The Prophet Azariah Warns Asa

15 Now ^(A)the Spirit of God came on Azariah the son of Oded, ² and he went out ^[a]to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: ^(B)the Lord is with you when you are with Him. And ^(C)if you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you. ^3 (D)For many days Israel was without the true God and without ^(E)a teaching priest and without law. ⁴ But ^(F)in their distress they turned to the Lord God of Israel, and they sought Him, and He let them find Him. ^5 (G)In those times there was no peace to him who went out or to him who came in, for many disturbances ^[b]afflicted all the inhabitants of the lands. ^6 (H)Nation was crushed by nation, and city by city, for God troubled them with every kind of distress. ⁷ But you, ^(I)be strong and do not ^[c]lose courage, for there is ^(J)reward for your work.”

Asa’s Reforms

⁸ Now when Asa heard these words and the ^[d]prophecy which Azariah the son of Oded the prophet spoke, he took courage and removed the abominable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and from ^(K)the cities which he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. ^(L)He then restored the altar of the Lord which was in front of the porch of the Lord. ⁹ He gathered all Judah and Benjamin and those from Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon ^(M)who resided with them, for many defected to him from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him. ¹⁰ So they assembled at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign. ^11 (N)They sacrificed to the Lord that day 700 oxen and 7,000 sheep from the spoil they had brought. ^12 (O)They entered into the covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and soul; ¹³ and whoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel ^(P)should be put to death, whether small or great, man or woman. ¹⁴ Moreover, they made an oath to the Lord with a loud voice, with shouting, with trumpets and with horns. ¹⁵ All Judah rejoiced concerning the oath, for they had sworn with their whole heart and had sought Him ^[e]earnestly, and He let them find Him. So ^(Q)the Lord gave them rest on every side.

^16 (R)He also removed Maacah, the mother of King Asa, from the position of queen mother, because she had made a horrid image ^[f]as ^(S)an Asherah, and ^(T)Asa cut down her horrid image, crushed it and burned it at the brook Kidron. ¹⁷ But the high places were not removed from Israel; nevertheless Asa’s heart was blameless all his days. ¹⁸ He brought into the house of God the dedicated things of his father and his own dedicated things: silver and gold and utensils. ¹⁹ And there was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign.

Asa Wars against Baasha

16 In the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign ^(U)Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah and ^[g]fortified Ramah in order to prevent anyone from going out or coming in to Asa king of Judah. ² Then Asa brought out silver and gold from the treasuries of the house of the Lord and the king’s house, and sent them to Ben-hadad king of Aram, who lived in Damascus, saying, ³ “Let there be a treaty between ^[h]you and me, as between my father and your father. Behold, I have sent you silver and gold; go, break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel so that he will withdraw from me.” ⁴ So Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, and they ^[i]conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel-maim and all ^(V)the ^[j]store cities of Naphtali. ⁵ When Baasha heard of it, he ceased ^[k]fortifying Ramah and stopped his work. ⁶ Then King Asa brought all Judah, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its timber with which Baasha had been building, and with them he ^[l]fortified Geba and Mizpah.

Asa Imprisons the Prophet

⁷ At that time ^(W)Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him, “^(X)Because you have relied on the king of Aram and have not relied on the Lord your God, therefore the army of the king of Aram has escaped out of your hand. ⁸ Were not ^(Y)the Ethiopians and the Lubim ^(Z)an immense army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet ^(AA)because you relied on the Lord, He delivered them into your hand. ⁹ For ^(AB)the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those ^(AC)whose heart is completely His. You have acted foolishly in this. Indeed, from now on you will surely have wars.” ¹⁰ Then Asa was angry with the seer and put him in ^[m]prison, for he was enraged at him for this. And Asa oppressed some of the people at the same time.

^11 (AD)Now, the acts of Asa from first to last, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. ¹² In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa became diseased in his feet. His disease was severe, yet even in his disease he ^(AE)did not seek the Lord, but the physicians. ¹³ So Asa slept with his fathers, ^[n]having died in the forty-first year of his reign. ¹⁴ They buried him in his own tomb which he had cut out for himself in the city of David, and they laid him in the resting place which he had filled ^(AF)with spices of various kinds blended by the perfumers’ art; and ^(AG)they made a very great fire for him.

Jehoshaphat Succeeds Asa

17 ^(AH)Jehoshaphat his son then became king in his place, and made his position over Israel firm. ² He placed troops in all ^(AI)the fortified cities of Judah, and set garrisons in the land of Judah and in the cities of Ephraim ^(AJ)which Asa his father had captured.

His Good Reign

³ The Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he ^[o]followed the example of his father David’s earlier days and did not seek the Baals, ⁴ but sought the God of his father, ^[p]followed His commandments, ^(AK)and did not act as Israel did. ⁵ So the Lord established the kingdom in his ^[q]control, and all Judah brought tribute to Jehoshaphat, and ^(AL)he had great riches and honor. ^6 [r]He took great pride in the ways of the Lord and again ^(AM)removed the high places and the Asherim from Judah.

⁷ Then in the third year of his reign he sent his officials, Ben-hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel and Micaiah, ^(AN)to teach in the cities of Judah; ⁸ and with them ^(AO)the Levites, Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah and Tobadonijah, the Levites; and with them Elishama and Jehoram, the priests. ⁹ They taught in Judah, having ^(AP)the book of the law of the Lord with them; and they went throughout all the cities of Judah and taught among the people.

¹⁰ Now ^(AQ)the dread of the Lord was on all the kingdoms of the lands which were around Judah, so that they did not make war against Jehoshaphat. ¹¹ Some of the Philistines ^(AR)brought gifts and silver as tribute to Jehoshaphat; the Arabians also brought him flocks, 7,700 rams and 7,700 male goats. ¹² So Jehoshaphat grew greater and greater, and he built fortresses and store cities in Judah. ¹³ He had large supplies in the cities of Judah, and warriors, valiant men, in Jerusalem. ¹⁴ This was their muster according to their fathers’ households: of Judah, commanders of thousands, Adnah was the commander, and with him 300,000 valiant warriors; ¹⁵ and next to him was Johanan the commander, and with him 280,000; ¹⁶ and next to him Amasiah the son of Zichri, ^(AS)who volunteered for the Lord, and with him 200,000 valiant warriors; ¹⁷ and of Benjamin, Eliada a valiant warrior, and with him 200,000 armed with bow and shield; ¹⁸ and next to him Jehozabad, and with him 180,000 equipped for war. ¹⁹ These are they who served the king, apart from ^(AT)those whom the king put in the fortified cities through all Judah.

Israel Is Not Cast Away

11 I say then, God has not ^(A)rejected His people, has He? ^(B)May it never be! For ^(C)I too am an Israelite, ^[a]a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. ² God ^(D)has not rejected His people whom He ^(E)foreknew. ^(F)Or do you not know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel? ³ “Lord, ^(G)they have killed Your prophets, they have torn down Your altars, and I alone am left, and they are seeking my life.” ⁴ But what ^[b]is the divine response to him? “^(H)I have kept for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” ⁵ In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time ^(I)a remnant according to God’s ^[c]gracious choice. ⁶ But ^(J)if it is by grace, it is no longer ^[d]on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.

⁷ What then? What ^(K)Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but ^[e]those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were ^(L)hardened; ⁸ just as it is written,

⁹ And David says,

^11 (P)I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? ^(Q)May it never be! But by their transgression ^(R)salvation has come to the Gentiles, to ^(S)make them jealous. ¹² Now if their transgression is riches for the world and their failure is riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their ^[f](T)fulfillment be! ¹³ But I am speaking to you who are Gentiles. Inasmuch then as ^(U)I am an apostle of Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, ¹⁴ if somehow I might ^(V)move to jealousy ^(W)my ^[g]fellow countrymen and ^(X)save some of them. ¹⁵ For if their rejection is the ^(Y)reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but ^(Z)life from the dead? ¹⁶ If the ^(AA)first piece of dough is holy, the lump is also; and if the root is holy, the branches are too.

¹⁷ But if some of the ^(AB)branches were broken off, and ^(AC)you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the ^[h]rich root of the olive tree, ¹⁸ do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that ^(AD)it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you. ^19 (AE)You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” ²⁰ Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you ^(AF)stand by your faith. ^(AG)Do not be conceited, but fear; ²¹ for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either. ²² Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God’s ^(AH)kindness, ^(AI)if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also ^(AJ)will be cut off. ²³ And they also, ^(AK)if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. ²⁴ For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these who are the natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree?

²⁵ For ^(AL)I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this ^(AM)mystery—so that you will not be ^(AN)wise in your own estimation—that a partial ^(AO)hardening has happened to Israel until the ^(AP)fullness of the Gentiles has come in; ²⁶ and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written,

^28 [j]From the standpoint of the gospel they are ^(AT)enemies for your sake, but ^[k]from the standpoint of God’s choice they are beloved for ^(AU)the sake of the fathers; ²⁹ for the gifts and the ^(AV)calling of God ^(AW)are irrevocable. ³⁰ For just as you once were disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy because of their disobedience, ³¹ so these also now have been disobedient, that because of the mercy shown to you they also may now be shown mercy. ³² For ^(AX)God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all.

³³ Oh, the depth of ^(AY)the riches ^[l]both of the ^(AZ)wisdom and knowledge of God! ^(BA)How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! ³⁴ For ^(BB)who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? ³⁵ Or ^(BC)who has first given to Him ^[m]that it might be paid back to him again? ³⁶ For ^(BD)from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. ^(BE)To Him be the glory ^[n]forever. Amen.