1 ¶ And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah, the son of Oded;

Now the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded.

2 a nd he went out to meet Asa and said unto him, Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: The LORD is with you, while ye are with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.

And he went out to meet Asa, and said to him: “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.

3 F or many days Israel has been without the true God, and without a priest and without a teacher and without law,

For a long time Israel has been without the true God, without a teaching priest, and without law;

4 b ut when they in their trouble turned unto the LORD God of Israel and sought him, he was found of them.

but when in their trouble they turned to the Lord God of Israel, and sought Him, He was found by them.

5 A nd in those times there was no peace to him that went out, nor to him that came in, but great destruction upon all the inhabitants of the lands.

And in those times there was no peace to the one who went out, nor to the one who came in, but great turmoil was on all the inhabitants of the lands.

6 A nd one Gentile destroyed the other, and one city the other; for God discomforted them with all adversity.

So nation was destroyed by nation, and city by city, for God troubled them with every adversity.

7 B e ye strong, therefore, and do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded.

But you, be strong and do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded!”

8 ¶ And when Asa heard the words and prophecy of Oded, the prophet, he was comforted and put away the abominations out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin and out of the cities which he had taken in Mount Ephraim and repaired the altar of the LORD, that was before the porch of the LORD.

And when Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and removed the abominable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities which he had taken in the mountains of Ephraim; and he restored the altar of the Lord that was before the vestibule of the Lord.

9 A nd he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and the strangers with them out of Ephraim and Manasseh, and out of Simeon, for many of Israel had gone over to him, when they saw that the LORD his God was with him.

Then he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and those who dwelt with them from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon, for they came over to him in great numbers from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him.

10 S o they gathered themselves together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa.

So they gathered together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa.

11 A nd they offered unto the LORD the same day, of the spoil which they had brought, seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep.

And they offered to the Lord at that time seven hundred bulls and seven thousand sheep from the spoil they had brought.

12 A nd they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul;

Then they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul;

13 t hat whoever would not seek the LORD God of Israel should be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman.

and whoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel was to be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman.

14 A nd they swore unto the LORD with a loud voice, and with shouting and with trumpets and with shofar.

Then they took an oath before the Lord with a loud voice, with shouting and trumpets and rams’ horns.

15 A nd all those of Judah rejoiced at the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and sought him with their whole desire; and he was found of them; and the LORD gave them rest round about.

And all Judah rejoiced at the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and sought Him with all their soul; and He was found by them, and the Lord gave them rest all around.

16 A nd also concerning Maachah, the mother of Asa the king, he removed her from being queen because she had made an idol in a grove; and Asa cut down her idol and stamped it and burnt it at the brook Kidron.

Also he removed Maachah, the mother of Asa the king, from being queen mother, because she had made an obscene image of Asherah; and Asa cut down her obscene image, then crushed and burned it by the Brook Kidron.

17 B ut with all this the high places were not taken away out of Israel; nevertheless, the heart of Asa was perfect all his days.

But the high places were not removed from Israel. Nevertheless the heart of Asa was loyal all his days.

18 A nd he brought into the house of God the things that his father had dedicated and that he himself had dedicated, silver and gold and vessels.

He also brought into the house of God the things that his father had dedicated and that he himself had dedicated: silver and gold and utensils.

19 A nd there was no more war until the year thirty-five of the reign of Asa.

And there was no war until the thirty-fifth year of the reign of Asa.