1 N ow the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded.

وَحَلَّ رُوحُ اللهِ عَلَى عَزَرْيا بْنِ عُودِيدَ.

2 A nd 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.

فَذَهَبَ عَزَرْيا لِلقاءِ آسا وَقالَ لَهُ: «اسمَعُوني يا آسا، وَيا كُلَّ شَعبِ يَهُوذا وَبَنْيامِيْنَ! اللهُ مَعَكُمْ ما دُمتُمْ مَعَهُ. وَإذا طَلَبْتُمْ اللهَ ، فَسَتَجِدُونَهُ. لَكِنْ إنْ تَرَكْتُمُوهُ، فَسَيَترُكُكُمْ.

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

ظَلَّتْ إسْرائِيلُ زَمَناً طَويلاً مِنْ غَيْرِ اللهِ الحَقيقِيِّ. وَظَلَّ بَنُو إسْرائِيلَ مِنْ غَيرِ كاهِنٍ يُعَلّمُهُمْ، وَمِنْ غَيرِ شَريعَةٍ.

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

لَكِنْ عِندَما كانَ بَنُو إسْرائِيلَ يُواجهُونَ ضِيقاً، كانُوا يَلجَأُونَ إلَى اللهِ ، إلَهِ إسْرائِيلَ، مِنْ جَدِيْدٍ. كانُوا يَطلُبُونَهُ فَيَجِدُونَهُ.

5 A nd 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.

«وَفِي أيّامِ الضِّيقِ تِلكَ، لَمْ يَكُنْ أحَدٌ يَستَطِيعُ أنْ يَتَنَّقَلَ بِأمانٍ. فَقَدْ سادَتِ الاضْطِراباتُ بَينَ الشُّعُوبِ.

6 S o nation was destroyed by nation, and city by city, for God troubled them with every adversity.

فَكانَتْ أُمَّةٌ تَقُومُ عَلَى أُمَّةٍ، وَمَدينَةٌ عَلَى مَدِينَةٍ، لأنَّ اللهَ ابتَلاهُمْ بكُلِّ أنواعِ الضِّيقِ.

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

أمَّأ أنتَ وَشَعبُكَ يا آسا، فَتَشَجَّعُوا، وَلا تَضْعُفُوا، لِأنَّكُمْ سَتُكافَأُونَ عَلَى عَمَلِكُمُ الحَسَنِ!»

8 A nd 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.

وَتَشَجَّعَ آسا حِينَ سَمِعَ كَلامَ النَّبِيِّ عُودِيدَ وَالرِّسالَةَ الَّتِي أعلَنَها. فَأزالَ الأوثانَ البَغِيضَةَ مِنْ كُلِّ مِنطَقَةِ يَهُوذا وَبَنْيامِيْنَ، وَمِنَ المُدُنِ الَّتِي استَولَى عَلَيها فِي مِنطَقَةِ أفْرايِمَ الجَبَليَّةِ. وَرَمَّمَ مَذبَحَ اللهِ الَّذِيِ أمامَ دِهلِيزِ بَيتِ اللهِ.

9 T hen 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.

ثُمَّ جَمَعَ آسا كُلَّ الشَّعبِ منْ يَهُوذا وَبَنْيامِيْنَ. وَجَمَعَ أيضاً مِنْ عَشائِر أفْرايِمَ وَمَنَسَّى وَشَمْعُونَ الجَماعاتِ الَّتِي انتَقَلَتْ مِنْ أرْضِ إسْرائِيلَ إلَى أرْضِ يَهُوذا. وَقَدْ جاءَ هَؤُلاءِ النّاسُ بِأعْدادٍ كَبِيرَةٍ إلَى يَهُوذا لِأنَّهُمْ رَأَوْا أنَّ إلَهَهُ مَعَهُ.

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

اجتَمَعَ آسا وَكُلُّ هَؤُلاءِ النّاسِ مَعاً فِي القُدسِ فِي الشَّهرِ الثّالِثِ مِنَ السَّنَةِ الخامِسَةَ عَشْرَةَ لِحُكْمِ آسا.

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

وَذَبَحُوا للهِ سَبْعَ مِئَةِ ثَورٍ وَسَبعَ مِئَةِ خَرُوفٍ وَماعِزٍ. وَكانَ جَيشُ آسا قَدِ استَولَى عَلَى هَذه المَواشِي وَأشياءَ ثَمِينَةٍ أُخْرَى منْ أعدائِهمْ.

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

ثُمَّ تَعاهَدُوا عَلَى أنْ يَتْبَعُوا اللهَ ، إلَهَ آبائِهُمْ، بِكُلِّ قَلُوبِهِمْ وَبِكُلِّ نَفُوسِهِمْ.

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

وَكانَ كُلُّ مَنْ لا يَطلُبُ اللهَ إلَهَ إسْرائِيلَ يُقتَلُ، مَهما عَلا شَأنُهُ أوْ صَغُرَ، رَجُلاً كانَ أمِ امْرأةً.

14 T hen they took an oath before the Lord with a loud voice, with shouting and trumpets and rams’ horns.

وَتَعَهَّدَ آسا وَالشَّعْبُ بِصَوتٍ مُرتَفِعٍ أنْ يَظَلُّوا أوفِياءَ للهِ. وَنَفَخُوا فِي الأبْواقِ الَّتِي مِنْ قُرُونِ الكِباشِ.

15 A nd 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.

وَفَرِحَ كُلُّ شَعبِ يَهُوذا بِهَذا العَهدِ لِأنَّهُمْ نَذَرُوا للهِ بِكُلِّ قُلُوبِهِمْ، وَطَلَبُوهُ طَوعاً. طَلَبُوهُ بكُلِّ قُلُوبِهِمْ فَوَجَدُوهُ، فَأعطاهُمْ اللهُ سَلاماً وَراحَةً عَلَى كُلِّ حُدُودِهِمْ.

16 A lso 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.

وَخَلَعَ آسا أُمَّهُ مَعْكَةَ كَمَلِكَةٍ أُمٍّ، لِأنَّها نَصَبَتْ عَمُوداً بَغِيضاً إكراماً للإلَهَةِ عَشْتَرُوتَ. وَهَدَمَ آسا عَمُودَ عَشْتَرُوتَ وَكَسَّرَهُ تَكسِيراً، ثُمَّ أحرَقَ أجزاءَهُ فِي وادِي قَدْرُونَ.

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

لَمْ تُنزَعِ المُرتَفَعاتُ مِنْ يَهُوذا، غَيرَ أنْ قَلْبَ آسا كانَ وَفِيّاً لِلرَّبِّ طَوالَ حَياتِهِ.

18 H e 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.

وَوَضَعَ آسا كُلَّ ما خَصَّصَهُ هُوَ وَأبُوهُ مِنْ أشْياءَ مَصْنُوعَةٍ مِنْ ذَهَبٍ وَفِضَّةٍ للهِ في بَيتِ اللهِ.

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

وَلَمْ تَنشُبْ حَربٌ حَتَّى السَّنَةِ الخامسَةِ وَالثَّلاثِينَ منْ حُكمِ آسا.