2 Chronicles 15
1 The Spirit of God came upon Azariah, the son of Obed.
Allora lo spirito di Dio s’impadronì di Azaria, figliuolo di Oded,
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.
il quale uscì ad incontrare Asa, e gli disse: “Asa, e voi tutto Giuda e Beniamino, ascoltatemi! L’Eterno è con voi, quando voi siete con lui; se lo cercate, egli si farà trovare da voi; ma, se lo abbandonate, egli vi abbandonerà.
3 For many years the Israeli people did not know the true God, and they did not have priests or God’s laws.
Per lungo tempo Israele è stato senza vero Dio, senza sacerdote che lo ammaestrasse, e senza legge;
4 But when they experienced trouble, they turned to Yahweh our God, and requested him to help them. And he helped them.
ma nella sua distretta ei s’è convertito all’Eterno, all’Iddio d’Israele, l’ha cercato, ed egli s’è lasciato trovare da lui.
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 quel tempo, non v’era pace né per chi andava né per chi veniva; perché fra tutti gli abitanti de’ vari paesi v’erano grandi agitazioni,
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.
ed essi erano schiacciati nazione da nazione, e città da città; poiché Iddio li conturbava con ogni sorta di tribolazioni.
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.”]
Ma voi, siate forti, non vi lasciate illanguidire le braccia, perché l’opera vostra avrà la sua mercede”.
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].
Quando Asa ebbe udite queste parole, e la profezia del profeta Oded, prese animo, e fece sparire le abominazioni da tutto il paese di Giuda e di Beniamino, e dalle città che avea prese nella contrada montuosa d’Efraim; e ristabilì l’altare dell’Eterno, ch’era davanti al portico dell’Eterno.
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.
Poi radunò tutto Giuda e Beniamino, e quelli di Efraim, di Manasse e di Simeone, che dimoravano fra loro; giacché gran numero di quei d’Israele eran passati dalla sua parte, vedendo che l’Eterno, il suo Dio, era con lui.
10 After Asa had been ruling for almost 15 years, in May of that year, those people gathered in Jerusalem.
Essi dunque si radunarono a Gerusalemme il terzo mese del quindicesimo anno del regno d’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].
E in quel giorno offrirono in sacrifizio all’Eterno, della preda che avean portata, settecento buoi e settemila pecore;
12 They solemnly made an agreement to very sincerely worship Yahweh, the God whom their ancestors [worshiped].
e convennero nel patto di cercare l’Eterno, l’Iddio dei loro padri, con tutto il loro cuore e con tutta l’anima loro;
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.
e chiunque non cercasse l’Eterno, l’Iddio d’Israele, doveva esser messo a morte, grande o piccolo che fosse, uomo o donna.
14 They shouted and blew trumpets and other horns while they solemnly promised to do that.
E si unirono per giuramento all’Eterno con gran voce e con acclamazioni, al suon delle trombe e dei corni.
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.
Tutto Giuda si rallegrò di questo giuramento; perché avean giurato di tutto cuore, avean cercato l’Eterno con grande ardore ed egli s’era lasciato trovare da loro. E l’Eterno diede loro requie d’ogn’intorno.
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.
Il re Asa destituì pure dalla dignità di regina sua madre Maaca, perch’essa avea rizzato un’immagine ad Astarte; e Asa abbatté l’immagine, la fece a pezzi e la bruciò presso al torrente 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.
Nondimeno, gli alti luoghi non furono eliminati da Israele; quantunque il cuore d’Asa fosse integro, durante l’intera sua vita.
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].
Egli fece portare nella casa dell’Eterno le cose che suo padre avea consacrate, e quelle che avea consacrate egli stesso: argento, oro, vasi.
19 There were no more wars [in Judah] until Asa had been ruling Judah almost 35 years.
E non ci fu più guerra alcuna fino al trentacinquesimo anno del regno di Asa.
