International Standard Version | King James Bible |
1After this, the Spirit of God came to rest on Oded's son Azariah, | 1And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded: |
2so he went out to meet Asa and rebuked him: "Listen to me, Asa, Judah, and Benjamin! The LORD is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will allow you to find him, but if you abandon him, he will abandon you. | 2And 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. |
3Israel lived for years without the true God, priests to teach them, and the Law, | 3Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law. |
4but they turned to the LORD God of Israel in their distress. When they sought him, he let them become reacquainted with him. | 4But when they in their trouble did turn unto the LORD God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them. |
5"During those days, it wasn't safe for anyone to come and go, because many civil disturbances afflicted everyone who lived in the territories. | 5And 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. |
6Nation battled nation, and city fought city, because God was afflicting them all with every kind of distress. | 6And nation was destroyed of nation, and city of city: for God did vex them with all adversity. |
7Now as for you, be strong and never be discouraged, because there will be reward for your work." | 7Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded. |
8Encouraged by what Oded's son Azariah the prophet had said in his prophecy, Asa removed the detestable idols from throughout the entire territories of Judah and Benjamin, and from the cities that he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. He repaired the LORD's altar that stood in front of the vestibule of the LORD's Temple. | 8And 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. |
9Then he gathered together all of Judah, Benjamin, and people from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who were living among them, since many people had defected to him from Israel when they learned that the LORD his God was with him. | 9And 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. |
10They all assembled in Jerusalem during the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa's reign. | 10So they gathered themselves together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa. |
11They sacrificed to the LORD that day 700 oxen and 7,000 sheep from the spoil that they had brought with them. | 11And they offered unto the LORD the same time, of the spoil which they had brought, seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep. |
12They also entered into a covenant to seek the LORD God of their ancestors with all their heart and soul, | 12And they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul; |
13and they further agreed that whoever would refuse to seek the LORD God of Israel was to be executed, whether important or unimportant, man or woman. | 13That whosoever would not seek the LORD God of Israel should be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman. |
14They also made a vow to the LORD with loud voices, shouting, trumpets, and horns. | 14And they sware unto the LORD with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets. |
15Everybody in Judah was very glad to make their oath, because they had made their vow with all their heart and had sought him with all of their might, and they found him! The LORD also gave them rest in their surrounding lands. | 15And 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. |
16King Asa removed his mother Maacah from her position as Queen Mother because she had made a detestable image dedicated to Asherah. He cut down his mother's idol, crushed it, and burned it at the Kidron Brook. | 16And 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. |
17Nevertheless, the high places were not removed from Israel, even though Asa's heart was blameless all of his life. | 17But the high places were not taken away out of Israel: nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days. |
18Asa brought into God's Temple the things that his father had dedicated, as well as his own dedicated gifts such as silver, gold, and temple service implements. | 18And 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. |
19Asa experienced no more war until the end of the thirty-fifth year of his reign. | 19And there was no more war unto the five and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa. |
The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. | King James Bible, text courtesy of BibleProtector.com. |
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