2 Chronicles 15

1 And Azariah son of Oded — the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, 2 and he went out to meet Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin, and said, “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you while you are with him; and if you seek him out, he will be found by you; but if you abandon him, he will abandon you.

3 And for a long time Israel was without the true God, and without a priest to teach them, and without law. [a] 4 But Israel will turn back to the Lord, the God of Israel, and he will be found by them. [b]

5 And in that time there is no peace for the one going out or for the one coming in, for the terror of the Lord is on all who live in the lands. 6 And nation will fight against nation, and city against city, for God has thrown them into terror with every kind of affliction. [c] 7 But as for you — be strong, and do not let your hands go slack, for there are wages for your work.” [d]

8 And when Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Hadad the prophet, he grew strong, and he threw out the detestable things from all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and from the cities he had taken in the hill country of Ephraim; and he renewed the altar of the Lord that stood in front of the temple of the Lord. [e] 9 And he called Judah and Benjamin into assembly, and the newcomers who were living with him from Ephraim and from Manasseh and from Simeon; for many from Israel had joined him when they saw that the Lord his God was with him. [g]

10 And they gathered at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa. 11 And on that day he sacrificed to the Lord from the spoils they had brought — seven hundred calves and seven thousand sheep. [h] 12 And he entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, with their whole heart and with their whole soul; 13 and that everyone who would not seek out the Lord, the God of Israel, should die — from young to old, from man to woman.

14 And they swore to the Lord with a loud voice, and with trumpets, and with horns. [i] 15 And all Judah rejoiced over the oath, for they had sworn with their whole soul, and they sought him with all their will; and he was found by them, and the Lord gave them rest all around. [j]

16 And Maacah his mother he removed, so that she should not be serving Ashtaroth; and he cut down the idol and burned it at the brook Kidron. [k] 17 Only the high places were not taken away; they were still there in Israel. But the heart of Asa was full all his days. [l]

18 And he brought in the holy things of David his father, and the holy things of the house of the Lord God — silver, and gold, and vessels. 19 And there was no war with him until the thirty-fifth year of the reign of Asa. [m]