2 Chronicles 15

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

The Spirit of God came on Azariah 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, “Listen to me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: Yahweh is with you, while you are with him. 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 period, Israel was without the true God, without a teaching priest, and without the 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 Yahweh, 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 for him who traveled away, nor for him who traveled to here; instead, 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 kinds of suffering.

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

But be strong, and do not let your hands be weak, 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, the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage and drove away the disgusting things from all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and from the cities that he had captured from the hill country of Ephraim, and he rebuilt Yahweh's altar, which was in front of the portico of Yahweh's house.

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 stayed with them—people from of Ephraim and Manasseh, and from Simeon. For they came from Israel to him in great numbers, when they saw that Yahweh 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 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 Yahweh in that day some of the plunder that they had brought: seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep and goats.

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 a covenant to seek Yahweh, the God of their ancestors, 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.

They agreed that whoever refused to seek Yahweh, the God of Israel, should be put to death, whether the person was 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 Yahweh with a loud voice, with shouting, and with trumpets and horns.

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 they sought God with their whole desire, and he was found by them. Yahweh gave them peace all around them.

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.

He also removed Maacah, his grandmother, from being queen, because she had made a disgusting figure out of an Asherah pole. Asa cut down the disgusting figure, ground it to dust and burned 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 out of Israel. Nevertheless, Asa's heart was completely devoted 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 into the house of God the silver and gold and the utensils that he and his father had dedicated for that purpose.

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

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