Day 214 of 365

¹In the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam began Abijah to reign over Judah.

²He reigned three years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Micaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. There was war between Abijah and Jeroboam.

³Abijah joined battle with an army of valiant men of war, even four hundred thousand chosen men: and Jeroboam set the battle in array against him with eight hundred thousand chosen men, who were mighty men of valor.

⁴Abijah stood up on Mount Zemaraim, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, and said, "Hear me, Jeroboam and all Israel:

⁵Ought you not to know that the Lord, the God of Israel, gave the kingdom over Israel to David forever, even to him and to his sons by a covenant of salt?

⁶Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon the son of David, rose up, and rebelled against his lord.

⁷There were gathered to him worthless men, base fellows, who strengthened themselves against Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and tenderhearted, and could not withstand them.

⁸"Now you think to withstand the kingdom of the Lord in the hand of the sons of David; and you are a great multitude, and there are with you the golden calves which Jeroboam made you for gods.

⁹Haven't you driven out the priests of the Lord, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and made priests for yourselves after the ways of the peoples of other lands? so that whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams, the same may be a priest of those who are no gods.

¹⁰"But as for us, the Lord is our God, and we have not forsaken him; and we have priests ministering to the Lord, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites in their work:

¹¹and they burn to the Lord every morning and every evening burnt offerings and sweet incense. They also set the show bread in order on the pure table; and the lampstand of gold with its lamps, to burn every evening: for we keep the instruction of the Lord our God; but you have forsaken him.

¹²Behold, God is with us at our head, and his priests with the trumpets of alarm to sound an alarm against you. Children of Israel, do not fight against the Lord, the God of your fathers; for you shall not prosper."

¹³But Jeroboam caused an ambush to come about behind them: so they were before Judah, and the ambush was behind them.

¹⁴When Judah looked back, behold, the battle was before and behind them; and they cried to the Lord, and the priests sounded with the trumpets.

¹⁵Then the men of Judah gave a shout: and as the men of Judah shouted, it happened, that God struck Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.

¹⁶The children of Israel fled before Judah; and God delivered them into their hand.

¹⁷Abijah and his people killed them with a great slaughter: so there fell down slain of Israel five hundred thousand chosen men.

¹⁸Thus the children of Israel were brought under at that time, and the children of Judah prevailed, because they relied on the Lord, the God of their fathers.

¹⁹Abijah pursued after Jeroboam, and took cities from him, Bethel with its towns, and Jeshanah with its towns, and Ephron with its towns.

²⁰Jeroboam did not recover strength again in the days of Abijah. The Lord struck him, and he died.

²¹But Abijah grew mighty, and took to himself fourteen wives, and became the father of twenty-two sons, and sixteen daughters.

²²The rest of the acts of Abijah, and his ways, and his sayings, are written in the commentary of the prophet Iddo.

¹So Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David; and Asa his son reigned in his place. In his days the land was quiet ten years.

²Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God:

³for he took away the foreign altars, and the high places, and broke down the pillars, and cut down the Asherim,

⁴and commanded Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment.

⁵Also he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the sun images: and the kingdom was quiet before him.

⁶He built fortified cities in Judah; for the land was quiet, and he had no war in those years, because the Lord had given him rest.

⁷For he said to Judah, "Let us build these cities, and make walls around them, with towers, gates, and bars. The land is yet before us, because we have sought the Lord our God; we have sought him, and he has given us rest on every side." So they built and prospered.

⁸Asa had an army that bore bucklers and spears, out of Judah three hundred thousand; and out of Benjamin, that bore shields and drew bows, two hundred eighty thousand: all these were mighty men of valor.

⁹There came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian with an army of a million troops, and three hundred chariots; and he came to Mareshah.

¹⁰Then Asa went out to meet him, and they set the battle in array in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah.

¹¹Asa cried to the Lord his God, and said, "Lord, there is none besides you to help, between the mighty and him who has no strength. Help us, Lord our God; for we rely on you, and in your name are we come against this multitude. Lord, you are our God. Do not let man prevail against you."

¹²So the Lord struck the Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah; and the Ethiopians fled.

¹³Asa and the people who were with him pursued them to Gerar: and there fell of the Ethiopians so many that they could not recover themselves; for they were destroyed before the Lord, and before his army; and they carried away very much booty.

¹⁴They struck all the cities around Gerar; for the fear of the Lord came on them: and they despoiled all the cities; for there was much spoil in them.

¹⁵They struck also the tents of livestock, and carried away sheep in abundance, and camels, and returned to Jerusalem.

¹The Spirit of God came on Azariah the son of Oded:

²and he went out to meet Asa, and said to him, "Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin! The Lord is with you, while you are with him; and if you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.

³Now for a long time Israel was without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law.

⁴But when in their distress they turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought him, he was found by them.

⁵In those times there was no peace to him who went out, nor to him who came in; but great troubles were on all the inhabitants of the lands.

⁶They were broken in pieces, nation against nation, and city against city; for God troubled them with all adversity.

⁷But you be strong, and do not let your hands be slack; for your work shall be rewarded."

⁸When Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the abominations out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken from the hill country of Ephraim; and he renewed the altar of the Lord, that was before the porch of the Lord.

⁹He gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and those who lived 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.

¹⁰So they gathered themselves together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa.

¹¹They sacrificed to the Lord in that day, of the spoil which they had brought, seven hundred head of cattle and seven thousand sheep.

¹²They entered into the covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and with all their soul;

¹³and that whoever would not seek the Lord, the God of Israel, should be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman.

¹⁴They swore to the Lord with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets.

¹⁵All 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 all around.

¹⁶Also Maacah, the mother of Asa the king, he removed from being queen, because she had made an abominable image for an Asherah; and Asa cut down her image, and made dust of it, and burnt it at the brook Kidron.

¹⁷But the high places were not taken away out of Israel: nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days.

¹⁸He brought into God's house the things that his father had dedicated, and that he himself had dedicated, silver, and gold, and vessels.

¹⁹There was no more war to the five and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa.

¹Hear my voice, God, in my complaint. Preserve my life from fear of the enemy.

²Hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked, from the noisy crowd of the ones doing evil;

³who sharpen their tongue like a sword, and aim their arrows, deadly words,

⁴to shoot innocent men from ambushes. They shoot at him suddenly and fearlessly.

⁵They encourage themselves in evil plans. They talk about laying snares secretly. They say, "Who will see them?"

⁶They plot injustice, saying, "We have made a perfect plan!" Surely man's mind and heart are cunning.

⁷But God will shoot at them. They will be suddenly struck down with an arrow.

⁸Their own tongues shall ruin them. All who see them will shake their heads.

⁹All mankind shall be afraid. They shall declare the work of God, and shall wisely ponder what he has done.

¹⁰The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and shall take refuge in him. All the upright in heart shall praise him!

¹The wicked flee when no one pursues; but the righteous are as bold as a lion.

²In rebellion, a land has many rulers, but order is maintained by a man of understanding and knowledge.

³A needy man who oppresses the poor is like a driving rain which leaves no crops.

⁴Those who forsake the Law praise the wicked; but those who keep the Law contend with them.

⁵Evil men do not understand justice; but those who seek the Lord understand it fully.

⁶Better is the poor who walks in his integrity, than he who is perverse in his ways, and he is rich.

⁷Whoever keeps the Law is a wise son; but he who is a companion of gluttons shames his father.

⁸He who increases his wealth by excessive interest gathers it for one who has pity on the poor.

⁹He who turns away his ear from hearing the Law, even his prayer is an abomination.

¹⁰Whoever causes the upright to go astray in an evil way, he will fall into his own trap; but the blameless will inherit good.

¹¹The rich man is wise in his own eyes; but the poor who has understanding sees through him.

¹²When the righteous triumph, there is great glory; but when the wicked rise, men hide themselves.

¹³He who conceals his sins doesn't prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.

¹⁴Blessed is the man who always fears; but one who hardens his heart falls into trouble.

¹⁵As a roaring lion or a charging bear, so is a wicked ruler over helpless people.

¹⁶A tyrannical ruler lacks judgment. One who hates ill-gotten gain will have long days.

¹⁷A man who is tormented by life blood will be a fugitive until death; no one will support him.

¹⁸Whoever walks blamelessly is kept safe; but one with perverse ways will fall suddenly.

¹⁹One who works his land will have an abundance of food; but one who chases fantasies will have his fill of poverty.

²⁰A faithful man is rich with blessings; but one who is eager to be rich will not go unpunished.

²¹To show partiality is not good; yet a man will do wrong for a piece of bread.

²²A stingy man hurries after riches, and doesn't know that poverty waits for him.

²³One who rebukes a man will afterward find more favor than one who flatters with the tongue.

²⁴Whoever robs his father or his mother, and says, "It's not wrong." He is a partner with a destroyer.

²⁵One who is greedy stirs up strife; but one who trusts in the Lord will prosper.

²⁶One who trusts in himself is a fool; but one who walks in wisdom is kept safe.

²⁷One who gives to the poor has no lack; but one who closes his eyes will have many curses.

²⁸When the wicked rise, men hide themselves; but when they perish, the righteous thrive.