2 Chronicles 15

1 And the spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded;

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

2 and he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him: 'Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: the LORD is with you, while ye are with Him; and if ye seek Him, 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 Now for long seasons Israel was without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law;

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

4 but when in their distress they turned unto the LORD, the God of Israel, and sought Him, He was 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 those times there was no peace to him that went out, nor to him that came in, but great discomfitures were upon all the inhabitants of 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 they were broken in pieces, nation against nation, and city against city; for God did discomfit them with all manner of adversity.

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 slack; for your work shall be rewarded.'

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, even the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the detestable things out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken from the hill-country of Ephraim; and he renewed the altar of the LORD, that was before the porch 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 gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and them that sojourned 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.

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 So they gathered themselves together 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 they sacrificed unto the LORD in that day, of the spoil which they had brought, seven hundred oxen 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 they entered into the covenant to seek the LORD, the 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 whosoever would not seek the LORD, the God of Israel, should be put to death, whether small or great, 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 unto the LORD with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with horns.

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

15 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.

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 also Maacah the mother of Asa the king, he removed her from being queen, because she had made an abominable image for an Asherah; and Asa cut down her image, and made dust of it, and burnt it at the brook Kidron.

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 But the high places were not taken away out of Israel; nevertheless the heart of Asa was whole 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 into the house of God the things that his father had hallowed, and that he himself had hallowed, 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 more war unto the five and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa.

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