2 Chronicles 15
15
1And upon Azariah son of Oded hath been the Spirit of God,
2and he goeth out before Asa, and saith to him, ‘Hear, me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; Jehovah [is] with you — in your being with Him, and if ye seek Him, He is found of you, and if ye forsake Him, He forsaketh you;
3and many days [are] to Israel without a true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law,
4and it turneth back in its distress unto Jehovah, God of Israel, and they seek Him, and He is found of them,
5and in those times there is no peace to him who is going out, and to him who is coming in, for many troubles [are] on all the inhabitants of the lands,
6and they have been beaten down, nation by nation, and city by city, for God hath troubled them with every adversity;
7and ye, be ye strong, and let not your hands be feeble, for there is a reward for your work.’
8And at Asa's hearing these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he hath strengthened himself, and doth cause the abominations to pass away out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities that he hath captured from the hill-country of Ephraim, and reneweth the altar of Jehovah that [is] before the porch of Jehovah,
9and gathereth all Judah and Benjamin, and the sojourners with them out of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and out of Simeon — for they have fallen unto him from Israel in abundance, in their seeing that Jehovah his God [is] with him.
10And they are gathered to Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa,
11and sacrifice to Jehovah on that day from the spoil they have brought in — oxen seven hundred, and sheep seven thousand,
12and they enter into a covenant to seek Jehovah, God of their fathers, with all their heart, and with all their soul,
13and every one who doth not seek for Jehovah, God of Israel, is put to death, from small unto great, from man unto woman.
14And they swear to Jehovah with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets,
15and rejoice do all Judah concerning the oath, for with all their heart they have sworn, and with all their good-will they have sought Him, and He is found of them, and Jehovah giveth rest to them round about.
16And also Maachah, mother of Asa the king — he hath removed her from [being] mistress, in that she hath made for a shrine a horrible thing, and Asa cutteth down her horrible thing, and beateth [it] small, and burneth [it] by the brook Kidron:
17yet the high places have not turned aside from Israel; only, the heart of Asa hath been perfect all his days.
18And he bringeth in the sanctified things of his father, and his own sanctified things, to the house of God, silver, and gold, and vessels.
19And war hath not been till the thirty and fifth year of the reign of Asa.
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2 Chronicles 15: YLT98
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maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
2 Chronicles 15
15
Asa’s Religious Reforms
1Then the Spirit of God came upon Azariah son of Oded, 2and he went out to meet King Asa as he was returning from the battle. “Listen to me, Asa!” he shouted. “Listen, all you people of Judah and Benjamin! The Lord will stay with you as long as you stay with him! Whenever you seek him, you will find him. But if you abandon him, he will abandon you. 3For a long time Israel was without the true God, without a priest to teach them, and without the Law to instruct them. 4But whenever they were in trouble and turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought him out, they found him.
5“During those dark times, it was not safe to travel. Problems troubled the people of every land. 6Nation fought against nation, and city against city, for God was troubling them with every kind of problem. 7But as for you, be strong and courageous, for your work will be rewarded.”
8When Asa heard this message from Azariah the prophet,#15:8 As in Syriac version and Latin Vulgate (see also 15:1); Hebrew reads from Oded the prophet. he took courage and removed all the detestable idols from the land of Judah and Benjamin and in the towns he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. And he repaired the altar of the Lord, which stood in front of the entry room of the Lord’s Temple.
9Then Asa called together all the people of Judah and Benjamin, along with the people of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who had settled among them. For many from Israel had moved to Judah during Asa’s reign when they saw that the Lord his God was with him. 10The people gathered at Jerusalem in late spring,#15:10 Hebrew in the third month. This month of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar usually occurs within the months of May and June. during the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign.
11On that day they sacrificed to the Lord 700 cattle and 7,000 sheep and goats from the plunder they had taken in the battle. 12Then they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their ancestors, with all their heart and soul. 13They agreed that anyone who refused to seek the Lord, the God of Israel, would be put to death—whether young or old, man or woman. 14They shouted out their oath of loyalty to the Lord with trumpets blaring and rams’ horns sounding. 15All in Judah were happy about this covenant, for they had entered into it with all their heart. They earnestly sought after God, and they found him. And the Lord gave them rest from their enemies on every side.
16King Asa even deposed his grandmother#15:16 Hebrew his mother. Maacah from her position as queen mother because she had made an obscene Asherah pole. He cut down her obscene pole, broke it up, and burned it in the Kidron Valley. 17Although the pagan shrines were not removed from Israel, Asa’s heart remained completely faithful throughout his life. 18He brought into the Temple of God the silver and gold and the various items that he and his father had dedicated.
19So there was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign.
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
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