2 Chronicles 15

1 The Spirit of God came upon Azariah, the son of Obed.

Now Azariah, the son of Oded, had the Spirit of God within him.

2 Azariah went to talk with Asa, and said to him, “Asa and all [you men of the tribes of] Judah and Benjamin, listen to me. Yahweh is with you whenever you are trusting in him. If you request him [to help you], he will help you, but if you abandon him, he will abandon you.

And he went out to meet Asa, and he said to him: “Listen to me, Asa and all of Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you, because you have been with him. If you seek him, you will find him. But if you abandon him, he will abandon you.

3 For many years the Israeli people did not know the true God, and they did not have priests or God’s laws.

Then many days will pass in Israel, apart from the true God, and apart from a learned priest, and apart from the law.

4 But when they experienced trouble, they turned to Yahweh our God, and requested him to help them. And he helped them.

And when, in their anguish, they will have returned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and will have sought him, they shall find him.

5 At that time, people were not safe when they traveled, because all the people who lived in the nearby countries were experiencing many difficulties.

In that time, there will be no peace for those who depart and those who enter. Instead, there will be terror on every side, among all the inhabitants of the lands.

6 The people of various nations were thoroughly defeated by [armies of] other nations, and people in some cities were crushed by [armies from] other cities, because God was allowing them to experience many difficulties.

For nation will fight against nation, and city against city. For the Lord will disturb them with every anguish.

7 But you people, you must be strong and do not become discouraged, because [God] will reward you for what you do [to please him.”]

But as for you, be strengthened, and do not let your hands be weakened. For there will be a reward for your work.”

8 When Asa heard what the prophet Azariah said, he was encouraged. He [commanded his workers to] remove all the detestable idols from everywhere in the land of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, and from the towns that [his soldiers] had captured in the hills of the tribe of Ephraim. Asa’s workers repaired the altar [where people offered sacrifices] to Yahweh that was in front of the entrance to the temple [in Jerusalem].

And when Asa had heard these particular words, and the prophecy of the prophet Azariah, the son of Oded, he was strengthened, and he took away the idols from the entire land of Judah, and from Benjamin, and from the cities that he had seized of mount Ephraim, and he dedicated the altar of the Lord, which was before the portico of the Lord.

9 Then he gathered all [the people of the tribes of] Judah and Benjamin and many people from the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who were living among them. [He was able to do that] because many people from [those tribes in] Israel had come to me to Judah when they realized that Yahweh, the God that Asa [worshiped], was helping him.

And he gathered together all of Judah and Benjamin, and with them the new arrivals from Ephraim and Manasseh and Simeon. For many had fled to him from Israel, seeing that the Lord his God was with him.

10 After Asa had been ruling for almost 15 years, in May of that year, those people gathered in Jerusalem.

And when they had arrived in Jerusalem, in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa,

11 At that time they sacrificed to Yahweh 700 bulls and 7,000 sheep and goats, from the animals that they had captured [when they defeated the army of Ethiopia/Sudan].

they immolated to the Lord on that day, from the best of the spoils and from the plunder that they had brought: seven hundred oxen and seven thousand rams.

12 They solemnly made an agreement to very sincerely worship Yahweh, the God whom their ancestors [worshiped].

And he entered, according to custom, in order to confirm the covenant, so that they would seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, with their whole heart and with their whole soul.

13 They promised to execute all those who would not worship Yahweh, including those who were important and those who were not important, both men and women.

“But if anyone,” he said, “will not seek the Lord, the God of Israel, let him die, from the least even to the greatest, from man even to woman.”

14 They shouted and blew trumpets and other horns while they solemnly promised to do that.

And they swore to the Lord, with a great voice, in jubilation, and with the blare of trumpets, and with the sound of horns,

15 All the people who were living in Judah were happy with the agreement because they had solemnly and very sincerely promised to keep it. They eagerly requested help from Yahweh, and he helped them. So he enabled them to have peace throughout their country.

all who were in Judah swore with a curse. For with all their heart they swore, and with all their will they sought and found him. And the Lord granted rest on all sides to them.

16 King Asa’s grandmother Maacah had made a disgusting pole for [worshiping the goddess] Asherah. So Asa [commanded his workers to] cut down that pole and chop it into pieces and burn it in the Kidron Valley. He then did not allow Maacah to continue [to influence the people because of her] being the mother of the previous king.

Then too, Maacah, the mother of king Asa, he deposed from the august authority, because she had made an idol of Priapus within a sacred grove. And he entirely crushed it, breaking it into pieces, and he burned it at the torrent Kidron.

17 Although Asa’s [workers] did not get rid of the shrines on the hilltops in Israel, he was very determined to [do what] pleased Yahweh all his life.

But some high places were left in Israel. Even so, the heart of Asa was perfect during all his days.

18 He [ordered his workers to] bring into God’s temple all the silver and gold and other valuable items that he and his father had dedicated [to God].

And whatever his father or he himself had vowed, he brought into the house of the Lord: silver and gold, and vessels for various uses.

19 There were no more wars [in Judah] until Asa had been ruling Judah almost 35 years.

Truly, there was no war, until the thirty-fifth year of the kingdom of Asa.