Asa Reigns in Judah

¹Then Abijah rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David. And his son Asa reigned in his place, and in his days the land was at peace for ten years.

²And Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God.

³He removed the foreign altars and high places, shattered the sacred pillars, and chopped down the Asherah poles.

⁴He commanded the people of Judah to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, and to observe the law and the commandments.

⁵He also removed the high places and incense altars from all the cities of Judah, and under him the kingdom was at peace.

⁶Because the land was at peace, Asa built fortified cities in Judah. In those days no one made war with him, because the LORD had given him rest.

⁷So he said to the people of Judah, “Let us build these cities and surround them with walls and towers, with doors and bars. The land is still ours 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 of 300,000 men from Judah bearing large shields and spears, and 280,000 men from Benjamin bearing small shields and drawing the bow. All these were mighty men of valor.

⁹Then Zerah the Cushite came against them with an army of 1,000,000 menand 300 chariots, and they advanced as far as Mareshah.

¹⁰So Asa marched out against him and lined up in battle formation in the Valley of Zephathah near Mareshah.

¹¹Then Asa cried out to the LORD his God: “O LORD, there is no one besides You to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on You, and in Your name we have come against this multitude. O LORD, You are our God. Do not let a mere mortal prevail against You.”

¹²So the LORD struck down the Cushites before Asa and Judah, and the Cushites fled.

¹³Then Asa and his army pursued them as far as Gerar. The Cushites fell and could not recover, for they were crushed before the LORD and His army. So the people of Judah carried off a great amount of plunder

¹⁴and attacked all the cities around Gerar, because the terror of the LORD had fallen upon them. They plundered all the cities, since there was much plunder there.

¹⁵They also attacked the tents of the herdsmen and carried off many sheep and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.

Abijah Reigns in Judah

¹In the eighteenth year of Jeroboam’s reign, Abijahbecame king of Judah,

²and he reigned in Jerusalem three years. His mother’s name was Micaiahdaughterof Uriel; she was from Gibeah.And there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam.

³Abijah went into battle with an army of 400,000 chosen men, while Jeroboam drew up in formation against him with 800,000 chosen and mighty men of valor.

Civil War against Jeroboam

⁴Then Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim in the hill country of Ephraim and said, “Hear me, O Jeroboam and all Israel!

⁵Do you not know that the LORD, the God of Israel, has given the kingship of Israel to David and his descendants forever by a covenant of salt?

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

⁷Then worthless and wicked men gathered around him to resist Rehoboam son of Solomon when he was young, inexperienced, and unable to resist them.

⁸And now you think you can resist the kingdom of the LORD, which is in the hands of David’s descendants. You are indeed a vast army, and you have with you the golden calves that Jeroboam made for you as gods.

⁹But did you not drive out the priests of the LORD, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites? And did you not make priests for yourselves as do the peoples of other lands? Now whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams can become a priest of things that are not gods.

¹⁰But as for us, the LORD is our God. We have not forsaken Him; the priests who minister to the LORD are sons of Aaron, and the Levites attend to their duties.

¹¹Every morning and every evening they present burnt offerings and fragrant incense to the LORD. They set out the rows of showbread on the ceremonially clean table, and every evening they light the lamps of the gold lampstand. We are carrying out the requirements of the LORD our God, while you have forsaken Him.

¹²Now behold, God Himself is with us as our head, and His priests with their trumpets sound the battle call against you. O children of Israel, do not fight against the LORD, the God of your fathers, for you will not succeed.”

¹³Now Jeroboam had sent troops around to ambush from the rear, so that while he was in front of Judah, the ambush was behind them.

¹⁴When Judah turned and discovered that the battle was both before and behind them, they cried out to the LORD. Then the priests blew the trumpets,

¹⁵and the men of Judah raised the battle cry. And when they raised the cry, God routed Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.

¹⁶So the Israelites fled before Judah, and God delivered them into their hands.

¹⁷Then Abijah and his people struck them with a mighty blow, and 500,000 chosen men of Israel fell slain.

¹⁸Thus the Israelites were subdued at that time, and the men of Judah prevailed because they relied on the LORD, the God of their fathers.

¹⁹Abijah pursued Jeroboam and captured some cities from him: Bethel, Jeshanah, and Ephron, along with their villages.

²⁰Jeroboam did not again recover his power during the days of Abijah, and the LORD struck him down and he died.

²¹But Abijah grew strong, married fourteen wives, and became the father of twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters.

²²Now the rest of the acts of Abijah, along with his ways and his words, are written in the Treatiseof the Prophet Iddo.

The Covenant at Horeb

¹Then Moses summoned all Israel and said to them:Hear, O Israel, the statutes and ordinances that I declare in your hearing this day. Learn them and observe them carefully.

²The LORD our God made a covenant with us at Horeb.

³He did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with all of us who are alive here today.

⁴The LORD spoke with you face to face out of the fire on the mountain.

The Ten Commandments

⁵At that time I was standing between the LORD and you to declare to you the word of the LORD, because you were afraid of the fire and would not go up the mountain. And He said:

⁶“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

⁷You shall have no other gods before Me.

⁸You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in the heavens above, on the earth below, or in the waters beneath.

⁹You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,

¹⁰but showing loving devotion to a thousand generationsof those who love Me and keep My commandments.

¹¹You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave anyone unpunished who takes His name in vain.

¹²Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you.

¹³Six days you shall labor and do all your work,

¹⁴but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God, on which you must not do any work—neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your ox or donkey or any of your livestock, nor the foreigner within your gates, so that your manservant and maidservant may rest as you do.

¹⁵Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. That is why the LORD your God has commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.

¹⁶Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, so that your days may be long and that it may go well with you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

¹⁷You shall not murder.

¹⁸You shall not commit adultery.

¹⁹You shall not steal.

²⁰You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

²¹You shall not covetyour neighbor’s wife. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house or field, or his manservant or maidservant, or his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

Moses Intercedes for the People

²²The LORD spoke these commandments in a loud voice to your whole assembly out of the fire, the cloud, and the deep darkness on the mountain; He added nothing more. And He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me.

²³And when you heard the voice out of the darkness while the mountain was blazing with fire, all the heads of your tribes and your elders approached me,

²⁴and you said, “Behold, the LORD our God has shown us His glory and greatness, and we have heard His voice out of the fire. Today we have seen that a man can live even if God speaks with him.

²⁵But now, why should we die? For this great fire will consume us, and we will die, if we hear the voice of the LORD our God any longer.

²⁶For who of all flesh has heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the fire, as we have, and survived?

²⁷Go near and listen to all that the LORD our God says. Then you can tell us everything the LORD our God tells you; we will listen and obey.”

²⁸And the LORD heard the words you spoke to me, and He said to me, “I have heard the words that these people have spoken to you. They have done well in all that they have spoken.

²⁹If only they had such a heart to fear Me and keep all My commandments always, so that it might be well with them and with their children forever.

³⁰Go and tell them: ‘Return to your tents.’

³¹But you stand here with Me, that I may speak to you all the commandments and statutes and ordinances you are to teach them to follow in the land that I am giving them to possess.”

³²So be careful to do as the LORD your God has commanded you; you are not to turn aside to the right or to the left.

³³You must walk in all the ways that the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess.

Do Not Envy

Saying 20

¹Do not envy wicked menor desire their company;

²for their hearts devise violence,and their lips declare trouble.

Saying 21

³By wisdom a house is builtand by understanding it is established;

⁴through knowledge its rooms are filledwith every precious and beautiful treasure.

Saying 22

⁵A wise man is strong,and a man of knowledge enhances his strength.

⁶Only with sound guidance should you wage war,and victory lies in a multitude of counselors.

Saying 23

⁷Wisdom is too high for a fool;he does not open his mouth in the meeting place.

Saying 24

⁸He who plots evilwill be called a schemer.

⁹A foolish scheme is sin,and a mocker is detestable to men.

Saying 25

¹⁰If you faint in the day of distress,how small is your strength!

¹¹Rescue those being led away to death,and restrain those stumbling toward the slaughter.

¹²If you say, “Behold, we did not know about this,”does not He who weighs hearts consider it?Does not the One who guards your life know?Will He not repay a man according to his deeds?

Saying 26

¹³Eat honey, my son, for it is good,and the honeycomb is sweet to your taste.

¹⁴Know therefore that wisdom is sweet to your soul.If you find it, there is a future for you,and your hope will never be cut off.

Saying 27

¹⁵Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, near the dwelling of the righteous;do not destroy his resting place.

¹⁶For though a righteous man may fall seven times, he still gets up;but the wicked stumble in bad times.

Saying 28

¹⁷Do not gloat when your enemy falls,and do not let your heart rejoice when he stumbles,

¹⁸or the LORD will see and disapprove,and turn His wrath away from him.

Saying 29

¹⁹Do not fret over evildoers,and do not be envious of the wicked.

²⁰For the evil man has no future;the lamp of the wicked will be extinguished.

Saying 30

²¹My son, fear the LORD and the king,and do not associate with the rebellious.

²²For they will bring sudden destruction.Who knows what ruin they can bring?

Further Sayings of the Wise

²³These also are sayings of the wise:To show partiality in judgmentis not good.

²⁴Whoever tells the guilty, “You are innocent”—peoples will curse him, and nations will denounce him;

²⁵but it will go well with those who convict the guilty,and rich blessing will come upon them.

²⁶An honest answer givenis like a kiss on the lips.

²⁷Complete your outdoor work and prepare your field;after that, you may build your house.

²⁸Do not testify against your neighbor without cause,and do not deceive with your lips.

²⁹Do not say, “I will do to him as he has done to me;I will repay the man according to his work.”

³⁰I went past the field of a slackerand by the vineyard of a man lacking judgment.

³¹Thorns had grown up everywhere,thistles had covered the ground,and the stone wall was broken down.

³²I observed and took it to heart;I looked and received instruction:

³³A little sleep, a little slumber,a little folding of the hands to rest,

³⁴and poverty will come upon you like a robber,and need like a bandit.