And the Spirit of God
came upon Azariah
the son
of Oded
:
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.
Now for a long season
Israel
hath been without
the true
God
, and without a teaching
priest
, and without law
.
But when they in their trouble did turn
unto the LORD
God
of Israel
, and sought
him, he was found
of them.
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
.
And nation was destroyed
of nation
, and city
of city
: for God
did vex
them with all adversity
.
Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands
be weak
: for your work
shall be
rewarded
.
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
.
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.
So they gathered themselves together at Jerusalem
in the third
month
, in the fifteenth
year
of the reign
of Asa
.
And they offered unto the LORD
the same time
, of the spoil
which they had brought
, seven
hundred
oxen
and seven
thousand
sheep
.
And they entered into a covenant
to seek
the LORD
God
of their fathers
with all their heart
and with all their soul
;
That whosoever would not seek the LORD
God
of Israel
should be put to death
, whether
small
or great
, whether man
or woman
.
And they sware unto the LORD
with a loud
voice
, and with shouting
, and with trumpets
, and with cornets
.
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
.
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
.
But the high places were not taken away
out of Israel
: nevertheless the heart
of Asa
was perfect
all his days
.
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
.
And there was no more war unto the five
and thirtieth
year
of the reign
of Asa
.