2 Chronicles 15

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

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

2 So he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The LORD is with you when you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you, but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.

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.

3 For many years Israel has been without the true God, without a priest to instruct them, and without the law.

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

4 But in their distress they turned to the LORD, the God of Israel, and sought Him, and He was found by them.

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

5 In those days there was no safety for travelers, because the residents of the lands had many conflicts.

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.

6 Nation was crushed by nation, and city by city, for God afflicted them with all kinds of adversity.

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

7 But as for you, be strong; do not be discouraged, for your work will be rewarded.”

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

8 When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Azariah son of Oded the prophet, he took courage and removed the detestable idols from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. He then restored the altar of the LORD that was in front of the portico of the LORD’s temple.

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.

9 And he assembled all Judah and Benjamin, along with those from the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who had settled among them, for great numbers had come over to him from Israel when they saw that the LORD his God was with him.

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.

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

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

11 At that time they sacrificed to the LORD seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep from all the plunder they had brought back.

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

12 Then they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and soul.

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

13 And whoever would not seek the LORD, the God of Israel, would be put to death, whether young or old, man or woman.

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.

14 They took an oath to the LORD with a loud voice, with shouting, trumpets, and rams’ horns.

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

15 And all Judah rejoiced over the oath, for they had sworn it with all their heart. They had sought Him earnestly, and He was found by them. So the LORD gave them rest on every side.

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.

16 King Asa also removed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother because she had made a detestable Asherah pole. Asa chopped down the pole, crushed it, and burned it in the Kidron Valley.

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.

17 The high places were not removed from Israel, but Asa’s heart was fully devoted all his days.

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.

18 And he brought into the house of God the silver and gold articles that he and his father had dedicated.

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.

19 And there was no war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign.

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