2 Chronicles 16:5 (GNV)

Passage

And when Baasha heard it, he left building of Ramah, and let his worke cease.

Nearby Context

2 Chronicles 16:3 There is a couenant betweene me and thee, and betweene my father and thy father: behold, I haue sent thee siluer and golde: come, breake thy league with Baasha King of Israel that hee may depart from me.

2 Chronicles 16:4 And Benhadad hearkened vnto King Asa, and sent the captaines of the armies which hee had, against the cities of Israel. And they smote Iion, and Dan, and Abel-maim, and all the store cities of Naphtali.

2 Chronicles 16:5 And when Baasha heard it, he left building of Ramah, and let his worke cease.

2 Chronicles 16:6 Then Asa the King tooke all Iudah, and caryed away the stones of Ramah and the tymber thereof, wherewith Baasha did builde, and he built therewith Geba and Mizpah.

2 Chronicles 16:7 And at that same time Hanani the Seer came to Asa King of Iudah, and saide vnto him, Because thou hast rested vpon the king of Aram, and not rested in the Lord thy God, therefore is the hoste of the King of Aram escaped out of thine hande.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "baasha", "heard", "left", "building", "ramah", "worke", and "cease". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "baasha" and "heard", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 4's "And Benhadad hearkened vnto King Asa and..." into verse 6's "Then Asa the King tooke all Iudah...", so "baasha" and "heard" 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 "baasha" and "heard" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.