Abijam Reigns in Judah^(A)

15 ^(B)In the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam the son of Nebat, Abijam became king over Judah. ² He reigned three years in Jerusalem. ^(C)His mother’s name was ^(D)Maachah the granddaughter of ^(E)Abishalom. ³ And he walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him; ^(F)his heart was not ^[a]loyal to the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David. ⁴ Nevertheless ^(G)for David’s sake the Lord his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, by setting up his son after him and by establishing Jerusalem; ⁵ because David ^(H)did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and had not turned aside from anything that He commanded him all the days of his life, ^(I)except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite. ^6 (J)And there was war between ^[b]Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life. ^7 (K)Now the rest of the acts of Abijam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? And there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam.

^8 (L)So Abijam ^[c]rested with his fathers, and they buried him in the City of David. Then Asa his son reigned in his place.

Asa Reigns in Judah^(M)

⁹ In the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Asa became king over Judah. ¹⁰ And he reigned forty-one years in Jerusalem. His grandmother’s name was Maachah the granddaughter of Abishalom. ^11 (N)Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as did his father David. ^12 (O)And he banished the ^[d]perverted persons from the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made. ¹³ Also he removed ^(P)Maachah his grandmother from being queen mother, because she had made an obscene image of ^[e]Asherah. And Asa cut down her obscene image and ^(Q)burned it by the Brook Kidron. ^14 (R)But the ^[f]high places were not removed. Nevertheless Asa’s ^(S)heart was loyal to the Lord all his days. ¹⁵ He also brought into the house of the Lord the things which his father ^(T)had dedicated, and the things which he himself had dedicated: silver and gold and utensils.

¹⁶ Now there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. ¹⁷ And ^(U)Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah, and built ^(V)Ramah, ^(W)that he might let none go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. ¹⁸ Then Asa took all the silver and gold that was left in the treasuries of the house of the Lord and the treasuries of the king’s house, and delivered them into the hand of his servants. And King Asa sent them to ^(X)Ben-Hadad the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, who dwelt in ^(Y)Damascus, saying, ¹⁹ “Let there be a treaty between you and me, as there was between my father and your father. See, I have sent you a present of silver and gold. Come and break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me.”

²⁰ So Ben-Hadad heeded King Asa, and ^(Z)sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel. He attacked ^(AA)Ijon, ^(AB)Dan, ^(AC)Abel Beth Maachah, and all Chinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali. ²¹ Now it happened, when Baasha heard it, that he stopped building Ramah, and remained in ^(AD)Tirzah.

^22 (AE)Then King Asa made a proclamation throughout all Judah; none was exempted. And they took away the stones and timber of Ramah, which Baasha had used for building; and with them King Asa built ^(AF)Geba of Benjamin, and ^(AG)Mizpah.

²³ The rest of all the acts of Asa, all his might, all that he did, and the cities which he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? But ^(AH)in the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet. ²⁴ So Asa ^[g]rested with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David his father. ^(AI)Then ^(AJ)Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his place.

Nadab Reigns in Israel

²⁵ Now ^(AK)Nadab the son of Jeroboam became king over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel two years. ²⁶ And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way of his father, and in ^(AL)his sin by which he had made Israel sin.

^27 (AM)Then Baasha the son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar, conspired against him. And Baasha killed him at ^(AN)Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines, while Nadab and all Israel laid siege to Gibbethon. ²⁸ Baasha killed him in the third year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned in his place. ²⁹ And it was so, when he became king, that he killed all the house of Jeroboam. He did not leave to Jeroboam anyone that breathed, until he had destroyed him, according to ^(AO)the word of the Lord which He had spoken by His servant Ahijah the Shilonite, ^30 (AP)because of the sins of Jeroboam, which he had sinned and by which he had made Israel sin, because of his provocation with which he had provoked the Lord God of Israel to anger.

³¹ Now the rest of the acts of Nadab, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? ^32 (AQ)And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.

Baasha Reigns in Israel

³³ In the third year of Asa king of Judah, Baasha the son of Ahijah became king over all Israel in Tirzah, and reigned twenty-four years. ³⁴ He did evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in ^(AR)the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin by which he had made Israel sin.

Abijah Reigns in Judah^(A)

13 In ^(B)the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam, Abijah became king over ^(C)Judah. ² He reigned three years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was ^[a]Michaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah.

And there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. ³ Abijah set the battle in order with an army of valiant warriors, four hundred thousand choice men. Jeroboam also drew up in battle formation against him with eight hundred thousand choice men, mighty men of valor.

⁴ Then Abijah stood on Mount ^(D)Zemaraim, which is in the mountains of Ephraim, and said, “Hear me, Jeroboam and all Israel: ⁵ Should you not know that the Lord God of Israel ^(E)gave the dominion over Israel to David forever, to him and his sons, ^(F)by a covenant of salt? ⁶ Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon the son of David, rose up and ^(G)rebelled against his lord. ⁷ Then ^(H)worthless rogues gathered to him, and strengthened themselves against Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was ^(I)young and inexperienced and could not withstand them. ⁸ And now you think to withstand the kingdom of the Lord, which is in the hand of the sons of David; and you are a great multitude, and with you are the gold calves which Jeroboam ^(J)made for you as gods. ^9 (K)Have you not cast out the priests of the Lord, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and made for yourselves priests, like the peoples of other lands, ^(L)so that whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams may be a priest of ^(M)things that are not gods? ¹⁰ But as for us, the Lord is our ^(N)God, and we have not forsaken Him; and the priests who minister to the Lord are the sons of Aaron, and the Levites attend to their duties. ^11 (O)And they burn to the Lord every morning and every evening burnt sacrifices and sweet incense; they also set the ^(P)showbread in order on the pure gold table, and the lampstand of gold with its lamps ^(Q)to burn every evening; for we keep the command of the Lord our God, but you have forsaken Him. ¹² Now look, God Himself is with us as our ^(R)head, ^(S)and His priests with sounding trumpets to sound the alarm against you. O children of Israel, do not fight against the Lord God of your fathers, for you shall not prosper!”

¹³ But Jeroboam caused an ambush to go around behind them; so they were in front of Judah, and the ambush was behind them. ¹⁴ And when Judah looked around, to their surprise the battle line was at both front and rear; and they ^(T)cried out to the Lord, and the priests sounded the trumpets. ¹⁵ Then the men of Judah gave a shout; and as the men of Judah shouted, it happened that God ^(U)struck Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. ¹⁶ And the children of Israel fled before Judah, and God delivered them into their hand. ¹⁷ Then Abijah and his people struck them with a great slaughter; so five hundred thousand choice men of Israel fell slain. ¹⁸ Thus the children of Israel were subdued at that time; and the children of Judah prevailed, ^(V)because they relied on the Lord God of their fathers.

¹⁹ And Abijah pursued Jeroboam and took cities from him: Bethel with its villages, Jeshanah with its villages, and ^(W)Ephrain^[b] with its villages. ²⁰ So Jeroboam did not recover strength again in the days of Abijah; and the Lord ^(X)struck him, and ^(Y)he died.

²¹ But Abijah grew mighty, married fourteen wives, and begot twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters. ²² Now the rest of the acts of Abijah, his ways, and his sayings are written in ^(Z)the ^[c]annals of the prophet Iddo.

Asa Reigns over Judah

14 So Abijah rested with his fathers, and they buried him in the City of David. Then ^(AA)Asa his son reigned in his place. In his days the land was quiet for ten years.

Asa Reigns in Judah^(AB)

² Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God, ³ for he removed the altars of the foreign gods and ^(AC)the ^[d]high places, and ^(AD)broke down the sacred pillars ^(AE)and cut down the wooden images. ⁴ He commanded Judah to ^(AF)seek the Lord God of their fathers, and to observe the law and the commandment. ⁵ He also removed the ^[e]high places and the incense altars from all the cities of Judah, and the kingdom was quiet under him. ⁶ And he built fortified cities in Judah, for the land had rest; he had no war in those years, because the Lord had given him ^(AG)rest. ⁷ Therefore he said to Judah, “Let us build these cities and make walls around them, 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 has given us rest on every side.” So they built and prospered. ⁸ And Asa had an army of three hundred thousand from Judah who carried ^[f]shields and spears, and from Benjamin two hundred and eighty thousand men who carried shields and drew ^(AH)bows; all these were mighty men of ^(AI)valor.

^9 (AJ)Then Zerah the Ethiopian came out against them with an army of a million men and three hundred chariots, and he came to ^(AK)Mareshah. ¹⁰ So Asa went out against him, and they set the troops in battle array in the Valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. ¹¹ And Asa ^(AL)cried out to the Lord his God, and said, “Lord, it is ^(AM)nothing for You to help, whether with many or with those who have no power; help us, O Lord our God, for we rest on You, and ^(AN)in Your name we go against this multitude. O Lord, You are our God; do not let man prevail against You!”

¹² So the Lord ^(AO)struck the Ethiopians before Asa and Judah, and the Ethiopians fled. ¹³ And Asa and the people who were with him pursued them to ^(AP)Gerar. So the Ethiopians were overthrown, and they could not recover, for they were broken before the Lord and His army. And they carried away very much ^[g]spoil. ¹⁴ Then they defeated all the cities around Gerar, for ^(AQ)the fear of the Lord came upon them; and they plundered all the cities, for there was exceedingly much ^[h]spoil in them. ¹⁵ They also ^[i]attacked the livestock enclosures, and carried off sheep and camels in abundance, and returned to Jerusalem.

Be Anxious for Nothing; Think These Thoughts

4 Therefore, my beloved and ^(A)longed-for brethren, ^(B)my joy and crown, so ^(C)stand fast in the Lord, beloved.

Be United, Joyful, and in Prayer

² I implore Euodia and I implore Syntyche ^(D)to be of the same mind in the Lord. ^3 [a]And I urge you also, true companion, help these women who ^(E)labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in ^(F)the Book of Life.

^4 (G)Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!

⁵ Let your ^[b]gentleness be known to all men. ^(H)The Lord is at hand.

^6 (I)Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with ^(J)thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; ⁷ and ^(K)the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Meditate on These Things

⁸ Finally, brethren, whatever things are ^(L)true, whatever things are ^(M)noble, whatever things are ^(N)just, ^(O)whatever things are pure, whatever things are ^(P)lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. ⁹ The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and ^(Q)the God of peace will be with you.

Philippian Generosity

¹⁰ But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last ^(R)your^[c] care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity. ¹¹ Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, ^(S)to be content: ^12 (T)I know how to ^[d]be abased, and I know how to ^[e]abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. ¹³ I can do all things ^(U)through ^[f]Christ who strengthens me.

¹⁴ Nevertheless you have done well that ^(V)you shared in my distress. ¹⁵ Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, ^(W)no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving but you only. ¹⁶ For even in Thessalonica you sent aid once and again for my necessities. ¹⁷ Not that I seek the gift, but I seek ^(X)the fruit that abounds to your account. ¹⁸ Indeed I ^[g]have all and abound. I am full, having received from ^(Y)Epaphroditus the things sent from you, ^(Z)a sweet-smelling aroma, ^(AA)an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God. ¹⁹ And my God ^(AB)shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. ^20 (AC)Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Greeting and Blessing

²¹ Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren ^(AD)who are with me greet you. ²² All the saints greet you, but especially those who are of Caesar’s household.

²³ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with ^[h]you all. Amen.