2 Chronicles 15

1 The Spirit of God came upon Azariah, the son of Obed.

Och över Asarja, Odeds son, kom Guds Ande.

2 Azariah went to talk with Asa, and said to him, “Asa and all [you men of the tribes of] Judah and Benjamin, listen to me. Yahweh is with you whenever you are trusting in him. If you request him [to help you], he will help you, but if you abandon him, he will abandon you.

Han gick ut mot Asa och sade till honom: "Hören mig, du, Asa, och I, hela Juda och Benjamin. HERREN är med eder, när I ären med honom, och om I söken honom, så låter han sig finnas av eder; men om I övergiven honom, så övergiver han ock eder.

3 For many years the Israeli people did not know the true God, and they did not have priests or God’s laws.

En lång tid var ju Israel utan den sanne Guden, utan präster som undervisade dem, och utan någon lag.

4 But when they experienced trouble, they turned to Yahweh our God, and requested him to help them. And he helped them.

Men i sin nöd omvände de sig till HERREN, Israels Gud, och när de sökte honom, lät han sig finnas av dem.

5 At that time, people were not safe when they traveled, because all the people who lived in the nearby countries were experiencing many difficulties.

Under de tiderna fanns ingen trygghet, när man gick ut eller in; utan stor förvirring rådde bland alla dem som bodde här i länderna,

6 The people of various nations were thoroughly defeated by [armies of] other nations, and people in some cities were crushed by [armies from] other cities, because God was allowing them to experience many difficulties.

och folk drabbade samman med folk och stad med stad; ty Gud förvirrade dem med allt slags nöd.

7 But you people, you must be strong and do not become discouraged, because [God] will reward you for what you do [to please him.”]

Men varen I frimodiga, låten icke modet falla, ty edert verk skall få sin lön."

8 When Asa heard what the prophet Azariah said, he was encouraged. He [commanded his workers to] remove all the detestable idols from everywhere in the land of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, and from the towns that [his soldiers] had captured in the hills of the tribe of Ephraim. Asa’s workers repaired the altar [where people offered sacrifices] to Yahweh that was in front of the entrance to the temple [in Jerusalem].

När Asa hörde dessa ord och denna profetia av profeten Oded, tog han mod till sig och skaffade bort styggelserna ur Judas och Benjamins hela land och ur de städer som han hade tagit i Efraims bergsbygd, och upprättade åter HERRENS altare, det som stod framför HERRENS förhus.

9 Then he gathered all [the people of the tribes of] Judah and Benjamin and many people from the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who were living among them. [He was able to do that] because many people from [those tribes in] Israel had come to me to Judah when they realized that Yahweh, the God that Asa [worshiped], was helping him.

Och han församlade hela Juda och Benjamin, så ock de främlingar ifrån Efraim, Manasse och Simeon, som bodde ibland dem; ty många från Israel hade gått över till honom, när de sågo att HERREN, hans Gud, var med honom.

10 After Asa had been ruling for almost 15 years, in May of that year, those people gathered in Jerusalem.

Och de församlade sig till Jerusalem i tredje månaden av Asas femtonde regeringsår,

11 At that time they sacrificed to Yahweh 700 bulls and 7,000 sheep and goats, from the animals that they had captured [when they defeated the army of Ethiopia/Sudan].

och offrade på den dagen åt HERREN sju hundra tjurar och sju tusen djur av småboskapen, uttagna av det byte som de hade fört med sig.

12 They solemnly made an agreement to very sincerely worship Yahweh, the God whom their ancestors [worshiped].

Och de ingingo det förbundet att de skulle söka HERREN, sina fäders Gud, av allt sitt hjärta och av all sin själ,

13 They promised to execute all those who would not worship Yahweh, including those who were important and those who were not important, both men and women.

och att var och en som icke sökte HERREN, Israels Gud, han skulle bliva dödad, liten eller stor, man eller kvinna.

14 They shouted and blew trumpets and other horns while they solemnly promised to do that.

Och de gåvo HERREN sin ed med hög röst och under jubel, och under det att trumpeter och basuner ljödo.

15 All the people who were living in Judah were happy with the agreement because they had solemnly and very sincerely promised to keep it. They eagerly requested help from Yahweh, and he helped them. So he enabled them to have peace throughout their country.

Och hela Juda gladde sig över eden; ty de hade svurit den av allt sitt hjärta, och de sökte HERREN med hela sin vilja, och han lät sig finnas av dem, och han lät dem få ro på alla sidor.

16 King Asa’s grandmother Maacah had made a disgusting pole for [worshiping the goddess] Asherah. So Asa [commanded his workers to] cut down that pole and chop it into pieces and burn it in the Kidron Valley. He then did not allow Maacah to continue [to influence the people because of her] being the mother of the previous king.

Konung Asa avsatte ock sin moder Maaka från hennes drottningsvärdighet, därför att hon hade satt upp en styggelse åt Aseran; Asa högg nu ned styggelsen och krossade de och brände upp den i Kidrons dal.

17 Although Asa’s [workers] did not get rid of the shrines on the hilltops in Israel, he was very determined to [do what] pleased Yahweh all his life.

Men offerhöjderna blevo icke avskaffade ur Israel; dock var Asas hjärta gudhängivet, så länge han levde.

18 He [ordered his workers to] bring into God’s temple all the silver and gold and other valuable items that he and his father had dedicated [to God].

Och han förde in i Guds hus både vad hans fader och vad han själv hade helgat åt HERREN: silver, guld och kärl.

19 There were no more wars [in Judah] until Asa had been ruling Judah almost 35 years.

Och intet krig uppstod förrän i Asas trettiofemte regeringsår.