Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Yahweh Reigns Forevermore

The Spirit of God Comes on Azariah

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)Yahweh is with you when you are with Him. And ^(C)if you seek Him, He will be found; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you. ^3 (D)Now 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 Yahweh, the God of Israel, and they searched for Him, and He was found by them. ^5 (G)Now in those times there was no peace to him who went out or to him who came in, for much confusion was upon all the inhabitants of the lands. ^6 (H)And nation was crushed by nation, and city by city, for God threw them into confusion with every kind of distress. ⁷ But you, ^(I)be strong and do not let your hands fall limp, for there is ^(J)reward for your work.”

Asa Takes Away Detestable Idols

⁸ Now when Asa heard these words and the ^[b]prophecy which Azariah the son of Oded the prophet spoke, he strengthened himself and took away the detestable 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 renewed the altar of Yahweh which was in front of the porch of Yahweh. ⁹ And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin and those from Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon ^(M)who sojourned with them, for many defected to him from Israel when they saw that Yahweh 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)And they sacrificed to Yahweh that day 700 oxen and 7,000 sheep from the spoil they had brought. ^12 (O)They entered into the covenant to seek Yahweh, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and soul; ¹³ and whoever would not seek Yahweh, the God of Israel, ^(P)should be put to death, whether small or great, man or woman. ¹⁴ Moreover, they swore an oath to Yahweh with a loud voice, with shouting, with trumpets and with horns. ¹⁵ All Judah was glad concerning the oath, for they had sworn with their whole heart and had searched for Him with all their desire, and He was found by them. So ^(Q)Yahweh gave them rest on every side.

¹⁵ And 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 And 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]12,000 stadia; its length and width and height are equal. ¹⁷ And he measured its wall, ^[d]144 cubits, according to ^(C)human ^[e]measurements, which are also ^(D)angelic measurements. ¹⁸ And the material of the wall was ^(E)jasper, and the city was ^(F)pure gold, like pure ^(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 And I saw ^(P)no sanctuary in it, for the ^(Q)Lord God the Almighty and the ^(R)Lamb are its sanctuary.