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2 Chronicles 15
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
2 Chronicles 15
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
15 And the spirit of God came upon Azarias the son of Oded,
2 And he went out to meet Asa, and said to him: Hear ye me, Asa, and all Juda and Benjamin: The Lord is with you, because you have been with him. If you seek him, you shall find: but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.
3 And many days shall pass in Israel without the true God, and without a priest a teacher, and without the law.
4 And when in their distress they shall return to the Lord the God of Israel, and shall seek him, they shall find him.
5 At that time there shall be no peace to him that goeth out and cometh in, but terrors on every side among all the inhabitants of the earth.
6 For nation shall fight against nation, and city against city, for the Lord will trouble them with all distress.
7 Do you therefore take courage, and let not your hands he weakened: for there shall be a reward for your work.
8 And when Asa had heard the words, and the prophecy of Azarias the son of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and took away the idols out of all the land of Juda, and out of Benjamin, and out of the cities of mount Ephraim, which he had taken, and he dedicated the altar of the Lord, which was before the porch of the Lord.
9 And he gathered together all Juda and Benjamin, and the strangers with them of Ephraim, and Manasses, and Simeon: for many were come over to him out of Israel, seeing that the Lord his God was with him.
10 And when they were come to Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa,
11 They sacrificed to the Lord in that day of the spoils, and of the prey, that they had brought, seven hundred oxen, and seven thousand rams.
12 And he went in to confirm as usual the covenant, that they should seek the Lord the God of their fathers with all their heart, and with all their soul.
13 And if any one, said he, seek not the Lord the God of Israel, let him die, whether little or great, man or woman.
14 And they swore to the Lord with a loud voice with joyful shouting, and with sound of trumpet, and sound of comets,
15 All that mere in Juda with a curse: for with all their heart they swore, and with all their will they sought him, and they found him, and the Lord gave them rest round about.
16 Moreover Maacha the mother of king Asa he deposed from the royal authority, because she had made in a grove an idol of Priapus: and he entirely destroyed it, and breaking it into pieces, burnt it at the torrent Cedron.
17 But high places were left in Israel: nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days.
18 And the things which his father had vowed, and he himself had vowed, he brought into the house of the Lord, gold and silver, and vessels of divers uses.
19 And there was no war unto the five and thirtieth year of the kingdom of Asa.
2 Chronicles 15
New International Version
2 Chronicles 15
New International Version
Asa’s Reform(A)
15 The Spirit of God came on(B) Azariah son of Oded. 2 He went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you(C) when you are with him.(D) If you seek(E) him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.(F) 3 For a long time Israel was without the true God, without a priest to teach(G) and without the law.(H) 4 But in their distress they turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought him,(I) and he was found by them. 5 In those days it was not safe to travel about,(J) for all the inhabitants of the lands were in great turmoil. 6 One nation was being crushed by another and one city by another,(K) because God was troubling them with every kind of distress. 7 But as for you, be strong(L) and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.”(M)
8 When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Azariah son of[a] Oded the prophet, he took courage. He removed the detestable idols(N) from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin and from the towns he had captured(O) in the hills of Ephraim. He repaired the altar(P) of the Lord that was in front of the portico of the Lord’s temple.
9 Then he assembled all Judah and Benjamin and the people from Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon who had settled among them, for large numbers(Q) had come over to him from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him.
10 They assembled at Jerusalem in the third month(R) of the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign. 11 At that time they sacrificed to the Lord seven hundred head of cattle and seven thousand sheep and goats from the plunder(S) they had brought back. 12 They entered into a covenant(T) to seek the Lord,(U) the God of their ancestors, with all their heart and soul. 13 All who would not seek the Lord, the God of Israel, were to be put to death,(V) whether small or great, man or woman. 14 They took an oath to the Lord with loud acclamation, with shouting and with trumpets and horns. 15 All Judah rejoiced about the oath because they had sworn it wholeheartedly. They sought God(W) eagerly, and he was found by them. So the Lord gave them rest(X) on every side.
16 King Asa also deposed his grandmother Maakah(Y) from her position as queen mother,(Z) because she had made a repulsive image for the worship of Asherah.(AA) Asa cut it down, broke it up and burned it in the Kidron Valley.(AB) 17 Although he did not remove the high places from Israel, Asa’s heart was fully committed to the Lord all his life. 18 He brought into the temple of God the silver and gold and the articles that he and his father had dedicated.(AC)
19 There was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 15:8 Vulgate and Syriac (see also Septuagint and verse 1); Hebrew does not have Azariah son of.
2 Chronicles 15
New King James Version
2 Chronicles 15
New King James Version
The Reforms of Asa
15 Now (A)the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded. 2 And he went out [a]to meet Asa, and said to him: “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. (B)The Lord is with you while you are with Him. (C)If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but (D)if you forsake Him, He will forsake you. 3 (E)For a long time Israel has been without the true God, without a (F)teaching priest, and without (G)law; 4 but (H)when in their trouble they turned to the Lord God of Israel, and sought Him, He was found by them. 5 And in those times there was no peace to the one who went out, nor to the one who came in, but great turmoil was on all the inhabitants of the lands. 6 (I)So nation was [b]destroyed by nation, and city by city, for God troubled them with every adversity. 7 But you, be strong and do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded!”
8 And when Asa heard these words and the prophecy of [c]Oded the prophet, he took courage, and removed the abominable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities (J)which he had taken in the mountains of Ephraim; and he restored the altar of the Lord that was before the vestibule of the Lord. 9 Then he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and (K)those who dwelt with them from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon, for they came over to him in great numbers from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him.
10 So they gathered together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa. 11 (L)And they offered to the Lord [d]at that time seven hundred bulls and seven thousand sheep from the [e]spoil they had brought. 12 Then they (M)entered into a covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul; 13 (N)and whoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel (O)was to be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman. 14 Then they took an oath before the Lord with a loud voice, with shouting and trumpets and rams’ horns. 15 And all Judah rejoiced at the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and (P)sought Him with all their soul; and He was found by them, and the Lord gave them (Q)rest all around.
16 Also he removed (R)Maachah, the [f]mother of Asa the king, from being queen mother, because she had made an obscene image of [g]Asherah; and Asa cut down her obscene image, then crushed and burned it by the Brook Kidron. 17 But (S)the [h]high places were not removed from Israel. Nevertheless the heart of Asa was loyal all his days.
18 He also brought into the house of God the things that his father had dedicated and that he himself had dedicated: silver and gold and utensils. 19 And there was no war until the thirty-fifth year of the reign of Asa.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 15:2 Lit. before
- 2 Chronicles 15:6 Lit. beaten in pieces
- 2 Chronicles 15:8 So with MT, LXX; Syr., Vg. Azariah the son of Oded (cf. v. 1)
- 2 Chronicles 15:11 Lit. in that day
- 2 Chronicles 15:11 plunder
- 2 Chronicles 15:16 Or grandmother
- 2 Chronicles 15:16 A Canaanite deity
- 2 Chronicles 15:17 Places for pagan worship
2 Chronicles 15
English Standard Version
2 Chronicles 15
English Standard Version
Asa's Religious Reforms
15 (A)The Spirit of God came[a] upon Azariah the son of Oded, 2 and he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: (B)The Lord is with you while you are with him. (C)If you seek him, he will be found by you, (D)but if you forsake him, he will forsake you. 3 (E)For a long time Israel was without the true God, and without a teaching priest and without law, 4 (F)but when in their distress they turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought him, he was found by them. 5 In those times there was no peace (G)to him who went out or to him who came in, for great disturbances afflicted all the inhabitants of the lands. 6 They were broken in pieces. Nation was crushed by nation and city by city, for God troubled them with every sort of distress. 7 (H)But you, take courage! Do not let your hands be weak, (I)for your work shall be rewarded.”
8 As soon as Asa heard these words, (J)the prophecy of Azariah the son of Oded, he took courage and put away the detestable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and from (K)the cities that he had taken in (L)the hill country of Ephraim, and he repaired the altar of the Lord (M)that was in front of the vestibule of the house of the Lord.[b] 9 And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, (N)and those from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who were residing with them, for great numbers had deserted to him from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him. 10 They were gathered at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa. 11 They sacrificed to the Lord on that day (O)from the spoil that they had brought 700 oxen and 7,000 sheep. 12 (P)And they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and with all their soul, 13 but that whoever would not seek the Lord, the God of Israel, (Q)should be put to death, whether young or old, man or woman. 14 They swore an oath to the Lord with a loud voice and with shouting and with trumpets and with horns. 15 And all Judah rejoiced over the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and had sought him with their whole desire, and he was found by them, (R)and the Lord gave them rest all around.
16 (S)Even Maacah, (T)his mother, King Asa removed from being queen mother because she had made a detestable image (U)for Asherah. Asa cut down her image, (V)crushed it, and burned it at the brook Kidron. 17 (W)But the high places were not taken out of Israel. Nevertheless, the heart of Asa was wholly true all his days. 18 And he brought into the house of God the sacred gifts of his father and his own sacred gifts, silver, and gold, and vessels. 19 And there was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of the reign of Asa.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 15:1 Or was
- 2 Chronicles 15:8 Hebrew the vestibule of the Lord
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition (DRA)
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New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.