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.
2 Chronicles 15
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
15 The spirit of God came upon Azariah son of Oded.(A) 2 He went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: The Lord is with you while you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you abandon him, he will abandon you.(B) 3 For a long time Israel was without the true God and without a teaching priest and without law,(C) 4 but when in their distress they turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought him, he was found by them.(D) 5 In those times it was not safe for anyone to go or come, for great disturbances afflicted all the inhabitants of the lands.(E) 6 They were broken in pieces, nation against nation and city against city, for God troubled them with every sort of distress.(F) 7 But you, take courage! Do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded.”(G)
8 When Asa heard these words, the prophecy of Azariah son of Oded,[a] he took courage and put away the abominable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and from the towns that he had taken in the hill country of Ephraim. He repaired the altar of the Lord that was in front of the vestibule of the house of the Lord.[b](H) 9 He gathered all Judah and Benjamin and those from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who were residing as aliens with them, for great numbers had deserted to him from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him.(I) 10 They were gathered at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa. 11 They sacrificed to the Lord on that day, from the spoil that they had brought, seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep.(J) 12 They entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their ancestors, with all their heart and with all their soul,(K) 13 and whoever would not seek the Lord, the God of Israel, was to be put to death, whether young or old, man or woman.(L) 14 They took an oath to the Lord with a loud voice and with shouting and with trumpets and with horns. 15 All Judah rejoiced over the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and had sought him with their whole desire, and he was found by them, and the Lord gave them rest all around.(M)
16 King Asa even removed his mother Maacah from being queen mother because she had made an abominable image for Asherah. Asa cut down her image, crushed it, and burned it at the Wadi Kidron.(N) 17 But the high places were not taken out of Israel. Nevertheless, the heart of Asa was true all his days. 18 He brought into the house of God the votive gifts of his father and his own votive gifts: silver, gold, and utensils. 19 And there was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of the reign of Asa.
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New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.