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15 And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded.

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 be with Him; and if ye seek Him, He will be found by you; but if ye forsake Him, He will forsake you.

Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching priest and without law.

But when they in their trouble did turn unto the Lord God of Israel and sought Him, He was found by them.

And 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 countries.

And nation was destroyed by nation, and city by city; for God vexed them with all adversity.

Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak; for your work shall be rewarded.”

And when Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the abominable idols out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin and out of the cities which he had taken from Mount Ephraim, and renewed the altar of the Lord that was before the porch of the Lord.

And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and the strangers 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.

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

11 And they offered unto the Lord at that time from the spoil which they had brought, seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep.

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

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

14 And they swore unto the Lord with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets.

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 by them; and the Lord gave them rest round about.

16 And also concerning Maachah the mother of Asa the king, he removed her from being queen because she had made an idol for Asherah. And Asa cut down her idol, and stamped it, and burned it at the Brook Kidron;

17 but the high places were not taken away out of Israel. Nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days.

18 And 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.

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

Asa’s Reform(A)

15 The Spirit of God came on(B) Azariah son of Oded. He went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you(C) when you are with him.(D) If you seek(E) him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.(F) For a long time Israel was without the true God, without a priest to teach(G) and without the law.(H) But in their distress they turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought him,(I) and he was found by them. In those days it was not safe to travel about,(J) for all the inhabitants of the lands were in great turmoil. One nation was being crushed by another and one city by another,(K) because God was troubling them with every kind of distress. But as for you, be strong(L) and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.”(M)

When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Azariah son of[a] Oded the prophet, he took courage. He removed the detestable idols(N) from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin and from the towns he had captured(O) in the hills of Ephraim. He repaired the altar(P) of the Lord that was in front of the portico of the Lord’s temple.

Then he assembled all Judah and Benjamin and the people from Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon who had settled among them, for large numbers(Q) had come over to him from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him.

10 They assembled at Jerusalem in the third month(R) of the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign. 11 At that time they sacrificed to the Lord seven hundred head of cattle and seven thousand sheep and goats from the plunder(S) they had brought back. 12 They entered into a covenant(T) to seek the Lord,(U) the God of their ancestors, with all their heart and soul. 13 All who would not seek the Lord, the God of Israel, were to be put to death,(V) whether small or great, man or woman. 14 They took an oath to the Lord with loud acclamation, with shouting and with trumpets and horns. 15 All Judah rejoiced about the oath because they had sworn it wholeheartedly. They sought God(W) eagerly, and he was found by them. So the Lord gave them rest(X) on every side.

16 King Asa also deposed his grandmother Maakah(Y) from her position as queen mother,(Z) because she had made a repulsive image for the worship of Asherah.(AA) Asa cut it down, broke it up and burned it in the Kidron Valley.(AB) 17 Although he did not remove the high places from Israel, Asa’s heart was fully committed to the Lord all his life. 18 He brought into the temple of God the silver and gold and the articles that he and his father had dedicated.(AC)

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

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 15:8 Vulgate and Syriac (see also Septuagint and verse 1); Hebrew does not have Azariah son of.