2 Chronicles 15

1 And the Spirit of God has been on Azariah son of Oded,

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

2 and he goes out before Asa and says to him, “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; YHWH [is] with you—in your being with Him, and if you seek Him, He is found by you, and if you forsake Him, He forsakes 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 many days [are] to Israel 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 and it turns back in its distress to YHWH, God of Israel, and they seek Him, and He is found by 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 is no peace for him who is going out, and for him who is coming in, for many troubles [are] on 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 have been beaten down, nation by nation, and city by city, for God has troubled them with every adversity;

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

7 and you, be strong, and do not let your hands be feeble, 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 at Asa’s hearing these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he has strengthened himself, and causes the abominations to pass away out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities that he has captured from the hill-country of Ephraim, and renews the altar of YHWH that [is] before the porch of YHWH,

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 gathers all Judah and Benjamin, and the sojourners with them out of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and out of Simeon—for they have defected to him from Israel in abundance, in their seeing that his God YHWH [is] 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 are gathered to Jerusalem in the third month of 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 sacrifice to YHWH on that day from the spoil they have brought in—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 enter into a covenant to seek YHWH, 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 everyone who does not seek for YHWH, God of Israel, is put to death, from small to great, from man to 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 swear to YHWH 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 rejoices concerning the oath, for they have sworn with all their heart, and they have sought Him with all their goodwill, and He is found by them, and YHWH gives rest to them all around.

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 Maachah, mother of Asa the king—he has removed her from [being] mistress, in that she has made for an Asherah a horrible thing, and Asa cuts down her horrible thing, and beats [it] small, and burns [it] by the Brook of 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 yet the high places have not been removed from Israel; only, the heart of Asa has been 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 brings in the sanctified things of his father, and his own sanctified things, to 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 war has not been until the thirty-fifth year of the reign of Asa.

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