II Chronicles 15

¹And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded:

²and he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: Jehovah 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.

³Now for a long season Israel was without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law:

⁴but when in their distress they turned unto Jehovah, the God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them.

⁵And in those times there was no peace to him that went out, nor to him that came in; but great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the lands.

⁶And they were broken in pieces, nation against nation, and city against city; for God did vex them with all adversity.

⁷But be ye strong, and let not your hands be slack; for your work shall be rewarded.

⁸And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the abominations 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 Jehovah, that was before the porch of Jehovah.

⁹And 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 Jehovah his God was with him.

¹⁰So they gathered themselves together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa.

¹¹And they sacrificed unto Jehovah in that day, of the spoil which they had brought, seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep.

¹²And they entered into the covenant to seek Jehovah, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and with all their soul;

¹³and that whosoever would not seek Jehovah, the God of Israel, should be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman.

¹⁴And they sware unto Jehovah with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets.

¹⁵And 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 Jehovah gave them rest round about.

¹⁶And also Maacah, the mother of Asa the king, he removed 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.

¹⁷But the high places were not taken away out of Israel: nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days.

¹⁸And he brought into the house of God the things that his father had dedicated, and that he himself had dedicated, silver, and gold, and vessels.

¹⁹And there was no more war unto the five and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa.

II Chronicles 15

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

²So he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The LORD is with you when you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you, but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.

³For many years Israel has been without the true God, without a priest to instruct them, and without the law.

⁴But in their distress they turned to the LORD, the God of Israel, and sought Him, and He was found by them.

⁵In those days there was no safety for travelers, because the residents of the lands had many conflicts.

⁶Nation was crushed by nation, and city by city, for God afflicted them with all kinds of adversity.

⁷But as for you, be strong; do not be discouraged, for your work will be rewarded.”

⁸When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Azariah son of Oded the prophet, he took courage and removed the detestable idols from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. He then restored the altar of the LORD that was in front of the portico of the LORD’s temple.

⁹And he assembled all Judah and Benjamin, along with those from the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who had settled among them, for great numbers had come over to him from Israel when they saw that the LORD his God was with him.

¹⁰So they gathered together in Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign.

¹¹At that time they sacrificed to the LORD seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep from all the plunder they had brought back.

¹²Then they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and soul.

¹³And whoever would not seek the LORD, the God of Israel, would be put to death, whether young or old, man or woman.

¹⁴They took an oath to the LORD with a loud voice, with shouting, trumpets, and rams’ horns.

¹⁵And all Judah rejoiced over the oath, for they had sworn it with all their heart. They had sought Him earnestly, and He was found by them. So the LORD gave them rest on every side.

¹⁶King Asa also removed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother because she had made a detestable Asherah pole. Asa chopped down the pole, crushed it, and burned it in the Kidron Valley.

¹⁷The high places were not removed from Israel, but Asa’s heart was fully devoted all his days.

¹⁸And he brought into the house of God the silver and gold articles that he and his father had dedicated.

¹⁹And there was no war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign.