2 Chronicles 15
Lexham English Bible
Asa’s Religious Reforms
15 Now Azariah the son of Oded—the Spirit of God came upon him. 2 And he went out before Asa and said to him, “Hear me, O Asa and all of Judah and Benjamin! Yahweh is with you while you are with him. And if you will seek him he will be found by you. But if you forsake him he will forsake you. 3 Now Israel has been without the true God many days, and without a teaching priest, and without law, 4 but at its trouble he returned to Yahweh, the God of Israel. They sought him, and he was found by them. 5 And in those times there was no peace for the one going out and the one coming in, for great tumults were upon all the inhabitants of the lands. 6 Nation was crushed by nation, and city was against city, for God threw them into confusion by all sorts of trouble. 7 But as for you, be strong and let not your hands be weak, for there is reward for your labor.”
8 And when Asa heard these words, the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage and removed the vile idols from all the lands of Judah and Benjamin, and from the cities that he had taken in the hill country of Ephraim, and he repaired the altar of Yahweh that was in front of the portico of Yahweh.
9 And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin and those sojourning with them, from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon, for many had deserted to him from Israel when they saw that Yahweh his God was with him. 10 And they were gathered at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa. 11 And they sacrificed to Yahweh on that day from the war booty they brought back: seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep. 12 And they entered into a covenant to seek Yahweh, the God of their ancestors,[a] with all their heart and with all their inmost being,[b] 13 but all who will not seek Yahweh the God of Israel should be killed, from young to old, from men to women. 14 And they took an oath to Yahweh with a great voice, with shouting, with trumpets, and with horns. 15 And all Judah rejoiced over the oath, for they swore with all their heart. And they sought him with their whole desire, and he was found by them, and Yahweh gave rest to them all around.
16 And also Maacah, the mother of Asa, the king removed her from being queen, because she had made a repulsive image for Asherah. And Asa cut down her repulsive image, and he crushed and burned it at the Wadi[c] Kidron. 17 But the high places were not removed from Israel. Nevertheless, the heart of Asa was fully devoted all his days. 18 And he brought the holy objects of his father and his own holy objects into the house of God—silver and gold and vessels. 19 And there was no war until the thirty-fifth year of the reign of Asa.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 2 Chronicles 15:12 Or “fathers”
- 2 Chronicles 15:12 Or “soul”
- 2 Chronicles 15:16 Or “valley”; a wadi is a valley that is dry most of the year, but contains a stream during the rainy season
2 Chronicles 15
New American Standard Bible
Azariah the Prophet 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 abandon Him, He will abandon you. 3 (D)For many days Israel was without the true God and without (E)a teaching priest and without the 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 for him who went out or him who came in, because 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 a (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 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.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 2 Chronicles 15:2 Lit before Asa
- 2 Chronicles 15:5 Lit were on
- 2 Chronicles 15:7 Lit let your hands drop
- 2 Chronicles 15:8 With several ancient versions; MT the prophecy, Oded the prophet
- 2 Chronicles 15:15 Lit with all their whole desire
- 2 Chronicles 15:16 Or for Asherah; i.e., a wooden symbol of a female deity
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