2Ch 15 | NASB2020 | STEP | Now the Spirit of God came on Azariah the son of Oded ,

2 Chronicles 15

Azariah the Prophet Warns Asa

1 Now ^athe Spirit of God came on Azariah the son of Oded, 2 and 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 abandon Him, He will abandon you. 3 ^eFor many days Israel was without the true God and without ^fa teaching priest and without the 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 ^hIn those times there was no peace for him who went out or him who came in, because many disturbances ^{▼▼Lit were on}afflicted all the inhabitants of the lands. 6 ^jNation 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 a ^mreward for your work.”

Asa’s Reforms

8 Now when Asa heard these words and the ^{▼▼With several ancient versions; MT 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. 9 And he 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. 10 So they assembled at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign. 11 ^rThey sacrificed to the Lord on that day seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep from the spoils they had brought. 12 ^sThey 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 ^twas 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 ^{▼▼Lit with all 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 an abominable image ^{▼▼Or for Asherah; i.e., a wooden symbol of a female deity}as ^yan Asherah, and ^zAsa 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.