Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

The Majesty of the Lord.

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.

¹⁵ The one who spoke with me had a ^[a]gold measuring ^(A)rod to measure the city, and its ^(B)gates and its wall. ¹⁶ The city is laid out as a square, and its length is as great as the width; and he measured the city with the ^[b]rod, ^[c]fifteen hundred miles; its length and width and height are equal. ¹⁷ And he measured its wall, ^[d]seventy-two yards, according to ^(C)human ^[e]measurements, which are also ^(D)angelic measurements. ¹⁸ The material of the wall was ^(E)jasper; and the city was ^(F)pure gold, like ^[f]clear ^(G)glass. ^19 (H)The foundation stones of the city wall were adorned with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation stone was ^(I)jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, ^(J)emerald; ²⁰ the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, ^(K)sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst. ²¹ And the twelve ^(L)gates were twelve ^(M)pearls; each one of the gates was a single pearl. And the street of the city was ^(N)pure gold, like transparent ^(O)glass.

²² I saw ^(P)no ^[g]temple in it, for the ^(Q)Lord God the Almighty and the ^(R)Lamb are its ^[h]temple.