to burn every evening : for we keep the charge of the LORD our God ; but ye have forsaken him . * And , behold , God himself is with us for our captain , and his priests with sounding trumpets to cry alarm against you . O children of Israel , fight ye not against the LORD God of your fathers ; for ye shall not prosper . * But Jeroboam caused an ambushment to come about behind them : so they were before Judah , and the ambushment was behind them . * And when Judah looked back , behold , the battle was before and behind : and they cried unto the LORD , and the priests sounded with the trumpets . * Then the men of Judah gave a shout : and as the men of Judah shouted , it came to pass , that God smote Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah . * And the children of Israel fled before Judah : and God delivered them into their hand . * And Abijah and his people slew them with a great slaughter : so there fell down slain of Israel five hundred thousand chosen men . * Thus the children of Israel were brought under at that time , and the children of Judah prevailed , because they relied upon the LORD God of their fathers . * And Abijah pursued after Jeroboam , and took cities from him , Bethel with the towns thereof , and Jeshanah with the towns thereof , and Ephrain with the towns thereof . * Neither did Jeroboam recover strength again in the days of Abijah : and the LORD struck him , and he died . * But Abijah waxed mighty , and married fourteen wives , and begat twenty and two sons , and sixteen daughters . * And the rest of the acts of Abijah , and his ways , and his sayings , are written in the story of the prophet Iddo . * So Abijah slept with his fathers , and they buried him in the city of David : and Asa his son reigned in his stead . In his days the land was quiet ten years . * And Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God : * For he took away the altars of the strange gods , and the high places , and brake down the images , and cut down the groves : * And commanded Judah to seek the LORD God of their fathers , and to do the law and the commandment . * Also he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the images : and the kingdom was quiet before him . * And he built fenced cities in Judah : for the land had rest , and he had no war in those years ; because the LORD had given him rest . * Therefore he said unto Judah , Let us build these cities , and make about them walls , and towers , gates , and bars , while the land is yet before us ; because we have sought the LORD our God , we have sought him , and he hath given us rest on every side . So they built and prospered . * And Asa had an army of men that bare targets and spears , out of Judah three hundred thousand ; and out of Benjamin , that bare shields and drew bows , two hundred and fourscore thousand : all these were mighty men of valour . * And there came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian with an host of a thousand thousand , and three hundred chariots ; and came unto Mareshah . * Then Asa went out against him , and they set the battle in array in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah . * And Asa cried unto the LORD his God , and said , LORD , it is nothing with thee to help , whether with many , or with them that have no power : help us , O LORD our God ; for we rest on thee , and in thy name we go against this multitude . O LORD , thou art our God ; let not man prevail against thee . * So the LORD smote the Ethiopians before Asa , and before Judah ; and the Ethiopians fled . * And Asa and the people that were with him pursued them unto Gerar : and the Ethiopians were overthrown , that they could not recover themselves ; for they were destroyed before the LORD , and before his host ; and they carried away very much spoil . * And they smote all the cities round about Gerar ; for the fear of the LORD came upon them : and they spoiled all the cities ; for there was exceeding much spoil in them . * They smote also the tents of cattle , and carried away sheep and camels in abundance , and returned to Jerusalem . * And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded : * And he went out to meet Asa , and said unto him , Hear ye me , Asa , and all Judah and Benjamin ; The LORD is with you , while ye be with him ; and if ye seek him , he will be found of you ; but if ye forsake him , he will forsake you . * Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God , and without a teaching priest , and without law . * But when they in their trouble did turn unto the LORD God of Israel , and sought him , he was found of them . * And in those times there was no peace to him that went out , nor to him that came in , but great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the countries . * And nation was destroyed of nation , and city of city : for God did vex them with all adversity . * Be ye strong therefore , and let not your hands be weak : for your work shall be rewarded . * And when Asa heard these words , and the prophecy of Oded the prophet , he took courage , and put away the abominable idols out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin , and out of the cities which he had taken from mount Ephraim , and renewed the altar of the LORD , that was before the porch of the LORD . * And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin , and the strangers with them out of Ephraim and Manasseh , and out of Simeon : for they fell to him out of Israel in abundance , when they saw that the LORD his God was with him . * So they gathered themselves together at Jerusalem in the third month , in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa . * And they offered unto the LORD the same time , of the spoil which they had brought , seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep . * And they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul ; * That whosoever would not seek the LORD God of Israel should be put to death , whether small or great , whether man or woman . * And they sware unto the LORD with a loud voice , and with shouting , and with trumpets , and with cornets . * And all Judah rejoiced at the oath : for they had sworn with all their heart , and sought him with their whole desire ; and he was found of them : and the LORD gave them rest round about . * And also concerning Maachah the mother of Asa the king , he removed her from being queen , because she had made an idol in a grove : and Asa cut down her idol , and stamped it , and burnt it at the brook Kidron . * But the high places were not taken away out of Israel : nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days . * And he brought into the house of God the things that his father had dedicated , and that he himself had dedicated , silver , and gold , and vessels . * And there was no more war unto the five and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa . * In the six and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah , and built Ramah , to the intent that he might let none go out or come in to Asa king of Judah . * Then Asa brought out silver and gold out of the treasures of the house of the LORD and of the king 's house , and sent to Benhadad king of Syria , that dwelt at Damascus , saying , * There is a league between me and thee , as there was between my father and thy father : behold , I have sent thee silver and gold ; go , break thy league with Baasha king of Israel , that he may depart from me . * And Benhadad hearkened unto king Asa , and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel ; and they smote Ijon , and Dan , and Abelmaim , and all the store cities of Naphtali . * And it came to pass , when Baasha heard it , that he left off building of Ramah , and let his work cease . * Then Asa the king took all Judah ; and they carried away the stones of Ramah , and the timber thereof , wherewith Baasha was building ; and he built therewith Geba and Mizpah . * And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah , and said unto him , Because thou hast relied on the king of Syria , and not relied on the LORD thy God , therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of thine hand . * Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubims a huge host , with very many chariots and horsemen ? yet , because thou didst rely on the LORD , he delivered them into thine hand . * For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth , to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him . Herein thou hast done foolishly : therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars . * Then Asa was wroth with the seer , and put him in a prison house ; for he was in a rage with him because of this thing . And Asa oppressed some of the people the same time . * And , behold , the acts of Asa , first and last , lo , they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel . * And Asa in the thirty and ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet , until his disease was exceeding great : yet in his disease he sought not to the LORD , but to the physicians . * And Asa slept with his fathers , and died in the one and fortieth year of his reign . * And they buried him in his own sepulchres , which he had made for himself in the city of David , and laid him in the bed which was filled with sweet odours and divers kinds of spices prepared by the apothecaries ' art : and they made a very great burning for him . * And Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his stead , and strengthened himself against Israel . * And he placed forces in all the fenced cities of Judah , and set garrisons in the land of Judah , and in the cities of Ephraim , which Asa his father had taken . * And the LORD was with Jehoshaphat , because he walked in the first ways of his father David , and sought not unto Baalim ; * But sought to the LORD God of his father , and walked in his commandments , and not after the doings of Israel . * Therefore the LORD stablished the kingdom in his hand ; and all Judah brought to Jehoshaphat presents ; and he had riches and honour in abundance . * And his heart was lifted up in the ways of the LORD : moreover he took away the high places and groves out of Judah . * Also in the third year of his reign he sent to his princes , even to Benhail , and to Obadiah , and to Zechariah , and to Nethaneel , and to Michaiah , to teach in the cities of Judah . * And with them he sent Levites , even Shemaiah , and Nethaniah , and Zebadiah , and Asahel , and Shemiramoth , and Jehonathan , and Adonijah , and Tobijah , and Tobadonijah , Levites ; and with them Elishama and Jehoram , priests . * And they taught in Judah , and had the book of the law of the LORD with them , and went about throughout all the cities of Judah , and taught the people . * And the fear of the LORD fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were round about Judah , so that they made no war against Jehoshaphat . * Also some of the Philistines brought Jehoshaphat presents , and tribute silver ; and the Arabians brought him flocks , seven thousand and seven hundred rams , and seven thousand and seven hundred he goats . * And Jehoshaphat waxed great exceedingly ; and he built in Judah castles , and cities of store . * And he had much business in the cities of Judah : and the men of war , mighty men of valour , were in Jerusalem . * And these are the numbers of them according to the house of their fathers : Of Judah , the captains of thousands ; Adnah the chief , and with him mighty men of valour three hundred thousand . * And next to him was Jehohanan the captain , and with him two hundred and fourscore thousand . * And next him was Amasiah the son of Zichri , who willingly offered himself unto the LORD ; and with him two hundred thousand mighty men of valour . * And of Benjamin ; Eliada a mighty man of valour , and with him armed men with bow and shield two hundred thousand . * And next him was Jehozabad , and with him an hundred and fourscore thousand ready prepared for the war . * These waited on the king , beside those whom the king put in the fenced cities throughout all Judah . * Now Jehoshaphat had riches and honour in abundance , and joined affinity with Ahab .

---