King Asa’s Reforms

¹The Spirit of God came on Azariah the son of Oded.

²He went out to meet Asa, and said to him, “Y’all listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin! YHWH is with y’all while y’all are with ʜɪᴍ. If y’all seek him, ʜᴇ will be found by y’all, but if y’all abandon him, ʜᴇ will abandon y’all.

³Now for a long time Israel was without the true God, without a teaching priest, and without law.

⁴But when in their distress they turned to YHWH, the God of Israel, and sought him, he was found by them.

⁵In those times there was no peace to him who went out, nor to him who came in; but great troubles were on all the inhabitants of the lands.

⁶They were broken in pieces, nation against nation, and city against city; for God troubled them with all adversity.

⁷But as for y’all, be strong! Don’t let y’all’s hands drop in discouragement, for y’all’s work will be rewarded.”

⁸When 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 YHWH that was before YHWH’s porch.

⁹He gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and those who lived with them out of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon; for they came to him out of Israel in abundance when they saw that YHWH his God was with him.

¹⁰So they gathered themselves together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign.

¹¹They sacrificed to YHWH in that day, of the plunder which they had brought, seven hundred head of cattle and seven thousand sheep.

¹²They entered into the covenant to seek YHWH, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and with all their soul;

¹³and that whoever would not seek YHWH, the God of Israel, should be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman.

¹⁴They swore to YHWH with a loud voice, with shouting, with trumpets, and with cornets.

¹⁵All Judah rejoiced at the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and sought him with their whole desire; and he was found by them. Then YHWH gave them rest all around.

¹⁶Also Maacah, the mother of Asa the king, he removed from being queen mother, because she had made an abominable image for an Asherah; so Asa cut down her image, ground it into dust, and burned 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.

¹⁸He brought the things that his father had dedicated and that he himself had dedicated, silver, gold, and vessels into God’s house.

¹⁹There was no more war to the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign.