| New Living Translation | King James Bible |
| 1Then the Spirit of God came upon Azariah son of Oded, | 1And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded: |
| 2and he went out to meet King Asa as he was returning from the battle. “Listen to me, Asa!” he shouted. “Listen, all you people of Judah and Benjamin! The LORD will stay with you as long as you stay with him! Whenever you seek him, you will 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. |
| 3For a long time Israel was without the true God, without a priest to teach them, and without the Law to instruct them. | 3Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law. |
| 4But whenever they were in trouble and turned to the LORD, the God of Israel, and sought him out, they found 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 dark times, it was not safe to travel. Problems troubled the people of every land. | 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 fought against nation, and city against city, for God was troubling them with every kind of problem. | 6And nation was destroyed of nation, and city of city: for God did vex them with all adversity. |
| 7But as for you, be strong and courageous, for your work will be rewarded.” | 7Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded. |
| 8When Asa heard this message from Azariah the prophet, he took courage and removed all the detestable idols from the land of Judah and Benjamin and in the towns he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. And he repaired the altar of the LORD, which stood in front of the entry room 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 Asa called together all the people of Judah and Benjamin, along with the people of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who had settled among them. For many from Israel had moved to Judah during Asa’s reign when they saw 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. |
| 10The people gathered at Jerusalem in late spring, during 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. |
| 11On that day they sacrificed to the LORD 700 cattle and 7,000 sheep and goats from the plunder they had taken in the battle. | 11And they offered unto the LORD the same time, of the spoil which they had brought, seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep. |
| 12Then they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD, the 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; |
| 13They agreed that anyone who refused to seek the LORD, the God of Israel, would be put to death—whether young or old, 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 shouted out their oath of loyalty to the LORD with trumpets blaring and rams’ horns sounding. | 14And they sware unto the LORD with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets. |
| 15All in Judah were happy about this covenant, for they had entered into it with all their heart. They earnestly sought after God, and they found him. And the LORD gave them rest from their enemies on every side. | 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 even deposed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother because she had made an obscene Asherah pole. He cut down her obscene pole, broke it up, and burned it in the Kidron Valley. | 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. |
| 17Although the pagan shrines were not removed from Israel, Asa’s heart remained completely faithful throughout his life. | 17But the high places were not taken away out of Israel: nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days. |
| 18He brought into the Temple of God the silver and gold and the various items that he and his father had dedicated. | 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. |
| 19So there was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign. | 19And there was no more war unto the five and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa. |
| Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. | King James Bible, text courtesy of BibleProtector.com. |
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