1 The Spirit of God came on Azariah son of Oded.2 He went out to meet Asa and said to him, "Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The LORD is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.3 For a long time Israel was without the true God, without a priest to teach and without the law.4 But in their distress they turned to the LORD, the God of Israel, and sought him, and he was found by them.5 In those days it was not safe to travel about, for all the inhabitants of the lands were in great turmoil.6 One nation was being crushed by another and one city by another, because God was troubling them with every kind of distress.7 But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded."8 When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Azariah son of "Oded the prophet, he took courage. He removed the detestable idols from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin and from the towns he had captured in the hills of Ephraim. He repaired the altar of the LORD that was in front of the portico of the LORD's temple.9 Then he assembled all Judah and Benjamin and the people from Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon who had settled among them, for large numbers had come over to him from Israel when they saw that the LORD his God was with him.10 They assembled at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa's reign.11 At that time they sacrificed to the LORD seven hundred head of cattle and seven thousand sheep and goats from the plunder they had brought back.12 They entered into a covenant to seek the LORD, the God of their ancestors, with all their heart and soul.13 All who would not seek the LORD, the God of Israel, were to be put to death, whether small or great, man or woman.14 They took an oath to the LORD with loud acclamation, with shouting and with trumpets and horns.15 All Judah rejoiced about the oath because they had sworn it wholeheartedly. They sought God eagerly, and he was found by them. So the LORD gave them rest on every side.16 King Asa also deposed his grandmother Maakah from her position as queen mother, because she had made a repulsive image for the worship of Asherah. Asa cut it down, broke it up and burned it in the Kidron Valley.17 Although he did not remove the high places from Israel, Asa's heart was fully committed to the LORD all his life.18 He brought into the temple of God the silver and gold and the articles that he and his father had dedicated.19 There was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa's reign.

1 Azarias autem filius Oded, facto in se spiritu Dei, 2 egressus est in occursum Asa, et dixit ei : Audite me, Asa, et omnis Juda et Benjamin : Dominus vobiscum, quia fuistis cum eo. Si qusieritis eum, invenietis : si autem dereliqueritis eum, derelinquet vos. 3 Transibant autem multi dies in Isral absque Deo vero, et absque sacerdote doctore, et absque lege. 4 Cumque reversi fuerint in angustia sua ad Dominum Deum Isral, et qusierint eum, reperient eum. 5 In tempore illo, non erit pax egredienti et ingredienti, sed terrores undique in cunctis habitatoribus terrarum : 6 pugnavit enim gens contra gentem, et civitas contra civitatem, quia Dominus conturbabit eos in omni angustia. 7 Vos ergo confortamini, et non dissolvantur manus vestr : erit enim merces operi vestro. 8 Quod cum audisset Asa, verba scilicet, et prophetiam Azari filii Oded prophet, confortatus est, et abstulit idola de omni terra Juda et de Benjamin, et ex urbibus quas ceperat, montis Ephraim : et dedicavit altare Domini quod erat ante porticum Domini. 9 Congregavitque universum Judam et Benjamin, et advenas cum eis de Ephraim, et de Manasse, et de Simeon : plures enim ad eum confugerant ex Isral, videntes quod Dominus Deus illius esset cum eo. 10 Cumque venissent in Jerusalem mense tertio, anno decimoquinto regni Asa, 11 immolaverunt Domino in die illa de manubiis et prda quam adduxerant, boves septingentos, et arietes septem millia. 12 Et intravit ex more ad corroborandum fdus ut qurerent Dominum Deum patrum suorum in toto corde, et in tota anima sua. 13 Si quis autem, inquit, non qusierit Dominum Deum Isral, moriatur, a minimo usque ad maximum, a viro usque ad mulierem. 14 Juraveruntque Domino voce magna in jubilo, et in clangore tub, et in sonitu buccinarum, 15 omnes qui erant in Juda, cum execratione : in omni enim corde suo juraverunt, et in tota voluntate qusierunt eum, et invenerunt : prstititque eis Dominus requiem per circuitum. 16 Sed et Maacham matrem Asa regis ex augusto deposuit imperio, eo quod fecisset in luco simulacrum Priapi : quod omne contrivit, et in frustra comminuens combussit in torrente Cedron. 17 Excelsa autem derelicta sunt in Isral : attamen cor Asa erat perfectum cunctis diebus ejus, 18 eaque qu voverat pater suus, et ipse, intulit in domum Domini, argentum, et aurum, vasorumque diversam supellectilem. 19 Bellum vero non fuit usque ad trigesimum quintum annum regni Asa.