Verse Lens · Concise explanation
2 Chronicles 16:4 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 4. 4And Ben-hadad hearkened unto king Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel; and they smote Ijon, and Dan, and Abel-maim, and all the store cities of Naphtali.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse advances the thought unit through its next action, speech, or consequence: “And Ben-hadad hearkened unto king Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel….” Its responsible meaning belongs to the complete movement “Asa buys Aramean help against Baasha.”
Read It With
- 2 Chronicles 16:1–6
Read 2 Chronicles 16:4 with 16:1–6. The selected wording supplies one step in the thought unit through its next action, speech, or consequence; the surrounding verses supply the causes, responses, and outcome summarized here: When Baasha fortifies Ramah, Asa transfers temple and palace silver and gold to Ben-hadad, who attacks northern towns and forces Baasha to stop; Judah reuses Ramah's materials.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Within “Asa buys Aramean help against Baasha,” 2 Chronicles 16:4 advances the thought unit through its next action, speech, or consequence through the wording “And Ben-hadad hearkened unto king Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel….” Its placement is governed by this reviewed relationship: The successful tactic reverses earlier reliance and turns dedicated treasure into foreign policy leverage. 2 Chronicles 15:16–19 has just established this prior movement: Asa removes Maachah from queen-mother status for her cult image, destroys it, leaves high places in Israel, brings dedicated gifts to the temple, and experiences a period without war. Together those details explain why “Asa buys Aramean help against Baasha” belongs here rather than merely following a database record.
Read 2 Chronicles 16:1–6 together
Why these verses belong together: 2 Chronicles 16:1–6 forms the complete movement “Asa buys Aramean help against Baasha”: When Baasha fortifies Ramah, Asa transfers temple and palace silver and gold to Ben-hadad, who attacks northern towns and forces Baasha to stop; Judah reuses Ramah's materials.
Verse 1. 1 In the six and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah, and built Ramah, to the intent that he might let none go out or come in to Asa king of Judah.
Verse 2. 2 Then Asa brought out silver and gold out of the treasures of the house of the LORD and of the king’s house, and sent to Ben-hadad king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying,
Verse 3. 3 There is a league between me and thee, as there was between my father and thy father: behold, I have sent thee silver and gold; go, break thy league with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me.
Verse 4. 4 And Ben-hadad hearkened unto king Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel; and they smote Ijon, and Dan, and Abel-maim, and all the store cities of Naphtali.
Verse 5. 5 And it came to pass, when Baasha heard it, that he left off building of Ramah, and let his work cease.
Verse 6. 6 Then Asa the king took all Judah; and they carried away the stones of Ramah, and the timber thereof, wherewith Baasha was building; and he built therewith Geba and Mizpah.
What Remains True
Reform, prayer, victory, and prosperity never remove the need to hear correction, protect dissenters, reject coercion, and respond responsibly to illness and failure. This unit tests that truth through the narrated movement: When Baasha fortifies Ramah, Asa transfers temple and palace silver and gold to Ben-hadad, who attacks northern towns and forces Baasha to stop; Judah reuses Ramah's materials. In 2 Chronicles 16:4, the concrete line “And Ben-hadad hearkened unto king Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel…” keeps that truth accountable to the narrated evidence.
How It Can Shape Life
- The evidence to keep visible in this verse is “And Ben-hadad hearkened unto king Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel….” Test reform and success by truthfulness, noncoercion, protection of critics, and responsible care; do not turn victory, wealth, or illness into a formula about someone's faith. This response follows from the unit's own movement: When Baasha fortifies Ramah, Asa transfers temple and palace silver and gold to Ben-hadad, who attacks northern towns and forces Baasha to stop; Judah reuses Ramah's materials.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read 2 Chronicles 16:1–6 — Asa buys Aramean help against BaashaSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.
Exact location: 2 Chronicles 16:1–6, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: 2 Chronicles
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Hebrew wording, morphology, names, clauses, regnal formulas, temple vocabulary, older-English controls, and translation limits.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/2Chr.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 16:1–6
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible Full Notes: 2 Chronicles
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press; STEP Bible presentation, 2019 edition; current web presentation
Supports: Unit-bounded translation comparisons and only those lexical, textual, grammatical, numerical, historical, and parallel-passage notes attached to these verses.
Exact location: STEP Bible NET2full, 2 Chronicles 16:1–6, verse-attached translation and translator notes
Open source ↗