2 *Chronicles 15

₁There was a prophet Azariah, who was the son of Oded. The Spirit of God came into him ₂and he went to King Asa and said to him: ‘Asa and all the people of Judah and Benjamin, listen to me. The Lord will be with you if you serve Him. If you want to serve Him, then He will help you and bless you, but if you turn away from Him, He will leave you. ₃The people of Israel did not serve the true God for many years. They did not have a priest who could teach them what the laws of God say and they did not know the laws. ₄But every time they were in trouble, they turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and they wanted to serve Him and they worshipped Him. ₅At that time no one could walk safely in the land because there was trouble in all the lands. ₆People of different nations and cities came to attack each other because God made them afraid and He wanted them to suffer. ₇But you, people of Judah and Benjamin, you must be strong. You must not be discouraged because God will bless you if you listen to Him.’

₈When Asa heard what the prophet said, he decided to do it. He took away all the idols from the land_of_Judah and Benjamin and from the towns in the mountains of Ephraim. He repaired the altar that was in front of the porch of the temple. ₉Then he told all the people of Judah and Benjamin to come together, as well as all the people of the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon who had come to live in Judah and Benjamin, and who were strangers there. Many Israelites came to Asa when they saw that the Lord his God was with him. ₁₀They came to him in Jerusalem in the 3rd month of the 15th year after he had become king. ₁₁They sacrificed_offerings to the Lord on that day. They took the animals that they had taken from the people of Cush and they sacrificed those animals. There were 700 cattle and 7 000 sheep and goats. ₁₂They made an agreement with each other. They promised to serve the Lord God of their fathers with all their hearts and souls. ₁₃They decided that everyone who did not want to serve the Lord must die, no_matter if the person was young or old, a man or a woman. ₁₄They shouted_loudly when they promised this to the Lord, who was their Witness, and they rejoiced and blew trumpets and rams'-horns. ₁₅Everyone in Judah was happy because they made this promise to God with all their hearts. They really wanted to serve the Lord and the Lord blessed them and He gave them peace. There were no enemies around them. ₁₆King Asa told his grandmother Maakah that she would not be important anymore as the mother of the king, because she had made an idol for Asherah. Asa destroyed the idol. He broke it down and burnt it in the Kidron Valley. ₁₇There were still other places_of_sacrifice in the land_of_Israel but Asa continued to serve the Lord as long as he lived. ₁₈Asa put the holy_gifts of his father and his own holy_gifts in the temple. They were gold and silver and other things. ₁₉Asa was king for 35 years and in that time there was no war in the land.