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15 Forsooth Azariah, the son of Oded, when the spirit of the Lord was come into him, (And Azariah, the son of Oded, after the spirit of the Lord came upon him,)

he went out into the meeting of Asa (he went out to meet Asa); and said to him, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin, hear ye me; the Lord is with you, for ye were with him; if ye seek him, ye shall find him; soothly if ye forsake him, he shall forsake you.

Forsooth many days shall pass in Israel without (the) very God, and without priest, and without teacher, and without law. (But many days have passed in Israel without the true God, and without a priest, and without a teacher, and without the Law.)

And when they turn again in their anguish, and cry to the Lord God of Israel, and seek him, they shall find him. (But when, in their anguish, they turned to the Lord God of Israel, and cried to him, and sought him, they found him.)

In that time [there] shall not be peace to go out and to go in, but dreads on all side(s) on all the dwellers of the land. (At that time there was no safety, or security, to come in or to go out, but fear was on all sides for all the inhabitants of the land.)

For folk shall fight against folk, and a city against a city, for the Lord shall disturb them in all anguish; (And nation fought against nation, and a city against a city, for the Lord troubled them with all kinds of anguish;)

but be ye comforted, and your hands be not slacked; for meed shall be to your work. (but be ye strengthened, and do not let your hands be limp; for your work shall be rewarded.)

And when Asa had heard this thing, that is, the words and [the] prophecy of Azariah, the son of Oded, the prophet, he was comforted, and he did away all the idols from all the land of Judah and of Benjamin, and from the cities which he had taken of the hill of Ephraim. And he hallowed the altar of the Lord, that was before the porch of the house of the Lord. (And when Asa had heard this, that is, the words and the prophecy of the prophet Azariah, the son of Oded, he was strengthened, or encouraged, and he did away all the idols from all the land of Judah and of Benjamin, and from the cities which he had taken in the hill country of Ephraim. And he repaired the altar of the Lord, that was in front of the vestibule of the House of the Lord.)

And he gathered together all Judah and Benjamin, and with them the comelings of Ephraim, and of Manasseh, and of Simeon (and with them the newcomers from Ephraim, and Manasseh, and Simeon); for many of Israel, seeing that his Lord God was with him, fled over to him.

10 And when they had come into Jerusalem, in the third month, in the fifteen year of the realm of Asa,

11 they offered to the Lord in that day, both of the spoils and of the prey, which they had brought, seven hundred oxen, and seven thousand wethers. (they offered to the Lord on that day, out of the spoils and the prey, which they had brought back, seven hundred oxen, and seven thousand rams.)

12 And Asa entered by custom to make strong the bond of peace, that they should seek the Lord God of their fathers in all their heart, and in all their soul. (And they entered into a covenant, that they would seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart, and with all their soul.)

13 And the king said, If any man seeketh not the Lord God of Israel, die he, from the least unto the most, from man unto woman. (And that whoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel should be put to death, from the least unto the most, man or woman.)

14 And all that were in Judah swore with cursing to the Lord, that is, obliging themselves to cursing and pain of death, if they did against the oath, with [a] great voice, in hearty song, and in sound of trump, and in sound of clarions; (And they swore an oath, or a pledge, to the Lord with a loud voice, and a hearty shout, and the sounding of trumpets and horns.)

15 for they swore in all their heart, and in all their will they sought him, and found him; and the Lord gave to them rest by compass. (And all who were in Judah had great joy over the pledge; for they swore with all their heart, and they sought him with all their will, and they found him; and the Lord gave them rest, or peace, all about.)

16 But also he put down Maachah, the (grand)mother of Asa the king, that is, his own (grand)mother, from the strait empire, for she had made in a wood a simulacrum, or a likeness, of a man’s rod; and he all-brake that simulacrum, and pounded it into gobbets, and burnt it in the strand of Kidron. (And Asa also removed his grandmother Maachah, from her place of honour, for she had made an image, or a likeness, of a man’s rod in the forest/for she had made an obscene idol for the worship of Asherah; and he broke up that image, and pounded it into pieces, and burned it by the Kidron Stream/and burned it in the Kidron Gorge.)

17 But yet [the] high places were left in Israel; nevertheless the heart of Asa was rightful in all his days. (But yet there were still hill shrines in Israel; but Asa’s heart was upright in all his days.)

18 And he brought into the house of the Lord those things that his father [had] avowed, silver and gold, and diverse purtenance of vessels;

19 and battle was not unto the five and thirtieth year of the realm of Asa. (and there was no battle with any nation until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign.)

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.