2 Chronicles 15
The Prophet Azariah Warns Asa
1Now athe Spirit of God came on Azariah the son of Oded, 2and he went out ▼▼ Lit before Asa
to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: cthe Lord is with you when you are with Him. And dif you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you. 3 e“For many days Israel was without the true God and without fa teaching priest and without law. 4“But gin their distress they turned to the Lord God of Israel, and they sought Him, and He let them find Him. 5 h“In those times there was no peace to him who went out or to him who came in, for many disturbances ▼▼ Lit were on
afflicted all the inhabitants of the lands. 6 j“Nation was crushed by nation, and city by city, for God troubled them with every kind of distress. 7“But you, kbe strong and do not ▼▼ Lit let your hands drop
lose courage, for there is mreward for your work.” Asa’s Reforms
8Now when Asa heard these words and the ▼▼ With several ancient versions; Heb the prophecy, Oded the prophet
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 othe cities which he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. pHe then restored the altar of the Lord which was in front of the porch of the Lord. 9He gathered all Judah and Benjamin and those from Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon qwho resided with them, for many defected to him from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him. 10So they assembled at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign. 11 rThey sacrificed to the Lord that day 700 oxen and 7,000 sheep from the spoil they had brought. 12 sThey entered into the covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and soul; 13and whoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel tshould be put to death, whether small or great, man or woman. 14Moreover, they made an oath to the Lord with a loud voice, with shouting, with trumpets and with horns. 15All Judah rejoiced concerning the oath, for they had sworn with their whole heart and had sought Him ▼▼ Lit with their whole desire
earnestly, and He let them find Him. So vthe Lord gave them rest on every side. 16 wHe also removed Maacah, the mother of King Asa, from the position of queen mother, because she had made a horrid image ▼▼ Or for Asherah
as yan Asherah, and zAsa cut down her horrid image, crushed it and burned it at the brook Kidron. 17But the high places were not removed from Israel; nevertheless Asa’s heart was blameless all his days. 18He brought into the house of God the dedicated things of his father and his own dedicated things: silver and gold and utensils. 19And there was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign.
Copyright information for
NASB1995