| New King James Version | International Standard Version |
| 1Now the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded. | 1After this, the Spirit of God came to rest on Oded's son Azariah, |
| 2And he went out to meet Asa, and said to him: “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. The LORD is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake 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 has been without the true God, without a teaching priest, and without law; | 3Israel lived for years without the true God, priests to teach them, and the Law, |
| 4but when in their trouble they turned to the LORD God of Israel, and sought Him, He was found by them. | 4but they turned to the LORD God of Israel in their distress. When they sought him, he let them become reacquainted with him. |
| 5And in those times there was no peace to the one who went out, nor to the one who came in, but great turmoil was on all the inhabitants of the 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. |
| 6So nation was destroyed by nation, and city by city, for God troubled them with every adversity. | 6Nation battled nation, and city fought city, because God was afflicting them all with every kind of distress. |
| 7But you, be strong and do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded!” | 7Now as for you, be strong and never be discouraged, because there will be reward for your work." |
| 8And when Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and removed the abominable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities which he had taken in the mountains of Ephraim; and he restored the altar of the LORD that was before the vestibule of the LORD. | 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. |
| 9Then he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and those who dwelt with them from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon, for they came over to him in great numbers from Israel 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. |
| 10So they gathered together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa. | 10They all assembled in Jerusalem during the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa's reign. |
| 11And they offered to the LORD at that time seven hundred bulls and seven thousand sheep from the spoil they had brought. | 11They sacrificed to the LORD that day 700 oxen and 7,000 sheep from the spoil that they had brought with them. |
| 12Then they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul; | 12They also entered into a covenant to seek the LORD God of their ancestors with all their heart and soul, |
| 13and whoever would not seek the LORD God of Israel was to be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman. | 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. |
| 14Then they took an oath before the LORD with a loud voice, with shouting and trumpets and rams’ horns. | 14They also made a vow to the LORD with loud voices, shouting, trumpets, and horns. |
| 15And all Judah rejoiced at the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and sought Him with all their soul; and He was found by them, and the LORD gave them rest all around. | 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. |
| 16Also he removed Maachah, the mother of Asa the king, from being queen mother, because she had made an obscene image of Asherah; and Asa cut down her obscene image, then crushed and burned it by the Brook Kidron. | 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. |
| 17But the high places were not removed from Israel. Nevertheless the heart of Asa was loyal all his days. | 17Nevertheless, the high places were not removed from Israel, even though Asa's heart was blameless all of his life. |
| 18He also brought into the house of God the things that his father had dedicated and that he himself had dedicated: silver and gold and utensils. | 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. |
| 19And there was no war until the thirty-fifth year of the reign of Asa. | 19Asa experienced no more war until the end of the thirty-fifth year of his reign. |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. |
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