| Christian Standard Bible | International Standard Version |
| 1The Spirit of God came on Azariah son of Oded. | 1After this, the Spirit of God came to rest on Oded's son Azariah, |
| 2So he went out to meet Asa and said to him, "Asa and all Judah and Benjamin, hear me. The LORD is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you abandon him, he will abandon 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 many years Israel has been without the true God, without a teaching priest, and without instruction, | 3Israel lived for years without the true God, priests to teach them, and the Law, |
| 4but when they turned to the LORD God of Israel in their distress 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. |
| 5In those times there was no peace for those who went about their daily activities because the residents of the lands had many conflicts. | 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. |
| 6Nation was crushed by nation and city by city, for God troubled them with every possible distress. | 6Nation battled nation, and city fought city, because God was afflicting them all with every kind of distress. |
| 7But as for you, be strong; don't give up, for your work has a reward." | 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 Azariah son of Oded the prophet, he took courage and removed the abhorrent idols from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. He renovated the altar of the LORD that was in front of the portico 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. |
| 9Then he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, as well as those from the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who were residing among them, for they had defected to him from Israel in great numbers 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 were gathered 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 seven hundred cattle and seven thousand sheep and goats from all the plunder 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 ancestors with all their heart and all their soul. | 12They also entered into a covenant to seek the LORD God of their ancestors with all their heart and soul, |
| 13Whoever would not seek the LORD God of Israel would be put to death, young or old, 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. |
| 14They took an oath to the LORD in a loud voice, with shouting, with trumpets, and with rams' horns. | 14They also made a vow to the LORD with loud voices, shouting, trumpets, and horns. |
| 15All Judah rejoiced over the oath, for they had sworn it with all their mind. They had sought him with all their heart, and he was found by them. So the LORD gave them rest 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 being queen mother because she had made an obscene image of Asherah. Asa chopped down her obscene image, then crushed it 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 taken away from Israel; nevertheless, Asa was wholeheartedly devoted his entire life. | 17Nevertheless, the high places were not removed from Israel, even though Asa's heart was blameless all of his life. |
| 18He brought his father's consecrated gifts and his own consecrated gifts into God's temple: silver, 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. |
| 19There was no 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. |
| The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. | The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. |
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