2 Chronicles 15
New American Standard Bible
Azariah the Prophet Warns Asa
15 Now (A)the Spirit of God came on Azariah the son of Oded, 2 and he went out [a]to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: (B)the Lord is with you when you are with Him. And (C)if you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you abandon Him, He will abandon you. 3 (D)For many days Israel was without the true God and without (E)a teaching priest and without the Law. 4 But (F)in their distress they turned to the Lord God of Israel, and they sought Him, and He let them find Him. 5 (G)In those times there was no peace for him who went out or him who came in, because many disturbances [b]afflicted all the inhabitants of the lands. 6 (H)Nation was crushed by nation, and city by city, for God troubled them with every kind of distress. 7 But you, (I)be strong and do not [c]lose courage, for there is a (J)reward for your work.”
Asa’s Reforms
8 Now when Asa heard these words and the [d]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 (K)the cities which he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. (L)He then restored the altar of the Lord which was in front of the porch of the Lord. 9 And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and those from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon (M)who resided with them, for many defected to him from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him. 10 So they assembled at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign. 11 (N)They sacrificed to the Lord on that day seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep from the spoils they had brought. 12 (O)They entered into the covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and soul; 13 and whoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel (P)was to be put to death, whether small or great, man or woman. 14 Moreover, they made an oath to the Lord with a loud voice, with shouting, trumpets, and with horns. 15 All Judah rejoiced concerning the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and had sought Him [e]earnestly, and He let them find Him. So (Q)the Lord gave them rest on every side.
16 (R)He also removed Maacah, the mother of King Asa, from the position of queen mother, because she had made an abominable image [f]as (S)an Asherah, and (T)Asa cut down her abominable image, crushed it, and burned it at the brook Kidron. 17 But the high places were not removed from Israel; nevertheless Asa’s heart was blameless all his days. 18 He brought into the house of God the dedicated things of his father and his own dedicated things: silver, gold, and utensils. 19 And there was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 15:2 Lit before Asa
- 2 Chronicles 15:5 Lit were on
- 2 Chronicles 15:7 Lit let your hands drop
- 2 Chronicles 15:8 With several ancient versions; MT the prophecy, Oded the prophet
- 2 Chronicles 15:15 Lit with all their whole desire
- 2 Chronicles 15:16 Or for Asherah; i.e., a wooden symbol of a female deity
2 Chronicles 15
Living Bible
15 Then the Spirit of God came upon Azariah (son of Oded), 2 and he went out to meet King Asa as he was returning from the battle.
“Listen to me, Asa! Listen, armies of Judah and Benjamin!” he shouted. “The Lord will stay with you as long as you stay with him! Whenever you look for him, you will find him. But if you forsake him, he will forsake you. 3 For a long time now, over in Israel, the people haven’t worshiped the true God and have not had a true priest to teach them. They have lived without God’s laws. 4 But whenever they have turned again to the Lord God of Israel in their distress and searched for him he has helped them. 5 In their times of rebellion against God there was no peace. Problems troubled the nation on every hand. Crime was on the increase everywhere. 6 There were external wars and internal fighting of city against city, for God was plaguing them with all sorts of trouble. 7 But you men of Judah, keep up the good work and don’t get discouraged, for you will be rewarded.”
8 When King Asa heard this message from God, he took courage and destroyed all the idols in the land of Judah and Benjamin and in the cities he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim, and he rebuilt the altar of the Lord in front of the Temple.
9 Then he summoned all the people of Judah and Benjamin and the immigrants from Israel (for many had come from the territories of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon in Israel when they saw that the Lord God was with King Asa). 10 They all came to Jerusalem in June of the fifteenth year of King Asa’s reign 11 and sacrificed to the Lord seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep—it was part of the plunder they had captured in the battle. 12 Then they entered into a contract to worship only the Lord God of their fathers 13 and agreed that anyone who refused to do this must die—whether old or young, man or woman. 14 They shouted out their oath of loyalty to God with trumpets blaring and horns sounding. 15 All were happy for this covenant with God, for they had entered into it with all their hearts and wills and wanted him above everything else, and they found him! And he gave them peace throughout the nation.
16 King Asa even removed his mother Maacah from being the queen mother because she made an Asherah idol; he cut down the idol and crushed and burned it at Kidron Brook. 17 Over in Israel the idol-temples were not removed. But here in Judah and Benjamin the heart of King Asa was perfect before God throughout his lifetime. 18 He brought back into the Temple the silver and gold bowls that he and his father had dedicated to the Lord. 19 So there was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of King Asa’s reign.
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The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.