Chronicles II 15

1 And Azarias the son of Oded—upon him came the Spirit of the Lord,

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

2 and he went out to meet Asa, and all Juda and Benjamin, and said, Hear me, Asa, and all Juda and Benjamin. The Lord [is] with you, while ye are with him; and if ye seek him out, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.

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.

3 And Israel [has been] a long time without the true God, and without a priest to expound [the truth], and without the law.

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

4 But he shall turn them to the Lord God of Israel, and he will be found of them.

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

5 And in that time there is no peace to one going out, or to one coming in, for the terror of the Lord is upon all that inhabit the lands.

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

6 And nation shall fight against nation, and city against city; for God has confounded them with every [kind of] affliction.

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

7 But be ye strong, and let not your hands be weakened: for there is a reward for your work.

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

8 And when [Asa] heard these words, and the prophesy of Adad the prophet, then he strengthened himself, and cast out the abominations from all the land of Juda and Benjamin, and from the cities which Jeroboam possessed, in mount Ephraim, and he renewed the altar of the Lord, which was before the temple of the Lord.

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.

9 And he assembled Juda and Benjamin, and the strangers that dwelt with him, of Ephraim, and of Manasse, and of Symeon: for many of Israel were joined to him, when they saw that the Lord his God was with him.

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.

10 And they assembled at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa.

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

11 And he sacrificed to the Lord in that day of the spoils which they brought, seven hundred calves and seven thousand sheep.

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

12 And he entered into a covenant that they should seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul.

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

13 And that whoever should not seek the Lord God of Israel, should die, whether young or old, whether man or woman.

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.

14 And they swore to the Lord with a loud voice, and with trumpets, and with cornets.

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

15 And all Juda rejoiced concerning the oath: for they swore with all their heart, and they sought him with all their desires; and he was found of them: and the Lord gave them rest round about.

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.

16 And he removed Maacha his mother from being priestess to Astarte; and he cut down the idol, and burnt it in the brook of Kedron.

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.

17 Nevertheless they removed not the high places: they still existed in Israel: nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days.

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

18 And he brought in the holy things of David his father, and the holy things of the house of God, silver, and gold, and vessels.

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

19 And there was no war [waged] with him until the thirty-fifth year of the reign of Asa.

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