2 Chronicles 15

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

And the spirit of God came upon Azarias 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 went out to meet Asa, and said to him: Hear ye me, Asa, and all Juda and Benjamin: The Lord is with you, because you have been with him. If you seek him, you shall find: but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.

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

And many days shall pass in Israel without the true God, and without a priest a teacher, 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.

And when in their distress they shall return to the Lord the God of Israel, and shall seek him, they shall find him.

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

At that time there shall be no peace to him that goeth out and cometh in, but terrors on every side among all the inhabitants of the earth.

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

For nation shall fight against nation, and city against city, for the Lord will trouble them with all distress.

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

Do you therefore take courage, and let not your hands he weakened: for there shall be a reward for your work.

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 when Asa had heard the words, and the prophecy of Azarias the son of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and took away the idols out of all the land of Juda, and out of Benjamin, and out of the cities of mount Ephraim, which he had taken, and he dedicated the altar of the Lord, which was before the porch of the Lord.

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 gathered together all Juda and Benjamin, and the strangers with them of Ephraim, and Manasses, and Simeon: for many were come over to him out of Israel, seeing 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.

And when they were come to Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign 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.

They sacrificed to the Lord in that day of the spoils, and of the prey, that they had brought, seven hundred oxen, and seven thousand rams.

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

And he went in to confirm as usual the covenant, that they should seek the Lord the God of their fathers with all their heart, and with 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 if any one, said he, seek not the Lord the God of Israel, let him die, whether little or great, man or woman.

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

And they swore to the Lord with a loud voice with joyful shouting, and with sound of trumpet, and sound of comets,

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.

All that mere in Juda with a curse: for with all their heart they swore, and with all their will they sought him, and they found him, and the Lord gave them rest round about.

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.

Moreover Maacha the mother of king Asa he deposed from the royal authority, because she had made in a grove an idol of Priapus: and he entirely destroyed it, and breaking it into pieces, burnt it at the torrent Cedron.

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

But high places were left in Israel: nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days.

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

And the things which his father had vowed, and he himself had vowed, he brought into the house of the Lord, gold and silver, and vessels of divers uses.

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

And there was no war unto the five and thirtieth year of the kingdom of Asa.