Azariah the Prophet Warns Asa

15 Now (A)the Spirit of God came on Azariah the son of Oded, 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 abandon Him, He will abandon you. (D)For many days Israel was without the true God and without (E)a teaching priest and without the Law. But (F)in their distress they turned to the Lord God of Israel, and they sought Him, and He let them find Him. (G)In those times there was no peace for him who went out or him who came in, because many disturbances [b]afflicted all the inhabitants of the lands. (H)Nation was crushed by nation, and city by city, for God troubled them with every kind of distress. But you, (I)be strong and do not [c]lose courage, for there is a (J)reward for your work.”

Asa’s Reforms

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. And 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 on that day seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep from the spoils 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)was to 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, trumpets, and with horns. 15 All Judah rejoiced concerning the oath, for they had sworn with all their 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 an abominable image [f]as (S)an Asherah, and (T)Asa cut down her abominable 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, gold, and utensils. 19 And there was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 15:2 Lit before Asa
  2. 2 Chronicles 15:5 Lit were on
  3. 2 Chronicles 15:7 Lit let your hands drop
  4. 2 Chronicles 15:8 With several ancient versions; MT the prophecy, Oded the prophet
  5. 2 Chronicles 15:15 Lit with all their whole desire
  6. 2 Chronicles 15:16 Or for Asherah; i.e., a wooden symbol of a female deity

Azariah the Prophet Encourages Asa

15 After this, the Spirit of God came to rest on Oded’s son Azariah, so he went out to meet Asa and rebuked him:

“Listen to me, Asa, Judah, and Benjamin! The Lord is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will allow you to find him, but if you abandon him, he will abandon you. Israel lived for years without the true God, priests to teach them, and the Law, but they turned to the Lord God of Israel in their distress. When they sought him, he let them become reacquainted with him.

“During those days, it wasn’t safe for anyone to come and go, because many civil[a] disturbances afflicted everyone who lived in the territories. Nation battled nation, and city fought city, because God was afflicting them all with every kind of distress. Now as for you,[b] be strong[c] and never be discouraged,[d] because there will be reward for your[e] work.”

Asa Institutes Reforms

Encouraged by what Oded’s son Azariah the prophet had said in his prophecy, Asa[f] removed the detestable idols from throughout the entire territories of Judah and Benjamin, and from the cities that he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. He repaired the Lord’s altar that stood in front of the vestibule of the Lord’s Temple. Then he gathered together all of Judah, Benjamin, and people from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who were living among them, since many people had defected to him from Israel when they learned that the Lord his God was with him. 10 They all assembled in Jerusalem during the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign. 11 They sacrificed to the Lord that day 700 oxen and 7,000 sheep from the spoil that they had brought with them. 12 They also entered into a covenant to seek the Lord God of their ancestors with all their heart and soul, 13 and they further agreed that[g] whoever would refuse to seek the Lord God of Israel was to be executed, whether important or unimportant, man or woman. 14 They also made a vow to the Lord with loud voices, shouting, trumpets, and horns. 15 Everybody in Judah was very glad to make their oath, because they had made their vow with all their heart and had sought him with all of their might,[h] and they found him! The Lord also gave them rest in their surrounding lands.

16 King Asa removed his mother Maacah from her position as Queen Mother because she had made a detestable image dedicated to Asherah.[i] He cut down his mother’s idol, crushed it, and burned it at the Kidron Brook. 17 Nevertheless, the high places were not removed from Israel, even though Asa’s heart was blameless all of his life. 18 Asa brought into God’s Temple the things that his father had dedicated, as well as his own dedicated gifts such as silver, gold, and temple service[j] implements. 19 Asa experienced no more war until the end of the[k] thirty-fifth year of his reign.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 15:5 The Heb. lacks civil
  2. 2 Chronicles 15:7 MT pronoun is pl.
  3. 2 Chronicles 15:7 MT verb is pl.
  4. 2 Chronicles 15:7 MT verb is pl.
  5. 2 Chronicles 15:7 MT pronoun is pl.
  6. 2 Chronicles 15:8 Lit. he
  7. 2 Chronicles 15:13 The Heb. lacks they further agreed that
  8. 2 Chronicles 15:15 Or desire
  9. 2 Chronicles 15:16 I.e. cultic pillars erected in worship to Canaanite deities
  10. 2 Chronicles 15:18 The Heb. lacks temple service
  11. 2 Chronicles 15:19 The Heb. lacks end of the