2 Chronicles 15

1 The Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded.

Now Azariah, the son of Oded, had the Spirit of God within him.

2 He went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa and all of Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you while you are with him. If you look for him, you will find him; but if you abandon him, he will abandon you.

And he went out to meet Asa, and he said to him: “Listen to me, Asa and all of Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you, because you have been with him. If you seek him, you will find him. But if you abandon him, he will abandon you.

3 For many years Israel was without the true God, without a priest to teach them, and without the law.

Then many days will pass in Israel, apart from the true God, and apart from a learned priest, and apart from the law.

4 But when they were in trouble they returned to the Lord, the God of Israel—they looked for him, and they found him.

And when, in their anguish, they will have returned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and will have sought him, they shall find him.

5 During those times travel was dangerous, for all the inhabitants of the lands were in great turmoil. People everywhere had terrible problems.

In that time, there will be no peace for those who depart and those who enter. Instead, there will be terror on every side, among all the inhabitants of the lands.

6 Nation fought nation, and town fought town, for God threw them into a panic with all kinds of trouble.

For nation will fight against nation, and city against city. For the Lord will disturb them with every anguish.

7 But you need to be strong, not weak, for you will be rewarded for the work you do.”

But as for you, be strengthened, and do not let your hands be weakened. For there will be a reward for your work.”

8 When Asa heard these words of prophecy from Azariah the prophet, son of Oded, he was encouraged. He removed the vile idols from the whole territory of Judah and Benjamin and from the towns he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. Then he repaired the altar of the Lord that stood in front of the porch of the Lord's Temple.

And when Asa had heard these particular words, and the prophecy of the prophet Azariah, the son of Oded, he was strengthened, and he took away the idols from the entire land of Judah, and from Benjamin, and from the cities that he had seized of mount Ephraim, and he dedicated the altar of the Lord, which was before the portico of the Lord.

9 Then Asa summoned all of Judah and Benjamin, along with those Israelites from the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who were living among them, for many people had deserted Israel and come over to Asa when they saw that the Lord his God was with him.

And he gathered together all of Judah and Benjamin, and with them the new arrivals from Ephraim and Manasseh and Simeon. For many had fled to him from Israel, seeing that the Lord his God was with him.

10 They gathered in Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa's reign.

And when they had arrived in Jerusalem, in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa,

11 That day they sacrificed to the Lord seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep from the plunder they had brought back.

they immolated to the Lord on that day, from the best of the spoils and from the plunder that they had brought: seven hundred oxen and seven thousand rams.

12 Then they made an agreement to conscientiously and completely follow the Lord, the God of their forefathers.

And he entered, according to custom, in order to confirm the covenant, so that they would seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, with their whole heart and with their whole soul.

13 They also agreed that anyone who refused to follow the Lord, the God of Israel, would be put to death, whether young or old, man or woman.

“But if anyone,” he said, “will not seek the Lord, the God of Israel, let him die, from the least even to the greatest, from man even to woman.”

14 They declared their oath with a loud shout, accompanied by trumpets and blasts from rams' horns.

And they swore to the Lord, with a great voice, in jubilation, and with the blare of trumpets, and with the sound of horns,

15 The whole of Judah was happy at the oath they had conscientiously sworn. They looked for him sincerely, and they found him. The Lord gave them peace from all their enemies.

all who were in Judah swore with a curse. For with all their heart they swore, and with all their will they sought and found him. And the Lord granted rest on all sides to them.

16 King Asa also removed Maacah from her position as queen mother for making an offensive Asherah pole. Asa cut down her vile idol, crushed it up, and burned it in the Kidron Valley.

Then too, Maacah, the mother of king Asa, he deposed from the august authority, because she had made an idol of Priapus within a sacred grove. And he entirely crushed it, breaking it into pieces, and he burned it at the torrent Kidron.

17 While the high places were not removed from Israel, Asa was completely devoted to the Lord all his life.

But some high places were left in Israel. Even so, the heart of Asa was perfect during all his days.

18 He brought into God's Temple the silver and gold articles he and his father had dedicated.

And whatever his father or he himself had vowed, he brought into the house of the Lord: silver and gold, and vessels for various uses.

19 There was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa's reign.

Truly, there was no war, until the thirty-fifth year of the kingdom of Asa.