| New American Standard Bible 1995 | New International Version |
| 1Now the Spirit of God came on Azariah the son of Oded, | 1The Spirit of God came on Azariah son of Oded. |
| 2and he went out to meet Asa and said to him, "Listen to me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: the LORD is with you when you are with Him. And if you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you. | 2He went out to meet Asa and said to him, "Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The LORD is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you. |
| 3"For many days Israel was without the true God and without a teaching priest and without law. | 3For a long time Israel was without the true God, without a priest to teach and without the law. |
| 4"But in their distress they turned to the LORD God of Israel, and they sought Him, and He let them find Him. | 4But in their distress they turned to the LORD, the God of Israel, and sought him, and he was found by them. |
| 5"In those times there was no peace to him who went out or to him who came in, for many disturbances afflicted all the inhabitants of the lands. | 5In those days it was not safe to travel about, for all the inhabitants of the lands were in great turmoil. |
| 6"Nation was crushed by nation, and city by city, for God troubled them with every kind of distress. | 6One nation was being crushed by another and one city by another, because God was troubling them with every kind of distress. |
| 7"But you, be strong and do not lose courage, for there is reward for your work." | 7But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded." |
| 8Now when Asa heard these words and the prophecy which Azariah the son of Oded the prophet spoke, he took courage and removed the abominable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities which he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. He then restored the altar of the LORD which was in front of the porch of the LORD. | 8When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Azariah son of Oded the prophet, he took courage. He removed the detestable idols from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin and from the towns he had captured in the hills of Ephraim. He repaired the altar of the LORD that was in front of the portico of the LORD's temple. |
| 9He gathered all Judah and Benjamin and those from Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon who resided with them, for many defected to him from Israel when they saw that the LORD his God was with him. | 9Then he assembled all Judah and Benjamin and the people from Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon who had settled among them, for large numbers had come over to him from Israel when they saw that the LORD his God was with him. |
| 10So they assembled at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa's reign. | 10They assembled at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa's reign. |
| 11They sacrificed to the LORD that day 700 oxen and 7,000 sheep from the spoil they had brought. | 11At that time they sacrificed to the LORD seven hundred head of cattle and seven thousand sheep and goats from the plunder they had brought back. |
| 12They entered into the covenant to seek the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and soul; | 12They entered into a covenant to seek the LORD, the God of their ancestors, with all their heart and soul. |
| 13and whoever would not seek the LORD God of Israel should be put to death, whether small or great, man or woman. | 13All who would not seek the LORD, the God of Israel, were to be put to death, whether small or great, man or woman. |
| 14Moreover, they made an oath to the LORD with a loud voice, with shouting, with trumpets and with horns. | 14They took an oath to the LORD with loud acclamation, with shouting and with trumpets and horns. |
| 15All Judah rejoiced concerning the oath, for they had sworn with their whole heart and had sought Him earnestly, and He let them find Him. So the LORD gave them rest on every side. | 15All Judah rejoiced about the oath because they had sworn it wholeheartedly. They sought God eagerly, and he was found by them. So the LORD gave them rest on every side. |
| 16He also removed Maacah, the mother of King Asa, from the position of queen mother, because she had made a horrid image as an Asherah, and Asa cut down her horrid image, crushed it and burned it at the brook Kidron. | 16King Asa also deposed his grandmother Maakah from her position as queen mother, because she had made a repulsive image for the worship of Asherah. Asa cut it down, broke it up and burned it in the Kidron Valley. |
| 17But the high places were not removed from Israel; nevertheless Asa's heart was blameless all his days. | 17Although he did not remove the high places from Israel, Asa's heart was fully committed to the LORD all his life. |
| 18He brought into the house of God the dedicated things of his father and his own dedicated things: silver and gold and utensils. | 18He brought into the temple of God the silver and gold and the articles that he and his father had dedicated. |
| 19And there was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa's reign. | 19There was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa's reign. |
| New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org | New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. |
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