2 Chronicles 15

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

And the Spirit of God came upon 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.

And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear all of you me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The LORD is with you, while all of you be with him; and if all of you seek him, he will be found of you; but if all of 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 season Israel has been without the true God, and 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 they in their trouble did turn unto the LORD God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of 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.

And in those times there was no peace to him that went out, nor to him that came in, but great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the countries.

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

And nation was destroyed of nation, and city of city: for God did vex them with all adversity.

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

Be all of you strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall 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.

And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the abominable idols out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken from mount Ephraim, and renewed the altar of the LORD, that was before the porch of the LORD.

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.

And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and the strangers with them out of Ephraim and Manasseh, and out of Simeon: for they fell 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 the reign of Asa.

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.

And they offered unto the LORD the same time, of the spoil which they had brought, seven hundred oxen 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;

And they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD 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.

That whosoever would not seek the LORD 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.

And they swore unto the LORD with a loud voice, and with shouting, and 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.

And 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 of them: and the LORD gave them rest round about.

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.

And also concerning Maachah the mother of Asa the king, he removed her from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove: and Asa cut down her idol, and stamped it, 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.

And he brought into the house of God the things that his father had dedicated, and that he himself had dedicated, silver, and gold, and vessels.

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

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