2 Chronicles 15

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

And as for 'Azaryahu the son of 'Oded—on him came the spirit of God;

2 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.

And he went out to meet Assa, and said unto him, Hear me, O Assa, and all Judah and Benjamin, The Lord is with you, while ye remain with him; and if ye seek him, he will let himself be found by you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.

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

And many days [had elapsed] for Israel, [they being] without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law.

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

But they returned when they were in distress unto the Lord, the God of Israel, and they sought him, and he let himself be found by them.

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

And in those times there was no peace to him that went out, and to him that came in; but there were great confusions among all the inhabitants of the countries.

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

And nation was dashed to pieces against nation, and city against city; for God did confound them with all kind of distress.

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

But as for you, be ye strong, and let not your hands be weak; for there is a reward for your doing.

8 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.

And when Assa heard these words, and the prophecy of 'Oded the prophet, he was strengthened, and he put away the abominable idols out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had captured from the mountain of Ephraim; and he renewed the altar of the Lord, that was before the porch of the Lord.

9 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.

And he assembled all Judah and Benjamin, and those that sojourned with them out of Ephraim and Menasseh, and out of Simeon; for they had joined him out of Israel in abundance, when they saw that the Lord his God was with him.

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

And so they assembled themselves at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Assa.

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

And they sacrificed unto the Lord on the same day, of the booty which they had brought, seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep.

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

And they entered into the covenant to seek the Lord the God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul;

13 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.

So that whosoever would not seek the Lord the God of Israel should be put to death, from the small even up to the great, whether it be man or woman.

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

And they swore unto the Lord with a loud voice, and with [joyful] shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets.

15 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.

And all Judah rejoiced because of the oath; for with all their heart had they sworn, and with their whole desire did they seek him, and he let himself be found by them: and the Lord gave them rest on every side.

16 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.

And also concerning Ma'achah the mother of king Assa, he removed her from being queen, because she had made a scandalous image for the grove; and Assa cut down her scandalous image, and had it ground up, and burnt it by the brook Kidron.

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

But the high-places were not removed out of Israel; nevertheless the heart of Assa was entire all his days.

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

And be brought the things which his father had sanctified, and his own sanctified things, into the house of God, —silver, and gold, and vessels.

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

And there was no war until the five-and-thirtieth year of the reign of Assa.