The Daily Audio Bible

14 And Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David; and Asa, his son, reigned for him. In whose days the land rested in peace ten years (In whose days the land was at peace for ten years).

² And Asa did that, that was good and pleasant in the sight of his God, (And Asa did what was good and pleasing before his God,)

³ and he destroyed the altars of strange worshipping, that is, of idolatry, and the high places, and brake altogether the images, and cutted down [the] maumet woods; (and he destroyed the altars of idolatry, and the hill shrines, and broke in pieces the sacred pillars, and cut down the idol groves, or the sacred poles;)

⁴ and he commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers, and to do the law and all [the] commandments. (and he commanded the people of Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers, and to obey the Law and all the commandments.)

⁵ And he took away from all the cities of Judah (the) altars and (the) temples of idols, and he reigned in peace.

⁶ And he builded strong cities in Judah; for he was in rest (for the land was at rest), and no battles rose (up) in his times, for the Lord gave him peace.

⁷ And Asa said to Judah, Build we [up] these cities, and (en)compass we them with walls (and surround we them with walls), and strengthen we them with towers, and gates, and locks, as long as all things be restful from battle; for we have sought the Lord God of our fathers, and he hath given to us rest by compass. Therefore they builded, and there was no hindering in the building.

⁸ And Asa had in his host three hundred thousand of (the) men of Judah bearing shields and spears; and of Benjamin, he had two hundred thousand and fourscore thousand of shield-bearers and of archers; all these were full strong men.

⁹ Forsooth Zerah of Ethiopia went out against them with his host (of) ten hundred thousand (men), and with three hundred chariots, and came unto Mareshah.

¹⁰ Certainly Asa went (out) against them, and (they) arrayed (the) battle array in the valley of Zephathah, which is beside Mareshah.

¹¹ And Asa inwardly called (upon) the Lord God, and said, Lord, no diversity is with thee, whether thou help in few, either in many; our Lord God, help thou us, for we have trust in thee, and in thy name, and we came against this multitude; Lord, thou art our God, a man have not the mastery against thee. (And Asa inwardly called on the Lord God, and said, Lord, there is no difference for thee, whether thou help a few, or many; Lord our God, help thou us, for we have trust in thee, and we have gone out against this multitude in thy name; Lord, thou art our God, let no man have the mastery against thee.)

¹² Therefore the Lord made afeared (the) Ethiopians before Asa and Judah, and (the) Ethiopians fled; (And so the Lord made the Ethiopians afraid of Asa and the people of Judah, and the Ethiopians fled;)

¹³ and Asa and his people, that was with him (who were with him), pursued them unto Gerar. And (the) Ethiopians felled down to (the) death, for they were all-broken by the Lord slaying (them), and by his host fighting (them). Then they took many spoils,

¹⁴ and they smote all the cities about Gerar; for great dread had assailed all men. And they spoiled the cities/And they rifled the cities, and bare away much prey; (and they struck all the cities about Gerar; for great fear had assailed all people. And they spoiled the cities/And they rifled the cities, and carried away much prey;)

¹⁵ and also they destroyed the folds of sheep, and they took multitude without number of sheep and of camels, and they turned again into Jerusalem. (and they also destroyed the sheepfolds, and they took away a multitude without number of sheep and camels, and then they returned to Jerusalem.)

15 Forsooth Azariah, the son of Oded, when the spirit of the Lord was come into him, (And Azariah, the son of Oded, after the spirit of the Lord came upon him,)

² he went out into the meeting of Asa (he went out to meet Asa); and said to him, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin, hear ye me; the Lord is with you, for ye were with him; if ye seek him, ye shall find him; soothly if ye forsake him, he shall forsake you.

³ Forsooth many days shall pass in Israel without (the) very God, and without priest, and without teacher, and without law. (But many days have passed in Israel without the true God, and without a priest, and without a teacher, and without the Law.)

⁴ And when they turn again in their anguish, and cry to the Lord God of Israel, and seek him, they shall find him. (But when, in their anguish, they turned to the Lord God of Israel, and cried to him, and sought him, they found him.)

⁵ In that time [there] shall not be peace to go out and to go in, but dreads on all side(s) on all the dwellers of the land. (At that time there was no safety, or security, to come in or to go out, but fear was on all sides for all the inhabitants of the land.)

⁶ For folk shall fight against folk, and a city against a city, for the Lord shall disturb them in all anguish; (And nation fought against nation, and a city against a city, for the Lord troubled them with all kinds of anguish;)

⁷ but be ye comforted, and your hands be not slacked; for meed shall be to your work. (but be ye strengthened, and do not let your hands be limp; for your work shall be rewarded.)

⁸ And when Asa had heard this thing, that is, the words and [the] prophecy of Azariah, the son of Oded, the prophet, he was comforted, and he did away all the idols from all the land of Judah and of Benjamin, and from the cities which he had taken of the hill of Ephraim. And he hallowed the altar of the Lord, that was before the porch of the house of the Lord. (And when Asa had heard this, that is, the words and the prophecy of the prophet Azariah, the son of Oded, he was strengthened, or encouraged, and he did away all the idols from all the land of Judah and of Benjamin, and from the cities which he had taken in the hill country of Ephraim. And he repaired the altar of the Lord, that was in front of the vestibule of the House of the Lord.)

⁹ And he gathered together all Judah and Benjamin, and with them the comelings of Ephraim, and of Manasseh, and of Simeon (and with them the newcomers from Ephraim, and Manasseh, and Simeon); for many of Israel, seeing that his Lord God was with him, fled over to him.

¹⁰ And when they had come into Jerusalem, in the third month, in the fifteen year of the realm of Asa,

¹¹ they offered to the Lord in that day, both of the spoils and of the prey, which they had brought, seven hundred oxen, and seven thousand wethers. (they offered to the Lord on that day, out of the spoils and the prey, which they had brought back, seven hundred oxen, and seven thousand rams.)

¹² And Asa entered by custom to make strong the bond of peace, that they should seek the Lord God of their fathers in all their heart, and in all their soul. (And they entered into a covenant, that they would seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart, and with all their soul.)

¹³ And the king said, If any man seeketh not the Lord God of Israel, die he, from the least unto the most, from man unto woman. (And that whoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel should be put to death, from the least unto the most, man or woman.)

¹⁴ And all that were in Judah swore with cursing to the Lord, that is, obliging themselves to cursing and pain of death, if they did against the oath, with [a] great voice, in hearty song, and in sound of trump, and in sound of clarions; (And they swore an oath, or a pledge, to the Lord with a loud voice, and a hearty shout, and the sounding of trumpets and horns.)

¹⁵ for they swore in all their heart, and in all their will they sought him, and found him; and the Lord gave to them rest by compass. (And all who were in Judah had great joy over the pledge; for they swore with all their heart, and they sought him with all their will, and they found him; and the Lord gave them rest, or peace, all about.)

¹⁶ But also he put down Maachah, the (grand)mother of Asa the king, that is, his own (grand)mother, from the strait empire, for she had made in a wood a simulacrum, or a likeness, of a man’s rod; and he all-brake that simulacrum, and pounded it into gobbets, and burnt it in the strand of Kidron. (And Asa also removed his grandmother Maachah, from her place of honour, for she had made an image, or a likeness, of a man’s rod in the forest/for she had made an obscene idol for the worship of Asherah; and he broke up that image, and pounded it into pieces, and burned it by the Kidron Stream/and burned it in the Kidron Gorge.)

¹⁷ But yet [the] high places were left in Israel; nevertheless the heart of Asa was rightful in all his days. (But yet there were still hill shrines in Israel; but Asa’s heart was upright in all his days.)

¹⁸ And he brought into the house of the Lord those things that his father [had] avowed, silver and gold, and diverse purtenance of vessels;

¹⁹ and battle was not unto the five and thirtieth year of the realm of Asa. (and there was no battle with any nation until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign.)

16 Forsooth in the six and thirtieth year of his realm, Baasha, king of Israel, went up into Judah, and (en)compassed Ramah with a wall, that no man of the realm of Asa might go out, either enter in securely. (But in the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign, Baasha, the king of Israel, went up into Judah, and surrounded Ramah with a wall, so that no man in Asa’s kingdom could safely come in, or go out.)

² And Asa brought forth gold and silver from the treasur[i]es of the house of the Lord, and from the king’s treasuries; and sent (it) to Benhadad, king of Syria, that dwelled in Damascus (who lived in Damascus), and said,

³ (A) Bond of peace is betwixt me and thee, and my father and thy father had accord together; wherefore I have sent to thee silver and gold, that when thou hast broken the bond of peace, which thou hast with Baasha, king of Israel, thou make him to go away from me. (There is a covenant between me and thee, and my father and thy father had an accord together; and so I have sent to thee my silver and gold, so that when thou hast broken the covenant which thou hast with Baasha, the king of Israel, then thou shalt make him go away from me.)

⁴ And when this was found (acceptable), Benhadad sent the princes of his hosts to the cities of Israel, which smote Ijon, and Dan, and Abelmaim, and all the walled cities of Naphtali. (And when this was found acceptable, Benhadad sent the leaders of his armies against the cities of Israel, who struck Ijon, and Dan, and Abelmaim, and all the walled cities of Naphtali.)

⁵ And when Baasha had heard this, he ceased to build (up) Ramah, and left [off] his work.

⁶ And king Asa took all Judah, and they took from Ramah the stones, and [the] wood, which Baasha had made ready to building; and he builded of those Geba, and Mizpah. (And King Asa commanded to all Judah, and they took away the stones, and the timber from Ramah, with which Baasha had fortified it; and Asa used them to fortify Geba and Mizpah.)

⁷ In that time Hanani, the prophet (At that time the prophet Hanani), came to Asa, king of Judah, and said to him, For-thy that thou haddest trust in the king of Syria, and not in the Lord thy God, therefore the host of the king of Syria escaped from thine hand.

⁸ Whether (the) Ethiopians and Libyans were not many more in chariots, and knights, and in full great multitude; which, when thou haddest believed to the Lord, he betook them into thine hands? (Did not the Ethiopians and the Libyans, with such a great multitude, have many more chariots, and horsemen than thee? yet, when thou had believed in the Lord, he delivered them into thy hands.)

⁹ For the eyes of the Lord behold all the earth, and give strength to them, that with perfect heart believe into him (and give strength to those, who with a perfect heart believe in him). Therefore thou hast done follily, and for this trust in men, yea, in this present time battles shall rise against thee.

¹⁰ And Asa was wroth against the prophet, and commanded him to be sent into the stocks. Forsooth the Lord had indignation greatly upon this thing, and he killed full many of the people in that time (And the king had great indignation because of this word, and he killed a great many people at that time).

¹¹ Soothly the first and [the] last works of Asa be written in the book of [the] kings of Judah and of Israel.

¹² And Asa was sick full greatly in the aching of his feet, in the nine and thirtieth year of his realm; and neither in his sickness he sought the Lord, but he trusted more in the craft of leeches. (And Asa was greatly sick, or pained, with aching feet, in the thirty-ninth year of his kingdom; yet even in his sickness he did not seek the Lord, but he trusted more in the craft of physicians.)

¹³ And Asa slept with his fathers, and was dead in the one and fortieth year of his realm. (And Asa went to be with his ancestors, and died in the forty-first year of his reign.)

¹⁴ And they buried him in his sepulchre, which he had made to himself in the city of David; and they put him, or laid him, on his bed full of sweet smelling spices and ointments of whores, that where made (al)together by the craft of ointment makers, and they burnt these upon him with full great cost. (And they buried him in his tomb, which he had made for himself in the City of David; and they laid him on his bed full of sweet smelling spices and ointments, which were made by the craft of ointment makers; and they burned a great bonfire to mourn his death.)

9 I say truth in Christ Jesus, I lie not, for my conscience beareth witnessing to me in the Holy Ghost, [I say truth in Christ Jesus, I lie not, my conscience bearing witness to me in the Holy Ghost,]

² for great heaviness is to me, and continual sorrow to my heart.

³ For I myself desired to be separated from Christ for my brethren [Forsooth I myself desired to be cursed, or parted, from Christ for my brethren], that be my cousins after the flesh,

⁴ that be men of Israel [that be Israelites]; whose is adoption of sons, and glory, and testament, and giving of the law, and service, and promises;

⁵ whose be the fathers, and of which is Christ after the flesh^[a], that is God above all things, blessed into worlds. Amen.

⁶ But not that the word of God hath fallen down [Soothly not that the word of God hath fallen down, or failed unfulfilled]. For not all that be of Israel, these be Israelites.

⁷ Neither they that be [the] seed of Abraham, all be sons; but in Isaac the seed shall be called to thee;

⁸ that is to say, not they that be sons of the flesh, be sons of God, but they that be sons of [the] promise be deemed in the seed.

⁹ For why this is the word of promise, After this time I shall come, and a son shall be to Sarah.

¹⁰ And not only she, but also Rebecca had two sons of one lying-by of Isaac, our father. [Forsooth not only she, but and Rebecca, of one lying-by, or of one knowing of man, having two sons of Isaac, our father.]

¹¹ And when they were not yet born, neither had done any thing of good either evil [or evil], that the purpose of God should dwell by election [that the purpose of God should dwell after election], not of works, but of God calling,

¹² it was said to him, That the more should serve the less, [it is said to her, For the more shall serve to the less,]

¹³ as it is written, I loved Jacob, but I hated Esau. [as it is written, I loved Jacob, forsooth Esau I had in hate.]

¹⁴ What therefore shall we say? Whether wickedness be with God? God forbid [Far be it].

¹⁵ For he saith to Moses, I shall have mercy on whom I shall have mercy; and I shall give mercy on whom I shall have mercy.

¹⁶ Therefore it is not neither of man willing [Therefore it is not neither of a man willing], neither running, but of God having mercy.

¹⁷ And the scripture saith to Pharaoh [Forsooth the scripture saith to Pharaoh], For to this thing I have stirred thee, that I show in thee my virtue, and that my name be told in all [the] earth.

¹⁸ Therefore of whom God will, he hath mercy; and whom he will, he endureth [and whom he will, he endureth, or hardeneth].

¹⁹ Then sayest thou to me, What is sought yet [What thing is yet sought]? for who withstandeth his will?

²⁰ O! man, who art thou, that answerest to God? Whether a made thing saith to him that made it, What hast thou made me so?

²¹ Whether a potter of clay hath not power to make of the same gobbet one vessel into honour, another into despite? [Whether a potter of clay hath not power of the same gobbet to make soothly one vessel into honour, another forsooth into despite, or low office?]

²² And if God willing to show his wrath, and to make his power known, hath suffered in great patience vessels of wrath able into death, [That if God willing to show wrath, and to make his power known, sustained in great patience the vessels of wrath able into perdition, or damnation,]

²³ to show the riches of his glory [that he should show the riches of his glory] into vessels of mercy, which he made ready into glory.

²⁴ Which also he called [us,] not only of the Jews, but also of heathen men,

19 To victory, the psalm of David. (To victory, the song of David.) (The) Heavens tell out the glory of God; and the firmament telleth (out) the works of his hands.

² The day telleth out to the day a word; and the night showeth knowing to the night. (The day telleth out a word to the next day; the night showeth knowledge to the next night.)

³ No languages be, neither words; of which the voices of them be not heard. (There be no languages, or words, where their voices be not heard.)

⁴ The sound of them went out into all (the) earth; and the words of them into the ends of the world. In the sun he hath set his tabernacle (In the sky he hath pitched a tent for the sun);

⁵ and he as a spouse coming forth of his chamber. He fully joyed, as a giant, to run his way; (and the sun is like a spouse coming forth from his bed-chamber. It rejoiced, like a strong man, who runneth his race;)

⁶ his going out was from [the] highest heaven. And his going again was to the highest thereof; and none there is that hideth himself from his heat. (it went out from the heights of the heavens, and that is also to where it returned. And there is nothing that can hide from its heat/And nothing is hidden from its heat.)

⁷ The law of the Lord is without wem, and converteth souls; the witnessing of the Lord is faithful, and giveth wisdom to little, either meek, children. (The Law of the Lord is without blemish, or without fault, and converteth souls; the teaching of the Lord is faithful, and giveth wisdom to the simple.)

⁸ The rightfulnesses of the Lord be rightful, gladdening hearts (The precepts of the Lord be right, gladdening hearts); the commandment of the Lord is clear, enlightening eyes.

⁹ The holy dread of the Lord dwelleth into the world of world; the dooms of the Lord be true, justified into themselves. (The fear of the Lord is holy, or pure/Reverence for the Lord is holy, or pure, and it remaineth forever and ever; the judgements of the Lord be true, and justified unto themselves.)

¹⁰ Desirable more than gold, and a stone much precious; and sweeter than honey and honeycomb. (They be more desirable than gold, or very precious stones; and sweeter than honey from a honeycomb.)

¹¹ For why thy servant keepeth those; much yielding is in those to be kept./Forsooth thy servant keepeth those; much yielding, or reward, is in those dooms to be kept. (For they instruct thy servant; and in obeying those judgements, there is much reward.)

¹² Who understandeth trespasses? make thou me clean from my privy sins; (Who understandeth his own trespasses? Lord, make thou me clean from my secret sins;)

¹³ and of alien sins spare thy servant. If those have not lordship of me, then I shall be undefouled of alien sins, or without wem; and I shall be cleansed of the most sin. (and spare thy servant from willful sins. For if they have no rule, or lordship, over me, then I shall be undefiled, or without blemish, or without fault; and I shall be cleansed from all great sin.)

¹⁴ And the speeches of my mouth shall be such, that they please; and the thinking of mine heart is ever[more] in thy sight. Lord, mine helper; and mine again-buyer. (May the words out of my mouth be such, that they please thee; and may the thinking of my heart be acceptable before thee forevermore, O Lord; my helper, and my redeemer.)

20 Wine is a lecherous thing, and drunkenness is full of noise; whoever delighteth in these, shall not be wise.