| 15:1 |
And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of
Oded:
|
| 15:2 |
And 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.
|
| 15:3 |
Now for a long season Israel hath been without the
true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law.
|
| 15:4 |
But when they in their trouble did turn unto the LORD
God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them.
|
| 15:5 |
And 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.
|
| 15:6 |
And nation was destroyed of nation, and city of city:
for God did vex them with all adversity.
|
| 15:7 |
Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be
weak: for your work shall be rewarded.
|
| 15:8 |
And 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.
|
| 15:9 |
And 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.
|
| 15:10 |
So they gathered themselves together at Jerusalem in
the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of
Asa.
|
| 15:11 |
And they offered unto the LORD the same time, of the
spoil which they had brought, seven hundred oxen and
seven thousand sheep.
|
| 15:12 |
And they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD God
of their fathers with all their heart and with all their
soul;
|
| 15:13 |
That whosoever would not seek the LORD God of Israel
should be put to death, whether small or great, whether
man or woman.
|
| 15:14 |
And they sware unto the LORD with a loud voice, and
with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets.
|
| 15:15 |
And 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.
|
| 15:16 |
And 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.
|
| 15:17 |
But the high places were not taken away out of Israel:
nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days.
|
| 15:18 |
And 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.
|
| 15:19 |
And there was no more war unto the five and thirtieth
year of the reign of Asa.
|