| New King James Version | NET Bible |
| 1Now the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded. | 1God's Spirit came upon Azariah son of Oded. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 3For a long time Israel has been without the true God, without a teaching priest, and without law; | 3For a long time Israel had no true God, or priest to instruct them, or law. |
| 4but when in their trouble they turned to the LORD God of Israel, and sought Him, He was found by them. | 4Because of their distress, they turned back to the LORD God of Israel. They sought him and he responded to them. |
| 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. | 5In those days no one could travel safely, for total chaos had overtaken all the people of the surrounding lands. |
| 6So nation was destroyed by nation, and city by city, for God troubled them with every adversity. | 6One nation was crushed by another, and one city by another, for God caused them to be in great turmoil. |
| 7But you, be strong and do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded!” | 7But as for you, be strong and don't get discouraged, for your work will be rewarded." |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 10So they gathered together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa. | 10They assembled in Jerusalem in 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. | 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. |
| 12Then they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul; | 12They solemnly agreed to seek the LORD God of their ancestors with their whole heart and being. |
| 13and whoever would not seek the LORD God of Israel was to be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman. | 13Anyone who would not seek the LORD God of Israel would be executed, whether they were young or old, male or female. |
| 14Then they took an oath before the LORD with a loud voice, with shouting and trumpets and rams’ horns. | 14They swore their allegiance to the LORD, shouting their approval loudly and sounding 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. | 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. |
| 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 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. |
| 17But the high places were not removed from Israel. Nevertheless the heart of Asa was loyal all his days. | 17The high places were not eliminated from Israel, yet Asa was wholeheartedly devoted to the LORD throughout his lifetime. |
| 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. | 18He brought the holy items that his father and he had made into God's temple, including the silver, gold, and other articles. |
| 19And there was no war until the thirty-fifth year of the reign of Asa. | 19There was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa's reign. |
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