2 Chronicles 15 (NET)

1 God’s Spirit came upon Azariah son of Oded. 2 He met1 Asa and told him, “Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin! The Lord is with you when you are loyal to him.2 If you seek him, he will respond to you,3 but if you reject him, he will reject you. 3 For a long time4 Israel had no true God, or priest to instruct them, or law. 4 Because of their distress, they turned back to the Lord God of Israel. They sought him and he responded to them.5 5 In those days6 no one could travel safely,7 for total chaos had overtaken all the people of the surrounding lands.8 6 One nation was crushed by another, and one city by another, for God caused them to be in great turmoil.9 7 But as for you, be strong and don’t get discouraged,10 for your work will be rewarded.”11

8 When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he was encouraged.12 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.13

9 He assembled all Judah and Benjamin, as well as the settlers14 from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who had come to live with them. Many people from Israel had come there to live15 when they saw that the Lord his God was with him. 10 They assembled in Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign. 11 At that time16 they sacrificed to the Lord some of the plunder they had brought back, including 700 head of cattle and 7,000 sheep.17 12 They solemnly agreed18 to seek the Lord God of their ancestors19 with their whole heart and being. 13 Anyone who would not seek the Lord God of Israel would be executed, whether they were young or old,20 male or female. 14 They swore their allegiance to the Lord, shouting their approval loudly and sounding trumpets and horns.21 15 All 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.22 He made them secure on every side.23

16 King Asa also removed Maacah his grandmother24 from her position as queen mother25 because she had made a loathsome Asherah pole. Asa cut down her Asherah pole and crushed and burned it in the Kidron Valley. 17 The high places were not eliminated from Israel, yet Asa was wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord throughout his lifetime.26 18 He brought the holy items that his father and he had made into God’s temple, including the silver, gold, and other articles.27

Asa’s Failures

19 There was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign.

1tn Heb “went out before.” 2tn Heb “when you are with him.” 3tn Heb “he will allow himself to be found by you.” 4tn Heb “Many days.” 5tn Heb “and he allowed himself to be found by them.” 6tn Heb “times.” 7tn Heb “there was peace for the one going out or the one coming in.” 8tn Heb “for great confusion was upon all the inhabitants of the lands.” 9tn Heb “threw them into confusion with all distress.” 10tn Heb “and let not your hands drop.” 11tn Heb “for there is payment for your work.” 12tn Heb “strengthened himself.” 13tn Heb “the porch of the Lord.” 14tn Or “resident aliens.” 15tn Heb “had fallen upon him.” 16tn Or “In that day.” 17tn The Hebrew term צֹאן (tso’n) denotes smaller livestock in general; depending on context it can refer to sheep only or goats only, but their is nothing in the immediate context here to specify one or the other. 18tn Heb “entered into a covenant.” 19tn Heb “fathers.” 20tn Heb “whether small or great.” 21tn Heb “with a loud voice and with a shout and with trumpets and with horns.” 22tn Heb “and with all their desire they sought him and he allowed himself to be found by them.” 23tn Heb “and the Lord gave them rest all around.” 24tn Heb “mother,” but Hebrew often uses “father” and “mother” for grandparents and even more remote ancestors. 25tn The Hebrew term גְּבִירָה (gÿvirah) can denote “queen” or “queen mother” depending on the context. Here the latter is indicated, since Maacah was the wife of Rehoboam and mother of Abijah. 26tn Heb “yet the heart of Asa was complete all his days.” 27tn Heb “and he brought the holy things of his father and his holy things [into] the house of God, silver, gold, and items.”