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In the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Asa began to reign over Judah,
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and he reigned forty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom.
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1And Asa did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, as David his father had done.
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He put away the 2male cult prostitutes out of the land and removed 3all the idols that his fathers had made.
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4He also removed Maacah his mother from being queen mother because she had made an abominable image for Asherah. And Asa cut down her image and 5burned it at the brook Kidron.
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6But the high places were not taken away. Nevertheless, 7the heart of Asa was wholly true to the LORD all his days.
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And 8he brought into the house of the LORD the sacred gifts of his father and his own sacred gifts, silver, and gold, and vessels.
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9And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days.
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10Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and 11built Ramah, 12that he might permit no one to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah.
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Then Asa took all the silver and the gold 13that were left in the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king's house and gave them into the hands of his servants. 14And King Asa sent them to Ben-hadad the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, 15who lived in Damascus, saying,
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"Let there be 16a covenant between me and you, as there was between my father and your father. Behold, I am sending to you a present of silver and gold. Go, break your covenant with Baasha king of Israel, that he may withdraw from me."
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And Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel and conquered 17Ijon, 18Dan, 19Abel-beth-maacah, and all 20Chinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali.
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And when Baasha heard of it, 21he stopped building Ramah, and he lived in 22Tirzah.
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Then King Asa made a proclamation to all Judah, none was exempt, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its timber, with which Baasha had been building, and with them King Asa built 23Geba of Benjamin and 24Mizpah.
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25Now the rest of all the acts of Asa, all his might, and all that he did, and the cities that he built, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? But in his old age he was diseased in his feet.
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And Asa slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father, and 26Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his place.