2Chr 15
1
And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded:
2
and he went out to meet Asa, and said to him, Hear you me, Asa, and all Judah and
Benjamin: YHWH is with you, while you are with him; and if you seek him, he will be
found of you; but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.
3
Now for a long season Israel was without the true God, and without a teaching priest,
and without law:
4
But when in their distress they turned to YHWH, the God of Israel, and sought him,
he was found of them.
5
And in those times there was no peace to him whom went out, nor to him whom came in;
but great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the lands.
6
And they were broken in pieces, nation against nation, and city against city; for
God did vex them with all adversity.
7
But be you strong, and let not your hands be slack; for your work shall be rewarded.
8
And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage,
and put away the abominations out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of
the cities which he had taken from the hill-country of Ephraim; and he renewed the
altar of YHWH, that was before the porch of YHWH.
9
And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and them that sojourned 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 YHWH his God was with him.
10
So they gathered themselves together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth
year of the reign of Asa.
11
And they sacrificed to YHWH in that day, of the spoil which they had brought, seven
hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep.
12
And they entered into the covenant to seek YHWH, the God of their fathers, with all
their heart and with all their soul;
13
and that whoever would not seek YHWH, the God of Israel, should be put to death, whether
small or great, whether man or woman.
14
And they swore to YHWH with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and
with cornets.
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 YHWH gave them rest round
about.
16
And also Maacah, the mother of Asa the king, he removed from being queen, because
she had made an abominable image for an Asherah; and Asa cut down her image, and made
dust of it, and burnt it at the brook Kidron.
17
But the high places were not taken away out of Israel: nevertheless the heart of Asa
was perfect all his days.
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.
19
And there was no more war to the five and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa.