² Then Asa brought silver and gold from the treasuries of the house of the Lord and of the king’s house, and sent to Ben-Hadad king of Syria, who dwelt in Damascus, saying, ³ “Let there be a treaty between you and me, as there was between my father and your father. See, I have sent you silver and gold; come, break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me.”

⁴ So Ben-Hadad heeded King Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel. They attacked Ijon, Dan, Abel Maim, and all the storage cities of Naphtali. ⁵ Now it happened, when Baasha heard it, that he stopped building Ramah and ceased his work. ⁶ Then King Asa took all Judah, and they carried away the stones and timber of Ramah, which Baasha had used for building; and with them he built Geba and Mizpah.

Hanani’s Message to Asa

⁷ And at that time ^(A)Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said to him: ^(B)“Because you have relied on the king of Syria, and have not relied on the Lord your God, therefore the army of the king of Syria has escaped from your hand. ⁸ Were ^(C)the Ethiopians and ^(D)the Lubim not a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet, because you relied on the Lord, He delivered them into your ^(E)hand. ^9 (F)For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. In this ^(G)you have done foolishly; therefore from now on ^(H)you shall have wars.”

Jehoshaphat’s Additional Reforms

19 Then Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned safely to his house in Jerusalem. ² And Jehu the son of Hanani ^(A)the seer went out to meet him, and said to King Jehoshaphat, “Should you help the wicked and ^(B)love those who hate the Lord? Therefore the ^(C)wrath of the Lord is upon you. ³ Nevertheless ^(D)good things are found in you, in that you have removed the ^[a]wooden images from the land, and have ^(E)prepared your heart to seek God.”