II Chronicles 16:11-14 · Bible study
2 Chronicles 16:11-14 Commentary: Asa's End
Hebrew · 10 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Why the Chronicler highlights Asa's disease and his failure to seek God, and what his elaborate funeral tells us about his legacy.
Research Summary
- Meaning: The Chronicler concludes Asa's reign with a warning: even a good king can finish poorly by trusting human means instead of God.
- Key words: darash (seek, with b preposition, implying trust directed to); rofe'im (physicians, possibly associated with magical arts); serifah (burning, likely of spices, not corpse).
- Main debate: Was the "great burning" cremation of the body or only a fire for spices? Most modern commentators (Keil, Cambridge) say spices; Clarke thought the body was burned on a pyre.
- Theological theme: Trust in God vs. trust in human resources; the danger of drifting from wholehearted dependence; God's grace persists even in a flawed legacy.
- Best use: A cautionary study for a series on kings who started well and finished poorly, or a lesson on illness and faith.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
11Now the rest of the acts of Asa, from beginning to end, are indeed written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.
12In the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa became diseased in his feet, and his malady became increasingly severe. Yet even in his illness he did not seek the LORD, but only the physicians.
13So in the forty-first year of his reign, Asa died and rested with his fathers.
14And he was buried in the tomb that he had cut out for himself in the City of David. They laid him on a bier that was full of spices and various blended perfumes; then they made a great fire in his honor.
WEB World English Bible 2000
11Behold, the acts of Asa, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.
12In the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa was diseased in his feet. His disease was exceedingly great; yet in his disease he didn’t seek Yahweh, but just the physicians.
13Asa slept with his fathers, and died in the forty-first year of his reign.
14They buried him in his own tomb, which he had dug out for himself in David’s city, and laid him in the bed which was filled with sweet odors and various kinds of spices prepared by the perfumers’ art; and they made a very great fire for him.
KJV King James Version 1769
11And, behold, the acts of Asa, first and last, lo, they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.
12And Asa in the thirty and ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great: yet in his disease he sought not to the Lord, but to the physicians.
13And Asa slept with his fathers, and died in the one and fortieth year of his reign.
14And they buried him in his own sepulchres, which he had made for himself in the city of David, and laid him in the bed which was filled with sweet odours and divers kinds of spices prepared by the apothecaries’ art: and they made a very great burning for him.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
11And, behold, the acts of Asa, first and last, lo, they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.
12And in the thirty and ninth year of his reign Asa was diseased in his feet; his disease was exceeding great: yet in his disease he sought not to Jehovah, but to the physicians.
13And Asa slept with his fathers, and died in the one and fortieth year of his reign.
14And they buried him in his own sepulchres, which he had hewn out for himself in the city of David, and laid him in the bed which was filled with sweet odors and divers kinds of spices prepared by the perfumers’ art: and they made a very great burning for him.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
11And lo, the matters of Asa, the first and the last, lo, they are written on the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.
12And Asa is diseased--in the thirty and ninth year of his reign--in his feet, till his disease is excessive, and also in his disease he hath not sought Jehovah, but among physicians.
13And Asa lieth with his fathers, and dieth in the forty and first year of his reign,
14and they bury him in one of his graves, that he had prepared for himself in the city of David, and they cause him to lie on a bed that one hath filled with spices, and divers kinds of mixtures, with perfumed work; and they burn for him a burning--very great.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
11And behold the acts of Asa, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.
12And Asa in the thirty-ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet, until his disease was extremely great; yet in his disease he did not seek Jehovah, but the physicians.
13And Asa slept with his fathers, and died in the one-and-fortieth year of his reign.
14And they buried him in his own sepulchre, which he had excavated for himself in the city of David, and laid him in a bed filled with spices, a mixture of divers kinds prepared by the perfumer's art; and they made a very great burning for him.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
11But the works of Asa the first and last are written in the book of the kings of Juda and Israel.
12And Asa fell sick in the nine and thirtieth year of his reign, of a most violent pain in his feet, and yet in his illness he did not seek the Lord, but rather trusted in the skill of physicians.
13And he slept with his fathers: and he died in the one and fortieth year of his reign.
14And they buried him in his own sepulchre, which he had made for himself in the city of David: and they laid him on his bed full of spices and odoriferous ointments, which were made by the art of the perfumers, and they burnt them over him with very great pomp.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · II Chronicles 16:11
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
The Chronicler closes Asa's reign with a formulaic reference to written records (v.11), then adds a critical note: in his thirty-ninth year, Asa became diseased in his feet, and the disease was severe. Commentators across traditions agree that the king's sin lay not in consulting physicians, but in doing so without seeking Yahweh. As Keil and Delitzsch observe, the Hebrew construction "he sought not Yahweh . . . but to the physicians" uses the preposition b with darash (to seek), which in this context implies superstitious trust, the same construction used for consulting idols. Several older commentators (Clarke, Gill) diagnose the disease as gout; the phrase "exceedingly great" (literally "to upwards," ad lemalah) suggests the pain spread to vital organs. Most agree that the lavish funeral, a bed heaped with spices and a "very great burning", was a mark of honor, though they debate whether the body was cremated or only spices were burned (the majority view, following Keil, is that Israelites buried their dead and burned only aromatics, as Jeremiah 34:5 also indicates). The consensus is that Asa, who once relied on God against the Ethiopians (2 Chron 14), ended his life trusting human means alone.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Emphasis on exclusive trust: The Hebrew 'not/but' structure (v.12) contrasts seeking Yahweh with seeking physicians, implying an either/or choice in this instance.
- Possible repentance before death: Asa is earlier called 'perfect' or 'wholehearted' (2 Chron 15:17), and his lavish funeral suggests the community honored him, perhaps presuming repentance.
- The burning as cremation: Clarke compares the funeral to Roman cremation practices and notes the bed could be a pyre; this view sees the text as describing corpse burning.
- The burning as spice offering only: Keil and Delitzsch note that Israelite custom was burial, not cremation, and that Jeremiah 34:5 uses similar language for burning spices in honor of a king.
What is clear: All sides agree that Asa's failure to seek God during his final illness is a serious warning, and that his death and burial, though honorable, do not erase the fact that he turned from trust in Yahweh to reliance on human means alone.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Asa's sin in consulting physicians | Christians agree that Asa's fault was placing ultimate trust in physicians rather than in God. The issue is the direction of his trust, not the act of seeking medical help. | Some traditions (Reformed, as with Wesley) emphasize that using physicians is a duty but trusting them as ultimate is idolatry. Others (some Pentecostal circles) may see a stronger prohibition; but all affirm that God alone is the source of healing. |
| The nature of the funeral burning | All agree that a 'very great burning' occurred at Asa's funeral, and that it involved aromatic spices. It was a sign of honor to a deceased king. | Whether this was a cremation of the body (Clarke, based on ancient parallels) or only the burning of spices and perfumes (Keil, Cambridge, most moderns). The weight of scholarship favors the latter, noting that Israelites buried their dead and burned only aromatics. |
| Whether Asa repented before death | The narrative does not record a repentance, and the Chronicler leaves the account without a positive reversal. The burial honors show that the community still respected him. | Some (Jamieson-Fausset-Brown) presume he repented because he is called a 'good man' in 2 Chron 15:17. Others (Calvin's tradition) hold that the silence is ominous, implying he died without seeking the Lord. The question is left open by the text. |
Historical & Cultural Context
II Chronicles 16:11-14 is the Chronicler's epilogue to Asa's reign, paralleling 1 Kings 15:23-24 but with significant expansions. The formula "the book of the kings of Judah and Israel" is a regular feature of the Chronicler's source citations, pointing to an official court chronicle that contained fuller records of each king's acts. The Chronicler did not invent this detail; he drew from an earlier source now lost.
The disease in Asa's feet was likely gout, a condition notoriously painful and chronic. In the ancient Near East, physicians (rofe'im) were often associated with magical practices, incantations, amulets, and spells, especially those from Egypt, where medical guilds blended herbal remedies with religious rituals. The Cambridge Bible notes that such practitioners "used incantations and adjurations," which may explain why the Chronicler puts them in implicit opposition to seeking Yahweh. Asa's fault was not using medicine per se, but trusting in practitioners whose methods competed with divine loyalty.
The burial details reflect royal custom in Judah. The tomb was "hewn out" in the City of David, a rock-cut cave with multiple chambers for family burials (hence the plural "sepulchres" in some translations). The bed or bier was covered with costly spices, likely prepared by professional perfumers. The "very great burning" (serifah gedolah) was not cremation of the body; Keil and Delitzsch, followed by most modern commentators, see it as a fire for burning aromatic substances in honor of the dead, a practice attested in Jeremiah 34:5 for the burial of kings. This was a sign of public respect, showing that despite his final failures, Asa's earlier piety was still remembered by the nation.
Textual Notes
The supplied commentaries do not mention any significant textual variants for II Chronicles 16:11-14. The Hebrew text appears stable across manuscripts. The primary differences among English translations concern the word qivrotav ('graves,' plural) in v.14, some render it 'sepulchres' (KJV, ASV) while others use 'tomb' or 'grave' (WEB, BSB), reflecting the plural form used for a single tomb complex with multiple chambers. The phrase 'exceedingly great' (v.12) is variously rendered 'very great' (WEB), 'exceeding great' (KJV), or 'increasingly severe' (BSB), but all capture the Hebrew sense of intensity. No textual issues materially affect interpretation.
Reception History
This passage has been read across Christian traditions as a sobering lesson on the danger of trusting human means over God, especially in illness. Early church fathers like John Chrysostom used Asa's example to warn against relying solely on medical arts without prayer, though they did not forbid medicine. The medieval Glossa Ordinaria connected Asa's disease in the feet to his earlier oppression of the prophet (v.10), seeing divine judgment in the location of the illness. Protestant reformers (Calvin, Luther) read the passage as a testament to human frailty even among the faithful: Asa's earlier trust in God did not guarantee he would finish well. Wesley's notes (18th century) softened the critique, arguing that using physicians is a duty, but trusting them exclusively is folly. In modern homiletics, this text is often paired with James 5:14-15 (anointing the sick with prayer) to contrast human and divine sources of healing, though such application must be careful not to condemn medical care itself.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The pattern of trust betrayed. Asa's prayer in chapter 14 was a model of reliance on God. But by chapter 16, he trusted a foreign alliance rather than Yahweh (v.7-9). The disease in his feet becomes a second test: will he seek God again? He does not. The pattern shows how success can breed self-reliance.
- Physicians as a test of the heart. The Chronicler does not condemn medicine; he condemns trusting physicians instead of God. Verse 12 pairs "he did not seek the Lord" with "but just the physicians" as an exclusive contrast. Asa's problem was not the treatment but the trust behind it.
- An honorable end that cannot rewrite the story. The great burning and spices show the kingdom's affection for Asa. But the inspired record preserves his failure alongside his achievements. A good funeral does not erase a life's final choices.
Five-point outline
- Opening formula (v.11): all deeds are recorded, God sees the whole story.
- The disease and the decision (v.12): severe illness as a moment of decision.
- The exclusive "not/but": our trust in crisis reveals what we truly depend on.
- Death and burial (v.13-14a): the body is laid to rest, but the legacy continues.
- The great burning (v.14b): honor from others does not replace faithfulness to God.
Illustration hooks
- A person facing a health crisis who pours energy into searching for the best specialist but neglects to pray or seek the church's prayer. The sorrow is not the search but what it crowds out.
- A leader who started strong, prayed through early battles, but now trusts political alliances and human expertise. Asa is a mirror for the slow drift from dependence to self-reliance.
- A public funeral that praises someone for past service even though those closest know the last years were marked by distance from God. The great burning is what others see; the record is what God sees.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Does this verse mean Christians should not go to doctors? (No; the issue is trust, not treatment.)
- What does it look like to seek the Lord in the middle of a chronic illness, practically?
- Is it possible to undo a lifetime of faithfulness with a few bad years at the end?
Leading a Discussion
This passage ends Asa's story on a sobering note. A king who started with wholehearted trust (2 Chron 14) finished by relying on human skill alone. Your group may wrestle with what it means to seek God in seasons of crisis, especially medical ones. The point is not to avoid doctors but to examine where our ultimate hope lies.
Discussion questions
- Read 2 Chronicles 14:2-11 and 16:7-12. What changes do you see in Asa's pattern of trust from earlier in his reign to the end?
- Verse 12 says Asa "did not seek the Lord but just the physicians." Is the contrast absolute? What does it reveal about Asa's heart in his final illness?
- The Chronicler includes a lavish funeral for Asa (v.14). Why do you think he includes this detail right after the critical note about Asa's faith failure?
- In what situations do you find it hardest to seek God rather than lean entirely on human solutions? Is it possible to do both?
- How does the formula "the book of the kings of Judah and Israel" function in the Chronicler's writing? Why not just narrate all the acts?
- Some commentators say the "great burning" was only of spices, not the body. Others think there was cremation. Does that historical question affect the meaning of the passage for you?
- Asa's life shows a person who once depended on God but ended in self-reliance. What safeguards can help you maintain a posture of dependence over a lifetime?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| I Kings 15:23 | Now the rest of all the acts of Asa, and all his might, and all that he did, and the cities which he built, aren’t they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? But in the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet. |
| I Kings 15:24 | Asa slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in his father David’s city; and Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his place. |
| II Chronicles 9:29 | Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, aren’t they written in the history of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam the son of Nebat? |
| II Chronicles 12:15 | Now the acts of Rehoboam, first and last, aren’t they written in the histories of Shemaiah the prophet and of Iddo the seer, in the genealogies? There were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually. |
| II Chronicles 20:34 | Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last, behold, they are written in the history of Jehu the son of Hanani, which is included in the book of the kings of Israel. |
| II Chronicles 25:26 | Now the rest of the acts of Amaziah, first and last, behold, aren’t they written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel? |
| II Chronicles 26:22 | Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, first and last, Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, wrote. |
| II Chronicles 27:7 | Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all his wars and his ways, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
10 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke interprets Asa's foot disease as a severe gout attack, noting the Targum's view that Asa sought physicians instead of discipline from the Lord. Regarding his burial, Clarke argues the "bed" of spices was likely a funeral pyre, comparing the rite to pagan customs described in Virgil's Aeneid.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes points out that Asa's failure was not limited to his reliance on human help during war; he repeated the same mistake when he fell ill. Even in disease Asa placed undue confidence in human aid rather than turning to God. The burning of spices at his funeral was a customary honor for a king.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The commentator treats the condemnation of physicians as a specific judgment against those who used incantations and magic, not against medicine itself. He notes that the book of Ecclesiasticus later honors proper medical care. The "great burning" refers to a pyre of spices, not cremation of the body.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva Notes stress that Asa turned to physicians rather than to the Lord in his severe illness. They present this choice as a notable failure: even after a long reign, his final sickness revealed a misplaced trust in human remedies instead of God.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill points out that Asa's severe foot disease, possibly gout or a spreading edema, became life-threatening, yet he turned only to physicians and not to the Lord. This marks the first biblical mention of physicians, whom Gill suggests some Jews regarded as heathen enchanters. He also describes the elaborate burial with spices and a ceremonial burning, customary for honoring kings.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
jfb points out that Asa's sin was not merely consulting physicians but trusting Egyptian practitioners who used charms and incantations while neglecting God. They suggest Asa likely repented, as shown by his honorable burial, though the exact meaning of the spices and burning remains uncertain.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch draws a key distinction: the text does not condemn Asa for consulting physicians at all, but for the godless, superstitious way he trusted them instead of seeking God. Similarly, the "great burning" at his funeral was a pyre of spices, not cremation of the body, which was not Israelite practice.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange argues that the large numbers in these battle accounts should not be taken as exact figures. They are round, ideal expressions from contemporaries indicating that each king summoned his entire military strength, much like David's census numbers.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry stresses that the prophet's charge against Asa is not merely making an alliance but relying on a foreign king instead of the Lord. Asa had previously trusted God against a vast Ethiopian army and won, yet now he foolishly turned from that same source of strength.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley distinguishes between the duty of using physicians and the sin of trusting them instead of God. Seeking medical help is required, but expecting from them what only God can give is folly. Every creature's help must be used with dependence on the Creator, who alone gives any skill its value.