| NET Bible | International Standard Version |
| 1God's Spirit came upon Azariah son of Oded. | 1After this, the Spirit of God came to rest on Oded's son Azariah, |
| 2He met Asa and told him, "Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin! The LORD is with you when you are loyal to him. If you seek him, he will respond to you, but if you reject him, he will reject you. | 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. |
| 3For a long time Israel had no true God, or priest to instruct them, or law. | 3Israel lived for years without the true God, priests to teach them, and the Law, |
| 4Because of their distress, they turned back to the LORD God of Israel. They sought him and he responded to them. | 4but they turned to the LORD God of Israel in their distress. When they sought him, he let them become reacquainted with him. |
| 5In those days no one could travel safely, for total chaos had overtaken all the people of the surrounding lands. | 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. |
| 6One nation was crushed by another, and one city by another, for God caused them to be in great turmoil. | 6Nation battled nation, and city fought city, because God was afflicting them all with every kind of distress. |
| 7But as for you, be strong and don't get discouraged, for your work will be rewarded." | 7Now as for you, be strong and never be discouraged, because there will be reward for your work." |
| 8When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he was encouraged. He removed the detestable idols from the entire land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities he had seized in the Ephraimite hill country. He repaired the altar of the LORD in front of the porch of the LORD's temple. | 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. |
| 9He assembled all Judah and Benjamin, as well as the settlers from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who had come to live with them. Many people from Israel had come there to live when they saw that the LORD his God was with him. | 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. |
| 10They assembled in Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa's reign. | 10They all assembled in Jerusalem during the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa's reign. |
| 11At that time they sacrificed to the LORD some of the plunder they had brought back, including 700 head of cattle and 7,000 sheep. | 11They sacrificed to the LORD that day 700 oxen and 7,000 sheep from the spoil that they had brought with them. |
| 12They solemnly agreed to seek the LORD God of their ancestors with their whole heart and being. | 12They also entered into a covenant to seek the LORD God of their ancestors with all their heart and soul, |
| 13Anyone who would not seek the LORD God of Israel would be executed, whether they were young or old, male or female. | 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. |
| 14They swore their allegiance to the LORD, shouting their approval loudly and sounding trumpets and horns. | 14They also made a vow to the LORD with loud voices, shouting, trumpets, and horns. |
| 15All Judah was happy about the oath, because they made the vow with their whole heart. They willingly sought the LORD and he responded to them. He made them secure on every side. | 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. |
| 16King Asa also removed Maacah his grandmother from her position as queen mother because she had made a loathsome Asherah pole. Asa cut down her Asherah pole and crushed and burned it in the Kidron Valley. | 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. |
| 17The high places were not eliminated from Israel, yet Asa was wholeheartedly devoted to the LORD throughout his lifetime. | 17Nevertheless, the high places were not removed from Israel, even though Asa's heart was blameless all of his life. |
| 18He brought the holy items that his father and he had made into God's temple, including the silver, gold, and other articles. | 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. |
| 19There was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa's reign. | 19Asa experienced no more war until the end of the thirty-fifth year of his reign. |
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