2 Chronicles 15
1599 Geneva Bible
15 2 The exhortation of Azariah. 8 Asa purgeth his country of idolatry. 11 He sacrificeth with the people. 14 They swear together to serve the Lord. 16 He deposeth his mother for her idolatry.
1 Then the Spirit of God came upon [a]Azariah the son of Obed.
2 And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, O Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin, hear ye me, The Lord is with you, while ye be 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 hath been without the [b]true God, and without Priest to teach, and without Law.
4 But whosoever returned in his affliction to the Lord God of Israel, and sought him, he [c]was found of him.
5 And in that time there was no peace to him, that did go out and go in: but great troubles were to all the inhabitants of the earth.
6 For nation was destroyed of nation, and city of city: for God troubled them with all adversity.
7 Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your [d]work shall have a reward.
8 ¶ And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Obed the Prophet, he was encouraged, and took away the abominations out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken of mount Ephraim, and he renewed the altar of the Lord, that was before the porch of the Lord.
9 And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and the strangers with them out of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and out of Simeon: for there fell many to him out of Israel, when they saw that the Lord his God was with him.
10 So they assembled to Jerusalem in the [e]third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa.
11 And they offered unto the Lord the same time of the [f]spoil which they had brought, even seven hundred bullocks, and seven thousand sheep.
12 And they made a covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers, with all their heart, and with all their soul.
13 And [g]whosoever will not seek the Lord God of Israel, shall be slain, whether he were small or great, man or woman.
14 And they sware unto the Lord 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 unto the Lord with all their heart, and sought him with a whole desire, and he was [h]found of them. And the Lord gave them rest round about.
16 ¶ And King Asa deposed (A)Maachah his [i]mother from her regency, because she had made an idol in a grove: and Asa brake down her idol, and stamped it, and burnt it at the brook Kidron.
17 But the high places were not [j]taken away out of [k]Israel: yet the heart of Asa was [l]perfect all his days.
18 Also he brought into the house of God the things that his father had dedicated, and that he had dedicated, silver, and gold, and vessels.
19 And there was no war unto the five and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 15:1 Who was called Obed, as his father was, verse 8.
- 2 Chronicles 15:3 For the space of twelve years under Rehoboam, and three years under Abijah, religion was neglected, and idolatry planted.
- 2 Chronicles 15:4 He showeth, that notwithstanding the wickedness of tyrants and their rage, yet God hath his, whom he heareth in their tribulation, as he delivered his from Zerah king of the Ethiopians, 2 Chron. 14:9, 12, and out of all other dangers, when they called upon the Lord.
- 2 Chronicles 15:7 Your confidence and trust in God shall not be frustrated.
- 2 Chronicles 15:10 Called Sivan, containing part of May, and part of June.
- 2 Chronicles 15:11 Which they had taken of the Ethiopians.
- 2 Chronicles 15:13 These were the words of their covenant, which commanded all idolaters to be put to death, according to the Law of God, Deut. 13:5, 9, 15.
- 2 Chronicles 15:15 So long as they served him aright, so long did he preserve and prosper them.
- 2 Chronicles 15:16 Or grandmother: and herein he showed that he lacked zeal, for she ought to have died both by the covenant, as verse 13, and by the Law of God: but he gave place to foolish pity and would also seem after a sort to satisfy the Law.
- 2 Chronicles 15:17 Which partly came through lack of zeal in him, partly through the negligence of his officers, and partly by the superstition of the people, that all were not taken away.
- 2 Chronicles 15:17 Because that God was called the God of Israel, by reason of his promise to Jacob: therefore Israel is sometimes taken for Judah, because Judah was his chief people.
- 2 Chronicles 15:17 In respect of his predecessors.
2 Chronicles 15
International Children’s Bible
Asa’s Changes
15 The Spirit of God entered Azariah son of Oded. 2 Azariah went to meet Asa. Azariah said, “Listen to me, Asa and all you people of Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you when you are with him. If you obey the Lord, you will find him. But if you leave him, he will leave you. 3 For a long time Israel was without the true God. And they were without a priest to teach them and without the teachings. 4 But when they were in trouble, they turned to the Lord again. He is the God of Israel. They looked for the Lord and found him. 5 In those days no one could travel safely. There was much trouble in all the nations. 6 One nation would destroy another nation. And one city would destroy another city. This happened because God troubled them with all kinds of trouble. 7 But you should be strong. Don’t give up, because you will get a reward for your good work.”
8 Asa felt brave when he heard these words and the message from Azariah. Azariah was the son of Oded the prophet. So he removed the hated idols from all of Judah and Benjamin. And he removed them from the towns he had captured in the hills of Ephraim. He repaired the Lord’s altar that was in front of the porch of the Temple of the Lord.
9 Then Asa gathered all the people from Judah and Benjamin. He also gathered the people of the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon who were living in Judah. Many people came to Asa from Israel. They came because they saw that the Lord, Asa’s God, was with him.
10 Asa and these people gathered in Jerusalem. This was in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa’s rule. 11 At that time they sacrificed to the Lord 700 bulls and 7,000 sheep and goats. Asa’s army had taken these animals and other valuable things from their enemies. 12 Then they made an agreement. They promised to obey the Lord with their whole being. He is the God their ancestors served. 13 Anyone who refused to obey the Lord, the God of Israel, was to be killed. It did not matter if that person was important or unimportant. It did not matter if that person was a man or woman. 14 Then Asa and the people made a promise before the Lord. They shouted with a loud voice. They also blew on trumpets and sheep’s horns. 15 All the people of Judah were happy about the promise. They had promised with all their heart. They looked for God and found him. So the Lord gave them peace in all the country.
16 King Asa also removed Maacah, his mother, from being queen mother. He did this because she had made an Asherah idol, which the Lord hated. Asa cut down that idol and smashed it into pieces. Then he burned it in the Kidron Valley. 17 The places of worship to false gods were not removed from Judah. Asa desired very much to obey the Lord all his life.
18 And Asa put the holy gifts that he and his father had given into the Temple of God. These things were made of silver and gold.
19 There was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s rule.
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