Asa's Religious Reforms

15 ^(A)The Spirit of God came^[a] upon Azariah the son of Oded, ² and he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: ^(B)The Lord is with you while you are with him. ^(C)If you seek him, he will be found by you, ^(D)but if you forsake him, he will forsake you. ^3 (E)For a long time Israel was without the true God, and without a teaching priest and without law, ^4 (F)but when in their distress they turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought him, he was found by them. ⁵ In those times there was no peace ^(G)to him who went out or to him who came in, for great disturbances afflicted all the inhabitants of the lands. ⁶ They were broken in pieces. Nation was crushed by nation and city by city, for God troubled them with every sort of distress. ^7 (H)But you, take courage! Do not let your hands be weak, ^(I)for your work shall be rewarded.”

⁸ As soon as Asa heard these words, ^(J)the prophecy of Azariah the son of Oded, he took courage and put away the detestable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and from ^(K)the cities that he had taken in ^(L)the hill country of Ephraim, and he repaired the altar of the Lord ^(M)that was in front of the vestibule of the house of the Lord.^{[b] 9} And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, ^(N)and those from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who were residing with them, for great numbers had deserted to him from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him.