9. Asa became king of Judah in the twentieth year of Jeroboam's rule in Israel,
10. and he ruled forty-one years from Jerusalem. His grandmother was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom.
11. Asa obeyed the Lord, as David had done.
12. He forced the prostitutes at the shrines to leave the country, and he got rid of the idols his ancestors had made.
13. His own grandmother Maacah had made an idol of Asherah, and Asa took it and burnt it in Kidron Valley. Then he removed Maacah from her position as queen mother.
14. As long as Asa lived, he was completely faithful to the Lord, even though he did not destroy the local shrines.
15. He placed in the temple all the silver and gold objects that he and his father had dedicated to the Lord.
16. Asa was always at war with King Baasha of Israel.
17. One time, Baasha invaded Judah and captured the town of Ramah. He started making the town stronger, so he could put troops there to stop people from going in and out of Judah.
18. When Asa heard about this, he took the silver and gold from his palace and from the Lord's temple. He gave it to some of his officials and sent them to Damascus with this message for King Benhadad of Syria:
19. “Our fathers signed a peace treaty. Why don't we do the same thing? This silver and gold is a present for you. So, would you please break your treaty with Baasha and force him to leave my country?”
20. Benhadad did what Asa asked and sent the Syrian army into Israel. They captured the towns of Ijon, Dan, and Abel-Bethmaacah, and the territories of Chinneroth and Naphtali.
21. When Baasha heard about it, he left Ramah and went back to Tirzah.
22. Asa ordered everyone in Judah to carry away the stones and wood Baasha had used to strengthen the town of Ramah. Then he used these same stones and wood to fortify the town of Geba in the territory of Benjamin and the town of Mizpah.
23. Everything else Asa did while he was king, including his victories and the towns he rebuilt, is written in The History of the Kings of Judah. When he got older, he had a foot disease.
24. Asa died and was buried in the tomb of his ancestors in Jerusalem. His son Jehoshaphat then became king.
25. Nadab son of Jeroboam became king of Israel in Asa's second year as king of Judah, and he ruled two years.
26. Nadab disobeyed the Lord by following the evil example of his father, who had caused the Israelites to sin.