1 And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded.

2 And he went out before Asa, and said to him: Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. Jehovah is with you while 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 many days Israel has been without the true God, without a teaching priest, and without Law;

4 but when in their trouble they turned to Jehovah the God of Israel, and sought Him, He was found by them.

5 And in those times there was no peace to the one going out, nor to the one coming in, but great turmoil was on all the inhabitants of the lands.

6 And nation has been destroyed by nation, and city by city; for God has vexed them with every distress.

7 But you, be strong and do not let your hands relax, for there is reward for your work.

8 And when Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and removed the abominable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities which he had taken in the mountains of Ephraim; and he restored the altar of Jehovah that was before the porch of Jehovah.

9 And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and those sojourning with them from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon, for they had fallen out to him in great numbers from Israel when they saw that Jehovah his God was with him.

10 And they gathered together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa.

11 And they offered to Jehovah at that time seven hundred bulls and seven thousand sheep from the spoils they had brought.

12 And they entered into a covenant to seek Jehovah the God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul;

13 and whoever would not seek Jehovah the God of Israel was put to death, whether small or great, man or woman.

14 And they swore unto Jehovah with a loud voice, with shouting and trumpets and shofars.

15 And all Judah rejoiced at the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and sought Him with all their will; and He was found by them, and Jehovah gave them rest all around.

16 He also removed Maachah, the mother of Asa the king, from being queen mother, because she had made a horrible thing for the grove; and Asa cut down her horrible thing, and crushed and burned it by the Brook Kidron.

17 But the high places were not removed from Israel. Nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days.

18 He also brought into the house of God the things that his father had consecrated and that he himself had consecrated: silver and gold and vessels.

19 And there was no war until the thirty-fifth year of the reign of Asa.

1 ENTÃO veio o Espírito de Deus sobre Azarias, filho de Obede. 2 E saiu ao encontro de Asa, e disse-lhe: Ouvi-me, Asa, e todo o Judá e Benjamim: O Senhor está convosco, enquanto vós estais com ele, e, se o buscardes, o achareis; porém, se o deixardes, vos deixará. 3 E Israel esteve por muitos dias sem o verdadeiro Deus, e sem sacerdote que o ensinasse, e sem lei. 4 Mas quando na sua angústia se convertiam ao Senhor, Deus de Israel, e o buscavam, o achavam. 5 E naqueles tempos não havia paz nem para o que saía, nem para o que entrava, mas muitas perturbações sobre todos os habitantes daquelas terras. 6 Porque gente contra gente, e cidade contra cidade se despedaçavam; porque Deus os conturbara com toda a angústia. 7 Mas esforçai-vos, e não desfaleçam as vossas mãos; porque a vossa obra tem uma recompensa. 8 Ouvindo pois Asa estas palavras, e a profecia do profeta, filho de Obede, esforçou-se, e tirou as abominações de toda a terra de Judá e de Benjamim, como também das cidades que tomara nas montanhas de Efraim: e renovou o altar do Senhor, que estava diante do pórtico do Senhor. 9 E ajuntou a todo o Judá, e Benjamim, e com eles os estrangeiros de Efraim e Manassés, e de Simeão; porque de Israel vinham a ele em grande número, vendo que o Senhor seu Deus era com ele. 10 E ajuntaram-se em Jerusalém no terceiro mês; no ano décimo do reinado de Asa. 11 E no mesmo dia ofereceram em sacrifício ao Senhor, do despojo que trouxeram, seiscentos bois e seis mil ovelhas. 12 E entraram no concerto de buscarem o Senhor, Deus de seus pais, com todo o seu coração, e com toda a sua alma; 13 E de que todo aquele que não buscasse ao Senhor, Deus de Israel, morresse, desde o menor até ao maior, e desde o homem até à mulher. 14 E juraram ao Senhor, em alta voz, com júbilo e com trombetas e buzinas. 15 E todo o Judá se alegrou deste juramento; porque com todo o seu coração juraram, e com toda a sua vontade o buscaram, e o acharam: e o Senhor lhes deu repouso em redor. 16 E também a Maaca, mãe do rei Asa, ele a depôs, para que não fosse mais rainha; porquanto fizera a Aserá um horrível ídolo; e Asa destruiu o seu horrível ídolo, e o despedaçou, e o queimou junto ao ribeiro de Cedrom. 17 Os altos porém não se tiraram de Israel; contudo o coração de Asa foi perfeito todos os seus dias. 18 E trouxe as cousas que tinha consagrado seu pai, e as cousas que ele mesmo tinha consagrado à casa de Deus: prata, e ouro, e vasos. 19 E não houve guerra até ao ano trigésimo quinto do reinado de Asa.