| New American Standard Bible 1995 | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1Now the Spirit of God came on Azariah the son of Oded, | 1The Spirit of God came on Azariah son of Oded. |
| 2and 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. And if you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you. | 2So he went out to meet Asa and said to him, "Asa and all Judah and Benjamin, hear me. The LORD is with you when you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you, but if you abandon Him, He will abandon you. |
| 3"For many days Israel was without the true God and without a teaching priest and without law. | 3For many years Israel has been without the true God, without a teaching priest, and without instruction, |
| 4"But in their distress they turned to the LORD God of Israel, and they sought Him, and He let them find Him. | 4but when they turned to the LORD God of Israel in their distress and sought Him, He was found by them. |
| 5"In those times there was no peace to him who went out or to him who came in, for many disturbances afflicted all the inhabitants of the lands. | 5In those times there was no peace for those who went about their daily activities because the residents of the lands had many conflicts. |
| 6"Nation was crushed by nation, and city by city, for God troubled them with every kind of distress. | 6Nation was crushed by nation and city by city, for God troubled them with every possible distress. |
| 7"But you, be strong and do not lose courage, for there is reward for your work." | 7But as for you, be strong; don't be discouraged, for your work has a reward." |
| 8Now when Asa heard these words and the prophecy which Azariah the son of Oded the prophet spoke, he took courage and removed the abominable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities which he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. He then restored the altar of the LORD which was in front of the porch of the LORD. | 8When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Azariah son of Oded the prophet, he took courage and removed the detestable idols from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. He renovated the altar of the LORD that was in front of the portico of the LORD's temple. |
| 9He gathered all Judah and Benjamin and those from Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon who resided with them, for many defected to him from Israel when they saw that the LORD his God was with him. | 9Then he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, as well as those from the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who had settled among them, for they had defected to him from Israel in great numbers when they saw that Yahweh his God was with him. |
| 10So they assembled at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa's reign. | 10They were gathered in Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa's reign. |
| 11They sacrificed to the LORD that day 700 oxen and 7,000 sheep from the spoil they had brought. | 11At that time they sacrificed to the LORD 700 cattle and 7,000 sheep from all the plunder they had brought. |
| 12They entered into the covenant to seek the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and soul; | 12Then they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD God of their ancestors with all their mind and all their heart. |
| 13and whoever would not seek the LORD God of Israel should be put to death, whether small or great, man or woman. | 13Whoever would not seek the LORD God of Israel would be put to death, young or old, man or woman. |
| 14Moreover, they made an oath to the LORD with a loud voice, with shouting, with trumpets and with horns. | 14They took an oath to the LORD in a loud voice, with shouting, with trumpets, and with rams' horns. |
| 15All Judah rejoiced concerning the oath, for they had sworn with their whole heart and had sought Him earnestly, and He let them find Him. So the LORD gave them rest on every side. | 15All Judah rejoiced over the oath, for they had sworn it with all their mind. They had sought Him with all their heart, and He was found by them. So the LORD gave them rest on every side. |
| 16He also removed Maacah, the mother of King Asa, from the position of queen mother, because she had made a horrid image as an Asherah, and Asa cut down her horrid image, crushed it and burned it at the brook Kidron. | 16King Asa also removed Maacah, his grandmother, from being queen mother because she had made an obscene image of Asherah. Asa chopped down her obscene image, then crushed it and burned it in the Kidron Valley. |
| 17But the high places were not removed from Israel; nevertheless Asa's heart was blameless all his days. | 17The high places were not taken away from Israel; nevertheless, Asa was wholehearted his entire life. |
| 18He brought into the house of God the dedicated things of his father and his own dedicated things: silver and gold and utensils. | 18He brought his father's consecrated gifts and his own consecrated gifts into God's temple: silver, gold, and utensils. |
| 19And there was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa's reign. | 19There was no war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa's reign. |
| New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org | Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. |
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