2 Chronicles 15
Modern English Version
The Reforms of Asa(A)
15 Then the Spirit of God came on Azariah the son of Oded, 2 and he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: The Lord is with you while you are with Him. If you all seek Him, He will be found with you. But if you forsake Him, He will forsake you. 3 For a long time Israel has been without the true God, and without a teaching priest and without law, 4 but when in their trouble they turned to the Lord God of Israel, and sought Him, He was found by them. 5 And at that time there was no peace to the one traveling in or out because there was a great panic on all those who dwelt in the land. 6 They were broken to pieces, nation against nation and city against city, because God confused them with every type of distress. 7 But you all must be strong and not lose heart, for there is a reward for your deeds.”
8 And when Asa heard these words of the prophecy of Azariah son of Oded the prophet, he was encouraged and removed the detestable idols from the entire land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities that he captured in the hills of Ephraim. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was before the vestibule of the Lord.
9 And he gathered together all of Judah and Benjamin and those who had settled among them from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon, for these had come down to him from Israel in a great number when they saw that the Lord his God was with him.
10 These were gathered in Jerusalem in the third month in the fifteenth year in the reign of Asa. 11 They sacrificed to the Lord that day from the plunder that they brought in, 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 soul. 13 But whoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel would be put to death, whether young or old, man or woman. 14 They swore an oath to the Lord in a loud voice, with shouting, trumpets, and horns. 15 And all Judah rejoiced over this oath because they swore with their whole heart and they sought Him with all their desire; and He was found by them, and the Lord gave them rest all around.
16 King Asa even removed his mother Maakah from being queen mother because she had made a detestable image for Asherah. Asa cut down her image, crushed it, and burned it in the Kidron Valley. 17 But they did not remove the high places from Israel. Nevertheless the heart of Asa was wholly committed all his days. 18 He brought into the house of God the sacred gifts of his father and his own sacred gifts—silver, gold, and utensils.
19 And there was no war until the thirty-fifth year of the reign of Asa.
2 Chronicles 15
American Standard Version
15 And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded: 2 and 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. 3 Now for a long season Israel was without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law: 4 but when in their distress they turned unto Jehovah, the God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them. 5 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 lands. 6 And they were broken in pieces, nation against nation, and city against city; for God did vex them with all adversity. 7 But be ye strong, and let not your hands be slack; for your work shall be rewarded.
8 And when Asa heard these words, [a]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. 9 And 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. 10 So they gathered themselves together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa. 11 And they sacrificed unto Jehovah in that day, of the spoil which they had brought, seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep. 12 And they entered into the covenant to seek Jehovah, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and with all their soul; 13 and that whosoever would not seek Jehovah, the God of Israel, should be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman. 14 And they sware unto Jehovah 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 of them: and Jehovah gave them rest round about.
16 And also Maacah, the mother of Asa the king, he removed from being [b]queen, because she had made an abominable image [c]for an Asherah; and Asa cut down her image, and made dust of it, and burnt 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 unto the five and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 15:8 Or, even
- 2 Chronicles 15:16 Or, queen mother
- 2 Chronicles 15:16 Or, for Asherah
2 Chronicles 15
New King James Version
The Reforms of Asa
15 Now (A)the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded. 2 And he went out [a]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; but (D)if you forsake Him, He will forsake you. 3 (E)For a long time Israel has been without the true God, without a (F)teaching priest, and without (G)law; 4 but (H)when in their trouble they turned to the Lord God of Israel, and sought Him, He was found by them. 5 And in those times there was no peace to the one who went out, nor to the one who came in, but great turmoil was on all the inhabitants of the lands. 6 (I)So nation was [b]destroyed by nation, and city by city, for God troubled them with every adversity. 7 But you, be strong and do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded!”
8 And when Asa heard these words and the prophecy of [c]Oded the prophet, he took courage, and removed the abominable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities (J)which he had taken in the mountains of Ephraim; and he restored the altar of the Lord that was before the vestibule of the Lord. 9 Then he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and (K)those who dwelt with them from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon, for they came over to him in great numbers from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him.
10 So they gathered together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa. 11 (L)And they offered to the Lord [d]at that time seven hundred bulls and seven thousand sheep from the [e]spoil they had brought. 12 Then they (M)entered into a covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul; 13 (N)and whoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel (O)was to be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman. 14 Then they took an oath before the Lord with a loud voice, with shouting and trumpets and rams’ horns. 15 And all Judah rejoiced at the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and (P)sought Him with all their soul; and He was found by them, and the Lord gave them (Q)rest all around.
16 Also he removed (R)Maachah, the [f]mother of Asa the king, from being queen mother, because she had made an obscene image of [g]Asherah; and Asa cut down her obscene image, then crushed and burned it by the Brook Kidron. 17 But (S)the [h]high places were not removed from Israel. Nevertheless the heart of Asa was loyal all his days.
18 He also brought into the house of God the things that his father had dedicated and that he himself had dedicated: silver and gold and utensils. 19 And there was no war until the thirty-fifth year of the reign of Asa.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 15:2 Lit. before
- 2 Chronicles 15:6 Lit. beaten in pieces
- 2 Chronicles 15:8 So with MT, LXX; Syr., Vg. Azariah the son of Oded (cf. v. 1)
- 2 Chronicles 15:11 Lit. in that day
- 2 Chronicles 15:11 plunder
- 2 Chronicles 15:16 Or grandmother
- 2 Chronicles 15:16 A Canaanite deity
- 2 Chronicles 15:17 Places for pagan worship
2 Chronicles 15
Young's Literal Translation
15 And upon Azariah son of Oded hath been the Spirit of God,
2 and he goeth out before Asa, and saith to him, `Hear, me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; Jehovah [is] with you -- in your being with Him, and if ye seek Him, He is found of you, and if ye forsake Him, He forsaketh you;
3 and many days [are] to Israel without a true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law,
4 and it turneth back in its distress unto Jehovah, God of Israel, and they seek Him, and He is found of them,
5 and in those times there is no peace to him who is going out, and to him who is coming in, for many troubles [are] on all the inhabitants of the lands,
6 and they have been beaten down, nation by nation, and city by city, for God hath troubled them with every adversity;
7 and ye, be ye strong, and let not your hands be feeble, for there is a reward for your work.'
8 And at Asa's hearing these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he hath strengthened himself, and doth cause the abominations to pass away out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities that he hath captured from the hill-country of Ephraim, and reneweth the altar of Jehovah that [is] before the porch of Jehovah,
9 and gathereth all Judah and Benjamin, and the sojourners with them out of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and out of Simeon -- for they have fallen unto him from Israel in abundance, in their seeing that Jehovah his God [is] with him.
10 And they are gathered to Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa,
11 and sacrifice to Jehovah on that day from the spoil they have brought in -- oxen seven hundred, and sheep seven thousand,
12 and they enter into a covenant to seek Jehovah, God of their fathers, with all their heart, and with all their soul,
13 and every one who doth not seek for Jehovah, God of Israel, is put to death, from small unto great, from man unto woman.
14 And they swear to Jehovah with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets,
15 and rejoice do all Judah concerning the oath, for with all their heart they have sworn, and with all their good-will they have sought Him, and He is found of them, and Jehovah giveth rest to them round about.
16 And also Maachah, mother of Asa the king -- he hath removed her from [being] mistress, in that she hath made for a shrine a horrible thing, and Asa cutteth down her horrible thing, and beateth [it] small, and burneth [it] by the brook Kidron:
17 yet the high places have not turned aside from Israel; only, the heart of Asa hath been perfect all his days.
18 And he bringeth in the sanctified things of his father, and his own sanctified things, to the house of God, silver, and gold, and vessels.
19 And war hath not been till the thirty and fifth year of the reign of Asa.
2 Chronicles 15
Good News Translation
Asa's Reforms
15 The spirit of God came upon Azariah son of Oded, 2 and he went to meet King Asa. He called out, “Listen to me, King Asa, and all you people of Judah and Benjamin! The Lord is with you as long as you are with him. If you look for him, he will let you find him, but if you turn away, he will abandon you. 3 For a long time Israel lived without the true God, without priests to teach them, and without a law. 4 But when trouble came, they turned to the Lord, the God of Israel. They searched for him and found him. 5 In those days no one could come and go in safety, because there was trouble and disorder in every land. 6 One nation oppressed another nation, and one city oppressed another city, because God was bringing trouble and distress on them. 7 But you must be strong and not be discouraged. The work that you do will be rewarded.”
8 When Asa heard the prophecy that Azariah son of[a] Oded had spoken, he was encouraged. He did away with all the idols in the land of Judah and Benjamin and all the idols in the cities he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. He also repaired the altar of the Lord that stood in the Temple courtyard.
9 Many people had come over to Asa's side from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon, and were living in his kingdom, because they had seen that the Lord was with him. Asa summoned all of them and the people of Judah and Benjamin. 10 They assembled in Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year that Asa was king. 11 On that day they offered sacrifices to the Lord from the loot they had brought back: seven hundred head of cattle and seven thousand sheep. 12 They made a covenant in which they agreed to worship the Lord, the God of their ancestors, with all their heart and soul. 13 Anyone, young or old, male or female, who did not worship him was to be put to death. 14 In a loud voice they took an oath in the Lord's name that they would keep the covenant, and then they shouted and blew trumpets. 15 All the people of Judah were happy because they had made this covenant with all their heart. They took delight in worshiping the Lord, and he accepted them and gave them peace on every side.
16 King Asa removed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother, because she had made an obscene idol of the fertility goddess Asherah. Asa cut down the idol, chopped it up, and burned the pieces in Kidron Valley. 17 Even though Asa did not destroy all the pagan places of worship in the land, he remained faithful to the Lord all his life. 18 He placed in the Temple all the objects his father Abijah had dedicated to God, as well as the gold and silver objects that he himself dedicated. 19 There was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of his reign.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 15:8 Some ancient translations Azariah son of; Hebrew does not have these words.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
