2 Chronicles, 15

1. And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded:

1. The spirit of God came on Azariah, son of Obed;

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

2. he went out to meet Asa and said, "Listen to me, Asa, and all you of Judah and of Benjamin. Yahweh is with you so long as you are with him. When you look for him, he lets you find him; when you turn away, he will abandon you.

3. Now for a long season Israel [hath been] without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law.

3. For a long time Israel will be without the true God, and without priest to teach the Law,

4. But when they in their trouble did turn unto the LORD God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them.

4. but when trouble comes, they will turn to Yahweh, the God of Israel. They will look for him and find him.

5. And in those times [there was] no peace to him that went out, nor to him that came in, but great vexations [were] upon all the inhabitants of the countries.

5. When that time comes, there will be no peace for anyone, for many troubles will come upon all the inhabitants of the earth.

6. And nation was destroyed of nation, and city of city: for God did vex them with all adversity.

6. One nation will oppress another nation, and one city another city, because God will bring trouble and distress on them.

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

7. But for your part, take courage, and be strong, for your deeds will be rewarded."

8. And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the abominable idols out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken from mount Ephraim, and renewed the altar of the LORD, that [was] before the porch of the LORD.

8. When Asa heard these words and this prophecy, he was encouraged to do away with all the idols throughout the land of Judah and Benjamin, and in the towns he had captured in the highlands of Ephraim; he then repaired the altar of Yahweh that stood in front of the Hall of Yahweh.

9. And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and the strangers with them out of Ephraim and Manasseh, and out of Simeon: for they fell to him out of Israel in abundance, when they saw that the LORD his God [was] with him.

9. He gathered all Judah and Benjamin together, and also the Ephraimites, Manassites and Simeonites who had settled with them, since great numbers of Israelites had gone over to Asa's side when they saw that Yahweh was with him.

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

10. In the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa they assembled in Jerusalem;

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

11. and they sacrificed to Yahweh that day seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep out of the spoil they had brought back.

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

12. They made a covenant in which they agreed to seek Yahweh, the God of their ancestors, with all their heart and soul;

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

13. anyone who would not seek Yahweh the God of Israel was to be put to death, young or old, man or woman.

14. And they sware unto the LORD with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets.

14. They pledged their oath to Yahweh aloud with shouts to the sound of trumpet and horn;

15. And all 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.

15. all Judah rejoiced at the oath they had wholeheartedly taken. They sought Yahweh so earnestly that he let them find him, and granted them peace on every side.

16. 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.

16. King Asa took from his grandmother Maacah her title of queen mother, because she had made a hideous idol Asherah. Asa cut down the idol, and burned it in the wadi Kidron. Though the High places were not abolished in Israel, the heart of Asa was blameless all his life. He deposited the offerings dedicated by his father and his own offerings too, in the house of God, silver and gold and furnishings.

17. But the high places were not taken away out of Israel: nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days.

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18. 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.

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19. And there was no [more] war unto the five and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa.

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