2 Chronicles 16:4 (ASV)

Passage

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.

Nearby Context

2 Chronicles 16:2 Then Asa brought out silver and gold out of the treasures of the house of Jehovah and of the king`s house, and sent to Ben-hadad king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying,

2 Chronicles 16:3 [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.

2 Chronicles 16:4 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.

2 Chronicles 16:5 And it came to pass, when Baasha heard thereof, that he left off building Ramah, and let his work cease.

2 Chronicles 16:6 Then Asa the king took all Judah; and they carried away the stones of Ramah, and the timber thereof, wherewith Baasha had builded; and he built therewith Geba and Mizpah.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "ben-hadad", "hearkened", "king", "sent", "captains", "armies", "against", and "cities". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "ben-hadad" and "hearkened", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "There is a league between me and..." into verse 5's "And it came to pass when Baasha...", so "ben-hadad" and "hearkened" belong inside that flow. In 2 Chronicles context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "ben-hadad" and "hearkened" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.