1 N ow the Spirit of God came on Azariah the son of Oded,

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

2 a nd he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: the Lord is with you when you are with Him. And if you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.

and 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.

3 F or many days Israel was without the true God and without a teaching priest and without law.

For many days Israel has been without the true God, and without a priest and without a teacher and without law,

4 B ut in their distress they turned to the Lord God of Israel, and they sought Him, and He let them find Him.

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

5 I n those times there was no peace to him who went out or to him who came in, for many disturbances afflicted all the inhabitants of the lands.

And 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.

6 N ation was crushed by nation, and city by city, for God troubled them with every kind of distress.

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

7 B ut you, be strong and do not lose courage, for there is reward for your work.” Asa’s Reforms

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

8 N ow when Asa heard these words and the 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 the cities which he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. He then restored the altar of the Lord which was in front of the porch of the Lord.

¶ 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.

9 H e gathered all Judah and Benjamin and those from Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon who resided with them, for many defected to him from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him.

And 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.

10 S o they assembled at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign.

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

11 T hey sacrificed to the Lord that day 700 oxen and 7, 000 sheep from the spoil they had brought.

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

12 T hey entered into the covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and soul;

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

13 a nd whoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel should be put to death, whether small or great, man or woman.

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

14 M oreover, they made an oath to the Lord with a loud voice, with shouting, with trumpets and with horns.

And they swore unto the LORD with a loud voice, and with shouting and with trumpets and with shofar.

15 A ll Judah rejoiced concerning the oath, for they had sworn with their whole heart and had sought Him earnestly, and He let them find Him. So the Lord gave them rest on every side.

And 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.

16 H e also removed Maacah, the mother of King Asa, from the position of queen mother, because she had made a horrid image as an Asherah, and Asa cut down her horrid image, crushed it and burned it at the brook Kidron.

And 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.

17 B ut the high places were not removed from Israel; nevertheless Asa’s heart was blameless all his days.

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

18 H e brought into the house of God the dedicated things of his father and his own dedicated things: silver and gold and utensils.

And 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.

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

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