1 Then the Spirite of God came vpon Azariah the sonne of Obed. 2 And he went out to meete Asa, and said vnto him, O Asa, and all Iudah, and Beniamin, heare ye me. The Lord is with you, while ye be with him: and if ye seeke him, he wil be founde of you, but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you. 3 Nowe for a long season Israel hath bene without the true God, and without Priest to teach and without Lawe. 4 But whosoeuer returned in his affliction to the Lord God of Israel, and sought him, he was founde of them. 5 And in that time there was no peace to him, that did goe out and goe in: but great troubles were to all the inhabitants of the earth. 6 For nation was destroyed of nation, and citie of citie: for God troubled them with all aduersitie. 7 Be ye strong therefore, and let not your handes be weake: for your worke shall haue a rewarde. 8 And when Asa heard these wordes, and the prophesie of Obed the Prophet, he was encouraged, and tooke away the abominations out of all the lande of Iudah, and Beniamin, and out of the cities which he had taken of mount Ephraim, and he renued the altar of the Lord, that was before the porche of the Lord. 9 And he gathered all Iudah and Beniamin, and the strangers with them out of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and out of Simeon: for there fell many to him out of Israel, when they sawe that the Lord his God was with him. 10 So they assembled to Ierusalem in the third moneth, in the fifteenth yere of the reigne of Asa. 11 And they offred vnto the Lord the same time of the spoyle, which they had brought, euen seuen hundreth bullockes, and seuen thousande sheepe. 12 And they made a couenant to seeke the Lord God of their fathers, with all their heart, and with all their soule. 13 And whosoeuer will not seeke the Lord God of Israel, shalbe slaine, whether he were small or great, man or woman. 14 And they sware vnto the Lord with a loude voyce, and with shouting and with trumpets, and with cornets. 15 And all Iudah reioyced at the othe: for they had sworne vnto the Lord with all their heart, and sought him with a whole desire, and he was founde of them. And the Lord gaue them rest rounde about. 16 And King Asa deposed Maachah his mother from her regencie, because she had made an idole in a groue: and Asa brake downe her idole, and stamped it, and burnt it at the brooke Kidron. 17 But the hie places were not taken away out of Israel: yet the heart of Asa was perfit all his dayes. 18 Also he brought into the house of God the things that his father had dedicate, and that he had dedicate, siluer, and golde, and vessels. 19 And there was no warre vnto the fiue and thirtieth yeere of the reigne of Asa.
Asa's Reforms
1 The spirit of God came upon Azariah son of Oded, 2 and he went to meet King Asa. He called out, “Listen to me, King Asa, and all you people of Judah and Benjamin! The Lord is with you as long as you are with him. If you look for him, he will let you find him, but if you turn away, he will abandon you. 3 For a long time Israel lived without the true God, without priests to teach them, and without a law. 4 But when trouble came, they turned to the Lord, the God of Israel. They searched for him and found him. 5 In those days no one could come and go in safety, because there was trouble and disorder in every land. 6 One nation oppressed another nation, and one city oppressed another city, because God was bringing trouble and distress on them. 7 But you must be strong and not be discouraged. The work that you do will be rewarded.”
8 When Asa heard the prophecy that Azariah son of Oded had spoken, he was encouraged. He did away with all the idols in the land of Judah and Benjamin and all the idols in the cities he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. He also repaired the altar of the Lord that stood in the Temple courtyard.
9 Many people had come over to Asa's side from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon, and were living in his kingdom, because they had seen that the Lord was with him. Asa summoned all of them and the people of Judah and Benjamin. 10 They assembled in Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year that Asa was king. 11 On that day they offered sacrifices to the Lord from the loot they had brought back: seven hundred head of cattle and seven thousand sheep. 12 They made a covenant in which they agreed to worship the Lord, the God of their ancestors, with all their heart and soul. 13 Anyone, young or old, male or female, who did not worship him was to be put to death. 14 In a loud voice they took an oath in the Lord's name that they would keep the covenant, and then they shouted and blew trumpets. 15 All the people of Judah were happy because they had made this covenant with all their heart. They took delight in worshiping the Lord, and he accepted them and gave them peace on every side.
16 King Asa removed his grandmother Maacah from her position as queen mother, because she had made an obscene idol of the fertility goddess Asherah. Asa cut down the idol, chopped it up, and burned the pieces in Kidron Valley. 17 Even though Asa did not destroy all the pagan places of worship in the land, he remained faithful to the Lord all his life. 18 He placed in the Temple all the objects his father Abijah had dedicated to God, as well as the gold and silver objects that he himself dedicated. 19 There was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of his reign.