1 And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded:
2 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.
3 Now
for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, and without a
teaching priest, and without law.
4 But
when they in their trouble did turn unto the LORD God of Israel, and sought
him, he was found of them.
5 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.
6 And
nation was destroyed of nation, and city of city: for God did vex them with all
adversity.
7 Be
ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: 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 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.
9 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.
10 So
they gathered themselves together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the
fifteenth year of the reign of Asa.
11 And
they offered unto the LORD the same time, of the spoil which they
had brought, seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep.
12 And
they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD God of their fathers with all
their heart and with all their soul;
13 That
whosoever would not seek the LORD God of Israel should be put to death, whether
small or great, whether man or woman.
14 And
they sware unto the LORD 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 the LORD gave
them rest round about.
16 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.
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
unto the five and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa.
