1And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded : 2and he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him , Hear ye me , Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin : Jehovah is with you , while ye are with him ; and if ye seek him , he will be found of you ; but if ye forsake him , he will forsake you . 3Now for a long season Israel was without the true God , and without a teaching priest , and without law : 4but when in their distress they turned unto Jehovah , the God of Israel , and sought him , he was found of them . 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 lands. 6And they were broken in pieces , nation against nation , and city against city ; for God did vex them with all adversity . 7But be ye strong , and let not your hands be slack ; for your work shall be rewarded .
Asa's Reform and Renewal of the Covenant
8And when Asa heard these words , and the prophecy of Oded the prophet , he took courage , and put away the abominations out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin , and out of the cities which he had taken from the hill-country of Ephraim; and he renewed the altar of Jehovah , that was before the porch of Jehovah . 9And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin , and them that sojourned 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 Jehovah his God was with him . 10So they gathered themselves together at Jerusalem in the third month , in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa. 11And they sacrificed unto Jehovah in that day , of the spoil which they had brought , seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep . 12And they entered into the covenant to seek Jehovah , the God of their fathers, with all their heart and with all their soul ; 13and that whosoever would not seek Jehovah , the God of Israel , should be put to death , whether small or great , whether man or woman. 14And they sware unto Jehovah with a loud voice , and with shouting , and with trumpets , and with cornets . 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 Jehovah gave them rest round about .
The Consequences of Faithfulness
16And also Maacah , the mother of Asa the king , he removed from being queen , because she had made an abominable image for an Asherah; and Asa cut down her image , and made dust of it , and burnt it at the brook Kidron . 17But the high places were not taken away out of Israel : nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days . 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 . 19And there was no more war unto the five and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa.