2 Chronicles 15

1 And the spirit of God came on Azariah, the son of Oded;

The Spirit of God came on Azariah the son of Oded.

2 And he came face to face with Asa and said to him, Give ear to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin: the Lord is with you while you are with him; if your heart's desire is for him, he will be near you, but if you give him up, he will give you up.

He went out to meet Asa, and said to him, “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin! The LORD is with you while you are with him; and if you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.

3 Now for a long time Israel has been without the true God, and without a teaching priest and without the law;

Now for a long time Israel was without the true God, without a teaching priest, and without law.

4 But when in their trouble they were turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, searching after him, he let their search be rewarded.

But when in their distress they turned to the LORD, the God of Israel, and sought him, he was found by them.

5 In those times there was no peace for him who went out or for him who came in, but great trouble was on all the people of the lands.

In those times there was no peace to him who went out, nor to him who came in; but great troubles were on all the inhabitants of the lands.

6 And they were broken by divisions, nation against nation and town against town, because God sent all sorts of trouble on them.

They were broken in pieces, nation against nation, and city against city; for God troubled them with all adversity.

7 But be you strong and let not your hands be feeble, for your work will be rewarded.

But you be strong! Don’t let your hands be slack, for your work will be rewarded.”

8 And Asa, hearing these words of Azariah, the son of Oded the prophet, took heart and put away all the disgusting things out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the towns which he had taken from the hill-country of Ephraim; and he made new again the altar of the Lord in front of the covered way of the Lord's house.

When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the abominations out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken from the hill country of Ephraim; and he renewed the LORD’s altar that was before the LORD’s porch.

9 And he got together all Judah and Benjamin and those of Ephraim and Manasseh and Simeon who were living with them; for numbers of them came to him out of Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him.

He gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and those who lived with them out of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon; for they came to him out of Israel in abundance when they saw that the LORD his God was with him.

10 So they came together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the rule of Asa.

So they gathered themselves together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign.

11 And that day they made offerings to the Lord of the things they had taken in war, seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep.

They sacrificed to the LORD in that day, of the plunder which they had brought, seven hundred head of cattle and seven thousand sheep.

12 And they made an agreement to be true to the Lord, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and all their soul;

They entered into the covenant to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and with all their soul;

13 And that anyone, small or great, man or woman, who was not true to the Lord, the God of Israel, would be put to death.

and that whoever would not seek the LORD, the God of Israel, should be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman.

14 And they made an oath to the Lord, with a loud voice, sounding wind-instruments and horns.

They swore to the LORD with a loud voice, with shouting, with trumpets, and with cornets.

15 And all Judah was glad because of the oath, for they had taken it with all their heart, turning to the Lord with all their desire; and he was with them and gave them rest on every side.

All Judah rejoiced at the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and sought him with their whole desire; and he was found by them. Then the LORD gave them rest all around.

16 And Asa would not let Maacah, his mother, be queen, because she had made a disgusting image for Asherah; and Asa had her image cut down and broken up and burned by the stream Kidron.

Also Maacah, the mother of Asa the king, he removed from being queen mother, because she had made an abominable image for an Asherah; so Asa cut down her image, ground it into dust, and burnt it at the brook Kidron.

17 But the high places were not taken away out of Israel; but still the heart of Asa was true to the Lord all his life.

But the high places were not taken away out of Israel; nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days.

18 He took into the house of God all the things which his father had made holy and those which he himself had made holy, silver and gold and vessels.

He brought the things that his father had dedicated and that he himself had dedicated, silver, gold, and vessels into God’s house.

19 And there was no more war till the thirty-fifth year of the rule of Asa.

There was no more war to the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign.