2 Chronicles 15

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

And upon Azariah son of Oded hath been 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 goeth out before Asa, and saith to him, 'Hear, me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; Jehovah [is] with you — in your being with Him, and if ye seek Him, He is found of you, and if ye forsake Him, He forsaketh you;

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

and many days [are] to Israel without a 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.

and it turneth back in its distress unto Jehovah, God of Israel, and they seek Him, and He is found of 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 is no peace to him who is going out, and to him who is coming in, for many troubles [are] on all the inhabitants of the lands,

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

and they have been beaten down, nation by nation, and city by city, for God hath troubled them with every adversity;

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

and ye, be ye strong, and let not your hands be feeble, for there is a reward for your work.'

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 at Asa's hearing these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he hath strengthened himself, and doth cause the abominations to pass away out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities that he hath captured from the hill-country of Ephraim, and reneweth the altar of Jehovah that [is] before the porch of Jehovah,

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 gathereth all Judah and Benjamin, and the sojourners with them out of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and out of Simeon — for they have fallen unto him from Israel in abundance, in their seeing that Jehovah his God [is] with him.

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

And they are gathered to Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa,

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

and sacrifice to Jehovah on that day from the spoil they have brought in — oxen seven hundred, and sheep seven thousand,

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

and they enter into a covenant to seek Jehovah, 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.

and every one who doth not seek for Jehovah, God of Israel, is put to death, from small unto great, from man unto woman.

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

And they swear to Jehovah with a loud voice, and with 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 rejoice do all Judah concerning the oath, for with all their heart they have sworn, and with all their good-will they have sought Him, and He is found of them, and Jehovah giveth rest to them round about.

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 Maachah, mother of Asa the king — he hath removed her from [being] mistress, in that she hath made for a shrine a horrible thing, and Asa cutteth down her horrible thing, and beateth [it] small, and burneth [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.

yet the high places have not turned aside from Israel; only, the heart of Asa hath been perfect all his days.

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

And he bringeth in the sanctified things of his father, and his own sanctified things, to 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 war hath not been till the thirty and fifth year of the reign of Asa.