2 Tawarikh 16:1-5

16:1 In the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign, King Baasha of Israel attacked Judah, and he established Ramah as a military outpost to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the land of King Asa of Judah. ¹  16:2 Asa took all the silver and gold that was left in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and of the royal palace and sent it to King Ben Hadad of Syria, ruler in Damascus, along with this message: 16:3 “I want to make a treaty with you, like the one our fathers made. ²  See, I have sent you silver and gold. Break your treaty with King Baasha of Israel, so he will retreat from my land.” ³  16:4 Ben Hadad accepted King Asa’s offer and ordered his army commanders to attack the cities of Israel. ⁴  They conquered ⁵  Ijon, Dan, Abel Maim, ⁶  and all the storage cities of Naphtali. 16:5 When Baasha heard the news, he stopped fortifying ⁷  Ramah and abandoned the project. ⁸ 

[16:1]  ¹ tn Heb “and he built up Ramah so as to not permit going out or coming in to Asa king of Judah.”

[16:3]  ² tn Heb “[May there be] a covenant between me and you [as there was] between my father and your father.”

[16:3]  ³ tn Heb “so he will go up from upon me.”

[16:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “and Ben Hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of the armies which belonged to him against the cities of Israel.”

[16:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “They struck down.”

[16:4]  ⁶ sn In the parallel passage in 1 Kgs 15:20, this city’s name appears as Abel Beth Maacah. These appear to be variant names for the same place.

[16:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “building.”

[16:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “and he caused his work to cease.”