2 Chronicles

15 And God’s spirit came upon ʽAzariah the son of ʽOded, 2 and he went out before Asa and said to him “Hear me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin: Jehovah is with you when you are with him, and if you go in quest of him he will let himself be found, but if you leave him he will leave you. 3 Israel had a long time of being without the God of truth and without a priest that gave rulings and without a code; 4 but in distress it turned back to Israel’s God Jehovah and looked for him, and he let himself be found. 5 And in those times there was no peace for the goer-out or the comer-in, but great embroilments over all the inhabitants of the countries, 6 and nation clashed with nation and city with city, because God had embroiled them in all distress. 7 But as for you, courage, and do not slacken, because there is to be a reward for your activities.”

8* And when Asa heard these words and the prophecy, he went to work with a will and ousted the disgustments from all the country of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities of the highland of Ephraim that he had captured, and renewed Jehovah’s altar in front of Jehovah’s porch; 9 and he gathered all Judah and Benjamin and those who were living as immigrants with him out of Ephraim and Manasseh and Simeon (for they had come over to him out of Israel in great numbers when they saw that his God Jehovah was with him), 10 and they gathered at Jerusalem at the third new moon in the year fifteen of Asa’s reign, 11 and sacrificed to Jehovah on that day, out of the booty they had brought, seven hundred horned cattle and seven thousand sheep, 12 and entered into covenant to devote themselves to their fathers’ God Jehovah with all their heart and soul, 13 and that anybody who did not devote himself to Israel’s God Jehovah should be put to death, small or great, man or woman; 14 and they swore to Jehovah with loud voice and with cheers and trumpets and ram-horns. 15 And all Judah was glad over the oath, because they had sworn with all their hearts, and with all goodwill they looked for him and he let himself be found; and Jehovah gave them rest on all aides.

16 And King Asa’s mother too he deposed from her queenship because she had made a horror of an asherah; and Asa cut down her horror and reduced it to sawdust and burned it in Kidron Arroyo. 17 But the heights were not removed out of Israel; Asa’s heart, however, was sound all his life. 18 And he brought in his father’s consecrated articles and his own to Jehovah’s house, silver and gold and furnishings.

19 And there was no war up to the year thirty-five of Asa’s reign.