Chapter 15

And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded:

And he went out⁴ to meet Asa, and said⁴ unto him, Hear³ ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The LORD [is] with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek⁴ him, he will be found¹¹ of you; but if ye forsake⁴ him, he will forsake⁴ you.

Now for a long season Israel [hath been] without the true God, and without a teaching⁵⁶ priest, and without law.

But when they in their trouble did turn⁴ unto the LORD God of Israel, and sought¹⁷ him, he was found¹¹ of them.

And in those times [there was] no peace to him that went out,⁶ nor to him that came in,⁶ but great vexations [were] upon all the inhabitants⁶ of the countries.

And nation was destroyed²⁷ of nation, and city of city: for God did vex¹ them with all adversity.

Be ye strong³ therefore, and let not your hands be weak:⁴ for your work shall be rewarded.

And when Asa heard² these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage,⁹⁸ and put away⁵⁵ the abominable idols out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken¹ from mount Ephraim, and renewed¹⁷ the altar of the LORD, that [was] before the porch of the LORD.

And he gathered⁴ all Judah and Benjamin, and the strangers⁶ with them out of Ephraim and Manasseh, and out of Simeon: for they fell¹ to him out of Israel in abundance, when they saw² that the LORD his God [was] with him.

So they gathered themselves together¹¹ at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth ⁶²⁴⁰ year of the reign of Asa.

And they offered⁴ unto the LORD the same time, of the spoil [which] they had brought,⁵² seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep.

And they entered⁴ into a covenant to seek² the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul;

That whosoever would not seek⁴ the LORD God of Israel should be put to death,⁹³ whether small or great, whether man or woman.

And they sware¹¹ unto the LORD with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets.

And all Judah rejoiced⁴ at the oath: for they had sworn⁸ with all their heart, and sought¹⁴ him with their whole desire; and he was found¹¹ of them: and the LORD gave them rest⁴ round about.

And also [concerning] Maachah the mother of Asa the king, he removed⁵² her from [being] queen, because she had made¹ an idol in a grove: and Asa cut down⁴ her idol, and stamped⁵⁵ [it], and burnt⁴ [it] at the brook Kidron.

But the high places were not taken away¹ out of Israel: nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days.

And he brought into⁵⁵ 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.