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2 Chronicles 15
New English Translation

15 God’s Spirit came upon Azariah son of Oded. 2 He met[a] Asa and told him, “Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin! The Lord is with you when you are loyal to him.[b] If you seek him, he will respond to you,[c] but if you reject him, he will reject you. 3 For a long time[d] Israel had not sought the one true God, or a priest to instruct them, or the law. 4 Because of their distress, they turned back to the Lord God of Israel. They sought him and he responded to them.[e] 5 In those days[f] no one could travel safely,[g] for total chaos had overtaken all the people of the surrounding lands.[h] 6 One nation was crushed by another, and one city by another, for God caused them to be in great turmoil.[i] 7 But as for you, be strong and don’t get discouraged,[j] for your work will be rewarded.”[k]

8 When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he was encouraged.[l] He removed the detestable idols from the entire land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities he had seized in the Ephraimite hill country. He repaired the altar of the Lord in front of the porch of the Lord’s temple.[m]

9 He assembled all Judah and Benjamin, as well as the settlers[n] from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who had come to live with them. Many people from Israel had come there to live[o] when they saw that the Lord his God was with him. 10 They assembled in Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign. 11 At that time[p] they sacrificed to the Lord some of the plunder they had brought back, including 700 head of cattle and 7,000 sheep.[q] 12 They solemnly agreed[r] to seek the Lord God of their ancestors[s] with their whole heart and being. 13 Anyone who would not seek the Lord God of Israel would be executed, whether they were young or old,[t] male or female. 14 They swore their allegiance to the Lord, shouting their approval loudly and sounding trumpets and horns.[u] 15 All Judah was happy about the oath, because they made the vow with their whole heart. They willingly sought the Lord and he responded to them.[v] He made them secure on every side.[w]

16 King Asa also removed Maacah his grandmother[x] from her position as queen mother[y] because she had made a loathsome Asherah pole. Asa cut down her loathsome pole and crushed and burned it in the Kidron Valley. 17 The high places were not eliminated from Israel, yet Asa was wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord throughout his lifetime.[z] 18 He brought the holy items that his father and he had made into God’s temple, including the silver, gold, and other articles.[aa]

Asa’s Failures

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

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 15:2 tn Heb “went out before.”
  2. 2 Chronicles 15:2 tn Heb “when you are with him.”
  3. 2 Chronicles 15:2 tn Heb “he will allow himself to be found by you.”
  4. 2 Chronicles 15:3 tn Heb “Many days.”
  5. 2 Chronicles 15:4 tn Heb “and he allowed himself to be found by them.”
  6. 2 Chronicles 15:5 tn Heb “times.”
  7. 2 Chronicles 15:5 tn Heb “there was no peace for the one going out or the one coming in.”
  8. 2 Chronicles 15:5 tn Heb “for great confusion was upon all the inhabitants of the lands.”
  9. 2 Chronicles 15:6 tn Heb “threw them into confusion with all distress.”
  10. 2 Chronicles 15:7 tn Heb “and let not your hands drop.”
  11. 2 Chronicles 15:7 tn Heb “for there is payment for your work.”
  12. 2 Chronicles 15:8 tn Heb “strengthened himself.”
  13. 2 Chronicles 15:8 tn Heb “the porch of the Lord.”
  14. 2 Chronicles 15:9 tn Or “foreign residents.”
  15. 2 Chronicles 15:9 tn Heb “had fallen upon him.”
  16. 2 Chronicles 15:11 tn Or “In that day.”
  17. 2 Chronicles 15:11 tn The Hebrew term צֹאן (tsoʾn) denotes smaller livestock in general; depending on context it can refer to sheep only or goats only, but their is nothing in the immediate context here to specify one or the other.
  18. 2 Chronicles 15:12 tn Heb “entered into a covenant.”
  19. 2 Chronicles 15:12 tn Heb “fathers.”
  20. 2 Chronicles 15:13 tn Heb “whether small or great.”
  21. 2 Chronicles 15:14 tn Heb “with a loud voice and with a shout of joy and with trumpets and with horns.”
  22. 2 Chronicles 15:15 tn Heb “and with all their desire they sought him and he allowed himself to be found by them.”
  23. 2 Chronicles 15:15 tn Heb “and the Lord gave them rest all around.”
  24. 2 Chronicles 15:16 tn Heb “mother,” but Hebrew often uses “father” and “mother” for grandparents and even more remote ancestors.
  25. 2 Chronicles 15:16 tn The Hebrew term גְּבִירָה (gevirah) can denote “queen” or “queen mother” depending on the context. Here the latter is indicated, since Maacah was the wife of Rehoboam and mother of Abijah.
  26. 2 Chronicles 15:17 tn Heb “yet the heart of Asa was complete all his days.”
  27. 2 Chronicles 15:18 tn Heb “and he brought the holy things of his father and his holy things [into] the house of God, silver, gold, and items.”
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2 Chronicles 15
Christian Standard Bible

Revival under Asa

15 The Spirit of God came on Azariah son of Oded.(A) 2 So he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Asa and all Judah and Benjamin, hear me. The Lord is with you(B) when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you,(C) but if you abandon him, he will abandon you.(D) 3 For many years Israel has been without the true God,(E) without a teaching priest, and without instruction,(F) 4 but when they turned to the Lord God of Israel in their distress and sought him, he was found by them. 5 In those times there was no peace for those who went about their daily activities because the residents of the lands had many conflicts. 6 Nation was crushed by nation and city by city, for God troubled them with every possible distress. 7 But as for you, be strong; don’t give up,[a] for your work has a reward.”(G)

8 When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Azariah son of Oded the prophet, he took courage and removed the abhorrent idols from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim.(H) He renovated the altar of the Lord that was in front of the portico of the Lord’s temple.(I) 9 Then he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, as well as those from the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who were residing among them, for they had defected to him from Israel in great numbers when they saw that the Lord his God was with him.(J)

10 They were gathered in Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign. 11 At that time they sacrificed to the Lord seven hundred cattle and seven thousand sheep and goats from all the plunder they had brought.(K) 12 Then they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord God of their ancestors with all their heart and all their soul.(L) 13 Whoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel would be put to death, young or old,[b] man or woman.(M) 14 They took an oath to the Lord in a loud voice, with shouting, with trumpets, and with rams’ horns. 15 All Judah rejoiced over the oath, for they had sworn it wholeheartedly. They had sought him with all sincerity, and he was found by them.(N) So the Lord gave them rest on every side.(O)

16 King Asa(P) also removed Maacah, his grandmother,[c](Q) from being queen mother because she had made an obscene image of Asherah. Asa chopped down her obscene image, then crushed it and burned it in the Kidron Valley.(R) 17 The high places were not taken away from Israel; nevertheless, Asa was wholeheartedly devoted his entire life.[d] 18 He brought his father’s consecrated gifts and his own consecrated gifts into God’s temple: silver, gold, and utensils.

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

Footnotes

  1. 15:7 Lit don’t let your hands drop
  2. 15:13 Or insignificant or great
  3. 15:16 Lit mother; 1Kg 15:2; 2Ch 11:22
  4. 15:17 Lit wholehearted all his days
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